Wharton Jackson Green (February 28, 1831 – August 6, 1910) was a

U.S. 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 ...

from

North Carolina 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 ...

and 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 ...

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

Born in St. Marks, Florida, Green was instructed by private tutors. He attended

Georgetown College Georgetown College is a private Christian college in Georgetown, Kentucky. Chartered in 1829, Georgetown was the first Baptist college west of the Appalachian Mountains. The college offers 38 undergraduate degrees and a Master of Arts in educat ...

, Lovejoy's Academy in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

, and the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...

but dropped out. He then studied law at the

University of Virginia at Charlottesville The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective adm ...

and at

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842-1861 The university was founded by the Cumberland ...

Lebanon, Tennessee Lebanon is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metropolit ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1854 and commenced practice in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

before engaging in agricultural pursuits at his

Warren County, North Carolina Warren County is a county located in the northeastern Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina, on the northern border with Virginia, made famous for a landfill and birthplace of the environmental justice movement. As of the 2020 cen ...

plantation, Esmeralda, in 1859. North-to-South POW Cover 1864

During the Civil War, Green enlisted in the Confederate service in 1861 and rose through the ranks to

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 Second North Carolina Battalion. Afterward, he served on Brigadier General

Junius Daniel Junius Daniel (June 27, 1828 – May 13, 1864) was a planter and career military officer, serving in the United States Army, then in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, as a brigadier general. His troops were instrumenta ...

's staff. Green was wounded and taken prisoner at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

in July 1863. He spent the rest of the war in the

Johnson's Island Johnson's Island is a island in Sandusky Bay, located on the coast of Lake Erie, from the city of Sandusky, Ohio. It was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp for Confederate officers captured during the American Civil War. Initially, Johnson ...

prisoner-of-war camp. After the war, he settled at "Tokay Vineyard," near

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-America C ...

, and became interested in

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

. He was a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

s in 1868, 1872, 1876, and 1888. Green was the first president of the Society of Confederate Soldiers and Sailors in North Carolina. Entering politics, he was elected as a

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 ...

to the Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Congresses (March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1887). He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1886 and retired from public service. He then devoted his time to the cultivation of his vineyard and to literary pursuits. He wrote his autobiography, ''Recollections and Reflections: An auto of Half a Century and More,'' in 1906. Wharton Green died at "Tokay," near Fayetteville on August 6, 1910. He was buried in the town's

Cross Creek Cemetery Cross Creek Cemetery is a cemetery located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, near a creek of that name that "meanders for more than a mile from downtown Fayetteville to the Cape Fear River." It was established in 1785. The cemetery is organized ...

. He was the son of Texas Revolution general

Thomas Jefferson Green Thomas Jefferson Green (February 14, 1802 – December 12, 1863) was an American politician who served in the legislatures of three different U.S. states and also of Texas, which was not yet a state. Biography Born in Warren County, North Carol ...

, the grandson of U.S. Senator

Jesse Wharton Jesse Wharton (July 29, 1782July 22, 1833) was an Lawyer, attorney who briefly represented Tennessee in each house of United States Congress, Congress. Biography Wharton was born in Covesville, Albemarle County, Virginia; studied law at Dickinso ...

, and the cousin of Confederate general

Matt Whitaker Ransom Matthew Whitaker Ransom (October 8, 1826October 8, 1904) was a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and a Democratic U.S. senator from the state of North Carolina between 1872 and 1895. Early life and antebellum ...

. One of Green's daughters, Sarah, married wealthy industrialist Pembroke Jones of Wilmington, NC, in 1884. With the help of their close friend, art collector and railroad president

Henry Walters Henry Walters (September 26, 1848 – November 30, 1931) was noted as an art collector and philanthropist, a founder of the Walters Art Gallery (now the Walters Art Museum) in Baltimore, Maryland, which he donated to the city in his 1931 will f ...

, they created a lifestyle some claim made them models for the saying, "Keeping up with the Joneses." They maintained luxurious residences in Newport and New York City. The garden estate Sarah Green Jones created in Wilmington still exists and is known as

Airlie Gardens Airlie Gardens is a public garden in Wilmington, North Carolina. History It was created in 1886 as a private garden for the Pembroke Jones family by Mrs. Jones. The name 'Airlie' was derived from the Jones' family home in Scotland. It was designe ...

References

External links

Recollections and Reflections: An Auto of Half a Century and More.
aleigh, N.C. Edwards and Broughton Printing Company, 1906. {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Wharton J. American viticulturists Confederate States Army officers People of North Carolina in the American Civil War 1831 births 1910 deaths Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina 19th-century American politicians United States Military Academy alumni Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences alumni