Washington Curran Whitthorne (April 19, 1825September 21, 1891) was a

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

attorney, Democratic

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and an Adjutant General in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

Early life and career

Whitthorne was born near

Petersburg, Tennessee Petersburg is a town in Lincoln and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 580 at the 2000 census and 544 at the 2010 census. It used to be the location of Morgan school before consolidation Geography Petersburg is ...

in Marshall County.United States Congress's pg. 109 One day when Whitthorne was young

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...

stayed at his family's home.Bar Association of Tennessee's pp. 126-129 Polk saw how bright he was and asked, "What are you going to make of this boy?" His father replied "I am going to make him the President of the United States." Polk then told them to send the boy to Columbia and he would make him a lawyer. He attended Campbell Academy in

Lebanon, Tennessee Lebanon ( ) is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metro ...

and subsequently East Tennessee College (now the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

) where he graduated in 1843. He subsequently studied law and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in 1845, serving in various governmental positions, and working for

until he entered private practice in 1848 in

Columbia, Tennessee Columbia is a city in and the county seat of Maury County, Tennessee. The population was 41,690 as of the 2020 United States census. Columbia is included in the Nashville metropolitan area. The self-proclaimed "mule capital of the world," Colu ...

. He owned slaves. On July 4, 1848 Whitthorne married Matilda Jane Campbell, a cousin of Polk. He was elected to serve in the

Tennessee State Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue reg ...

from 1855 to 1858. Whitthorne was then elected

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

from 1859 to 1861.

Civil War service

In 1861 he became Adjutant General of Tennessee for the Confederacy, and served in that post through the end of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. He also served on the staff of

generals A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. Ma ...

Robert Anderson,

Marcus Joseph Wright Marcus Joseph Wright (June 5, 1831 – December 27, 1922) was a lawyer, author, and a Confederate States Army, Confederate general in the American Civil War. He was agent for collection of Confederate records for ''War of the Rebellion: Officia ...

, Samuel P. Carter, and William J. Hardee.

Postbellum career

After Lee had surrendered at Appomattox, Whitthorne was held as prisoner of war at Columbia in order to be shielded from Federal prosecution. President

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

interceded, gave him a Presidential pardon, and restored his

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

. In 1870, Whitthorne began a campaign for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. He won the election and would eventually serve six consecutive terms during his initial service in the House of Representatives, chairing the House Committee on Naval Affairs from 1875 to 1881.The National Cyclopedia of American Biography pg. 140 Upon the resignation of Senator Howell E. Jackson, Whitthorne was appointed to the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

governor of Tennessee The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Tennessee Military Department, military forces. The governor is the only official in the Government of Tenne ...

William B. Bate William Brimage Bate (October 7, 1826March 9, 1905) was a planter and slaveholder, Confederate officer, and politician in Tennessee. After the Reconstruction era, he served as the 23rd governor of Tennessee from 1883 to 1887. He was elected to th ...

and then subsequently elected to the balance of the term by the

Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Tennessee Senate, Senate and a Tennessee House of Representa ...

, serving in the Senate from April 16, 1886 to March 3, 1887. Following his Senate service he served two more subsequent consecutive terms in the

, from 1887 to 1891. After serving in the House of Representatives Whitthorne returned to Columbia and died there later in 1891, being interred at Rose Hill Cemetery. Whitthorne Middle School in Columbia, formerly Whitthorne Junior High School, is named in his honor.

References

*Bar Association of Tennessee's; ''Proceedings of the ... Annual Session of the Bar Association of Tennessee'', The Association, (1905) *''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography: Being the History of the United States as Illustrated in the Lives of the Founders, Builders, and Defenders of the Republic, and of the Men and Women who are Doing the Work and Moulding the Thought of the Present Time'', J. T. White company, (1900) * United States Congress, W. H. Michael; ''Official Congressional Directory'' (1890)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitthorne, Washington C. 1825 births 1891 deaths People from Marshall County, Tennessee American people of Irish descent Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Democratic Party United States senators from Tennessee Democratic Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Democratic Party Tennessee state senators Tennessee lawyers Confederate States Army generals People of Tennessee in the American Civil War United States senators who owned slaves Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly

Early life and career

Civil War service

Postbellum career

See also

References

References