Ethelbert Barksdale

Ethelbert Barksdale (January 4, 1824 – February 17, 1893) was a U.S. Representative from Mississippi, as well as a member of the Confederate States Congress during the American Civil War.

Ethelbert Barksdale
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Mississippi's 5th district
In office
March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1887
Preceded byDistrict created
Succeeded byCharles E. Hooker
Personal details
Born(1824-01-04)January 4, 1824
Smyrna, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedFebruary 17, 1893(1893-02-17) (aged 69)
Yazoo City, Mississippi, U.S.
Resting placeGreenwood Cemetery, Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
OccupationJournalist

Biography

Barksdale was born in Smyrna, Tennessee, a son of William Barksdale and Nancy Hervey Lester. He was the younger brother of William Barksdale, the Confederate general, who was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War. Ethelbert Barksdale moved to Jackson, Mississippi, as a young man and later adopted journalism as a profession. He edited the official journal of the state from 1854–1861 and again in 1876–1883, served as editor of the Jackson Clarion, has been active in Democratic Party politics and earned the moniker, the Sir Robert Peel, of Mississippi.[1]

During the Civil War, he served as member of the First Confederate Congress and then the Second Confederate Congress from 1861–1865.

Near the war's end, in an effort to provide recruits for the Confederate States Army, Rep. Barksdale introduced legislation that would permit "Negroes" to fight for the South against the Union. Initially it passed the Confederate House, was barely defeated in the Senate, but weeks later, a version of this "last resort" effort was eventually approved, though never implemented.[2]

Returning to politics in postbellum Mississippi during Reconstruction, Barksdale served as delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1860, 1868, 1872, and 1880. He served as chairman of the Democratic State executive committee from 1877–1879.

Barksdale was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Congresses (March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1887). He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1886, and then engaged in agricultural pursuits in Yazoo County.

He died in Yazoo City, Mississippi, on February 17, 1893, and was interred in Greenwood Cemetery, Jackson, Mississippi.

Family

In 1843 he married Alice-Jane Harris (1826–1906) and they had three children.[3][4][5]

gollark: Because alcohol is easier to make (I think) and more ingrained in our culture.
gollark: ... no.
gollark: That may be a bit of a stretch.
gollark: I mean, you're still breathing smoke, which is bad.
gollark: What's the point of those automatic level thingies anyway?

References
  1. The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi, Volume 1, p. 617.
  2. McPherson, James (7 October 2014). Embattled Rebel: Jefferson Davis as Commander in Chief. New York, NY: Penguin Press HC. p. 237. ISBN 978-1594204975. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  3. Barksdale, Ethelbert, American National Biography
  4. Ethelbert Barksdale at Find a Grave
  5. Mrs. Jane Barksdale obituary, Jackson Daily News, Friday, June 22, 1906, p. 8.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
District created		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Mississippi's 5th congressional district
1883-1887		 Succeeded by
Charles E. Hooker


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