Foster Blodgett Jr. (c. 1827–1877) was an American politician elected mayor of Augusta, Georgia, from 1859 to 1860, and returned to the mayoralty via military appointment between 1867 and 1868. Blodgett was elected to the United States Senate by the

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly ...

in 1871, but not seated. Blodgett was born in Augusta, Georgia. He was mayor of Augusta from 1859 to 1860. His administration was noted for the introduction of Augusta's waterworks system. In December 1860, Blodgett presided over a meeting of Unionists in Augusta. Faced with threats of property damage and death, he served in 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 ...

until April 1862. Between 1865 and 1868, he was postmaster of Augusta. He was suspended from duties as postmaster in January 1868, due to charges of perjury, for which he had been arrested in 1867. He was reinstated as postmaster in April 1869. Overlapping his tenure as postmaster, Blodgett was appointed as mayor of Augusta by General John Pope in May 1867, a post he held until December 1868. He as also superintendent of the state railroad. He was elected chair of the

Georgia Republican Party The Georgia Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Georgia and one of the two major political parties in the state and is currently chaired by David Shafer. Current structure David Shafer is the current ...

's Central Committee on July 4, 1867. Blodgett was called by the prosecution as a witness and testified at the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson on April 9, 1868. Before the December 1870 United States Senate elections in Georgia, Blodget wrote, "It is the duty of the white citizens of the state to see that the colored citizens are protected in their exercise of their constitutional rights." Though others were elected to Georgia's seats on the United States Senate, Blodgett was selected by the Georgia legislature for a term beginning in 1871. The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate refused to seat him. The University of Georgia Libraries have a collection of papers related to him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blodgett, Foster 1820s births 1877 deaths Members of the United States Senate declared not entitled to their seat United States senators from Georgia (U.S. state) 19th-century American politicians Mayors of Augusta, Georgia Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans Georgia (U.S. state) postmasters Confederate States Army personnel American railroad executives Testifying witnesses of the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson