Andrew Barry Moore (March 7, 1807 – April 5, 1873) was the
16th
16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and .
In English speech, ...
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of the U.S. state of
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
from 1857 to 1861 and served as Governor at the outbreak of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
.
Early life
Moore was born in Spartanburg District, South Carolina, to Jane and Charles Moore, a cotton planter and veteran of the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
and the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...
. Moore's father purchased land in
Perry County, Alabama
Perry County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,511. Its county seat is Marion. The county was established in 1819 and is named in honor of Commodore Oliver Haz ...
, in 1820, and his family moved there, although the younger Moore remained in school in South Carolina before joining his family in 1826.
Career
After teaching school at Marion in Perry County for two years, Moore
read law, and was admitted to the bar in 1833. For eight years, he served as Justice of the Peace for Perry County.
In 1839 Moore was elected to the
Alabama House of Representatives as a Democrat, reelected in 1842, and served four consecutive terms. Elected Speaker of the House in 1843, 1844, and 1845,
Moore worked closely with Governor
Benjamin Fitzpatrick
Benjamin Fitzpatrick (June 30, 1802 – November 21, 1869) was the 11th Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama and a United States Senator from that state. He was a Democrat.
Early life
Born in Greene County, Georgia, Fitzpatrick was orphaned at ...
in the liquidation of the State Bank. Moore advocated the relocation of the state capitol to Montgomery and delivered the last speech in the old Hall of the House of Representatives in Tuscaloosa.
Moore resumed his law practice in 1846. He was a presidential elector for Democratic candidate
Lewis Cass in 1848. Appointed by Governor
Henry W. Collier in 1851 to fill a vacancy on the circuit bench, Moore served in that capacity until 1857, when he accepted the Democratic Party's nomination for governor. He was elected without opposition.
Education and
internal improvements
Internal improvements is the term used historically in the United States for public works from the end of the American Revolution through much of the 19th century, mainly for the creation of a transportation infrastructure: roads, turnpikes, canal ...
received significant attention during Moore's first term. Construction was completed on the
Alabama Insane Hospital at
Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of ...
, and Dr. Peter Bryce was appointed its first superintendent. The Institute for the Deaf and Blind was established at
Talladega. The Medical College, a branch of the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...
, was established at
Mobile
Mobile may refer to:
Places
* Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city
* Mobile County, Alabama
* Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S.
* Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Mobile ( ...
. Moore advocated state aid supplemented by Federal land grants to promote railroad construction. He particularly favored efforts of the Alabama and Alabama River Railroad to connect the northern and southern areas of the state.
Then considered a moderate on the
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
issue, Moore defeated the extremist William F. Samford,
[Alabama, The History of a Deep South State] in the gubernatorial election of 1859. Although he became more concerned with the defense of slavery after
John Brown's raid on the U.S. Arsenal at
Harper's Ferry, Virginia
Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The population was 285 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Situated at the confluence o ...
, in October 1859, Moore continued to recommend caution. Nevertheless, the state legislature enacted a law to provide for a state military organization in February 1860. The law established a Military Commission composed of the governor, an adjutant and inspector general, a quartermaster general, and a state army of eight thousand volunteers. The legislature also approved a resolution requiring the governor, in the event of a "black Republican" being elected president, to call for the election of delegates to a state convention "to consider, determine, and do whatever necessary to protect the interests of the state." On December 24, 1860, Moore issued writs of election, leading to the Secession Convention of 1861.
Between the November 1860 election of
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
and the meeting of the Alabama Convention on January 7, 1861, Moore took several decisive steps to safeguard the state's financial status and defensive capabilities. He urged banks to suspend specie payments and to exchange large amounts of capital for state bonds. He ordered the state militia to seize the U.S. Army arsenal at Mt. Vernon and
Forts Morgan and
Gaines on
Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay ( ) is a shallow inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The ...
. He contributed more than five hundred troops to assist Florida Governor
Madison S. Perry in capturing the U.S. Army forts at
Pensacola
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...
.
When the government of the
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
was organized in
Montgomery in February 1861, Moore used his influence to help secure the election of the conservative
Jefferson Davis over the more radical
William Lowndes Yancey
William Lowndes Yancey (August 10, 1814July 27, 1863) was an American journalist, politician, orator, diplomat and an American leader of the Southern secession movement. A member of the group known as the Fire-Eaters, Yancey was one of the m ...
.
After he left office, Moore was appointed special
aide-de-camp by Governor
John Gill Shorter
John Gill Shorter (April 23, 1818 – May 29, 1872) was an American politician who served as the 17th Governor of Alabama from 1861 to 1863. Prior to assuming the governorship, Shorter was a Deputy from Alabama to the Provisional Congress of th ...
, and he worked to coordinate the procurement and transportation of supplies to General
Albert Sidney Johnston
Albert Sidney Johnston (February 2, 1803 – April 6, 1862) served as a general in three different armies: the Texian Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States Army. He saw extensive combat during his 34-year military career, figh ...
in northern Alabama. Following the surrender of
Robert E. Lee at
Appomattox, Moore was arrested by Federal troops and imprisoned at
Fort Pulaski
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
in
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...
, with other Confederate leaders. Released in August 1865, he returned to Marion, Alabama, and resumed law practice.
Personal life
In 1832, he married Mary Goree, the daughter of a local planter. They resided in Marion, Alabama.
Death
He died in 1873.
References
* Alabama Department of Archives and History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Andrew B.
1807 births
1873 deaths
People from Spartanburg County, South Carolina
American people of Scotch-Irish descent
Democratic Party governors of Alabama
Confederate States of America state governors
Speakers of the Alabama House of Representatives
Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives
Alabama state court judges
American justices of the peace
Alabama lawyers
American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law
19th-century American politicians
19th-century American judges
People of Alabama in the American Civil War