John Allen Wilcox

John Allen Wilcox (born April 18, 1819 in Greene County , North Carolina , † February 7, 1864 in Richmond , Virginia ) was an American politician . Between 1851 and 1853 he represented the second constituency of the state of Mississippi in the US House of Representatives .

Career

John Wilcox was born in North Carolina but grew up in Tennessee , where he attended public schools. He later moved to Aberdeen , Mississippi. In his new home he became the administrative head of the State Senate ( Secretary of the State Senate ). During the Mexican-American War Wilcox was a soldier in the US Army , in whose ranks he rose to lieutenant colonel . After the war he worked as a lawyer in Aberdeen.

In 1850 he was elected to the US House of Representatives as a unionist in the second district of Mississippi against incumbent Winfield Scott Featherston . There he was able to complete a legislative period between March 4, 1851 and March 3, 1853. After not being confirmed in the 1852 election, Wilcox moved to San Antonio , Texas . There he was a member of the Know-Nothing Party for a short time . In 1858 he joined the Democratic Party .

Wilcox was an advocate for state rights and acted as a delegate to the conference that led the State of Texas to leave the Union in 1861. He even drafted the text of the resignation statement. In November 1861 he was in the Congress of the Confederate States selected. There he supported the policies of Confederate President Jefferson Davis . He was a member of various congressional committees and helped set up a military brigade with soldiers from Texas. In the meantime he also joined the Confederation Army , where he was on the staff of General John B. Magruder . With the rank of Colonel he took part in the Battle of Galveston .

After he was re-elected to the Congress of the Southern States, he traveled again to their capital, Richmond. But he died before the new Congress could meet for its first session and was buried in Richmond. His wife and two children were then taken into the care of his brother Cadmus M. Wilcox , who was a general in the Confederate Army.

Web links

• John Allen Wilcox in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• John Allen Wilcox in the database of Find a Grave (English)