Elliott Muse Braxton (October 8, 1823 – October 2, 1891) was a nineteenth-century politician and lawyer from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. He was the great-grandson of

Carter Braxton Carter Braxton (September 10, 1736October 10, 1797) was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, a merchant, planter, a Founding Father of the United States and a Virginia politician. A grandson of Robert "King" Carter, one of ...

Early life

Born either in

Mathews County Mathews County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,533. Its county seat is Mathews. Located on the Middle Peninsula, Mathews County is included in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport ...

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,982. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg wi ...

, to Carter Moore Braxton Sr., Elliott lost his mother as child. His father remarried and his younger half-brother was Carter Moore Braxton. The Braxton family of merchants and planters had long been prominent in King and Queen County which his great-great-grandfather George Braxton, Sr., great-grandfather George Braxton, Jr. and grandfather

had represented in the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

, and where the family owned large plantations. He received a private education appropriate to his class, although his father died when in 1847.

Career

After reading law under his father's guidance until the elder C.M. Braxton died in 1847, E. M. Braxton was admitted to the bar in 1849, and began a legal practice in

Richmond County, Virginia Richmond County is a county located on the Northern Neck in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 8,923. Its county seat is Warsaw. The rural county should not be confused with the large city and state capit ...

, in the

Northern Neck of Virginia The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas (traditionally called "necks" in Virginia) on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Commonwealth of Virginia (along with the Middle Peninsula and the Virginia Peninsula). The Po ...

where his extended family remained influential.

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, Lancaster,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

and Westmoreland County voters elected Braxton to the

Virginia Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

in 1851 to replace Joseph Harvey in a district which before the census and Virginia Constitutional Convention redistricting previously had also included Stafford County and King George Counties and he served from 1852 to 1856 (succeeded by R.L.T. Beale). He defeated Whig John T. Rice of Westmoreland county in 1853. While in the state senate, Braxton sat on the Committee for COurts of Justice and the Joint Committee to Examine the First Auditor's Office, but decided against seeking re-election in 1857. In the 1850 census, Braxton owned an enslaved woman in Richmond, as well as ten and three-year-old girls and a five year old and year old and boy. In the previous census, his late father had owned 20 slaves in King and Queen County. In the 1860 census, Braxton probably leased out his remaining slaves, including a 45 year old enslaved man in

Northumberland County, Virginia Northumberland County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 11,839. Its county seat is Heathsville. The county is located on the Northern Neck and is part of the Northern Neck George Washin ...

and a 30-year-old man in Richmond County. In 1860, his legal practice not flourishing, Braxton moved to

, where his half brother Carter Moore Braxton, now a civil engineer, was overseeing the construction of the roadbed for the Fredericksburg and Gordonsville Railroad. However, Elliott Braxton continued practicing law and lived with his wife and three young daughters. As Virginians voted to secede from the Union at the outbreak of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Braxton enlisted as a private, then raised a company in Stafford County for the

Confederate 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 ...

. On July 18, 1861, he was elected its

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and his company merged into the 30th Virginia Infantry in September 1861. He was re-electd Captain on April 16, 1862. In August 1862 Braxton was promoted to a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

and assigned as brigade quartermaster on the staff of

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

John R. Cooke, despite an attempt to obtain an army judicial post in the autumn of 1864. Following the conflict, Braxton returned to Fredericksburg and opened a law office with C. WIstar Wallace, with whom he had served in the 30th Virginia. He had his legal disability removed and won election to Fredericksburg's common council in 1866; the state's government was reorganized in 1868 due to Congressional Reconstruction. Braxton ran as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

for Congress from the 7th district and defeated Republican incumbent

Lewis McKenzie Lewis McKenzie (October 7, 1810 – June 28, 1895) was a nineteenth-century politician, merchant and railroad president from Virginia. Biography Born in Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria, District of Columbia, McKenzie pursued an academic co ...

by a margin of 53-47%. McKenzie challenged the result on the ground of voter intimidation. Nonetheless, the COmmittee on Elections determined Braxton had won and seated him. Following redistricting, Braxton ran in the 1st district against Republican lawyer and newspaperman James B. Sener, this time losing by a narrow margin of 49-51% (373 votes). While in Congress, Braxton served on no committees, but spoke in defense of Virginia, states' rights and the Conservative Party. He moved unsuccessfully to compensate the Lee family for Arlington plantation the federal government had seized during the Civil War. Braxton resumed practicing law in Fredericksburg, despite suffering from heart disease beginning in the 1880s.

Personal life

On November 23, 1854, Braxton married Anna Maria Marshall, granddaughter of jurist John Marshall. They had four daughters and four sons.Gunter

Death

Braxton died in his Fredericksburg home on October 2, 1891, and was interred there in the Confederate Cemetery.

References

External links

Retrieved on 2008-02-13 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Braxton, Elliott M. 1823 births 1891 deaths Democratic Party Virginia state senators Virginia lawyers Confederate States Army officers People of Virginia in the American Civil War Politicians from Fredericksburg, Virginia People from Mathews, Virginia Braxton family of Virginia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians