USA > Alabama > Reminiscences of public men in Alabama : for thirty years, with an appendix > Part 68
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87
He still resides at Montgomery, and is engaged in the practice of the law, being a member of the very able legal firm of Stone, Clopton & Clanton. No citizen of Alabama has a stronger hold on the confidence of the people, and no one has a brighter prospect of usefulness, to crown his labors for the public good.
634
Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabamai
DEATH OF GENERAL CLANTON.
Since the foregoing sketch was written, the life of this distin- guished gentleman was terminated in a tragical manner, at Knox- ville, Tennessee, on 27th September, 1871. His remains were brought to Montgomery, where they lay in state at the Capitol, and were visited by a multitude computed at ten thousand per- sons. The Mayor and Aldermen adopted proceedings suitable to the occasion. A public meeting of the citizens was held, and every demonstration of respect was paid to his memory. Colonel Joseph Hodgson pronounced an eloquent eulogy on the character and public services of the deceased. The funeral procession was the largest ever seen in the State. Numerous public meetings were held throughout Alabama, and Town Councils united in paying tribute to his memory.
At a meeting held by the Montgomery Bar, the following reso- lutions were unanimously adopted :
Resolved, That as members of the Bar we can but express our deepest sorrow at the unexpected death of our brother, Gen. James H. Clanton. He was a law- yer of rare gifts-enthusiastic in the pursuit of whatever was right, and marking and adorning, with the highest sense of professional honor, his intercourse with his brethren. He had attained an enviable reputation, both as an advocate and counsellor. His past success, so brilliant in its nature, gave promise of a full measure of professional renown and prosperity. His sudden death forcibly teaches us "what shadows we are-what shadows we pursue."
Resolved, One great merit, crowning merit of the many great merits of our de- ceased brother, was that there was nothing negative in his character. Wherever right led, he was always ready, willing and anxious to follow, and did follow with all the force and impulse of an energetic nature; and in pursuing and carrying out his conscientious convictions of right, no danger could deter nor obstacle retard.
Resolved, Our deceased brother was devotedly and sincerely patriotic; he loved his native land and his State, and there was no sacrifice, however great in its nature, that he would hesitate to make in behalf of either.
Resolved, His whole-hearted, unwavering devotion to truth, right, friends and country, together with his acknowledged ability in maintaining the cause which his judgment approved, gave him a large space in the public eye, and a warm reception in the affections and hearts of his countrymen.
Resolved, Possessed of the highest generosity and benevolence for the suffering and afflicted-of an indomitable courage under all circumstances-of sincere devotion and adherence to truth, utter detestation of falsehood-he was the em- bodiment of the noblest and purest type of true manhood.
Resolved, We condole with his bereaved family, tender them our sympathies, give our sanction and bestow our encouragement on all measures for their relief.
Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be presented to the Circuit, City and Chancery Courts of this county, by a Committee of five, to be appointed by the Chairman; and that each of said Courts be requested to spread said resolutions upon its minutes.
The Chairman, in conformity to the resolutions, appointed the following gentle- men to constitute said Committee: Judge A. J. Walker, Chairman; ex-Gov. T. H. Watts, Col. M. D. Graham, Col. J. W. A. Sanford, and Col. D. S. Troy.
On motion, the meeting adjourned sine die.
DAVID CLOPTON, Chairman.
C. R. HUBBARD, Secretary.
635
Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama.
From the Montgomery "Mail and Advertiser," of November 23d, the following extract is subjoined :
In the United States District Court, Judge Busteed presiding, proceedings were had yesterday relative to the death of our late esteemed and distinguished towns- man, Gen. James H. Clanton. Soon after the opening of the Court, Judge A. J. Walker stated that he was deputized by the Bar of Montgomery to present to the Court the resolutions of that body upon the subject of General Clanton's decease, and read them to the Court. These we have heretofore published.
