Albert S. Marks
Albert Smith Marks | |
---|---|
21st Governor of Tennessee | |
In office February 16, 1879 – January 17, 1881 | |
Preceded by | James D. Porter |
Succeeded by | Alvin Hawkins |
Personal details | |
Born | Owensboro, Kentucky | October 16, 1836
Died | November 4, 1891 Nashville, Tennessee | (aged 55)
Resting place | Winchester City Cemetery, Winchester, Tennessee |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Novella Davis (m. 1863) |
Profession | Attorney |
Signature | |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Confederate States of America |
Branch/service | Confederate States Army |
Years of service | 1861–1865 |
Rank | Colonel |
Commands | 17th Tennessee Infantry |
Battles/wars | American Civil War • Camp Wildcat (1861) • Mill Springs (1862) • Munfordville (1862) • Stones River (1862) |
Albert Smith Marks (October 16, 1836 – November 4, 1891) was an American attorney, soldier and politician. He was the 21st governor of Tennessee from 1879 to 1881. Prior to that, he had served as a state chancery court judge. Marks fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, and part of his leg was amputated as a result of a wound suffered at the Battle of Stones River in 1862.[1]
Early life
Marks was born in
When he was 19, Marks moved to
Civil War
Although he was a Southern Democrat, Marks was an opponent of
During a reorganization of Confederate forces in June 1862, Marks was promoted to colonel, and placed in command of the 17th. His regiment was assigned to General Simon B. Buckner's division, which launched an invasion of Kentucky in the Fall of 1862. Marks's regiment fought at the Battle of Munfordville, where was he chosen by Buckner to accept the formal surrender of Union forces.[2] Following this invasion, the 17th was assigned to General Patrick Cleburne's division, with which it fought at the Battle of Stones River on December 31, 1862. As Marks's regiment charged a Union battery during this engagement, his right leg was shattered by canister shot, and was subsequently amputated below the knee.[2]
Marks spent most of the remainder of the war convalescing in Winchester and at a hospital in
Governor
Marks was elected judge of the state's Fourth Chancery District in 1870.[1] He was reelected in 1878, but resigned after receiving the Democratic Party's nomination for governor later that year.[2] In the general election, he won easily, receiving 89,958 votes to 42,284 votes for the Republican candidate, Chattanooga Mayor Eli M. Wight, and 15,155 votes for the Greenback candidate, Richard M. Edwards of Cleveland.[5] Marks was the first lifelong Democrat to be elected after the Civil War (his two predecessors, John C. Brown and James D. Porter, had been Whigs before the war).
Like his two immediate predecessors, the major issue confronting the Marks administration was the state's debt crisis, which had resulted from the gradual accumulation of bonded debt to pay for internal improvements and railroad construction over the previous four decades. The
Marks appointed a legislative committee to investigate the debt issue. The committee determined that railroad agents had acted unethically during the
Marks did not seek reelection in 1880, realizing his party was still badly split over the debt issue.[2] The divided Democrats were defeated in the general election for governor later that year.
Later life
Following his gubernatorial term, Marks formed a new law partnership with Colyar and John Childress Jr., known as Colyar, Marks and Childress. This firm operated until 1883.
Marks died at the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville on November 4, 1891.[6] He was interred in the Winchester City Cemetery.[8]
Family and legacy
Marks married Novella Davis in 1863, while he was recovering from his injury received at the Battle of Stones River. They had become engaged prior to this battle, and after his leg was amputated, he offered to release her from the engagement, but she refused.[5] They had two children, Arthur Handly Marks and Albert Davis Marks.[2]
Marks lived on a plantation near Winchester he had purchased around 1870.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f John Thweatt, Albert Smith Marks, Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2009. Retrieved: 2 November 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m William Speer, Sketches of Prominent Tennesseans (Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1978), pp. 74–76. Originally published in 1888.
- ^ a b c John Allison, Notable Men of Tennessee, Vol. 1 (Atlanta: Southern Historical Association, 1905), pp. 69–71.
- ^ a b c Joseph Herndon, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for Hundred Oaks[permanent dead link], 1974. Accessed via the Historic American Buildings Survey database at the Library of Congress digital collections, 2 November 2012.
- ^ a b c Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 203–204.
- ^ a b Finding Aid for the Governor Albert Smith Marks Papers Archived 2013-07-12 at the Wayback Machine, Tennessee State Library and Archives, 1964. Retrieved: 2 November 2012.
- ^ Stanley Folmsbee, Robert Corlew, and Enoch Mitchell, Tennessee: A Short History (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1969), p. 382.
- ISBN 9780806348230.
- ^ a b Hundred Oaks Castle - History. Retrieved: 2 November 2012.
External links
- National Governors Association
- Governor Albert Smith Marks Papers, 1879-1881, Tennessee State Library and Archives.