Leroy Magnum McAfee (1837 – 1873) was an American Confederate veteran and politician. He was a member of the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

. He later served as the inspiration for the protagonist of his nephew Thomas Dixon Jr.'s infamous 1905 play '' The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan'' and its 1915 film adaptation ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Cla ...

''.

Early life

Leroy Magnum McAfee was born on December 17, 1837 in North Carolina. He graduated with first honors from the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

in 1859; President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

was the featured speaker at the graduation.

Career

McAfee worked as an attorney in

Shelby, North Carolina Shelby is a city in and the county seat of Cleveland County, North Carolina, United States. It lies near the western edge of the Charlotte combined statistical area. The population was 20,323 at the 2010 census. History The area was originally i ...

. 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 ...

of 1861-1865, McAfee served as an officer 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 ...

. He was commissioned as a Major on April 12, 1862, in the 49th North Carolina Infantry. He was promoted to the rank of Colonel on November 1, 1862. McAfee served as a member of the

from 1870 to 1873, representing

Cleveland County, North Carolina Cleveland County is a county located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the western Piedmont, on the southern border of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 99,519. Its county seat is Shelb ...

. He was a member of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

. According to his nephew Dixon, McAfee helped impeach Governor

William Woods Holden William Woods Holden (November 24, 1818 – March 1, 1892) was an American politician who served as the List of Governors of North Carolina, 38th and 40th governor of North Carolina. He was appointed by President of the United States, President ...

Personal life, death and legacy

McAfee was married twice. His first wife was Hattie Cameron and his second wife, Agnes Adelaide Williams. McAfee's nephew, Thomas Dixon, Jr., dedicated his historical novel, ''The Clansman'', "to the memory of a Scotch-Irish leader of the South, my uncle, Colonel Leroy McAfee, Grand Titan of the invisible Empire of the Ku Klux Klan." McAfee died in 1873 of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

("consumption"), and he was buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in

York, South Carolina York is a city in and county seat of York County, South Carolina, York County, South Carolina, United States. The population was approximately 6,985 at the 2000 census and up to 7,736 at the 2010 census. York is located approximately southwes ...

. In 1916, his nephew Dixon planned to erect a statue of McAfee on the

courthouse square Courthouse Square is a backlot located at the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City, California. The set is composed of several facades that form an archetypal United States, American town square with a courthouse as its centerpiece. The set wa ...

. The project was initially met with enthusiasm, until it was announced that Dixon wanted McAfee to wear a Ku Klux Klan mask in the statue. Despite the controversy several Southern newspapers as well as ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' issued

editorial An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK) is an article written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any other written document, often unsigned. Australian and major United States newspapers, suc ...

s in favor of the statue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcafee, Leroy 1837 births 1873 deaths People from Shelby, North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Confederate States Army officers Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians American Ku Klux Klan members 19th-century American lawyers Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina