Thomas Caute Reynolds

Thomas Caute Reynolds (born October 11, 1821 in Charleston , South Carolina , † March 30, 1887 in St. Louis , Missouri ) was an American politician . In 1861 he was lieutenant governor of the state of Missouri and from 1862 to 1865 Confederate governor in exile of that state.

Career

In 1838 Thomas Reynolds graduated from the University of Virginia at Charlottesville , where he studied law. In the meantime he also attended the University of Heidelberg . Until 1850 he was in the diplomatic service at the American embassy in Madrid . In 1850 he opened a law firm in St. Louis. Politically, he joined the Democratic Party , in which he supported the position of the southern states on the question of slavery . Between 1853 and 1857 he was a federal attorney for the state of Missouri.

In 1860, Reynolds was elected Lieutenant Governor of Missouri alongside Claiborne Fox Jackson . He officially held this office between January 3 and July 23, 1861. He was Deputy Governor and Chairman of the State Senate . He campaigned for his state to be separated from the Union and to join the Confederation. After the outbreak of the Civil War , the state of Missouri was largely occupied by the Union army . Governor Jackson and Lieutenant Governor Reynolds were deposed and had to flee. Both maintained their right to their respective state offices and formed a Confederate counter-government out of exile. After Jackson's death in December 1862, Reynolds became the new governor of Missouri from a Confederate perspective. However, due to the military situation, he had no access to this state. With the help of General Sterling Price , a campaign to recapture Missouri began in October 1864, but it failed. Reynolds took an active part in these actions. He then fell out with General Price. Both men blamed each other for the failure of their campaign.

After the war, Reynolds fled to Mexico , where he became an advisor to Emperor Maximilian for some time . In 1868 he returned to St. Louis where he practiced as a lawyer. In 1874 he was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives. He later worked for the federal government as a representative for South American trade. On March 30, 1887, Thomas Reynolds committed suicide in St. Louis by throwing himself into an elevator shaft. According to his suicide note, he was gripped by the fear of slowly losing his mind.

Web links

• Thomas Caute Reynolds in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• The Political Graveyard
• Thomas Reynolds Caute in nndb (English)