Alexander H. Stephens (February 11, 1812 – March 4, 1883)

Alexander Hamilton Stephens was born near Crawfordville, Georgia, on February 11, 1812. He represented Georgia in Congress from 1843 until 1859, where he consistently supported the perpetuation of the Union, states rights, and slavery. In 1850, as loyal Southerners and ardent abolitionists called for a military solution to the status of slavery in the territories, Stephens took a position that proved prophetic: "You may think that the suppression of an outbreak in the southern States would be a holiday job for a few of your northern regiments, but you may find to your cost, in the end, that seven millions of people fighting for their rights their homes and their hearth-stones cannot be 'easily conquered'." Early in 1861, delegates from the seceded states met to draft a constitution and elected Jefferson Davis President and Alexander Stephens Vice President. With few responsibilities and little power, Stephens most notable act came in early February 1865, when he met secretly (and unsuccessfully) with President Lincoln and Secretary of State Seward to negotiate a peaceful settlement on condition of Confederate independence. Stephens was arrested at his home in Crawfordville on May 11, 1865. He was imprisoned in Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, for five months until October 1865. In 1866, he was elected to the United States Senate by the first legislature convened under the new Georgia state constitution but did not present his credentials as the state had not been readmitted to the union. In 1873, he was elected U.S. Representative as a Democrat from the 8th District to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Ambrose R. Wright and was re-elected in 1874, 1876, 1878, and 1880. He served in the 43rd through 47th Congresses, from December 1, 1873 until his resignation on November 4, 1882. On that date he was elected and took office as governor of Georgia. His tenure as governor proved brief; Stephens died on March 4, 1883, four months after taking office. According to a former slave, a gate fell on Stephens "and he was crippled and lamed up from dat time on 'til he died." He was interred in Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, then re-interred on his estate, Liberty Hall, near Crawfordville.


Liberty Hall, estate of Alexander H. Stephens
at Crawfordville, Georgia