Thomas Slidell (April 20, 1864) was chief justice of the

Louisiana Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Louisiana (; ) is the supreme court, highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The Supreme ...

. He was a brother of

John Slidell John Slidell (1793July 9, 1871) was an American politician, lawyer, slaveholder, and businessman. Database at A native of New York, Slidell moved to Louisiana as a young man. He was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, U.S. House ...

, a diplomat of the

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. He entered

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

from New York and graduated in 1825. He was a student at the same time as Judah P. Benjamin. He was the

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (in case citations, E.D. La.) is a United States federal court based in New Orleans. Appeals from the Eastern District of Louisiana are taken to the United States Court of Ap ...

from 1837 to 1838; his brother John had held the post from 1829 to 1833. Following the ''Creole'' mutiny, Slidell Benjamin, and F. B. Conrad were hired by insurance companies to defend them against the claims of slave traders' who lost the money when the human cargo commandeered the ship and escaped to

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. He was an associate justice of the

for several years subsequent to 1847, and in 1855 he was appointed Chief Justice of the State. Having resigned his position on the bench, he went to Europe in 1856, for the purpose of recruiting his health, which had been impaired for a year or two, in consequence of his excessive professional labor. While abroad, mental disease developed itself, he was brought back to this country to become a patient of the

Butler Hospital Butler Hospital is a private, non-profit, psychiatric and substance abuse hospital for adolescents, adults, and seniors, located at 345 Blackstone Boulevard in Providence, Rhode Island. The hospital is affiliated with the Warren Alpert Medical S ...

, in

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. During the winter of 1862–63, the cloud lifted, and in most respects his perceptions became quite clear and correct; and in April, 1863, he rejoined his family, who were residing in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, and there he remained until his death, April 20, 1864, aged 57 years. According to a history of U.S. Attorneys, "Assaulted by thieves in 1855, Thomas Slidell never fully recovered and died in 1860." A news report of 1887 claimed that while he was presenting his ballot on Election Day, he was punched in the head by a Know-Nothing-Party-affiliated "ruffian" wearing brass knuckles. He left a widow (formerly Miss Callender), and a son who was an officer in the U.S. Army.

References

Thomas Slidell
in the

Louisiana Historical Association The Louisiana Historical Association is an organization established in 1889 in Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the n ...

's ''Dictionary of Louisiana Biography''
The Political Graveyard
*

External links

* 1864 deaths Chief justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court United States attorneys for the Eastern District of Louisiana Yale University alumni Year of birth uncertain Slidell family {{Louisiana-state-judge-stub

See also

References

External links