Lewis Malone Ayer Jr. (November 21, 1821 – March 8, 1895) was a

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = G ...

politician who served as a Confederate Congressman 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 state ...

. Ayer was born near

Barnwell, South Carolina Barnwell is a city in and county seat of Barnwell County, South Carolina, United States, located along U.S. Route 278. The population was 4,750 at the 2010 census. Geography Barnwell is located east of the center of Barnwell County at (33.24453 ...

, and educated in the common schools. He attended law school and passed his bar exam. After establishing a successful practice, he served in the state legislature from 1848 until 1856. He married Anna Patterson and raised a family. An ardent supporter of

states rights In American political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution, reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and the ...

, Ayer signed the

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 represented South Carolina in the

Confederate 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 ...

from 1862 until the war's end in 1865. He died in 1895 in Anderson,

References

1821 births 1895 deaths Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from South Carolina 19th-century American politicians Harvard University alumni University of Virginia alumni University of South Carolina alumni People from Barnwell, South Carolina {{SouthCarolina-politician-stub