James Patton (September 26, 1780 - May 3, 1830) was the Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi from 1820 to 1822. He lived in

Winchester, Mississippi Winchester is a ghost town in Wayne County, Mississippi, United States. Once a center of political influence and county seat, the former settlement is today covered by forest. History Winchester was one of the first significant communities in eas ...

Biography

Patton was born in Abbeville County, South Carolina, on September 26, 1780. In 1801, Patton was appointed one of the commissioners for the marking of a land route from the Gulf of Mexico to

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, N ...

. Patton served as a probate judge in Wayne County, Mississippi. in 1810, Patton served as a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in the Territorial Cavalry, and in 1819 he was a major general in the Mississippi State Militia. "Patton's Fort" was erected at Winchester in 1813 during the

Creek War The Creek War (1813–1814), also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, was a regional war between opposing Indigenous American Creek factions, European empires and the United States, taking place largely in modern-day Alabama ...

, and Patton was the commander. Patton was one of a three-member commission that selected Jackson, Mississippi as the site for the state capitol. Patton, with Thomas Hinds and William Lattimore, had made their way up the Pearl River in 1820 in search of a suitable location. Patton was described in 1880 as:

One of the leading men of his day, of great personal popularity. He resided in Winchester, then a beautiful village, which he made a center of political influence, second only to Natchez. Judge Powhatan Ellis and Judge John Black, who both became U.S. Senators, commenced life there under his auspices, as did several other prominent men. He was a man of courtly manners, a fine writer and impressive speaker; was elected Lieutenant-Governor and would have attained the highest honor of the State, but for his premature death.

He died in Winchester, Mississippi, on May 3, 1830, and was buried in the Patton Family Cemetery in Winchester.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patton, James Lieutenant Governors of Mississippi 19th-century American politicians 1780 births 1830 deaths

Biography

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References