USA > Alabama > Reminiscences of public men in Alabama : for thirty years, with an appendix > Part 29
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From this special act, it appears that Mr. J. A. Campbell had not completed his twenty-first year in 1829. Soon afterward, he removed to Montgomery, Alabama, where he was at once success-
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ful in his profession. Indeed, his great ability and devotion to business would have commanded public attention and patronage anywhere. In 1836, he was elected a Representative in the Legis- lature, and at the called session of June, 1837, he was a warm advocate of the relief measures then adopted-of borrowing five millions on the bonds of the State, and placing the amonnt in the State Bank and Branches, to be loaned out to those who were pressed by judgments and executions, as the preferred class of debtors, on their executing good and responsible paper, subject to curtailment and renewal, so as to make the payments with as little hardship as possible. He predicated his support of the measure on the agricultural resources of the State, from official data, show- ing, in his argument, that by the time the bonds became due, the people could refund the money loaned, by the sale of their crops, and the interest, in the meantime, over that accruing on the bonds, would be a gain to the State.
This method of stating the question was very plausible, and was very honestly urged. It captivated the majority in the Legis- lature, and was heartily approved by the people, who expected large benefits from the operation. But when the time arrived for the practical results to be ascertained, no one was more thoroughly convinced of the failure of the experiment than Mr. Campbell himself, whose able and luminous reports, as Chairman of the Bank Committee, will prove. These documents have an imper- ishable value, and are given at length in a preceding chapter, for general information. The space could not be better filled.
The rank to which Mr. Campbell is entitled as a debater is the very highest that can be attained in any deliberative body. In saying this, it is perhaps necessary to remark, that his manner, his voice, or the music of his periods, form no part of his great supe- riority over other men. These secondary, yet attractive, qualities he did not possess to any remarkable extent; but whenever he figured in debate, an atmosphere of intellect and logic seemed to invest him as a halo of distinction. His facts were stated in such a natural order and connection, that, like the summing up of a record by Chief Justice Marshall, the truth was at once eliminated for the judgment. What Mr. Wilde, of Georgia, beautifully said of Mr. Lowndes, of South Carolina, in Congress, may be justly applied to Mr. Campbell, in "that passionless, unclouded intellect which rendered him deserving of the praise-if ever man deserved it-of merely standing by, and letting reason argue for him."
It is not necessary to dwell further on the character of Mr. Campbell as a legislator. His short record is triumphant. His still higher rank as a jurist led to his appointment, in 1853, by President Pierce, of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, which was unanimously confirmed by the Sen-
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ate. In this exalted position he continued until 1861, and by his influence he sought from Mr. Seward, the Secretary of State, a hearing for the Commissioners of the Confederate States, who had visited Washington with authority and instructions, to propose an amicable adjustment, on terms of equity, of the difficulties then about to assume a belligerent aspect between the Northern and Southern States. The interview between Judge Campbell and Mr. Seward gave encouragement to the hope, so reasonably enter- tained at the South, that the Commissioners would be received by President Lincoln, and the whole matter fairly considered, with a view to preserve the peaceful relations of the country. Intima- tions had been given by Mr. Seward to Judge Campbell, that the United States garrison at Fort Sumter would be withdrawn, or that at least no attempt would be made to supply it with provis- ions in a defiant or insulting manner. This assurance was com- municated by the mutual friend, who desired to effect an accom- modation, to Messrs. Forsyth, of Alabama, Roman, of Louisiana, and Crawford, of Georgia, the Confederate Commissioners, who notified the same to their Government at Montgomery. At this particular crisis, in violation of an express or implied pledge, a steamer was dispatched by Mr. Lincoln, to provision the troops at Fort Sumter, and otherwise to strengthen the garrison for defense. This fact was notified by the Commissioners to President Davis, by telegraph, on the 10th of April, and orders were immediately issued to Gen. Beauregard which resulted in the first gun against Fort Sumter. Finding that his efforts had been in vain-that he had been trifled with by Mr. Seward, and that hostilities had com- menced by the proclamation of Mr. Lincoln, of 15th April, calling for 75,000 men to bring the rebel States back to their allegiance- Judge Campbell resigned his seat on the bench of the Supreme Court, to share the fortunes of his native South, for weal or woe.
