Gustavus Adolphus Henry Sr.
Born: October 8, 1804
Birthplace: Scott County, Kentucky
Father: General William Henry
Mother: Elizabeth Julia Flournoy
Wife: Marion McClure 1812 – 1882
(Buried: Greenwood Cemetery, Clarksville, Tennessee)
Children:
Susan Laura Henry Martin 1834 – 1881
(Buried: Greenwood Cemetery, Clarksville, Tennessee)
Thomas Frazier Henry 1835 – 1886
(Buried: Greenwood Cemetery, Clarksville, Tennessee)
Major John Flournoy Henry 1837 – 1862
(Buried: Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee)
Gustavus Adolphus Henry Jr. 1838 – 1882
(Buried: Greenwood Cemetery, Clarksville, Tennessee)
Political Party: Whig Party
Education:
1825: Graduated from Transylvania University
Occupation before War:
Attorney in Georgetown, Kentucky
1831 – 1833: Kentucky State Representative
Attorney in Clarksville, Tennessee
Known as the "eagle orator of Tennessee"
1851: Tennessee State Representative
1853: Unsuccessful Candidate for Governor of Tennessee
1855: Unsuccessful Candidate for Governor of Tennessee
Four Times Presidential Elector for Whig Political Party
1860: Supporter of John Bell at the Baltimore Convention
Civil War Career:
1861: Elected Confederate States Senator on thirty – second ballot
1862 – 1865: Confederate States Senator from Tennessee
1862: Member of Senate Pay and Mileage Committee
1862: Member of Joint Congressional Inauguration Committee
1862: Member of Senate Finance Committee
1862 – 1865: Member of Senate Military Affairs Committee
1864 – 1865: Member of Senate Public Lands Committee
He was a support of ultra-nationalism
Proposed to let commissioners arbitrarily fix impressment prices
Proposed to appropriate a half – million dollars for government ironworks
Proposed to let the President detail soldiers and impress slaves
Proposed to draft all men between sixteen and sixty for service
Proposed to repudiate two – thirds of the currency.
He was known to have written President Davis and commanding Generals urging the repossession of Tennessee and Kentucky.
1864: He urged that the war be carried to the enemy and deplored all talk of peace.
1865: Voted to put Robert E. Lee in command of all armies
Occupation after War:
1865 – 1880: Lived a quiet life in the city of Clarksville, Tennessee
Died: September 10, 1880
Place of Death: Clarksville, Tennessee
Age at time of Death: 75 years old
Burial Place: Greenwood Cemetery, Clarksville, Tennessee
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