![Joseph-brown-heiskell](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Joseph-brown-heiskell.jpg)
Joseph Brown Heiskell (November 5, 1823 – March 7, 1913) was a prominent
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
politician who served in the
Confederate States Congress
The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned with measures to establish a new nat ...
during 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 th ...
.
Biography
Heiskell was born in
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...
, the son of newspaper publisher
Frederick S. Heiskell (1786–1882) and Eliza (Brown) Heiskell. He served in the
Tennessee State Senate
The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee , Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly.
The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any ...
during the 32nd General Assembly from 1857 to 1859, representing
Hancock Hancock may refer to:
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,
Hawkins, and
Jefferson Jefferson may refer to:
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counties as a member of the
Whig Party.
Following the state's
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 ...
and the outbreak of the Civil War, he represented Tennessee in the
First Confederate Congress
The 1st Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, met from February 18, 1862, to February 17, 1864, during the first two years of Jefferson Davis's presidency, a ...
and the
Second Confederate Congress
The 2nd Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, met from May 2, 1864, to March 18, 1865, during the last year of Jefferson Davis's presidency, at the Virginia S ...
from 1862 to 1864. After being captured by
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
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** ''Un ...
soldiers in 1864, Heiskell was incarcerated. He remained in prison until the end of the war.
Following his release, he established a practice in
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 ...
, and was active in local politics. He was Tennessee's
attorney general
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
from 1870 to 1878.
Heiskell died in Memphis on March 7, 1913. Interment was in the city's
Elmwood Cemetery.
[politicalgraveyard.com]
Heiskell was a nephew of
William Heiskell
William Heiskell (1788 – September 9, 1871) was an American politician, active primarily in Tennessee, in the mid-19th century. He served a tumultuous term as Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives in the months following the Civ ...
, the post-Civil War Speaker of the
Tennessee House of Representatives
The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.
Constitutional requirements
According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...
.
Notes
References
* Robert M. McBride and Dan M. Robinson, eds., ''Biographical Directory of the Tennessee General Assembly'', Volume I, 1796–1861. (Nashville: Tennessee State Library and Archives and Tennessee Historical Commission, 1975).
External links
politicalgraveyard.com
1823 births
1913 deaths
Democratic Party Tennessee state senators
Tennessee Attorneys General
Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Tennessee
19th-century American politicians
Tennessee lawyers
Politicians from Knoxville, Tennessee
19th-century American lawyers
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