The 10th President of the United States of America; John Tyler`s Role in the Confederate States of America.

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Jan 29, 2019
Former United States President John Tyler`s Role in the Confederate States of America:

On April 17, 1861 after the attack on Fort Sumter, S.C. and President Abraham Lincoln's call for troops, Former President John Tyler organized the Peace Conference in Washington, but ultimately voted with the majority for secession. In complete support for secession he then headed a committee that negotiated the terms for Virginia's entry into the Confederate States of America and helped set the pay rate for military officers.

On June 14, 1861 Tyler signed the Ordinance of Secession, and one week later the convention unanimously elected him to the Provisional Confederate Congress. Tyler was seated in the Confederate Congress on August 1, 1861, and he served until just before his death on January 18, 1862. In November 1861, he was elected to the Confederate House of Representatives but he died in his room at the Ballard House hotel in Richmond just a few weeks before the first session could open in February 1862.

President John Tyler's death was the only one in presidential history not to be officially recognized in Washington, because of his allegiance to the Confederacy. He had requested a simple burial, but Confederate President Jefferson Davis devised a grand, politically pointed funeral, painting Tyler as a hero to the new nation. Accordingly, at his funeral, the coffin of the tenth president of the United States was draped with a Confederate Flag (First National Confederate Flag); he remains the only U.S. President ever laid to rest under a foreign flag.

The Funeral of the 10th President of the United States of America, John Tyler:

John Tyler served as the President of the United States from 1841 - 1845. At the end of his presidency, Tyler returned to his Virginia home at Sherwood Forest just outside of Richmond. He remained largely out of the political limelight until the secession crisis in 1861. Tyler, an advocate for states’ rights but not for war, worked to try to find a compromise to keep Virginia from seceding from the Union. Despite his best efforts prior to secession, he ultimately stood with his state and supported the Confederacy, even taking political office in the Confederate House of Representatives shortly before his death.

When he passed, Tyler achieved another unique death-related distinction: he became the only U.S. president whose death was not officially recognized in Washington due to his allegiance to the Confederacy. However, Jefferson Davis and the Confederate government made sure to give him a state funeral with all the pomp and circumstance afforded a president, paying homage to him as a hero to the Confederacy.

The funeral procession took Tyler’s body from the Confederate Capital (Richmond) to St. Paul’s church where Bishop Johns gave an eloquent sermon to a packed house of mourners. From there, the procession continued to Hollywood Cemetery, at what is known as the President’s Circle, where he was buried near the 5th President of the United States, James Monroe who served as President from 1817 - 1825. That being on a hill overlooking the James River rapids and Belle Isle. The long line of carriages contained a who’s who of the Confederate political establishment: Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet, members of the Confederate Congress and judiciary, Virginia’s governor, members of the state Senate and House of Delegates, all the way down to the mayor of Richmond. Many citizens also joined in to pay their last respects to the former President.

For the most part, Tyler’s presidency is regarded poorly mainly due to its uneventfulness. He notched few memorable accomplishments during a time of extreme national divide, which would eventually culminate in the Civil War, at which point he sided with the Confederacy.

President John Tyler’s 15 children and numerous grandchildren stood by his decisions. One of his Grandchildren commented the following during an interview back in 2017:

"He’s been maligned in some ways, because he was elected to the Confederate Congress, so people say he’s a traitor," Harrison said. "But actually, he should be known for his efforts as the organizer of the Peace Conference in Washington in 1861. He tried to get the uncommitted states to all agree on a program, and then get the other states to join in, and get everybody back together."

Here are some interesting facts about President John Tyler (1790 - 1862):

John Tyler was born in Charles City County, Virginia on March 29, 1790. He was one of seven Presidents from Virginia.

John attended William and Mary College.

Tyler served as a Captain in the military during the War of 1812.

President John Tyler was a member of the Whig Party.

He was on his knees playing marbles (as the sitting Vice-President) when informed that he had become president upon the death of the 9th President of the United States William Henry Harrison.

He had 15 children. The most of any President. He has two Grandsons who were still living in 2017, meaning just three generations of Tylers have managed to span 227 years and counting.

Both of those living Grandson`s now in their eighties are the sons of Lyon Gardiner Tyler Sr., the president’s fourth son.

President John Tyler was never elected President as he was the first in History to "assume" the position of the President as the sitting Vice-President when the 9th President of the United States of America, William Henry Harrison suddenly died. This resulted in John Tyler being appointed first, "Vice-President in Charge" and soon there after he demanded to be sworn in as the 10th President of the United States of America leaving him with-out a Vice President of his own for the rest of his Presidency, from 1841 - 1845. The first and only to have done this. He did not win re-election so he was the only President to serve in that position with-out ever being elected to it. Gerald Ford did the same thing after Spiro Agnew and Richard M. Nixon resigned during Watergate and losing to Jimmy Carter in 1976.

John Tyler didn't have a Vice President. He had been William Henry Harrison's VP, and the position was not filled when Tyler assumed the presidency. He was the first Vice President to replace a President due to death.

John Tyler was the first President whose wife died while he was holding the office of the President.

Tyler was the first president to marry while in office (2nd wife).

President Tyler was the first president to have his veto overridden by Congress (March 3, 1845).

John Tyler's second wife started the tradition of having "Hail to the Chief" played when he appeared at state functions.

He joined the Confederacy when the Civil War started. Tyler was elected to the Confederate House of Representatives. He is the only President elected to the congress of another country.

When President John Tyler died, his death was pointedly ignored by the federal government as a sworn enemy of the U.S. He was 71 years and 295 days old.

Because the State of Virginia was part of the Confederate States of America at the time of his passing in 1862, John Tyler could be considered the only President not only to have died outside U. S. soil, but also to have been buried there. Additionally, Tyler was the only U.S. President to have a Confederate flag draped over his coffin (First National Confederate Flag). That being a foreign Flag.

Photo below: the 10th President of the United States of America, John Tyler (1790 - 1862).

President John Tyler (1861).jpg
 
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