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| Affiliation | Republican |
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| Name | Henry Clay Warmoth |
| Address |
Paquemines, Louisiana , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
May 09, 1842
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| Died | September 30, 1931
(89 years)
|
| Contributor | Thomas Walker |
| Last Modifed | Brandonius Maximus
Dec 14, 2008 02:25pm |
| Tags |
Caucasian - Impeached - Anglican - Christian - Episcopalian -
|
| Info | Henry Clay Warmoth was a soldier in the Civil War and served as Louisiana's Republican Governor during Reconstruction.
Warmoth was born in McLeansboro, Hamilton County, Illinois. During the Civil War, Warmoth served in the Vicksburg campaign, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. While away on sick leave, he gave a report to a Confederate reporter about the recent Union victory at Vicksburg. Although his information was later found to be substantially correct, Gen. Grant removed him from command for giving information to the enemy. Warmoth traveled to Washington DC and presented his case to President Lincoln and the judge advocate general of the army; he was reinstated with back pay.
Warmoth was a leader in the effort to enfranchise freed black men in Louisiana, which became part of the Louisiana Constitution of 1868.
Governor (R-LA) 1868-1872. Elected in 1868 over James G. Taliaferro, the nominee of the "White Republicans." A mere twenty-five years old when elected, Warmoth held high ideals as he took the helm of a bankrupt Louisiana. One of Warmoth's first actions was the creation of the New Orleans police, which consisted of two white and three black commissioners. To deal with the paramilitary units organized as the Knights of the White Camellia (the stronger and more violent version of the KKK), Warmoth sent agents to infiltrate the organization. In mid-1868, the KWC was killing 100 people on the average per month. Warmoth asked President Johnson to send more federal troops to quell the KWC. Warmoth did everything in his power to minimize bloodshed. He asked blacks and Republicans to drop their campaign in 1868, as by election day the KWC had killed 1,081 people. The resulting Republican loss in Louisiana was the first step in a division of Louisiana Republicans into pro- and anti-Warmoth factions.
Warmoth was charged with profiting personally from his service as Governor of Louisiana and was regarded as the epitome of the evils of Republican rule in the South. However, Prof. Richard N. Current, who thoroughly investigated the charges and the available evidence, wrote "Despite frequent accusations, no one ever produced convincing evidence that [Warmoth] gave or received bribes." Warmoth removed his own Secretary of State for bribery and embezzlement, and he kept a private list of legislators suspected of bribery. Most of Warmoth's increasing wealth during his tenure as Governor was derived from purchasing old state bonds from earlier investors at a discount and simply holding them until their maturity.
Warmoth pursued pragmatic policies as Governor, which contributed to his fall. As violence from white supremacist groups continued unabated, Warmoth felt forced to veto some civil rights legislation on the basis that the public peace was already too tenuous. When Warmoth injured a foot in a fall, the Lt. Governor entered the Governor's office and began to serve. The Lt. Governor worked to re-organize the state party and remove Warmoth's supporters, but he died soon thereafter.
Frustrated with the Republican leaders in the state, Warmoth supported Horace Greeley in the election of 1872. In the election of 1872, the state canvassing board certified Greeley Electors by a margin of 10,000. Republican leaders organized their own canvassing board and declared Grant the winner, though they had no returns to count. The Republican-dominated legislature impeached Warmoth and installed Lt. Governor Pinchback as the new Governor.
Still a young man, Warmoth married a young woman from New Jersey and operated one of the "finest" and most profitable sugar plantations in Louisiana (NYT 1/25/1886). He held a few other minor offices, including attending some Republican National Conventions. President Harrison appointed him Collector of Customs at New Orleans, and he held the post 1890-1893.
[Link]
New York Times 10/1/1931
Richard N. Current, Those Terrible Carpetbaggers NYC: Oxford Univ. Press, 1988, passim. |
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