James Seddon

For the British politician, see James Andrew Seddon. For the footballer, see Jimmy Seddon.
James Seddon
4th Confederate States Secretary of War
In office
November 21, 1862 – February 5, 1865
President Jefferson Davis
Preceded by George Randolph
Succeeded by John Breckinridge
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 6th district
In office
March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851
Preceded by John Botts
Succeeded by John Caskie
In office
March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847
Preceded by John Jones
Succeeded by John Botts
Personal details
Born (1815-07-13)July 13, 1815
Falmouth, Virginia
Died August 19, 1880(1880-08-19) (aged 65)
Goochland County, Virginia
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Sarah Bruce
Alma mater University of Virginia
Religion Presbyterian

James Alexander Seddon (July 13, 1815 – August 19, 1880) was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms as a Representative in the U.S. Congress, as a member of the Democratic Party. He was appointed Confederate States Secretary of War by Jefferson Davis during the American Civil War.

Biography

Born in Falmouth, Stafford County, Virginia, Seddon was a descendant of William Alexander, Earl of Stirling. Due to frail health, Seddon was educated primarily at home and became self-taught as a youth. At the age of twenty-one, he entered the law school of the University of Virginia. After graduation, Seddon settled in Richmond, where he established a successful law practice.

In 1845, he was nominated by the Democratic Party for Congress and was easily elected. Two years later, he was renominated, but declined due to platform differences with the party. In 1849, Seddon was reelected to Congress, serving from December 1849 until March 1851. Owing to poor health, he declined another nomination at the end of his term and retired to "Sabot Hill," his estate on the James River above Richmond.

Seddon attended the peace convention held in Washington, D.C., in 1861, which attempted to devise a means of preventing the impending civil war. Later in the same year, he attended the Provisional Confederate Congress. President Davis named him as the Secretary of War, a post he held until January 1, 1865, when he retired from public life to his country estate.

Electoral history

Wikisource has original works written by or about:
James Seddon

Media related to James Alexander Seddon at Wikimedia Commons

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
John Jones		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 6th congressional district
1845–1847 		Succeeded by
John Botts
Preceded by
John Botts		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 6th congressional district
1849–1851 		Succeeded by
John Caskie
Political offices
Preceded by
George Randolph		 Confederate States Secretary of War
1862–1865 		Succeeded by
John Breckinridge
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 5/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.