Paul Octave Hébert

Paul Octave Hébert
14th Governor of Louisiana
In office January 18, 1853 – January 22, 1856
Lieutenant	W.W. Farmer Robert C. Wickliffe
Preceded by	Joseph M. Walker
Succeeded by	Robert C. Wickliffe
Personal details
Born	(1818-12-12)December 12, 1818 Brigadier General (CSA)
Battles/wars	Mexican–American War Battle of Contreras Battle of Churubusco Battle of Molino del Rey Battle of Chapultepec Battle for Mexico City American Civil War Siege of Vicksburg Battle of Milliken's Bend

Paul Octave Hébert (December 12, 1818 – August 29, 1880) was a soldier and politician who served as

.

Early life

Hébert was born on December 12, 1818, about five miles south of

planter

. They had five children.

State engineer

In 1845, Hébert resigned from the army[1] after being appointed Chief Engineer of the State of Louisiana by Governor Alexandre Mouton. He was reappointed by Governor Isaac Johnson in 1846, but he resigned in March, 1847 to fight in the Mexican–American War.

Mexican–American War

On March 3, 1847, Hébert accepted a commission as a

for bravery. He was cited for gallantry at Chapultepec and Mexico City. Discharged on July 25, 1848, in New Orleans, Colonel Hébert entered politics.

Political career

He ran as a

.

The next year, a division among Iberville Parish

St. Landry Parish

, Hébert garnered 17,334 votes to Bordelon's 15,781.

Term as governor

Hébert took the oath as Governor and guided the legislature towards improvements in water commerce and railroad construction. He also established the Louisiana Seminary of Learning at Alexandria which would later become Louisiana State University. Hébert also instituted a state library, reorganized the militia, improved Charity Hospital and organized the efforts against yellow fever of 1853.

Nationalism and the rise of the

or American Party was a feature of Louisiana politics in the 1850s. Whig newspapers tried to discredit Hébert by starting rumors of his allegiance with the Know Nothings. He still appointed some Whigs to minor offices and some Know Nothings to lucrative posts. He was considered very independent in his appointments and many Democrats were disenchanted with him toward the end of his administration. Hébert was mentioned as a possible candidate for the U.S. Senate, but John Slidell was not vulnerable to an intraparty challenge.

During his administration Hébert saw four major railroads incorporated in Louisiana including the

as a planter.

Civil War

With rising tension between North and South, President Abraham Lincoln was elected in December, 1860. Governor Thomas Overton Moore appointed Hébert to the military board to reorganize militia and defenses in the New Orleans area. He was appointed as a colonel of the 1st Louisiana Artillery. After secession on April 1, 1861, Hébert was appointed a brigadier general in the Louisiana Militia. In August, he was commissioned a brigadier general in the Provisional Army of the Confederacy but was not given an active position. Later he would have a command of Louisiana troops and in the Trans-Mississippi Department. Also on May 21, 1861, his first wife Marie Coralie Hébert died. He later married Penelope Lynch Andrews, daughter of John Andrews of Iberville Parish.

In 1862, General Hébert was posted to the Department of Texas. Jefferson Davis dismissed him as military commander of Texas on October 10 for imposition of martial law and harsh measures in enforcing conscription.^[2][3][4] He later participated in the defense of Vicksburg. He saw battle in June, 1863, at the Battle of Milliken's Bend in Louisiana. After that, he was again posted in Texas, where he was at the time the war ended. Hébert returned to his Louisiana plantation and received a pardon from President Andrew Johnson.

Postwar

He was active in the politics of

appointed him to the Board of State Engineers in 1873 and the Board of U.S. Engineers for Mississippi River Commission in 1874.

In the

, LA.

See also

• List of American Civil War Generals (Confederate)
• Louis Hébert (Confederate Army officer)
  – cousin

References

Further reading

• Eicher, John H., and
  ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1
  .
• Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988.
  ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4
  .
• ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9
  .
• Paul Octave Hebert, Encyclopedia of Louisiana
• Paul Octave Hébert from the Handbook of Texas Online

External links

• Paul Hébert at Find a Grave
• Cemetery Memorial by La-Cemeteries^{[dead link]}

Party political offices
Preceded by Joseph Marshall Walker	Governor of Louisiana 1852	Succeeded by Robert C. Wickliffe
Political offices
Preceded by Joseph M. Walker	Governor of Louisiana 1853–1856	Succeeded by Robert C. Wickliffe