Judge Campbell was afterward appointed Assistant Secretary of War under the administration of President Davis, in which capacity he was serving his country when the Confederate armies surren- dered in 1865. He then resumed the practice of the law, and now resides in New Orleans, with lucrative employment, it is hoped-for he stands at the very head of his profession. I seri- ously question whether his superior as a jurist is to be found in the United States. His moral character is no less elevated and pure, and in all the relations of life, he has been exemplary and upright. May happiness and prosperity attend him in all the future.
To those who are not personally intimate with Judge Campbell, he appears cold, distant, and reserved in his manners. That is the general impression, which I once shared. But I have since had better opportunities of finding out his true character, and candor
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obliges me to confess that I have listened to his conversation with more pleasure and profit, than to that of any gentleman whose soci- ety it has been my privilege to enjoy. His knowledge seems uni- versal, and minutely accurate. Taking up any subject in history- political, commercial, scientific, or literary-he gives the origin, progress, and consummation of the whole, with the clearness of statement and inference which no mind can fail to appreciate. In fact, I regard Judge Campbell as second to no man in the United States, intellectually. My reasons for this belief have, in part, been assigned, but as a further addition to them would necessarily extend this notice to a length incompatible with the brevity I de- sire to practice in these sketches, I must forego the attempt.
6. JAMES M. CALHOUN, of Dallas, a native of South Carolina, is a nephew of the Hon. John C. Calhoun, who has rendered the family name immortal. After reaching manhood, Mr. J. M. Cal- houn removed to Alabama, and settled in Dallas county, where he married a daughter of Gov. Israel Pickens. This connection secured in his favor a large influence, which, in addition to his own talents, soon gave him a commanding position. He had studied law in Carolina, but he seems to have abandoned the legal profession to engage extensively in planting.
In 1831, Mr. Calhoun was elected a member of the House from Dallas, and probably for several years succeeding he was reëlected, as my acquaintance with him began at the session of 1837, when he was then a Representative. I shall never forget how utterly disappointed I was in relation to his personal appearance. From his high name and position, I imagined him to be a gentleman very punctilious and dignified in his manners, and neat in his dress, verging on fashionable gentility, as became his rank. When I did see him, the man of flesh and blood, and not of the imagin- ation, I found clad in a plain garb of homespun jeans, simple and unpretending in his manners, accessible to all, and pleasantly com- municative.
At the session of 1837, Mr. Calhoun took an active part in the Bank and currency questions, and cooperated successfully with Judge Smith, of Madison, in the repeal of the law passed at the called session, authorizing the issue of State bonds to the amount of five millions of dollars. Like his distinguished relative, he be- longed to the State Rights school of politics, and like him came into cooperation with the Democratic party upon the financial policy of Mr. Van Buren.
In 1838, Mr. Calhoun succeeded Mr. Beene, and upon the meeting of the Legislature was unanimously elected President of the Senate, over which he presided with his usual ability. At the end of the session of 1839-'40, he retired until 1842, when he
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was again returned to the House. He then withdrew from Legis- Jative service for fifteen years, and engaged more assiduously in planting.
In 1847, Mr. Calhoun was appointed, by Gov. Martin, a Com- missioner on the part of Alabama, to act with James T. Archer, Esq., the Commissioner for the State of Florida, to settle the boundary line between the two States, which duty he performed in a skillful and faithful manner, thus putting permanently at rest a long mooted question, to the entire satisfaction of the General Assembly.
Mr. Calhoun was again elected to the Senate, in 1857, 1859, and 1861, and on the resignation of R. M. Patton, Esq., as presid- ing officer, he was again called to that position. Since then, he has been in retirement on his farm, in Dallas county, enjoying the universal respect of his fellow-citizens.
Before concluding this brief notice of a gentleman of remarka- ble individuality of character, it may be added that his powers in debate enabled him to present any question, stripped of false col- oring, and to explain it in the true spirit of statesmanship, until conviction was apt to follow in the minds of others. He some- what impaired his influence in the House, at the session of 1842, by being too frequently on the floor, and in opposing many local measures. His eye wandered over the entire assembly to catch what was passing, and he often made motions to lay on the table, or to refer, which gave offense in many instances, and rendered him unpopular with some of his fellow-members. For this, how- ever, he cared not, when in the discharge of what he conceived to be a public duty.
