Victorian Alabama



	Bydenham Moore
	Sen. Clement C. Clay, Jr.
	James A. Stallworth

	Williamson R. W. Cobb
	Senator Benjamin Fitzpatrick
	David Clopton

	James L. Pugh
	Jabez L. M. Curry
	George S. Houston
	From Harper's Weekly, Journal of Civilization, Saturday, February 9, 1861

	"The Seceding Alabama Delegation in Congress-Photographed by Brady.

	Benjamin Fitzpatrick, the senior Senator from the State of Alabama, is, by the vote of his associates, President, protempore, of the Senate, which would give him the position of Vice-President should Mr. Breckinridge be called to the highest position in the republic. He was born in Georgia, in June, l802, and was left an orphan at an early age, with no other educational advantages than those afforded by the 'old field schools' near his rural home. In 1815 he emigrated, with an elder brother, to the fertile valley of the Alabama River, then being settled, and where he has since resided. Prosecuting his studies, he read law, and in 1821 was admitted to the bar, where he soon so distinguished himself that he was elected District-Attorney, and re-elected in 1825, and again in 1829. Application to the arduous duties of this position injured his health, and he retired to a plantation, where he has since given decided proofs of agricultural information and practical skill. In 1840 he was nominated as Presidential Elector on the Democratic ticket, and succeeded in stemming the popular tide by giving the vote of Alabama to Martin Van Buren. In 1841 he was elected Governor of the State, which position he occupied in 1845. In 1852 Governor Collier appointed him Senator in Congress to fill the vacancy occasioned by the election of W. R. King, which appointment the Legislature confirmed. Since then he has been prominent in the Senate, not only personally (for he is a large, fine-looking gentleman), but as a working member, who rarely intrudes his opinions, but who never fails to record his vote in a manner acceptable to his constituents. Governor Fitzpatrick was nominated on the ticket with Mr. Douglas, but declined the honor; and has since headed the "co-operationists," who advocate the co-operation of all the Slave States in the establishment of a Southern Confederacy.

	Clement Clairborne Clay, Alabama's favorite son and Senator, is already known to the readers of Harper's Weekly, in which his biography has appeared. The son of that noble-hearted Virginian, Governor Clay, who filled nearly every office in his adopted State of Alabama, and the husband of one of the most accomplished daughters of the sunny South, Senator Clay is a Representative man of that fertile land which the wandering red-men called "Alabama" or "Here we rest". A graduate of the University of Alabama, and the Law-school of the University of Virginia; the successful editor of the Flag of the Union newspaper; noted as an able lawyer and as a vigilant District-Attorney; an active member of the Alabama Legislature for several years; and an able judge of the circuit-court-he was well qualified in 1853, to occupy the Senatorial seat which is father had adorned. Since then, his course has been unwavering in bringing about the independent position of Alabama now just taken; yet he has ever enjoyed the personal respect and esteem of his associates, even of those who have regarded him as their uncompromising political foe, as he has stood before them the champion of his constituents. "Identified as I am," said he, "with Alabama by my birth, education, interest, and affection-regarding her as 'my nursing mother and my grave'-indebted to her for the highest honors and greatest trusts she could bestow, and standing here as one of her embassadors in this Council Chamber of sovereigh States, I feel it my duty, as well as privilege, to justify or excuse, as far as I can, all her acts relating to her sister States or to the Federal Government."...If she yields to Republican control, "she will deserve to suffer all the wrong and all the shame you can and will accumulate upon her head. But as honor, interest, self-preservation-all that is dear to freemen-all urge her to maintain her individuality and equality as sovereign States, either within or without the Union, I trust she will give you full demonstration of her courage and self-reliance, by refusing any the least concession to your demands, and by resenting your menaces and repelling your attempts at coercion in such manner as will prove that the spirit of the fathers, who, at Yorktown and at New Orleans, consummated in triumph our two wars of independence, yet lives in her sons."

	James A. Stallworth, who represents the first or Mobile District in the House of Representatives, was born in Conecuh County, Alabama on the 7th of April, 1822. After having received an academical education he studied law, passed a high examination, and has since enjoyed a lucrative practice. He was twice elected District-Attorney for the circuit in which he practices, and was a member of the State Legislature from 1845 to 1848. After having been defeated by the Know Nothings, he was, in 1857, elected to Congress, where he is a universal favorite, ever ready with an anecdote or a repartee, yet none the less determined in maintaining the rights of his native State.

