John Allen Wilcox (or John Alexander Wilcox) (April 18, 1819 – February 7, 1864) was a politician from Mississippi and Texas who served in the United States House of Representatives in the early 1850s and then in the Confederate Congress during the American Civil War.

Biography

John Allen (or Alexander) Wilcox was born in Greene County, North Carolina, a son of Ruben and Sarah (Garland) Wilcox. One brother, Cadmus Wilcox, would later become a general in the Confederate States Army. It is likely that Wilcox was raised and educated in Tipton County, Tennessee, where the family moved. Moving to Mississippi and entering politics, he served as secretary of the State Senate. He enlisted in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War, serving as

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 ...

of the 2nd Mississippi Volunteer Infantry. When hostilities ceased, he returned to Mississippi and practiced law in Aberdeen. In 1850, he was elected to Congress as a Whig, defeating future Civil War general

Winfield S. Featherston Winfield Scott Featherston "Old Swet" (August 8, 1820 – May 28, 1891) was an antebellum two-term U.S. Representative from Mississippi and a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was later a state ...

. Two years later, Wilcox was defeated for re-election. In 1853, he moved to San Antonio, Texas, and resumed his law practice. He briefly dabbled in the

Know Nothing The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

political movement, serving as a presidential elector in 1856, but then joined the Democratic Party in 1858, attending the National Convention that year. With talk of secession increasing in Texas, Wilcox, a strong supporter of states rights, was selected as a delegate to the state's Secession Convention in 1861. He served on the committee that drafted the

ordinance of secession An Ordinance of Secession was the name given to multiple resolutions drafted and ratified in 1860 and 1861, at or near the beginning of the Civil War, by which each seceding Southern state or territory formally declared secession from the United ...

. He was elected to the First Confederate Congress in November 1861 and traveled to

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, ...

, Virginia to assume his duties, serving on various committees and proving to be a staunch support of the policies of President

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

. He was active in helping raise recruits and organizing the Texas Brigade. After his term in Congress expired, Wilcox joined the Confederate States Army as a volunteer aide to Maj. Gen.

John B. Magruder John Bankhead Magruder (May 1, 1807 – February 18, 1871) was an American and Confederate military officer. A graduate of West Point, Magruder served with distinction during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and was a prominent Confede ...

. Given the rank of colonel, Wilcox served in the Battle of Galveston. Grave of John Alexander Wilcox

He was elected to the Second Confederate Congress, but died in Richmond on February 7, 1864, unexpectedly of apoplexy shortly before taking his seat. He was buried in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery. He was reinterred in 1897 to Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C. His wife and two young children were taken in by his brother, General Cadmus M. Wilcox.

References

Sources

Handbook of Texas Online
* Warner, Ezra J. and Yearns, W. Buck, ''Biographical Register of the Confederate Congress'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1975.

External links

*
Find A Grave (as "John Allen Wilcox")
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilcox, John Allen 1819 births 1864 deaths People from Greene County, North Carolina Confederate States Army officers Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Texas Members of the United States House of Representatives from Mississippi People from Aberdeen, Mississippi People from Tipton County, Tennessee American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Texas Brigade Burials at Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia) Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) Texas Know Nothings Mississippi Whigs Texas Democrats Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians