legislature from Montgomery County, was a delegate to the Whig convention
in 1840, for he belonged to the state's rights wing of that party, and
assisted in the nomination of Harrison and Tyler, he being responsible for
the nomination of Mr. Tyler for the Vice Presidency. Placed on the
electoral ticket in Alabama, he canvassed the state in the interest of
Harrison and Tyler. In 1841 he was elected to Congress, declining a
foreign mission that year, but later accepting the mission to Belgium,
which was tendered him by Mr. Tyler, who after becoming President
recognized the service rendered by Mr. Hilliard in his behalf in procuring
for him the Vice Presidency.
Resigning after two years of service at Brussels, Hilliard returned to
Alabama, and was successively elected to congress for a period of years,
defeating, at different times, such men as John Cochran and James L. Pugh,
both of Barbour. So creditable was the first speech made by Mr. Hilliard
on the floor of congress, that ex-President John Quincy Adams, then a
member of the House, went across the hall to congratulate him.
In congress, as ever elsewhere, Mr. Hilliard impressed all, not only by
his ability as an orator, but as a scholar, and a resourceful one. The
recognition of this latter fact led to his appointment as one of the
original regents of the Smithsonian Institution. His varied ability
resulted in unusual demands being made on him, for he was diligent,
active, and resourceful, and measured up to every obligation imposed.
Mr. Hilliard was on the electoral tickets of Fillmore in 1856, and of Bell
and Everett in 1860. In the formation of the Southern Confederacy he was
one of the commissioners appointed by President Davis to assist in the
adjustment of Tennessee matters preparatory to the admittance of that
state into the new confederation. During the Civil War he raised a body of
troops which was known as Hillard's Legion, and was given a commission as
brigadier general. After the close of hostilities General Hilliard located
at Augusta, Ga., where for a while he engaged in the practice of the law,
and later removed to Atlanta.
He was appointed by President Hayes minister to Brazil, which position he
filled during the years 1877-81, and the mission to Germany was tendered
him when that of the Brazilian should close. Among the brilliant events
which entered into his life was that of a participation in the
emancipation of the slaves in Brazil during his incumbency of the
diplomatic ministry to that country. It was during that time that the
question became a paramount one in that country, and his views were sought
concerning the results in the North American states, in reply to which
solicitations he wrote a long letter, which was a turning point in the
colossal movement, and assured the success of the proposed reform. In
appreciation of this service a great banquet was given in his honor in Rio
Janeiro, on the occasion of which he delivered an address which was as
remarkable as the letter which he had previously written. Both the letter
and the address were embodied by Lord Granville, secretary of state for
foreign affairs, in the Gladstone ministry, in the official blue book of
Great Britain.
In a brief sketch like this, so imperfectly drawn, one gains but an
imperfect idea of the manysidedness of the character and usefulness of
General Hilliard. As orator, statesman, diplomat, author and soldier,
General Hilliard led a long public career of unusual distinction, marked
by utility and crowned with intellectual luster.
He had not the consummate skill and gifts of oratory possessed by his
gigantic rival, Yancey, whom he encountered at different times in debate.
Hilliard was an elocutionist rather than an orator, and brought to the
stump and forum all the culture and niceties of that art. He was to Yancey
that which Edward Everett was to Webster. Webster and Yancey were like
mountain torrents, bearing all before them with resistless force. Everett
and Hilliard were like the summer brook, winding with graceful curve
amidst green meadows, flashing in splendor, but fructifying in their
onward course. The ability to speak effectively was derived by Hilliard
more from culture; that of Yancey more from nature. Hilliard could speak
on almost any occasion with effectiveness; Yancey needed the afflatus of
the hour derived from a sea of upturned faces, an expectant multitude, a
subject of consuming interest. Gifted with a voice of music, the diction
of Hilliard was classic, facile and fervid.
Like a few others of our public men, Hilliard found diversion in the
employment of his fertile pen, from which came such productions as "Roman
Nights" and "De Vane." Throughout his life he illustrated the character of
the Christian statesman.
