James Robert McLean

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James Robert McLean (born September 21, 1823 in Enfield , North Carolina , † April 15, 1870 in Greensboro , North Carolina) was an American lawyer and plantation owner and politician of the Confederate States of America . He belonged to the Democratic Party . He was also an officer in the Confederate Army .

Career

James Robert McLean, son of Rebecca Hilliard Judge and Levi H. McLean, a teacher originally from Guilford County , was born in Halifax County about eight and a half years after the end of the British-American War . His ancestors came from Scotland . Although he was an orphan early on, his relatives gave him a good education. He attended the Bingham School in Mebane ( Alamance County ) and Caldwell Institute in Greensboro (Guilford County). He then studied law under the lawyer John Adams Gilmer (1805-1868), who later represented the state of North Carolina in both the US House of Representatives and the Confederate Congress . He was admitted to the County Courts in 1844 and to the Superior Court in 1846.

For a short time he practiced in and around Greensboro before moving to Rockford moved, the former administrative center of Surry County . Between 1850 and 1851 he served in the North Carolina House of Representatives . During this time he sat on the Committee on Propositions and Grievances, but attended little meetings of the House of Representatives. After the end of his tenure, he returned to Greensboro, where he resumed his practice as a lawyer, and the law firm of Cyrus Pegg Mendenhall (1817-1884) and Wilson Shedrick Hill junior (1828-1908) joined. By 1860 he had successfully established himself as a lawyer and owned a small plantation with 25 slaves .

McLean was an early and active secessionist. Then when the Confederate States of America were formed in 1861, he successfully ran for a seat in the first Confederate Congress , where he represented the sixth constituency of North Carolina. During his two-year tenure, he sat on the Claims Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee, but usually allowed other legislative initiatives. In most cases he granted powers to any warranting delegation in the Jefferson Davis (1808-1889) administration, differing only significantly on financial matters. McLean preferred to contain inflation through large taxes rather than discarding the part of the paper money that was already in circulation. He also believed that the government should pay market prices for army supplies, rather than requisitioning them at a low and therefore unfair price. In August 1863 he announced that he would not run again. He cited his poor health as the reason for this.

In November 1864 he was appointed major in the Alamance County Senior Reserve , the 77th  Regiment of North Carolina, which was formed in July. President Jefferson Davis nominated him in December 1864 as commandant of a training camp for new recruits, but the Senate declined his nomination. On December 7, the 77th Regiment moved toward Savannah ( Georgia off) and took on 9 December in South Carolina at the command post at Coosawhatchie ( Jasper County in part). Fighting broke out around Savannah. The city finally fell to the troops of Major General William T. Sherman (1820-1891), so that the 77th Regiment had to withdraw to the north. After the Battle of Bentonville , the regiment then moved to Smithfield ( Johnston County back), where it finally surrendered.

After the end of the civil war he was almost penniless and spent the following years making up for his losses. Just after his financial recovery in 1870, he passed away in Greensboro. He was buried in the old First Presbyterian Church Cemetery .

family

McLean married on September 12, 1853 Narcissa Jane Unthank (1834–1873), daughter of Sarah McCuiston and WR Unthank. The couple had seven children: William, Robert, Edward R., Thomas L. (1864-1927), Rufus H., Cora and Charles Ernest (1869-1950). The first two children died in childhood.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Cyrus Pegg Mendenhall in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  2. ↑ Wilson Shedrick Hill junior in the database of Find a Grave . Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  3. ^ The War for Southern Independence in South Carolina
  4. ↑ Narcissa Jane Unthank McLean in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  5. ↑ Thomas L. McLean in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  6. ^ Charles Ernest McLean in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved June 29, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME McLean, James Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer and plantation owner and politician of the Confederate States of America
DATE OF BIRTH September 21, 1823
PLACE OF BIRTH Enfield , North Carolina
DATE OF DEATH April 15, 1870
Place of death Greensboro , North Carolina