,
Judge Walker suggested that members of the Bar of other parts of the District than Montgomery respond to the motion which he had submitted, and Gen. John T. Morgan, of Selma, seconded Judge Walker's motion in a speech replete with the deepest feeling, and more than even his accustomed eloquence ; after which, Judge Busteed said in reply :
"My own grief at the untimely death of General Clanton is too fresh to admit of my making any extended remarks on this occasion, notwithstanding that I fully anticipated this motion would be made. The deceased was my personal friend, and his loss is a personal bereavement. James H. Clanton was not an ordi- nary man. In all his relations to society, he was distinguished. Rugged hon- esty, peerless bravery, unfaltering loyalty, fidelity to friends, and generosity to foes, were the constituent elements of his being. He was full of the qualities which make men good, and of his failings it may truthfully be said, 'they leaned to virtue's side.' Such a man is great, for it is in these qualities that greatness rests. It is sad to think his voice shall never more be heard by us-inexpressibly sad that the grave hides him forever from our mortal companionship !
' Sweet in manners, fair in favor, Soft in temper, fierce in fight ; Lawyer nobler, warrior braver, Never shall behold the light.'
"Let the resolutions be entered at once upon the minutes, and as a further mark of respect for our deceased brother, this Court will now adjourn until to- morrow morning."
On 21st November, 1871, Governor Lindsay transmitted his annual message to the Legislature, in which he thus alludes to Gen. Clanton :
From the very first instant of my struggle with the Alabama and Chattanooga Railroad to the sad and melancholy hour of his death, I was strengthened by the advice and determination of the noble and lamented Clanton. Faithful, zealous and unselfish in his devotion to Alabama, with an unwavering fortitude, he labored to promote her interests; and shrinking from no sacrifice, he ever sought to vin- dicate her honor. It is a reflection of mingled sorrow and pleasure that my course received the co-operation and sanction of such a generous and earnest patriot. Remote from home when he perished, and in the service of the State, no admoni- tion from me is necessary to prompt the General Assembly to render a just tribute to his memory, and an adequate recompense to his bereaved family.
In the House of Representatives, November 23d, the following proceedings were had :
Mr. Lowe, from the Special Committee on that part of the Governor's message relating to the services and death of the late General James H. Clanton, reported the following series of resolutions :
Be it Resovlved, That the House of Representatives of the State of Alabama has received, with sincere and profound sensibility, the intelligence of the death of
636
Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama.
Gen. James Holt Clanton-a statesman without guile, a soldier without fear, and a citizen, in every respect, of the most noble and exemplary character.
Resolved, That the officers and members of the House will wear the usual badge of mourning for thirty days, as a testimony of their respect for the memory of the deceased.
Resolved. That the proceedings of this House be communicated by the Clerk to the family of the deceased, and that, as a further mark of respect for the memory of the deceased, the House now adjourn.
In support of these resolutions, Mr. Lowe said :
Mr. Speaker-I rise, in support of these resolutions, to perform a melancholy duty : to call the attention of the House to an occurrence which has excited pop- ular sympathy and sorrow throughout all parts of the State-the sudden and calamitous death of General Clanton-which has found an appropriate place in the Governor's message, and which should not be passed in silence by the House of Representatives.
General Clanton, Sir, was, in the highest sense, a representative Southern man. He was the embodiment of our best popular characteristics. He occupied a peculiar place in the hearts of our people, and no man enjoyed to a more unqualified extent their general confidence and affection. Everywhere, from the mountains to the gulf, the people knew and loved him. In speaking of him now, it is not neces- sary to strain the truth to magnify his virtues. It is no exaggeration to say of him, that in lofty and genuine patriotism, in moral and physical courage, in sagacity and common sense, in personal integrity and devotion to duty, he has not been surpassed by any of his contemporaries. There was something, also, in the union of these high qualities in him-a blending of mind and character, a per- sonal magnetism, a genius for executive affairs, and a peculiar and subtle power over men-which combined to make him, all in all, one of the most marked and conspicuous figures that has appeared at any time in the public affairs of the State. I believe, Sir, of all the men I ever knew, he was the loftiest, most heroic spirit. In pronouncing his eulogy, it is not necessary to borrow the guarded phrases of mere panegyric. He had, doubtless, his imperfections-he was human-yet they were but the human part of an instinctively great and noble nature. They, too, were the characteristics of our Southern land, and assisted to make him more and more the ideal representative of our people.
