Christopher Columbus Harris (January 28, 1842 – December 28, 1935) represented Alabama's 8th congressional district in the

United States 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 ...

Early life

Harris was born in

Lawrence County, Alabama Lawrence County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,073. The county seat is Moulton. The county was named after James Lawrence, a captain in the United States Navy from Ne ...

near the community of Mount Hope. His education consisted of both the public schools and private tutoring. When 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 ...

began, Harris enlisted in 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 ...

army. He was assigned to the Sixteenth Alabama Infantry, Company F. He progressed through the ranks, attaining the rank of lieutenant. At a point, Harris was captured and taken as a prisoner of war by the Union. He was held at Camp Chase, Ohio, until the war ended.

Postwar activities

Upon returning to Alabama, Harris served as Clerk of the Circuit Court of Lawrence County from 1865-1867. He studied law and began to practice in

Moulton, Alabama Moulton is a city in Lawrence County, Alabama, and is included in the Decatur Metropolitan Area, as well as the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. Although it incorporated in 1819,Decatur, Alabama Decatur (dɪˈkeɪtə(r)) is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City", it is located in northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler La ...

, where he continued his practice of law. In 1887 he was instrumental in establishing the First National Bank of Decatur and served as its president until 1913.

Politics

In that year he established the Bank of Commerce and became its president. He also became the chairman of the Democratic executive committee for the 8th district and was elected to fill the unexpired term of William Richardson, who had died in office. He served from May 1914 until March 1915. He did not seek reelection.

Later life

After his Washington work, Harris returned to Alabama and served as president of City National Bank in Decatur. He was later named to the Chairmanship of the bank. he died December 28, 1935. He is buried in th
Decatur City Cemetery
Decatur, Alabama.

References

*Biographies of the United States Congres
Christopher Columbus Harris
Accessed 20 April 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Christopher Columbus 1842 births 1935 deaths Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives People from Lawrence County, Alabama Politicians from Decatur, Alabama Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama 20th-century American politicians