Alexander Cheves Haskell (September 22, 1839 – April 13, 1910) was a

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and a Democratic politician in

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

Early life

Haskell was born in

Abbeville County Abbeville County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 24,295. Its county seat is Abbeville. It is the first county (or county equivalent) in the United States alphabetically. Abbev ...

and raised in Columbia, where he graduated second in his class from South Carolina College and was a member of the

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest Fraternities and sororities, fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active Colony (fraternity or sorority), colonies across No ...

fraternity, right before the start of the

Civil War

He enthusiastically volunteered for service in the

and was mustered in the First Regiment of the South Carolina Volunteer Infantry, serving as an Assistant Adjutant General for Maxcy Gregg. En route to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

in September 1861 for action in the Eastern Theater, Haskell married Rebecca Coles Singleton in

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the seat of government of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Quee ...

. She died on June 26, 1862, after the birth of a daughter six days earlier. The First South Carolina Regiment initially saw significant action in 1862 at the

Seven Days Battles The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate States Army, Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army ...

and would play a major role in the

Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

by repulsing six Union assaults. On May 27, 1864, Martin Gary promoted Haskell to

and placed him in charge of the 7th SC Cavalry in the brigade formerly commanded by

Wade Hampton III Wade Hampton III (March 28, 1818April 11, 1902) was an American politician from South Carolina. He was a prominent member of one of the richest families in the antebellum Southern United States, owning thousands of acres of cotton land in Sout ...

. Haskell was injured four times in the war, at the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville,

Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Army, Union Lieuten ...

and Darbytown Road. It was at Darbytown Road where he was most seriously injured after suffering a shot to the head and losing the function of his left eye, but he managed to recover in time to participate in the Appomattox Campaign. Haskell was appointed by General

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to surrender the Confederate cavalry of the

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was a field army of the Confederate States Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed agains ...

at the Appomattox Court House on April 12, 1865.

Postwar activities

After the war, in 1870, Haskell married Alice Van Yeveren Alexander, the sister of

Edward Porter Alexander Edward Porter Alexander (May 26, 1835 – April 28, 1910) was an American military engineer, railroad executive, planter, and author. He served first as an officer in the United States Army and later, during the American Civil War (1861–1865) ...

. Haskell practiced law in South Carolina and was chosen in 1876 to be the chairman of the state Democratic party Executive Committee. His efforts were instrumental in the

gubernatorial election A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

by uniting the party for the straightout cause to redeem the state from

Radical Republican The Radical Republicans were a political faction within the Republican Party originating from the party's founding in 1854—some six years before the Civil War—until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Reconstruction. They ca ...

rule during

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

. Governor Wade Hampton rewarded him for his dedication and fervor by having Haskell placed on the

state supreme court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in ...

in 1877. In the 1880s, Haskell became the president of the Columbia and Greenville Railroad. Haskell and conservative Democrats were bitterly opposed to Ben Tillman's candidacy for governor in 1890. Tillman was an uncouth

demagogue A demagogue (; ; ), or rabble-rouser, is a political leader in a democracy who gains popularity by arousing the common people against elites, especially through oratory that whips up the passions of crowds, Appeal to emotion, appealing to emo ...

who expressed his opposition to everything favored by the conservatives and further irritating Haskell was that while both men lost the function of an eye, Haskell courageously continued to serve in the Confederate army while Tillman dodged service. Failing to beat Tillman at the state Democratic convention, Haskell led a straightout Democratic ticket in the general election and even appealed for votes from blacks and Republicans. Many in the state refused to vote for anyone other than the official Democratic candidate out of fear of giving Republicans another chance at state government and thus the Haskell ticket fared poorly. Until his death on April 13, 1910, Haskell was serving as the

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

of National Loan & Exchange Bank of Columbia. He was buried in Columbia at Elmwood Cemetery.

Children

From his first marriage, to Rebecca Coles Singleton (1838–1862), Haskell had one daughter: * Rebecca Singleton Haskell (born June 20, 1862) Haskell had ten children from his marriage with Alice Van Yeveren Alexander (born 1848): * Alexander Cheves Haskell, Jr. (born August 15, 1871) * Louise Porter Haskell (born July 25, 1872) * Mary Elizabeth Haskell (December 11, 1873 – October 9, 1964) * Anthony Porter Haskell (born January 27, 1875) * Marion Alexander Haskell (born June 5, 1876) * Charles Thomson Haskell (born April 25, 1878) * Frederika Christina Haskell (born December 10, 1880) * Adam Leopold Haskell (born September 1, 1882) * Alice Van Yeveren Haskell (born June 21, 1884) * Suzanna Courtonne Haskell (born February 16, 1886)

References

* * * * Stokes, Karen, ed. 2019. ''An everlasting circle: Letters of the Haskell family of Abbeville, South Carolina. 1861–1865.'' Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. . * Daly, Louise Haskell. Alexander Cheves Haskell: The Portrait of a Man. 1934. Reprint, Wilmington, N.C.: Broadfoot, 1989. * Garlington, J. C. Men of the Time: Sketches of Living Notables. 1902. Reprint, Spartanburg, S.C.: Reprint Company, 1972.

External links

USC Biography of Alexander Cheves Haskell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haskell, Alexander Cheves 1839 births 1910 deaths American shooting survivors Confederate States Army officers Justices of the South Carolina Supreme Court People from Abbeville County, South Carolina People of South Carolina in the American Civil War South Carolina Democrats 19th-century South Carolina state court judges Neo-Confederates