I need not recount, at this time, the events of his brief but eventful life: every one knows them. Every one is familiar with his brilliant and stainless record as a soldier of the South in the late war between the States. During its latter period, I served near him as one of his brigade. I have seen him often "on the perilous edge of battle," when he looked like some belted knight of feudal days, that had merely doffed his case of mail, and come again in flesh and blood to teach us chiv- alry. That age, that institution, is indeed gone, but never yet did any knight in olden time better illustrate its essential soul and spirit-"the unbought grace of life, the cheap defense of nations, the nurse of manly sentiment and heroic enter- prise."
In our recent grave and bitter political complications with the Government, he enjoyed the unqualified confidence of our people. He was famed throughout the South as a bold and defiant partisan leader-the acknowledged civic-champion of the white race of this Commonwealth.
Everybody knew his reputation at the Bar as an able and generous advocate of the unfortunate, the defenseless, the oppressed. In these varied relations, no one of his contemporaries was more noted and prominent. But there is another and closer view of him in his private and personal relations-a nearer and better observation, disclosing his real simplicity of character, his native generosity, his love of truth, his fidelity to friends, his loyalty to woman, and reverence for sacred things-home-virtues -- which only those who knew him, as I knew him, in the unreserve of social intercourse, or in the intimacy of the home-circie, can ever fully understand and appreciate.
But I will not trust myself further in this direction. In view of the sudden and most distressing character of this calamity, I have no words adequate to
637
Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama.
express the personal bitterness of my own feelings to mingle a private with a public sorrow. Even now, in this draped hall, I can scarcely realize that he whom we lately saw in the prime and vigor of life, and occupying so large a space in our thoughts, is indeed no more-that Harry Percy's spur is cold-that the chivalrous soldier, the patriotic citizen, the ardent advocate, the fearless and irreproachable Clanton, has been stricken down in the glory of his manhood, and in the zenith of his active and useful career. I will not say we ne'er shall look on his like again ; but I do say, that in all our borders, we have no one that can altogether fill his place.
It might be invidious, Mr. Speaker, to enter now into the details of his untimely death, but there is a thought in this connection which is entitled to our grave con- sideration. It is that Gen. Clanton was killed while in the employment and repre- senting the interests of Alabama. He lost his life while on duty. He had been warned by prudent friends not to go to East-Tennessee. He had been repeatedly threatened, as the Agent of Alabama, by the desperate minions of that corrupt, defaulting railroad company with which he, in behalf of the State, was then in litigation. He had reason to expect, and did expect, an attack at any moment. At the final crisis of the affair, when the fata! assault is actually being made upon him, he infers, and naturally infers, from its singular and unprovoked character, as well as from previous significant threats and warnings, that it was aimed at him in his representative capacity. Impressed with this idea, yet fearless under all circumstances, he promptly met the issue. Evidently believing (whether errone- ously or not) that his official relation to the State was the latent, but real, cause of the attack upon him, he died in that belief. His last brave words, " I have done all I could," were his dying message to his people-his final report to the authority that had intrusted him, in that matter, with the interests and honor of the State. It is to the grateful consideration of this thought that I invoke the attention of the House. Gen. Clanton has, indeed, "done all he could" for the State. He has sacrificed a life dear to us, but inestimable to his family, in the discharge of a professional duty, in defense of a public trust. What more can we say of this last and crowning act of his life ? He leaves behind him as his debtors, in a high sense, every true and patriotic citizen of Alabama. He has placed us under such sacred obligations that public gratitude instinctively demands that his widow and children shall be adopted and cherished as the wards of the State. In full accord with that sentiment I would be glad, as a member of this body, to give it official sanction. If necessary, I would favor a direct appropriation. If requisite to shield his widow and orphans from vicissitude, I would throw around them the protecting ægis of the State. Whatever a generous patriotism may suggest in this respect, should be freely done by us or our constituents. Alabama, in her fiduciary capacity, as guardian of Gen. Clanton's children, should proudly see to it that their heritage is amply supplied by the gratitude of a generous and noble people.
Mr. Speaker, the spontaneous outburst of popular feeling which greeted the sad intelligence of the death of our lamented friend, indicates, to some extent, the popular appreciation of his eminent and unselfish services to the State. The peo- ple feel, sir, that in honoring him they honor themselves. The House, in its action on these resolutions, will respond in like spirit to the people. History will do the rest and complete the record. The memory of his lofty character, and the influ- ence of his rare example will not be lost to those who come after us. We can an- ticipate the time when the historian of Alabama, free from present vicissitudes, will gather together the records and traditions of our distinguished dead, for their respective places in the archives of the State. In that better day, our noble friend will illustrate an elevated and distinct position among the statesmen, patriots, and heroes of the South. He will surely stand exalted among contemporary Alabam- ians as in life the best beloved, and in death the most lamented, of them all; therefore, Mr. Speaker, in behalf of the Committee, I offer the foregoing reso- lutions.
Mr. Oates, in support of the resolutions, spoke as follows ;
Mr. Speaker-After what has been said, and so well said, by the learned gentle- man from Madison (Mr. Lowe) concerning the character and distiguished services
638
Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama.
rendered to the people of the State by our lamented friend, I shall not undertake to pronounce a eulogy upon him. I arise, sir, merely to express my most cordial concurrence in what has been said.
No man who ever lived within her borders was more devoted to his State than was the deceased to his beloved Alabama. Every measure calculated to redound to her glory, and add to her material prosperity, found in him a sincere friend and fearless advocate. Whatever tended to her dishonor, foremost among her . staunch defenders, he was ever ready to resist to the utmost extremity. His cour- age, both physical and moral, was of the highest order, yet it did not surpass his generosity and benevolence. In his charge at Booneville, like the leader of the Old Guard at Waterloo, he displayed a sublimity of courage equal to the French Marshal whose response to the demands of his enemies was, "A Marshal of France never surrenders !" He excited in his enemies both terror and admiration, as Murat did of the Cossack; yet all the blows he ever inflicted, all his exertions, both mental and physical, were but the outpourings of his genereus nature for the relief of the oppressed, and in the cause of right. Notwithstanding his im- petuosity, when the exigency demanded it he was cool, deliberate, and cautious in counsel.
But he is gone from us forever; we shall not look upon his like again. "God made but one such man, and broke the die that molded Clanton."
Mr. Lewis said:
Mr, Speaker-Since our last adjournment a great calamity and sorrow has fallen upon our people. The public heart was wrung as never before, when the sharp, awful pang ran through the land, upon the tidings of the death of Gen. Clanton. Why this great lamentation ? What was it in the life and character of the deceased that gave him snch a hold on the affections of his fellow-citizens ? Why is it that this grief is even more poignant than any this people has ever experienced- greater than when the faultless, noble, self-poised Gen. Lee was gathered to his fathers ? Mr. Speaker, Lee was our representative man when we were clothed with the habiliments and sovereignty of a free people; when we could marshal our hosts to battle, and cross sabre with sabre, meet bayonet with bayonet, and give full force to our power as a nation. But when the dark hour of defeat came-when we sat down by the rivers of Babylon and wept, a conquered and subdued people, with our political institutions shattered, our social fabric and labor system broken up-there was needed some clarion voice to rouse our people to duty. It was then that the brave, chivalrous, ardent, heroic Clanton came forward, and with one accord and acclaim the people looked to him as a leader. He told us by words and example that all was not lost to us, that much for good still remained, that these people still held intact one great essential element of civilization in the in- dividuality of her sons and daughters, and that no earthly power could ever rob us of the courage and manliness of the one, or the delicacy and chastity of the other. Well had nature fitted him for this arduous position, and right well did he meet the emergency. From that day to the hour of his untimely death, his career had been one of ceaseless vigilance, untiring zeal and self-sacrificing devotion to the public weal.
In the relations of private life, a warm, unselfish, sincere devotion to his friends was his chief characteristic. In prospect of power, no consideration of promotion could ever induce him for a moment to swerve from his self-imposed allegiance.
"He grappled them to his soul with hooks of steel."
