Leroy Magnum McAfee (1837 – 1873) was an American Confederate veteran and politician. He was a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives. He later served as the inspiration for the protagonist of his nephew Thomas Dixon Jr.'s infamous 1905 play '' The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan'' and its 1915 film adaptation ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Clan ...

''.

Early life

Leroy Magnum McAfee was born on December 17, 1837 in North Carolina. He graduated with first honors from the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

in 1859; President James Buchanan was the featured speaker at the graduation.

Career

McAfee worked as an attorney in

Shelby, North Carolina Shelby is a city in and the county seat of Cleveland County, North Carolina, United States. It lies near the western edge of the Charlotte combined statistical area. The population was 20,323 at the 2010 census. History The area was originally ...

. 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 ...

of 1861-1865, McAfee served as an officer in 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 ...

. He was commissioned as a Major on April 12, 1862, in the

49th North Carolina Infantry The 49th North Carolina Infantry Regiment was a Confederate States Army regiment during the American Civil War attached to the Army of Northern Virginia. Organization and Training The companies of the 49th North Carolina Infantry Regiment were re ...

. He was promoted to the rank of Colonel on November 1, 1862. McAfee served as a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1870 to 1873, representing Cleveland County, North Carolina. He was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. According to his nephew Dixon, McAfee helped impeach Governor

William Woods Holden William Woods Holden (November 24, 1818 – March 1, 1892) was an American politician who served as the 38th and 40th governor of North Carolina. He was appointed by President Andrew Johnson in 1865 for a brief term and then elected in 1868. ...

Personal life, death and legacy

McAfee was married twice. His first wife was Hattie Cameron and his second wife, Agnes Adelaide Williams. McAfee's nephew, Thomas Dixon, Jr., dedicated his historical novel, ''The Clansman'', "to the memory of a Scotch-Irish leader of the South, my uncle, Colonel Leroy McAfee, Grand Titan of the invisible Empire of the Ku Klux Klan." McAfee died in 1873 of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

("consumption"), and he was buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in

York, South Carolina York is a city in and county seat of York County, South Carolina, United States. The population was approximately 6,985 at the 2000 census and up to 7,736 at the 2010 census. York is located approximately southwest of Charlotte, North Caroli ...

. In 1916, his nephew Dixon planned to erect a statue of McAfee on the

courthouse square Courthouse Square is a backlot located at the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City, California. The set is composed of several facades that form an archetypal American town square with a courthouse as its centerpiece. The set was built for th ...

. The project was initially met with enthusiasm, until it was announced that Dixon wanted McAfee to wear a Ku Klux Klan mask in the statue. Despite the controversy several Southern newspapers as well as ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' issued editorials in favor of the statue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcafee, Leroy 1837 births 1873 deaths People from Shelby, North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Confederate States Army officers Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians American Ku Klux Klan members 19th-century American lawyers Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina