Walter Lawrence Bragg (February 25, 1838 – August 21, 1891) was an American Democratic politician and government official. He was one of the original commissioners of the

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later Trucking industry in the United States, truc ...

serving from the Commission's creation in 1887 until his death in 1891.

Early life

Bragg was born in

Lowndes County, Alabama Lowndes County is in the central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 10,311. Its county seat is Hayneville. The county is named in honor of William Lowndes, a member of the United States Con ...

on February 25, 1838. The Bragg family moved to

Ouachita County, Arkansas Ouachita County ( ) is a county located in the south central part of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,650. The county seat is Camden. Ouachita County is part of the Camden, AR Micropolitan Statistica ...

in 1844, and Walter grew up there. He graduated from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

in 1858. After graduation, he lived in the Ouachita county seat of

Camden, Arkansas Camden is a city in and the county seat of Ouachita County, Arkansas, Ouachita County in the south-central part of the U.S. state portals, U.S. state of Arkansas. The city is located about 100 miles south of Little Rock. Situated on bluffs overlo ...

, where he began the practice of law. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Bragg fought on the Confederate side, principally with the

Army of Tennessee The Army of Tennessee was a Field army, field army of the Confederate States Army in the Western theater of the American Civil War, Western Theater of the American Civil War. Named for the Confederate States of America, Confederate state of Tenn ...

, rising to the rank of captain. After the war, Bragg settled in

Marion, Alabama Marion is a city in and the county seat of Perry County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 3,686, up 4.8% over 2000. First known as Muckle Ridge, the city was renamed for a hero of the American Revolut ...

, moving to the state capital of Montgomery in 1871.

Political career

In 1874, Bragg was elected head of the Democratic State Executive Committee, a post he held for three years. A delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1876, Bragg was elected as Alabama's representative on the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

. In 1880, he was a presidential elector when the Democrats carried the state. In March, 1881, he was appointed President of the Alabama Railroad Commission, and was appointed to a second two-year term in March, 1883. When his second term expired, he resumed the practice of law in Montgomery. When the Interstate Commerce Commission was created in 1887, Bragg was appointed by President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

. Bragg was reappointed shortly before Cleveland left office for the first time in 1889. Still suffering from war wounds, Bragg fell into poor health. He died at

Avon-by-the-Sea, New Jersey Avon-by-the-Sea (often called simply Avon; pronunciation: , ) is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was ...

after a two-year illness on August 21, 1891.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bragg, Walter L. 1838 births 1891 deaths People of the Interstate Commerce Commission People of Arkansas in the American Civil War Harvard University alumni