It is a matter of history that, when he was transferred to the Department of Mississippi, he was told that if he abstained from taking the part of a friend then involved in misunderstanding with the General commanding, he could be the head of the cavalry. He disdained the proposition-proclaimed in season and out of season that his friend had been wronged and he would share his fate. He lost his prospect of promotion, and was transferred to another field, where his capacity for war was forever circumscribed.
As an advocate, he shone with a peculiar lustre. Gifted with quick perceptions, a warm sensibility, and keen insight into human nature, combining the strength of the war horse with the fleetness of the racer, making the cause of the client
639
Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama.
his own, and throwing into it all the zeal, ardor and strength of his nature, he won verdicts where greater jurists would have failed.
But, Mr. Speaker, why should I attempt to portray the character of this re- markable man ? Upon the spontaneous outpouring of public grief at the time of his death, so much was so eloquently said and written, that an attempt upon my part, at this time, would be vain and futile. I will refrain.
"I knew our brother ; his mute dust ' I honor, and his living worth ; A man more pure, and bold, and just Was never born into the earth."
Impetuous, daring, as clear as a fair day in his own sunny South, unsullied in his honor, & hater of all that was mean and sordid, " a lover of his kind and a sacrificer of himself," graceful. generous, knightly; cautious in counsel, but rapid, decided, sudden in action-with a high, imperious will-he presents to us a pic- ture of loftiness and grandeur, of sweetness and amenity.
. It is a pleasant thing to dwell upon his memory ; it is a precious heritage which he has bequeathed to his people; it makes us better satisfied with ourselves and our country. As has been well said, he was a true type of a Southern leader. His faults were identified with the open-heartedness of the man. Like light and shade, they mutually assisted in an attractive picture to human eyes. Let all the truc sons of Alabama embalm his name forever in their heart of hearts; let us rear some fit testimonial of our appreciation of his services ; let a grateful people throng to his tomb and bedew it with their tears, whence perennial blossoms springing may ever cover his grave.
Mr. Semmes, of Mobile, said :
I come from the Gulf City to join my feeble voice to those of the eloquent gen- tlemen from Middle and North-Alabama, in sounding the fame and. perpetuating the name of the heroic Clanton. It is through the influence of such men as was he to unite all Alabamians, North, South, East, and West, within the fold of one vast band of confiding, loving brothers. A representative of the grand old cavalier whose deeds of daring and devotion have emblazoned the finest and brightest pages of the history of every age and nation, a representative who truly represented the class from which he sprung; one who carried his purse, his heart and his life in his hand, always at the command of a friend, those in distress, or his country's cause. Oh ! my native Alabama : What a loss we, your representatives, are called to commemorate on this occasion !
The great Clanton is no more. He has passed away from amidst those he was wont to fight for, and to whose welfare it was his greatest pleasure to devote every thought of his mind, and every energy of his powerful frame.
Where is it most meet to honor the great Clanton ?
"Here, in Montgomery's central roar, Where the feet of those he fought for, And the voices of those he wrought for, Shall resound around his grave for evermore."
Prior to the war, a quiet citizen following the peaceful avocations of civil life, he grasped his sword and rushed to the front when the first tocsin of war sounded, there to offer his fortune, his life, and his honor, in his country's cause. Well might I portray the actions of himself and his noble troops, during the exciting scenes of that mighty struggle, in the words of England's Poet Laureate :
Right on the Clanton troop went rushing, All opposition before them crushing- Stormed at with shot and shell, Thro' the jaws of death, into the mouth of hell, These gallant heroes went dashing With a thousand muskets all flashing. Then cheer the noble Clanton hoys, Who took the hostile guns like toys; Honor the wild charges they made- Honor those who fought and bled- Honor our great, our mighty dead.
640
Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama.
After the war was over, and our loved South shrouded in gloom, he returned to his home and the privacy of domestic life, yet never for a moment did he cease to devote his whole life and time to the advancement of the interests of Alabama ; so great was his influence that even we, on the far southern sea-coast, looked to Clan- ton as a beacon light which would infallibly lead to a peaceful harbor surrounded by plenty and ease. Aye, Mr. Speaker, I as a representative man from South- Alabama, felt that, whilst the mighty Clanton lived the liberties of Alabama could never die.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.