John S. Carlile

John Snyder Carlile
United States Senator from Virginia
In office July 9, 1861 – March 4, 1865
Preceded by	Robert M. T. Hunter
Succeeded by	John W. Johnston
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 11th district
In office March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857
Preceded by	Charles S. Lewis
Succeeded by	Albert G. Jenkins
In office March 4, 1861 – July 9, 1861
Preceded by	Albert G. Jenkins
Succeeded by	Jacob B. Blair
Member of the Virginia Senate
In office 1847–1851
Personal details
Born	(1817-12-16)December 16, 1817 Winchester, Virginia, U.S.
Died	October 24, 1878(1878-10-24) (aged 60) Clarksburg, West Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Union
Spouse	Mary Ellen Gittings
Profession	Lawyer, politician

John Snyder Carlile (December 16, 1817 – October 24, 1878) was an

Carlile was a delegate from Harrison County to the Virginia secession convention in 1861, voting no on the controversial resolution. He was a leader in the anti-secession movement, and was prominent in the Wheeling Convention of June 1861. On June 13, 1861, at the first session of the Second Wheeling Convention, Carlile authored "A Declaration of the People of Virginia." The document pronounced Virginia's Ordinance of Secession illegal because the convention at which it had been drafted had been convened by the General Assembly, not by a referendum. It also called for the reorganization of the government of Virginia, arguing that due to Virginia's decision to secede from the United States, all state government offices had been vacated. The pro-Union Restored Government of Virginia was quickly recognized by President Abraham Lincoln and Congress as the legitimate government of the entire Commonwealth of Virginia, with Wheeling as its provisional capital. He was averse, however, to the formation of a new state out of the bulk of the pro-Union territory of Virginia—what became West Virginia.

Carlile was again chosen to Congress in 1861 by the Union Party, but kept his seat in the House of Representatives only from July 4 through July 13, when he was elected as one of two United States Senators representing the Restored Government. He served until 1865. In the Senate, he was uniformly in favor of a strict construction of the Constitution, opposing all measures recognizing that there existed a rebellion of states instead of individuals, and denying the right of Congress to interfere in any way with the slaves (Carlile being a slaveowner himself). He frequently met with Lincoln to try to garner his support for his causes.

Following the war, Carlile retired from politics and returned home to resume his law practice. He died in Clarksburg, West Virginia, and was buried in the Odd Fellows Cemetery.

• United States Congress. "John S. Carlile (id: C000150)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• John S. Carlile in
  Encyclopedia Virginia
• Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, edited by James Grant Wilson and John Fiske. Six volumes, New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1887–1889.