John Letcher

For his son, the American academic, seeJohn D. Letcher.For Australian footballer, seeJohn Letcher (footballer).

John Letcher
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's11thdistrict
In office March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853
Preceded by	James McDowell
Succeeded by	John F. Snodgrass
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's9thdistrict
In office March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1859
Preceded by	James F. Strother
Succeeded by	John T. Harris
34thGovernor of Virginia
In office January 1, 1860 – January 1, 1864 (disputed from 1861)
Lieutenant	Robert Latane Montague
Preceded by	Henry A. Wise
Succeeded by	William Smith(Confederate) Francis Pierpont(Unionist)
Member of theVirginia General Assembly
In office 1875–1877
Personal details
Born	(1813-03-29)March 29, 1813 Lexington, Virginia,U.S.
Died	January 26, 1884(1884-01-26)(aged 70) Virginia,U.S.
Resting place	Oak Grove Cemetery Lexington, Virginia
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Susan Holt
Children	John,Greenlee
Profession	Politician, Lawyer, Journalist

John Letcher(March 29, 1813 – January 26, 1884) was an American lawyer, journalist, and politician. He served as a Representative in theUnited States Congress,was the34thGovernor of Virginiaduring theAmerican Civil War,and later served in theVirginia General Assembly.He was also active on the Board of Visitors ofVirginia Military Institute.

Biography

Early life

John Letcher was born in the town ofLexingtoninRockbridge County, Virginia.He attended private rural schools andRandolph-Macon CollegeinBoydton, Virginia(later relocated toAshland, Virginia). In 1833, he graduated fromWashington Academyin Lexington. He studied law, was admitted to the Virginia State Bar, and opened a practice in Lexington in 1839.

Career

Letcher was editor of the (Shenandoah)Valley Starnewspaper from 1840 to 1850. He was active in the presidential campaigns of 1840, 1844, and 1848, serving as a Democratic elector in 1848. Although never a trueabolitionist,he signed the Ruffner Pamphlet of 1847, which proposed the abolition ofslaveryin that part of Virginia west of theBlue Ridge Mountains;however, he soon repudiated this antislavery stand. He was a delegate to theVirginia Constitutional Convention of 1850.

He was elected as a Democratic candidate and served as a Representative in theUnited States Congressfrom 1851 to 1859. In Congress, he was known as "Honest John" because of his opposition to government extravagance.

American Civil War

John Letcher was elected as Governor of Virginia in 1859, defeatingWhigcandidateWilliam L. Goggin,and served from 1860 to 1864:

In accepting the nomination he states "in language distinct and emphatic, that he regards the institution of slavery, existing in Virginia and other slave States, as morally, socially and politically right." Years ago Mr. Letcher was less decided in his convictions as to the blessings of slavery. He is even charged with having been an abolitionist.

Letcher was prominent in the organization of thePeace Conference of 1861that met in Washington, D.C., on February 8, 1861, to devise means to prevent the impendingAmerican Civil War.He discouraged secession but actively sustained the ordinance passed by Virginia on April 17, 1861. Despite scheduling a popular vote to determine whether Virginia would declare secession from the United States, ultimately, the actions of theVirginia Secession Convention of 1861and the state government, especially Letcher, effectively led Virginia to declare secession from the United States.The referendum occurred on May 23, 1861, and Virginia voters overwhelmingly approved the Articles of Secession.Letcher appointedRobert E. Lee,who had just resigned as acolonelin the U.S. Army, as commander in chief of Virginia's army and navy forces on April 22, 1861, at the grade ofmajor general.On April 24, 1861, Virginia and the Confederate States agreed that the Virginia forces would be under the overall direction ofConfederate PresidentJefferson Davis,pending completion of the process of Virginia joining the Confederate States.

ColonelJohn Brown Baldwindefeated Letcher in May 1863 for a seat in theSecond Confederate Congress.In 1864, his home in Lexington was burned byUniontroops during GeneralDavid Hunter's raid.

Postwar

The tomb of John Letcher at Oak Grove Cemetery (Lexington)

After the Civil War, Letcher resumed the practice of law in Lexington. He was elected as a member of the House of Delegates in theVirginia General Assembly1875–1877. He was a member of the Board of Visitors of theVirginia Military Institute(VMI) 1866–1880 and served as president of the Board for ten years.

He died on January 26, 1884, at the age of 70, and was interred in the Presbyterian Cemetery (nowOak Grove Cemetery) at Lexington, Virginia.

Electoral history

1859– Letcher was elected Governor of Virginia, defeating American William Leftwich Goggin.

Family

Letcher's son,John Davidson Letcher,was a professor atOregon State University,serving as acting president from January 1892 to June 1892. His sonGreenlee D. Letcherserved two terms in theVirginia House of Delegates. Governor Letcher had a daughter, Lizzie, who married James Harrison, a language professor at Washington and Lee and later head of the Romance and Teutonic Language Department at the University of Virginia after 1895.

References

Books

• Boney, F.N. (1966)John Letcher of Virginia; The Story of Virginia’s Civil War Governor.University, Ala.: University of Alabama Press, 1966.
• Long, E. B.The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861–1865.Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971.OCLC68283123

Websites

• John Letcher in Union or Secession: Virginians Decideat theLibrary of Virginia
• John Letcher inEncyclopedia Virginia
• US Congressional Biographies Online website
• Info Please article

External links

• A Guide to the Executive Papers of Governor John Letcher, 1859–1863atThe Library of Virginia