JEREMIAH CLEMENS
Jeremiah Clemens was a favored son of fortune. His career fell on the
palmiest period of southern history. Possessed of varied talents, his life
was correspondingly varied. He had power, and when exercised, the result
was tremendous. His intellectual strength was of a high order, his
literary taste delicate, his ability to command unquestioned, and his
oratory brilliant and potent. His varied gifts led him into the four
departments of law, politics, war, and literature. In none of these was he
deficient, for he was an able advocate, a statesman of undeniable ability,
a commander of no mean qualities, and a writer whose skill and deftness of
touch made him popular.
The scholastic advantages of Colonel Clemens were superior. First a
student at LaGrange College, at that time a school of high class, he
completed his course at the University of Alabama. He afterwards took a
law course at Transylvania University, Kentucky, and entered on the
practice of law in 1834. His first public service was as United States
District Attorney, and for a period of years he was a member of the
legislature of Alabama.
The spirit of the warrior and patriot was stirred within him by the
struggle of the Texans for independence, and he raised a voluntary force
to join in that contest. Of this regiment thus voluntarily raised, he
became the lieutenant-colonel. The command marched westward, shared in the
battles of that land of plains, and returned when the struggle was ended.
Again entering politics, he represented his county in the legislature of
Alabama, where he won distinction as a debater and statesman, and later he
became a Democratic elector in a presidential contest. In all these
stations Colonel Clemens showed more than ordinary ability and won a
degree of distinction.
Having gotten a taste of war in the struggle in Texas, he was again
induced to employ his sword in the Mexican War. Becoming
lieutenant-colonel of the Ninth Infantry, his command participated in a
number of battles in Mexico. In 1849 he was appointed governor of the
civil and military department of purchase in Mexico. In this connection he
served till the close of the war with Mexico, after which time the army
was reduced and Colonel Clemens returned to Alabama and resumed the
practice of law.
Vast opportunity had thus been afforded this gifted man for the
enlargement of his vision of affairs, and it had not been slighted. His
military career had served to bring him into increased conspicuousness and
to enhance his popularity. When Hon. Dixon H. Lewis died in New York,
Colonel Clemens was elected to fill his unexpired term.
All this had been achieved by Colonel Clemens by the time he was
thirty-five years old, a period when most men begin the accomplishments of
life. In a wide and commanding orbit such as was afforded in the United
States Senate, Colonel Clemens came to be one of its most popular members.
He was an orator of the Ciceronian type, and his utterances flashed with
the radiance occasioned by the friction of intense thought. His combined
qualities and varied experience in different spheres of life served him
admirably when on his feet in the Senate chamber. He could husband his
resources with skill and with remarkable readiness, and his sentences fell
from his lips like minted coin fresh from the stamp--bright, beautiful,
and warm. Independence and self-assertion he had in abundance, nor was he
lacking in genuine courage, but his temperamental disposition lent to
these qualities a degree of dash which sometimes betrayed him into
rashness which often induced men to hesitate to follow his leading. The
spirit of the warrior in battle was often his in the rough and tumble of
debate, but he found that the dash of the field in the leadership of man
would not prevail in the cool, staid thoughtfulness of the forum. He was
the dash of the mountain stream rather than the buoying and staying power
of the deep lake. A rapid thinker and a man of brilliant action, he was
more the subject of impulse than of calm and judicial poise. This
neutralizing element alone prevented Colonel Clemens from becoming a great
leader. That he had the qualities of leadership none denied, but he lacked
the poise that made his position a stable one. Still this did not prevent
his attainment to national distinction as a United States senator.
In the indulgence of his literary tastes Colonel Clemens published, in
1856, his first book, "Bernard Lile," a romance fascinating alike for its
rosy diction, its rapid movement, and its shifting episode. At the time of
its appearance, the work created a considerable sensation. This was
followed two years later by his second work, "Mustang Gray," which was
born of his observations and experiences in the Mexican War. The first
work prepared the way for a wider circulation of the second, the
popularity of which was derived in part from its proximity, in point of
appearance, to the scenes and events of the recent war with Mexico. For a
season "Mustang Gray" was the reigning novel. Within little more than a
year from the time of the appearance of "Mustang Gray" there came from the
prolific pen of Colonel Clemens "The Rivals," based on the stirring scenes
grouped about the period of Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. The cast of
the novel as a work of art has changed since the time of the appearance of
these stories, but they aptly represent the romance of that period, and
are not wanting in genuine merit.
Politically Colonel Clemens was a Unionist. He belonged to the school of
politics of which Benjamin H. Hill was a conspicuous representative. From
his antecedents and his cavalier dash, the inference would logically be
that Jeremiah Clemens would be an ardent secessionist, but he was opposed
to immediate secession, and preferred the adoption of a co-operative
policy, after a thorough consultation of the states, which was aggrieved
by the election of Mr. Lincoln. While opposed to the ordinance of
secession, Colonel Clemens voted for it by a surrender of his conviction,
because, such was the condition of the time, that not to support it would
have placed him in opposition to his native state. In an emergency like
this Colonel Clemens yielded his convictions and went with the state. He
was appointed a major general, commanding the state troops of Alabama, a
precautionary step taken by the state, provided it should be thrown back
on itself as a result of its voluntary withdrawal from the Union. The
union proclivities of Colonel Clemens never forsook him, and during the
latter part of the Civil War he went to Philadelphia, where he wrote an
unfortunate pamphlet, ill-timed and unwise, which gave great offense. He
died near the close of the war.
THOMAS H. WATTS
The name of Thomas Hill Watts in the records of the state is inseparable
from a high standard of professional, public, and moral greatness.
Gigantic in person, he was equally so in all things else. He was long in
the public eye, and bore himself with so signal greatness that he is
remembered as one of the most conspicuous public figures that ever graced
the annals of Alabama. Distinguished by unusual parts even in his boyhood
days, his father, who resided near Butler Springs, in Butler County, gave
to the promising son the best advantages then afforded in scholastic
training by sending him to the University of Virginia. At that time that
institution was pre-eminently the greatest in the Union. Following the
popular trend of those days, pursued by almost every young man of promise,
Mr. Watts chose law as a profession, and began practicing at Greenville.
He soon distinguished himself at the bar, and while still a young man was
chosen to represent Butler County in the legislature. For three successive
sessions he was the choice of his county for this position, and maintained
himself with meritorious merit, as is shown by the repetition of his
election so long as he would serve.
Locating in Montgomery, he entered on a successful practice of his
profession, and for a long period of years preserved the reputation of
being one of the leading members of the Montgomery bar. In 1855 he was
again summoned from private life to represent his party, the Whig, in a
contest for congress against Col. James F. Dowdell. Mr. Watts was
defeated after an exciting canvass, but the campaign resulted in his
acknowledged leadership of his party in the state. In the memorable
presidential campaign of 1860, Mr. Watts was the leader of the electoral
ticket in Alabama for Bell and Everett. Being a union man and opposed to
secession, his patriotism rose superior to his party fealty, and after the
election of Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Watts was as pronounced a secessionist as
any. Under existing conditions he recognized the fact that not to go with
his state was treachery, his position and sentiments being precisely those
of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Men of this school of thought deplored the
necessity of war and would gladly have averted it if possible, but when it
became inevitable there was but one course left open. Consequently in the
constitutional convention of 1861 Mr. Watts was as ardent in the
expression of southern rights as was Mr. Yancey himself. The country was
in the ferment of agitation and hostility. The south was threatened with
invasion, and every patriot was stirred. Thomas H. Watts was among the
first to raise a regiment and offer his services to the Confederacy.
Becoming the colonel of the Seventeenth Alabama regiment, his command saw
its first service at Pensacola, which at that time seemed to be destined
one of the strategic positions of the approaching conflict, but the
regiment was soon ordered to join the army of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnson,
in Tennessee. In the battle of Shiloh Colonel Watts displayed the
qualities of a soldier equal to those shown by him in other spheres which
he had occupied. He was cool, courageous, and daring under fire, to so
marked a degree that he won the attention of his superior officers, and
his conduct in that battle became a subject of popular comment throughout
the country.
Much to his surprise, while in camp at Corinth, Miss., he was summoned to
Richmond by President Davis, who offered him the portfolio of the attorney
general in his cabinet, a place made vacant by the appointment of Hon.
Judah P. Benjamin as secretary of war. Responding to the call, Colonel
Watts resigned the command of his regiment and went immediately to the
seat of the Confederate government. Here he remained in the cabinet of Mr.
Davis till October, 1863, when he resigned to offer for the governorship
of Alabama.
The struggling Confederacy had now reached its crisis. The position to
which Colonel Watts was elected, as governor of Alabama, was one of the
most trying possible. The administration of his predecessor had been
attended by storm and tumult. A dire extremity confronted the new and
struggling republic, as in its efforts it was seeking to gain a solid
footing. Disaster had followed disaster, relieved only by the brilliant
achievements of the southern soldiery against formidable odds. Thenceforth
it was a fight for life.
From the outset, his position as war governor of Alabama was beset by
gigantic perplexities, but bringing to the task his resources and skill,
he was enabled to effect as much as any one could under prevailing
conditions. He turned to practical advantage the limited means within
reach, and won distinction by his mastery of a difficult situation. The
geographical situation of Alabama, as the center of the Confederacy, with
one of the stormiest seats of war in the adjoining state on the north, and
with a seaboard exposed on the south, it was inevitable that the state
would share in the invasions to which were subjected the states adjoining.
In April, 1865, Montgomery fell into the hands of the enemy. Besides much
patriotic sacrifice as a public official, Governor Watts suffered
immensely in his private fortune, as one of the consequences of the
invasion. The enemy seemed to find special pleasure in wreaking his
vengeance on a man who had been so conspicuous since the beginning of the
struggle. The federal troops burned two hundred and fifty bales of cotton
on his plantation, besides three thousand bushels of corn, much of which
was sacked ready for distribution among the suffering people of his native
county, Butler. His meat supplies were also destroyed, and his plantation
depleted of stock, among which were forty valuable mules. In a single day
he was reduced from wealth to poverty, in consequence of his loyalty to
his native state and section.
But sustained by an unusually happy temperament and an optimism which was
inspired by hope, he at once opened his law office, after the cessation of
hostilities, and devoted himself again to the practice of the law in the
city of Montgomery, to which he devoted the remainder of his life. His
last years were characterized by an ability which comes of a pre-eminent
native intellect, reinforced by long experience and years of garnered
wisdom. To have heard him in the courts would sometimes remind one of a
Titan sweeping a continent of thought. Besides, he was a good man. It is
to his credit, as a public servant, that amidst the most stirring periods
through which the state passed, he was not only abstemious of all
intoxicants, but enjoyed the distinction of never having offered to
another a drink. A devoted Christian gentleman, he lived and died.
J. L. M. CURRY
Jabez L. M. Curry was one of the most noted and brilliant sons of Alabama.
His was a long, stirring and useful life. Filling divers stations of
trust, he proved to be the equal of any. Statesman, soldier, minister of
the gospel, educator, publicist, reformer, diplomat--all these spheres
were held by him with distinction. His versatility of gifts was wonderful,
his accomplishments striking. Polished, scholarly, wise, eloquent, genial,
he was easy of adjustment to all stations and relations, and bore himself
throughout life without the slightest whisper of disparagement to his
character or career.
A native of Georgia and a graduate from the university of that state, he
took a law course at Harvard in 1845. He became a resident of Alabama in
1837, and after the completion of his scholastic and professional courses
he entered on the practice of law. His talents veered more in the
direction of public affairs than toward the law office or the court room,
and in 1847 he was in the legislature, a representative from Talladega
County. In this capacity he served till 1856, when he became a Buchanan
elector.
The popularity thus obtained by Mr. Curry enabled him to go to congress
for two consecutive terms, and in 1861 he entered the Confederate
congress, where he served for two terms. Entering the army he was
lieutenant colonel of the Fifth Alabama Cavalry regiment, in which he
served till the close of the war. He became an active participant in the
struggles which attended on the period of reconstruction, and in the
seventies entered the Baptist ministry, preaching with the same acceptance
with which he had served in other stations. He was never a pastor, and
eventually gave up preaching, but preserved a blamelessness of life that
has made his memory one to be revered by all who knew him.
From 1866 to 1868, he was the president of Howard College, then at Marion.
For a period of years Dr. Curry was a member of the faculty of Richmond
College, Virginia, where he found opportunity for the indulgence of his
literary tastes which were superior to those of most public men. While in
the early part of his career he was reserved and silent, for the most
part, in the deliberative and legislative bodies of which he was so often
a member, he became in the meridian of his splendid powers one of the most
attractive speakers in the country. His elements of strength as an orator
were forcefulness, impressiveness and projectility of power which carried
earnestness and elegance of diction. Welling from intensity of conviction
and profound conscientiousness, men saw and felt that he was absolutely
sincere, believed that which he advocated, and this gave him immense force
before a public assemblage.
Becoming the general agent of the Peabody Educational Fund, in 1881, and
later of the Peabody and Slater Funds, he did much for the promotion of
the education of both races in the south. In this capacity Dr. Curry was
frequently brought before the legislatures of the different states of the
south in the urgency of appropriations for educational purposes, and was
a vigorous contributor to the cause of general education for a long period
of years.
In 1885 he was sent as United States minister to the court of Spain, and
was a warm personal friend of King Alfonso XII, who died before the birth
of his son, the present monarch of that country. On the occasion of the
coronation of Alfonso XIII, the present king of Spain, Dr. Curry was sent
as special ambassador of the United States to Madrid, where he was greeted
with the same cordiality as was accorded to him in former years, during
his service as minister to that country.
Highly favored with fortune throughout his life, Dr. Curry found time and
leisure to gratify his taste for literary pursuits, which enabled him to
enter the field of authorship and to produce a number of valuable works.
Besides many small works, usually of a religious character, Dr. Curry
wrote "Constitutional Government in Spain," a "Life of Gladstone," "The
Southern States of the American Union," and "The Civil History of the
Confederate Government."
On the occasion of his death a few years ago at Richmond, Va., the recall
of his long and varied life and services was a subject of much favorable
comment in the press throughout the nation. For almost sixty years he had
been uninterruptedly before the public, in a variety of capacities, rarely
equalled in number by any one. The ability with which he was able to
adjust himself to the demands of these varied stations occasioned much
astonishment and favor of comment.
In the quieter walks of life, Dr. Curry acquitted himself as he did while
in the public gaze. A polished and accomplished gentleman, with a
striking personality, he was equally accessible to the learned and the
humble. Absolutely free from austerity or the semblance of arrogance,
preserving throughout a gentle dignity, his demeanor was alike to all. It
is not a matter of wonder therefore that he was universally popular.
Typically southern in thought and sentiment, and representing that which
was highest in the life of the social South, no one of either section ever
excelled Dr. Curry in the interest which he entertained for the negro
race. Some of the most striking and eloquent passages in his addresses
before the legislatures of the states of the South were earnest pleas in
behalf of the education of the negro. Both North and South he fairly
represented the black race, and regarded the whites of the South
providentially entrusted with a trusteeship of these people, which
obligation they should not deny nor avoid. He was in thorough accord with
Bishops Haygood and Galloway of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in
his advocacy of the claims of the negro to justice and protection, and for
equipment for the greatest possible usefulness.
There was a rotundity and symmetry of character and of career in Dr. J. L.
M. Curry that made him a very remarkable man. His relations of friendship
extended from men in the loftiest stations of American life to that in the
lower social rounds.