Edmund Strother Dargan (April 15, 1805 – November 22, 1879) was a

U.S. Representative 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 c ...

from

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 ...

, and then a representative to the

Confederate States Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned with measures to establish a new nat ...

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 ...

. Son of William & Frances Dargan, he was born near

Wadesboro, North Carolina Wadesboro is a town in Anson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,049 at the 2020 census. The town was originally found in 1783 as New Town but changed by the North Carolina General Assembly to Wadesboro in 1787 to honor C ...

, Dargan pursued preparatory studies at home. He then studied law and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in Wadesboro in 1829. Later, he moved to

Washington, Alabama Washington is a ghost town located in Autauga County, Alabama on the north bank of the Alabama River, just west of the mouth of Autauga Creek. Washington was founded by European American settlers in 1817 on the site of the former Autauga Indian to ...

, where he commenced the practice of law and was for several years a Justice of the Peace. He moved to Montgomery in 1833 and to

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 ( ...

in 1841. He served as judge of the circuit court, Mobile district, in 1841 and 1842. He served in the

Alabama State Senate The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, with each district conta ...

in 1844 and was the mayor of Mobile in 1844. Dargan was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the

Twenty-ninth Congress The 29th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1845 ...

(March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847). He did not seek renomination in 1846. He subsequently served as associate justice of the State supreme court in 1847, and in 1849 became chief justice. He resigned in December 1852 and resumed the practice of law. Dargan served as delegate to a called state convention in 1861, where he delivered a speech calling for Alabama to formally secede from the United States.Dargan, E. S. (January 11, 1861)
Speech of E. S. Dargan in the Convention of Alabama
- accessed January 11, 2016 During the Civil War, he served as member of the first

Confederate States House of Representatives The Confederate States Congress was both the Provisional government, provisional and permanent Legislature, legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned w ...

. After the war, he resumed the practice of law in Mobile, Alabama, and died there on November 22, 1879. He was interred in Magnolia Cemetery.

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1805 births 1879 deaths 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American legislators Alabama lawyers Democratic Party Alabama state senators Alabama Secession Delegates of 1861 American justices of the peace Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama Lawyers from Mobile, Alabama Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Alabama People from Wadesboro, North Carolina Politicians from Mobile, Alabama {{Alabama-state-judge-stub