7. CLEMENT C. CLAY, Jr., of Madison, entered the public arena for the first time, as a member of the House, at this session. He was, for awhile, a student in the University of Alabama, but, for some cause, he completed his collegiate course, it is believed, in an institution of Virginia.
Early in the session of 1842, he offered resolutions instructing our Senators and Representatives in Congress to vote for the bill refunding to Gen. Jackson the amount of the fine imposed upon him by Judge Hall, at New Orleans, in 1815, for establishing martial law in the city, under which the Judge was imprisoned by the commanding general, for discharging, on habeas corpus, a mem- ber of the Louisiana Legislature who had been detected in hold- ing secret communications with the enemy, and committed to prison by Gen. Jackson. The bill was introduced in Congress by Mr. Charles Jared Ingersoll, of Pennsylvania, and passed at the session of 1843, whereby the fine of $1,000, with interest, making, in all, about $3,000, was refunded to the venerable hero, as a long
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deferred act of justice. The speech of Mr. Clay in support of his resolutions, was a beautiful effort in style and elocution. It showed what was in him, and his long public course since has more than justified the anticipations of his friends at this early period.
An event in the life of Mr. Clay took place during this session, which may be mentioned as contributing much to his future hap- piness, and no doubt to his great popularity and success. In Feb- ruary, 1843, his marriage, with Miss Virginia Tunstall, was cele- brated by a wedding party, and by preparations at the residence of Chief Justice Collier, in Tuskaloosa, which had never been equalled on any similar occasion in that city. The Rev. Thomas H. Capers officiated in the nuptial ceremony. Most of the members of the Legislature, and many citizens, were pres- ent as invited guests. The bride was the daughter of Dr. Peyton Tunstall, formerly of Virginia, and a near relative of Mrs. Collier. At another point of this narrative, I shall again refer to the bride as a moral heroine, after she had been more than twenty years a wife.
Mr. Clay was again returned to the House in 1844 and 1845, and at the last session was elected Judge of the County Court of Madison county, an office which he held until the election of that class of officers was given to the people by act of the Legislature, in 1850. In 1853, he opposed Mr. Cobb for Congress, in the Huntsville District, and was beaten by that indomitable canvasser. But higher honors awaited Mr. Clay than his competitor snatched from him by means not necessary here to characterize. At the next session of the Legislature, he was elected a Senator in Congress for a term of six years, to succeed Mr. Clemens. The circum- stance is worthy of note, that Mr. Cobb defeated, before the peo- ple, two of Alabama's most gifted sons, each of whom, at the next session of the Legislature was elected to the United States Senate, viz: Mr. Clemens, in 1849, and Mr. Clay, in 1853. It is said that Mr. Cobb was proud of this fact, and exultingly pointed to the distinguished Senators whom he had beaten for a seat in the House.
Mr. Clay was continued in the Senate by reelection, and was at all times an efficient and useful member of that body, often engaging in debate, as will appear by reference to the "Congressional Globe," where his speeches are reported. After a number of the Southern States had passed ordinances of Secession, the delega- tion in Congress from the Southern States withdrew from that body, as a matter of course. On this occasion, Mr. Clay deliv- ered a speech of great power-reviewing the controversy between the North and South, and bidding his brother Senators farewell- in January, 1861.
Upon the organization of the Confederate States Government, a
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few months thereafter, Mr. Clay was elected a Senator, and was a member of the first Senate forming a part of that Government, until 1863, when he was superceded by the Hon. Richard W. Walker. After his connection with the Senate ceased, he was appointed to a foreign diplomatic agency, with a colleague from Virginia. .
Soon after President Lincoln was assassinated in the Washing- ton Theatre, April 14, 1865, his successor issued a proclamation, charging that Jefferson Davis, Clement C. Clay, Jr., and three or four other gentlemen, were accessory to the murder, as aiding and abetting the same, and offering a reward of $100,000 for the arrest and delivery of Mr. Davis, and $25,000 each for the deliv- ery of Mr. Clay and the other parties named. This document soon put Northern officers and soldiers on the trail of so tempting a prize, and after a week or two Mr. Davis and suite were captured in Irwin county, Georgia, and brought to Augusta, where a steamer awaited to take them to Hilton Head, not as prisoners of war, but as criminals. On seeing the proclamation, Mr. Clay reported to the military commander, and surrendered himself for an investigation of the charge, thus saving the expense and trouble of his arrest. He was taken to Augusta, and placed on the same boat with the President of the Confederate States, both of whom were confined in Fortress Monroe. For a glimpse at their captivity, the reader is referred to the "Prison Life," of Jefferson Davis, by Dr. Craven, the Federal Surgeon in, charge.
Here Mrs. Clay should be introduced, for the noble part she acted in procuring the liberation of her husband, after toils and . buffetings which would have crushed a less heroic and devoted woman. Interviews with the President and Secretary of War at length succeeded-after months of incarceration in a dark cell, which nearly cost him his life-in placing Mr. Clay at the disposal of his angelic wife. The scene was morally grand. Romance can furnish nothing superior to it in firmness, constancy, and affection.
Neither Mr. Davis, nor Mr. Clay, nor any one of their "so- called" confederates in crime, was ever brought to trial; nor was there any proceeding in court, or elsewhere, at the instance of the Federal Government, to establish the complicity alleged in the proclamation. It was all a fanatical movement from beginning to end, to pander to fanatical malignity, which resulted in the ex- penditure of large sums of money, to be paid in taxes by the people, without even a shadow of excuse for the tyranny em- ployed as the instrument of so much wrong.
Mr. Clay, physically, is a feeble man, and from boyhood, his health has always been delicate. That he has accomplished so much, and suffered so much for his country, shows the power of
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will and a determined resolution, much to his praise. He is still in the meridian of life, and resides on his plantation in Jackson county, happier, it may be, than when immersed in public em- ployments. He is a native Alabamian.
8. THOMAS B. COOPER, of Cherokee, is, if I mistake not, a South Carolinian, and settled in Alabama about the year 1834, making Cherokee his residence, and the law his profession. He was a Whig, and the county being largely Democratic, it is very complimentary to his ability and popularity, that he should have succeeded, not only in 1842, but at various other times, over gen- tlemen belonging to the Democratic party. He was a member of the House in 1844, 1849, 1851, 1863-'4, and 1865-'6. In 1860, Mr. Cooper allied himself with the National Democratic party from purely patriotic motives, and was a delegate to the Charles- ton and Baltimore Conventions. He voted for Mr. Douglas for President, and H. V. Johnson for Vice-President.
In September, 1865, he was elected to a seat in the Convention which framed the Constitution of that year. He was elected a member of the House soon thereafter, and in the organization of the Legislature, he was chosen Speaker of the House, in which capacity he served through two sessions.
Mr. Cooper has had a long and successful course in public life, the more distinguished because he was elected by a constituency opposed to him on the political questions of the day. The secret of this success was, mainly, in the faithful manner in which he served the interests of the people, in securing every advantage possible for their obtaining homes upon the most favorable terms, an instance of which is given elsewhere in this volume. His good nature, and kind disposition toward his fellow-men, and his uni- formly accommodating spirit, added no little to the advantages he possessed in his intercourse with the people. His business quali- ties were good, and he was active and skillful in the forms of leg- islation. Many of his friends kindly doubted, after his term as Speaker, if he would not have made more character on the floor than in the chair.
Mr. Cooper still resides in Cherokee, and never permits an occasion to pass without aiding in some way, by word or purse, his fellow-beings who need help. His sympathies are tender, and easily enlisted. Thus far his record is a bright one, and there is no reason to apprehend that its pages will be obscured by any act in the future.
9. WILLIAM D. DUNN, of Mobile, was from Tennessee-a Whig in politics, and a member of the House at the sessions of 1842, 1843, and 1844. In 1845, he was a candidate for Congress in the
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Mobile District, and was beaten by Judge Dargan. If I mistake not, this ended his connection with public life. He has since devoted himself more exclusively to the practice of the law, and to the management of his large estates. He labored under some physical infirmity, which had a depressing influence on his mind, and on his taste for social enjoyments.
Col. Dunn was something of an intellectual giant in debate. When fully penetrated with his subject, he rose to considerable heights in argumentation, presenting masterly views, in a manner not unworthy of the fame of Charles James Fox, in the British Parliament, as an orator. He was massive in his statements, and cogent in the exposition. Next to his colleague, Mr. Campbell, he was regarded as the most powerful debater on the floor of the House. At the Bar, he was eminently successful, and in all his relations to society, he was the model of a high-toned gentleman. He still resides in Mobile.
10. DR. SAMUEL S. EARLE, of Jefferson, was a member of the House in 1838, and again in 1839. The condition of the country, and his acknowledged efficiency in legislation, brought him for- ward in 1842, and he took a decided interest in the measures acted upon during the session. After this, he declined all public employ- ments. Until his death, in January, 1871, he continued to reside at Elyton, among the people who honored him with their confi- dence more than thirty years ago. This was more to his credit, as testifying his individual worth, from the fact that he, a Whig, resided in a county which had a decided Democratic majority.
Dr. Earle was a native of South Carolina, where he was highly educated. He was modest, and seldom addressed the House; but when he thought proper to occupy its attention on any subject, he was heard with great respect. His voice was pleasant, his style that of a mature scholar, and his views were sensible, and always to the point. It was much regretted that he had not more fre- quently engaged in debate, as he would, no doubt, have rendered valuable assistance on important questions, and would thereby have secured to himself more reputation in a legislative capacity.
In addition to his fine literary taste, he possessed considerable skill in drawing, and often amused himself at his desk by sketch- ing the likenesses of members while on the floor, or in other respects showing their peculiarities, which were faithfully repre- sented. Somewhat reserved in his manners, and always unobtru- sive, his fine social qualities were not generally understood. His passion for reading absorbed most of his leisure, and cut him off from that free and genial intercourse with his fellow-members which most of them delighted to cultivate. In all respects, and at all times, whether in public or in private life, Dr. Earle was a
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high-toned and upright gentleman, and his memory will ever be held in the highest respect.
11. ELBERT H. ENGLISH, of Limestone, was first elected to the House in 1839, and again in 1842, which latter session closed his legislative experience in Alabama. His intellect was of a very respectable order, and his legal attainments considerable, though both were veiled by a modesty little short of the most embarrass- ing diffidence whenever he attempted to address the House. But his foundation was solid, and upon this he has since established a character in another State, of which his friends in Alabama may well be proud.
Not long after the session of 1842, Mr. English removed to Arkansas, and settled at Little Rock, to pursue his profession. He first compiled a Digest of the Laws of the State, in which he displayed such method and business capacity, together with exten- sive legal knowledge, that he was soon elected to the bench of the Supreme Court-a station which he continued to adorn until the late troubles between the North and South. Judge English was, before he left Alabama, an exemplary Christian, and a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
12. JOHN ERWIN, of Greene, was a native of Kentucky, and came to Alabama in quest of fortune in his young manhood, and settled in Greene county as an attorney at law. He was indus- trious, and devoted to the interest of his clients, and in due time he obtained a large and lucrative practice, and rose to the head of his profession. He was several times elected to the Senate, of which body he was elected President in 1833. When I first knew him, he was a member of the House in 1837. He was again elected in 1842, which closed his legislative career. At this ses- sion, he was elected Speaker of the House, and made a good pre- siding officer.
In 1845, he opposed Mr. Payne for Congress, but was defeated. In 1851, he was again a candidate in opposition to Judge William R. Smith, both Democrats. The contest was animated, and great exertions were made by the friends of each candidate; but Judge Smith prevailed by a few votes majority.
The friends of Col. Erwin, on several occasions, presented his name for nomination for the Executive chair, but without success. He was a delegate to the Convention at Charleston in 1860, and represented Alabama in the Committee on the "Platform." He was also at Baltimore in attendance upon the Convention that nominated Mr. Breckinridge for the Presidency.
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