	James L. Pugh, the Representative from the second Congressional District of Alabama, was born in Burke County, Georgia, in 1820, and received his education at the La Grange Academy, of which Otis Smith was the distinguished principal. Removing to Alabama, he commenced the practice of law, and is said to have no equal in the State before a jury. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress in 1849, when Henry W. Hilliard defeated him by a small vote, and left the Whig party in 1850, since when he has been a thorough-going secessionist. Since he has been in Congress he has taken no part in the transaction of business, having expressed his "solemn conviction that no amount of effort, however well directed and praiseworthy, can ever rescue the Constitution from the perils which surround it, or restore the government to its original purity, or perpetuate it in that form." The Territorial action of Judge Douglas, in his opinion, was such that the Southern Democracy could not indorse it without stultifying themselves; and he urged, in January, 1860, a speedy termination of the Union in case the Republicans carried the Presidential election, saying: "The truest conservatism and wisest statesmanship demand a speedy termination of all association with such confederates, and the formation of another union of States, homogenous in population, institutions, , interests, and pursuits. Such a confederacy (said he) would be imperishable, and present to the world a contented, happy, prosperous, powerful people, in the enjoyment of the highest perfection of civilization and free government".

	David Clopton, the Representative from the Tuskegee District of Alabama, was born in Putnam County, Georgia, about 1820, and graduated at Oxford College, in that State; after which he removed to his present residence, where he commenced a highly lucrative practice at the bar. After filling several responsible positions at home, he was elected a member of the present Congress, where he has distinguished himself as a reformer of the printing abuses. Mr. Clopton has always been a State Rights man, and a believer in the reserved power of secession as the only remedy of sectional differences. "We do not desire war," said he, in a speech delivered during the struggle for the Speakership of the Thirty-sixth Congress; "the policy of the South would be peace. But whenever this Government, in the opinion of the Southern people, shall have failed to accomplish the ends for which it was instituted, the Southern States, exercising their right, will abolish it, and institute a new Government, laying its foundation in such principles, and organizing it in such forms, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Whenever they see proper to exercise these rights, then, if war comes it must come from the North. If war must come, let it come."

	Bydenham Moore, the Representative from the Greensborough District, was born in Rutherford County, Tennessee. When he was a lad his parents removed to Alabama, where he received an academical education, and afterward completed his studies at the State University. Studying law, he was admitted to the bar, and was in a short time appointed Judge of the Green County Court, where he presided for six years, when he was transferred to the bench of the Circuit Court. No sooner were volunteers called for to reinforce General Taylor, after his gallant victories at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, than Alabama hastened to tender a regiment of mounted volunteers, which was mustered into service in June, 1846. Mr. Moore was captain of one of the first raised companies, and served a twelvemonth on the Rio Grande, and subsequently in Scott's forces at Vera Cruz, Alvarado, Tampico, and Jalapa. On his return in 1847, he was elected Brigadier-General of Militia; and in 1857 he was elected to Congress, where he has taken a rather conservative course, and been a valuable "working member" of the Committee on the Library. When closed by a Northern member among the fire-eaters, or disunionists, he said, in the course of some extended remarks, the next day: "I do not profess to belong to the class of disunionists, if there be such a class in the South, who desire disunion of itself. I come from a State which is, and has at all times been, loyal to the Constitution, but which will be as ready to take ground for a disruption of this Union, in case the rights guaranteed to us under the Constitution are infringed, as any State in the Union."

	George S. Houston, the Representative from the Athens district, is one of the most prominent members of the House, where his commanding form and stentorian voice are always to be seen and heard when an attempt is made to smuggle through appropriations not strictly constitutional or economical. He also is a Tennessean by birth, but has resided near his present home since his boyhood, occupying a high position at the bar, and having repeatedly been honored with local and State offices. He was first elected a Representative to Congress in 1841, and has served since, with the exception of the Thirty-first Congress. This long service has rendered Mr. Houston perfectly familiar with "parliamentary tactics," and given him a commanding position as a party-leader, in whose honesty, devotion to the principle, and inflexible hostility to the schemes of the lobby, all have confidence. While acknowledging the importance and magnitude of the questions growing out of African slavery, he has taken a great interest in the tariff and other practical issues, and has steadfastly opposed extravagant expenditures.

	Williamson R. W. Cobb, who represents the most populous district in Alabama, was born in Ray County, Tennessee, in 1807, and the next year was taken by his parents to his present residence in Madison County, where he was brought up on a farm, receiving a good common-school education. In 1845 he was elected to the State Legislature, and at the close of his term, in 1847, was elected to the National House of Representatives, where he has since served, and has now become the "senior member." During this long term of service he has ever taken the part of "the people;" and to him the soldiers of the Mexican war should be grateful for the Bounty Land Bill of 1850. He also "engineered" the Graduation Bill of 1854, with other important measures calculated to benefit the laboring classes; but he has been pre-eminent as an advocate of the Union. In 1849 he introduced a series of resolutions into the House that were the first steps toward the compromise of the ensuing year; and since then it has been his boast that he has, to his own words, "battled against the wildest fanaticism of disunion sentiments, and -thank God!-triumphed."

	Jabez L. M. Curry, the Representative from the Talladega District, was born in Lincoln County, Georgia, June 5, 1825, and removed with his father to his present residence in 1838. After graduating at the University of Chicago, in 1843, he went to Harvard College, where he went through a course of legal studies, and after receiving his diploma returned to Alabama, where he at once entered upon an extensive practice. When the war with Mexico began, in 1846, he joined the Texan Rangers, but was forced to return on account of ill health; and was the following year elected to the State Legislature, to which he was re-elected in 1853 and in 1855. In 1857 he was elected to Congress, where he has taken a commanding position as a statesman and as an orator. Nature has endowed him with a mind so active that he can apparently discover, by a glance so rapid as to seem intuition, those truths which common capacities struggle hard to comprehend, while his genius enables him to enforce by argument, and his accomplishments to illustrate, those topics upon which he addresses the House. While he believes that each State "has the right of secession, the right of interposition for the arrest of evils within its limits," and while he boldly asserts the sovereignty of the State to which he owes his "first and last allegiance," he has never failed to recognize "the true and loyal men in Congress, and in the North, who are ready to lock shields with the South in defense of the Constitution and the Union, which is its creature; and to hope that, in the irrepressible conflict which may be here or elsewhere, they may be able to rescue the Constitution of our country from the polluting touch of those who would destroy it".

	Alabama's political leaders' duty was not finished with the end of the War Between the States. Henry Killen sent the following passage to the Confederate Veteran. In 1903 Rep. Henry Killen made an eloquent plea for $l00,000. to be appropriated to Alabama's Confederate veterans. That passage is quoted to show that Alabama's leaders maintained their support of the veterans who fought for the principles outlined by its Secession Delegation. The Hon. Henry A. Killen was the Widow Rumble's 3rd great uncle.

	"A Comrade sends a photograph of six brothers, all of whom served in the Confederate Army and who are yet living and in fair health, with notes by H. A. Killen of Green Hill, Ala. Dunkin, Dan, and I volunteered 6 Oct., 1861 in Company E, 27th Ala. Reg. Our service began at Fort Henry. We were next at Corinth, and after that went through the campaign in Kentucky under Gen. Bragg. We were afterwards at Pt. Hudson. We were there the night of that terrific bombardment in which the "Mississippi", a noted Federal gunboat was destroyed by our hot-shot battery on the river bank. We were in the battle of Baker's Creek, Miss., and escaped capture by passing out at night through a swamp. We were also in the seige of Jackson, Miss., after which we were sent to North Ala. to recruit. While in the service we crossed the Tennessee River and captured a company of the Ninth Ohio Regiment. Going next to Georgia, we joined the Army of Tennessee at Resaca. We were in the beginning of that battle, and afterwards participated in many of the engagements of that 'hundred days fighting.' We next went to Nashville in Hood's Army. On the retreat my two brothers were left on picket duty at Duck River. The pontoon was taken up, and 'Dunk' lay under the bluff three days, and the only food he had was an ear of corn. He finally escaped by wading a creek at night. I was the only member of my company in the battle of Bentonville, and there were but seven of the regiment in the surrender there. Tom and Jackson were in Forrest's Cavalry; I do not know the regiment. They were in several engagements. Robert was just old enough to enlist in the latter part of the war, but was not in any of the battles. I was promoted from a private to Lieutenant, and commanded the company much of the time, as my captain was on detached service. None of the six were wounded or in the hospital. Tom was captured and imprisoned at Rock Island".

	Note: Andrew Jackson Killen served in the llth Ala. Cav., and his brother, Thomas, served in the 9th Ala. Cav.

	The Florence Times carried the following article on 27 Feb., 1903. "MR. KILLEN'S SPEECH. In Behalf of the Old Confederate Soldiers. A PATHETIC SCENE IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. On Saturday last during the consideration of the bill in the House of Representatives appropriating an additional $l00,000. for the old soldiers, Hon. Henry A. Killen made the closing speech, which is given in the Advertiser as follows: Mr. Killen of Lauderdale closed the discussion of the measure. He made an earnest, eloquent plea for his old comrades and he drew a moving picture of the hardship amounting almost to starvation that faced the returned Confederate soldier, his wife, and his children at the close of the war. He told of the acute and desperate suffering of the people of North Alabama living in the Tennessee Valley who had been harrassed by Confederates and Federal soldiers and who had been the particular prey of the Federal soldiers as the war neared its end. He described his mother meeting him at the door after a Federal raid and exclaiming: 'They have taken all I have-all. I have nothing to feed my children on. There is nothing for us to do but starve.' At the recollection of her suffering Mr. Killen's emotion overpowered him. The tears streamed down his face, his voice failed, and he sank into his seat saying, 'Excuse me, gentlemen, I can't finish'. There was a moment's silence as Mr. Killen covered his face with his hand, and then his associates in the House gave him an earnest round of sympathetic applause."

	Alabama's veterans desperately needed the money that was appropriated for their welfare and Widow Rumble and family are proud of their ancestor's efforts to relieve their suffering.