Thomas Jefferson Foster (July 11, 1809 – February 24, 1887) was a soldier and prominent politician serving the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. He served two terms in the Confederate Congress and was later elected to the United States Congress, but was denied his seat.

Biography

Foster was born in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of a prominent state politician, Robert C. Foster, who had been president of the state senate. At the age of 24, Foster married Virginia Watkins, daughter of a wealthy plantation owner in

Lawrence County, Alabama Lawrence County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,073. The county seat is Moulton. The county was named after James Lawrence, a captain in the United States Navy from Ne ...

. The couple moved to Courtland, Alabama, where Foster amassed a fortune from his own successful farming endeavors. With his state's secession, Foster raised the 27th Alabama, an infantry regiment in the

Confederate 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 ...

, and served as its first colonel. He was instrumental in urging the construction of Fort Henry to defend the vital Tennessee River, serving in the fort under General

Lloyd Tilghman Lloyd Tilghman (January 26, 1816 – May 16, 1863) was a Confederate general in the American Civil War. A railroad construction engineer by background, he was selected by the Confederate government to build two forts to defend the Tennessee ...

until its forces surrendered to

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

. He then represented Alabama as a representative in the First Confederate Congress 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 ...

, where he became known as a "graceful orator and skillful debater."Foster's obituary, ''Moulton Advertiser'', February 24, 1887. He served on the Committee on Territories and Public Lands and the Committee on Accounts. In 1865 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives, but as a result of the policies of the Radical Republicans and Reconstruction, former Confederates such as Foster were denied their congressional seats.

References

Political Graveyard biography

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Thomas Jefferson 1809 births 1887 deaths Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Alabama 19th-century American politicians Confederate States Army officers People from Lawrence County, Alabama