Alexander Keith McClung (14 June 1811 – 23 March 1855) was an attorney from

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vi ...

, who briefly served as US chargé d'affaires to Bolivia in President

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

's administration. An " inveterate Southern duelist" nicknamed "The Black Knight of the South", he killed as many as fourteen men in duels during his life. He was also a poet. James H. Street used him as the model for the character Keith Alexander in his novel ''Tap Roots'' (1942). McClung was born in

Fauquier County, Virginia Fauquier is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,972. The county seat is Warrenton. Fauquier County is in Northern Virginia and is a part of the Washington metropolitan area. History In 160 ...

, and was the nephew of United States Chief Justice John Marshall. He served as lieutenant colonel of the 1st Mississippi Regiment during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

. He was widely despised for his ill manners, bad credit, gambling, and drunkenness. He committed suicide in the Eagle Hotel in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...

. McClung was interred at Cedar Hill Cemetery in

.Cedar Hill Cemetery tombstone database (McClung, Col. Alexander K.)
Retrieved 2015-08-21.

Notes

References

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External links

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...

* (born 1811) and als
here
(born 1809) {{DEFAULTSORT:McClung, Alexander Keith 1811 births 1855 deaths 19th-century American diplomats Ambassadors of the United States to Bolivia American military personnel of the Mexican–American War American duellists People from Fauquier County, Virginia Suicides in Mississippi United States Army colonels Writers from Mississippi 1850s suicides