Thomas Overton Moore

Thomas Overton Moore

Thomas Overton Moore (born April 10, 1804 in Sampson County , North Carolina , † June 25, 1876 in Alexandria , Louisiana ) was an American politician and governor of the state of Louisiana from 1860 to 1864 .

Early years and political advancement

Thomas Moore attended public schools in his home in North Carolina. In 1829 he moved to Louisiana, where he established himself as a cotton planter in Rapides Parish . At first he managed his uncle's plantation before he bought his own plantation. In the following years he became one of the most successful cotton growers in Louisiana.

Moore was a member of the Democratic Party . In 1848 he was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives for one term . In 1856 he was elected to the Louisiana Senate . On November 7, 1859, he was elected the new governor of his state.

Louisiana Governor

Thomas Moore took up his new office on January 23, 1860. His first year in office was overshadowed by heated discussions leading up to the civil war. Moore, himself a slave owner on his plantation, was clearly on the south side. In the presidential election of 1860 he supported the previous Vice President John Cabell Breckinridge , who ran for the southern group of Democrats. After Abraham Lincoln's election victory , Moore set the course for a confrontation with the Union in Louisiana. He convened a convention, which decided on January 26, 1861, the withdrawal of the state from the Union. In March of the same year the state became a member of the Confederate States .

Moore was now preparing the state for the expected civil war. He recruited troops for the Confederate Army and the state militia, and organized supplies and supplies for the armed forces. The defenses, especially around New Orleans , were strengthened or rebuilt. The currency was changed to that of the Confederation. As early as January 1861, military facilities of the federal government had been besieged by soldiers from Louisiana. After the official outbreak of war in April 1861, Louisiana soon felt the negative consequences. The Union blocked the ports of the south. No more goods could be exported from New Orleans. In April 1862 the city was finally captured and occupied by the US Navy under the command of Admiral David Glasgow Farragut . Now that the capital Baton Rouge was also threatened, the government of Governor Moore moved to Opelousas . As a result, other parts of Louisiana were occupied by the Union Army and the capital had to be relocated again, this time to Shreveport . On June 2, 1862, the federal government had appointed George F. Shepley as military governor of Louisiana, who administered the areas controlled by the Union. Louisiana now had two governors who each controlled part of the state, with the Confederate-controlled part becoming smaller and smaller as time went on.

Another résumé

After the end of his tenure on January 25, 1864 Moore retired to his plantation. This was burned down by Union troops in May of the same year and Moore had to flee. The federal government wanted him with an arrest warrant. He fled to Mexico and Cuba and only returned to Louisiana after an amnesty by President Andrew Johnson . In the following years Moore worked on rebuilding his plantation. He died in June 1876. The ex-governor had five children with his wife Bethia Jane Leonard.

literature

• Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978. Volume 2, Meckler Books, Westport, 1978. 4 volumes.

Web links

• Thomas Moore in the National Governors Association (English)
• The Governors of Louisiana (English)
• Thomas Overton Moore in the database of Find a Grave (English)