Louis Dicken Wilson (May 12, 1789 - August 12, 1847) was a

North Carolinian North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

politician and general in the

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.Johnston, Hugh
"General Louis Dicken Wilson".
/ref> He served in the

General Assembly of North Carolina The North Carolina General Assembly is the bicameral legislature of the State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets in the North Carolina ...

and the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

for in various terms between 1814 and 1846.

Wilson County, North Carolina Wilson County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,784. The county seat is Wilson. The county comprises the Wilson Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included within ...

is named in his honor, as well as the city of Wilson, North Carolina.Fleming, Monika. ''Echoes of Edgecombe County, North Carolina''. Arcadia Publishing, 1999. () He was a member of the

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. His traditional opponents during elections were Whigs.

Biography

Wilson was born on May 12, 1789, to William Wilson and Elizabeth Dicken at their plantation south of

Tar River The Tar River is a river that is approximately long, in northeast North Carolina flowing generally southeast to an estuary of Pamlico Sound. The Tar River becomes the tidal Pamlico River once it underpasses the U.S. Highway 17 Bridge in Wash ...

Edgecombe County, North Carolina Edgecombe County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,900. Its county seat is Tarboro. Edgecombe County is part of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...

. After receiving an education at the local academy, in 1807 he moved to

Washington, Connecticut Washington is a rural town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. The population was 3,646 at the 2020 census. Washington is known for its picturesque countryside, historic architecture, and active civi ...

where he worked in a

Counting house A counting house, or counting room, was traditionally an office in which the financial books of a business were kept. It was also the place that the business received appointments and correspondence relating to demands for payment. As the use of ...

. Apparently, around this time he also studied law because a few years later, he returned home and practiced as a Notary Public on May 28, 1812. By February 24, 1817, he became a Justice of the Peace. He represented

in the

from 1814 to 1819 and in the

in 1820 then again from 1824 to 1832. In 1835, Wilson served as the Tarboro Tax Collector and he also became a delegate to the North Carolina constitutional convention in the same year. By 1842, Wilson was chosen as the Speaker of the Senate while his name frequently surfaced on the Electoral ticket as Elector of the State, for President and Vice-President.

Mexican War

On December 19, 1827, Wilson was elected Brigadier-General of the 5th North Carolina Brigade, a rank he held as late as 1846. In his desire to fight in the

Mexican American War Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

, he requested a leave of absence from the State Senate On December 12, 1846. Wilson returned to Edgecombe and on January 5 of next year, he was made Captain of Company A of the First Edgecombe Volunteer Regiment, which summarily deployed to Mexico. On March 3, 1847, Wilson was offered the post of Colonel of the 12th Regiment of the United States Infantry by President

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

. He returned to

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to accept the position on April 9. Six days before commanding 850 troops out of Vera Cruz, Mexico, Wilson contracted

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

and he died on August 7, 1847. He was given a military funeral the day after and his casket was shipped to his hometown where a monument was erected in his honor. He was never married and had no recorded children. He did, however, state in his will that Edgecombe County would receive a substantial sum of $40,000 for helping the county's poor (of which only $12,000 was properly utilized, $10,000 lost to bad investments and $18,000 skimmed off by certain government officials during

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Louis Dicken 1789 births 1847 deaths People from Edgecombe County, North Carolina North Carolina state senators Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians American military personnel of the Mexican–American War