Augustus Romaldus Wright (June 16, 1813 – March 31, 1891) was an American politician and lawyer, who briefly served against the United States as a colonel in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, 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), fighting ...

during 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 th ...

. He resigned his commission to serve in the Confederate Congress.

Early life

Augustus Wright was born in

Wrightsboro, Georgia Wrightsboro is an unincorporated community in McDuffie County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. It has an estimated population of 144. History The first permanent settlement at Wrightsboro was made in the 1760s by a colony of Quakers. The community ...

and attended

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

in Appling. Wright attended the

Franklin College of Arts and Sciences The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest and largest college of the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia. Established in 1801 following the American Revolution, the college was named in honor of American Founding Father B ...

, the founding college of the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

where he was a member of the

Phi Kappa Literary Society The Phi Kappa Literary Society is a college literary society, located at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, and is one of the few active literary societies left in America. Founded in 1820, the society continues to meet every academic ...

. Wright studied law at the

Litchfield Law School The Litchfield Law School of Litchfield, Connecticut, was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietary school was unaffiliated with any college or university. (Whi ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

and was admitted to the

State Bar of Georgia The State Bar of Georgia is the governing body of the legal profession in the State of Georgia, operating under the supervision of the Supreme Court of Georgia. Membership is a condition of admission to practice law in Georgia. The State Bar w ...

in 1835—becoming a practicing attorney in

Crawfordville, Georgia Crawfordville is a town in Taliaferro County, Georgia, United States. The population was 534 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Taliaferro County. History Crawfordville was founded in 1825 as the seat of the newly formed Taliafer ...

,Augustus Romaldus Wright
litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org. Retrieved July 22, 2013. the same year. From 1842 until 1849, Wright served as judge of the superior court of the Cherokee circuit and from 1855 to 1857 as a judge of the

superior court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

of Georgia. Wright owned slaves.

Political career

In 1856, Augustus Wright was elected to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and served one term from 1857 to 1859. He ran as an anti-secession delegate for a seat at the Georgia Secession Convention but lost to his son in law, Francis Shropshire. He was one of ten Georgia delegates to the Confederate Constitution Convention in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1861.WRIGHT, Augustus Romaldus, (1813 - 1891)
congress.gov. Retrieved July 22, 2013. Wright served in the First Confederate Congress. Augustus Wright organized "Wright’s Legion" of Georgia volunteers and served as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military 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 colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the Georgia 38th Infantry Regiment for the

in the Army of Northern Virginia.Georgia 38th Infantry Regiment
researchonline.net. Retrieved July 22, 2013. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln offered Wright the position of provisional governor of Georgia in 1864 if the state withdrew from the Confederacy, which did not happen. After the war, Wright served as a member of the Georgia constitutional convention in 1877. He died in 1891 at his home near

Rome, Georgia Rome is the largest city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia metropolitan area, Rome, Georgia, metropolitan statisti ...

, and was buried in Rome's

Myrtle Hill Cemetery Myrtle Hill Cemetery is the second oldest cemetery in the city of Rome, Georgia. The cemetery is at the confluence of the Etowah River and Oostanaula River and to the south of downtown Rome across the South Broad Street bridge. Geography Three ...

Early life

Political career

References

See also