James Ronald Chalmers (January 11, 1831April 9, 1898) was an American politician and senior

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

of 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 ...

who commanded

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

and cavalry in the Western Theater of 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 ...

. After the war, Chalmers served as a state senator in Mississippi and

United States Congressman 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 ...

for several terms from the state's 6th congressional district, beginning in 1876. He was re-elected in 1880 but the election was contested by his Republican African-American opponent, John R. Lynch. Congress awarded the seat to Lynch because of marked election fraud by the Democrats. In 1882 Chalmers ran as an Independent Democrat on a fusionist ticket, with support by Republicans and Greenbackers. He contested the victory of the regular Democrat, and Congress finally awarded the seat to Chalmers, seating him in 1884. He left politics after losing election in the fall of 1884.

Early life, education and career

James Ronald Chalmers was born in

Halifax County, Virginia Halifax County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,022. Its county seat is Halifax. History Occupied by varying cultures of indigenous peoples for thousands of years, in histo ...

, January 11, 1831. His father was Joseph Chalmers, who, having moved to

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

with his family when James was a boy, settled in Holly Springs in 1839. He was first appointed by the governor to fill a term, then elected by the state legislature as U. S. Senator. Hes was prepared for South Carolina College at Columbia, where he was graduated in 1851. Chalmers returned to Holly Springs to read law with an established firm, and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1853. After a few years of practice, Chalmers was elected as district attorney in 1858. In 1861 he was elected as a delegate to the convention which passed the ordinance of secession. Like his father an ardent

States' rights In American political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution, reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and the ...

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 ...

, he voted in favor of

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

American Civil War

Chalmers entered the Confederate States Army as a captain and was soon promoted to Colonel of the 9th Mississippi Infantry in 1861. For a while he commanded at Pensacola, Florida. On February 13, 1862, he was promoted to brigadier-general, and on April 6 was assigned to the command of Second Brigade, Withers'

Division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

Army of the Mississippi Army of the Mississippi was the name given to two Union armies that operated around the Mississippi River, both with short existences, during the American Civil War. History 1862 The first army was created on February 23, 1862, with Maj. Gen ...

. He and his command did splendid fighting in the Battle of Shiloh. When

Bragg Bragg may refer to: Places * Bragg City, Missouri, United States * Bragg, Texas, a ghost town, United States * Bragg, West Virginia, an unincorporated community, United States *Electoral district of Bragg, a state electoral district in South Austra ...

was conducting operations in north Mississippi he sent Chalmers with a force of cavalry to make a

feint Feint is a French term that entered English via the discipline of swordsmanship and fencing. Feints are maneuvers designed to distract or mislead, done by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, or e ...

upon Rienzi, Mississippi in order to cover the movement of a body of

Ripley, Mississippi Ripley is a city in Tippah County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,395 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Tippah County. Colonel William Clark Falkner, great-grandfather of authors William Faulkner and John Faulkner, ...

. In executing this order he encountered Sheridan, July 1, and a stubborn engagement took place. It lasted from about half-past eight in the morning till late in the afternoon. Chalmers, ascertaining that Sheridan had been reinforced by infantry and

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

, retired.Hooker, 1899, pp. 244-45. When Bragg advanced into

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

in the summer of 1862 Chalmers' command was a part of his force, performing its duties with courage and zeal. In the

Battle of Murfreesboro The Battle of Stones River, also known as the Second Battle of Murfreesboro, was a battle fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the Am ...

he and his men again rendered brilliant service. In April, 1863, at the request of

John C. Pemberton John Clifford Pemberton (August 10, 1814 – July 13, 1881) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole Wars and with distinction during the Mexican–American War. He resigned his commission to serve as a Confederate Stat ...

, he was transferred to the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana and placed in command of the Fifth Military District. The district consisted of the top two tiers of counties in Mississippi. In 1864 he was assigned to the command of cavalry brigades of Jeffrey Forrest and McCulloch, forming the first division of

Forrest's Cavalry Corps Forrest's Cavalry Corps was part of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and commanded by Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Formed during the summer of 1862, it took part in the various battles in the Western Theate ...

. This cavalry division was subsequently enlarged by the addition of Rucker's Brigade. Chalmers bore a conspicuous part in the

Battle of Fort Pillow The Battle of Fort Pillow, also known as the Fort Pillow massacre, was fought on April 12, 1864, at Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River in Henning, Tennessee, during the American Civil War. The battle ended with a massacre of Union soldiers ...

and in all the campaigns of Forrest in north Mississippi, west Tennessee and Kentucky. He also led forces in Hood's Tennessee Campaign. On February 18, 1865, Chalmers was put in command of all the Mississippi cavalry in the Confederate service in Mississippi and west Tennessee.

Mississippi State Senate

In the waning days of the Reconstruction era, Chalmers was elected to the

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

in 1875 and 1876. Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives in 1875 on the national level, for the first time since the Civil War. The campaign seasons in Mississippi were accompanied by increasing violence. Chapters of Red Shirts, a paramilitary group working for the Democratic Party that sought to disrupt and suppress Republican voting, helped Democrats win seats in Mississippi and the Carolinas.

U.S. House of Representatives

In 1876 Chalmers was elected as Representative from

Mississippi's 6th congressional district Mississippi's 6th congressional district existed from 1873 to 1963. It was created after the United States 1870 census and abolished following the 1960 census, due to changes in population. Boundaries The 6th congressional district boundaries i ...

to the

Congress of the United States The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Wash ...

, serving in the Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Congresses, from March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1881. His Republican opponent John R. Lynch contested the victory, as he was previously strongly elected from this black-majority district. With Congress dominated by Democrats, the Election Committee refused to hear the case. Chalmers won re-election and received the certificate of election to the Forty-seventh Congress in 1880, serving from March 4, 1881 – April 29, 1882. That time his seat was successfully contested by Republican candidate Lynch. Lynch served the remainder of the term. In the fall of 1882, Chalmers ran as an Independent Democrat as part of a fusion ticket supported by Republicans and the

Greenback Party The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology which was active between 1874 and 1889. The party ran ...

, to the Forty-eighth Congress. Democrat Van H. Manning claimed victory, and Chalmers contested the legality of the election. Chalmers finally was verified by Congress as the winner and allowed to take his seat on June 25, 1884. He was unsuccessful in running for re-election in 1884. Chalmers wrote to Republican President

Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James ...

in December 1882 about how to defeat the regular Democrats in Mississippi. Independents like him sometimes affiliated with Greenbackers, other men who had left the regular party, and even Republicans in a fusionist ticket. In this period, Senator

William Mahone William Mahone (December 1, 1826October 8, 1895) was an American civil engineer, railroad executive, Confederate States Army general, and Virginia politician. As a young man, Mahone was prominent in the building of Virginia's roads and railroa ...

of Virginia had gathered various factions into what was called the

Readjuster Party The Readjuster Party was a bi-racial state-level political party formed in Virginia across party lines in the late 1870s during the turbulent period following the Reconstruction era that sought to reduce outstanding debt owed by the state. Readj ...

, which was prominent in Virginia politics. Chalmers proposed the same for Mississippi. Neither he nor Mahone were successful in breaking up Mississippi Democrats or the Solid South.Halsell, Willie D. "James R. Chalmers and 'Mahoneism' in Mississippi"
''Journal of Southern History'' 10 (February 1944): 37-58, via JSTOR; accessed 2 August 2016

Later life

After failing to win election in 1884, Chalmers left politics, returning to full-time

practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the profess ...

. He moved his practice to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, where he died in April 1898.Hooker, 1899, pp. 245-46.

References

Citations

Sources

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External links

*
James Ronald Chalmers
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chalmers, James Ronald 1831 births 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians 1898 deaths Burials in Tennessee Cavalry commanders Confederate States Army brigadier generals Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Mississippi Independent members of the United States House of Representatives Mississippi Greenbacks Mississippi Independents Mississippi lawyers People from Halifax County, Virginia People of Mississippi in the American Civil War Tennessee lawyers University of South Carolina alumni