Life span: 01/18/1815 to 02/01/1885TabsLife SummaryFull name: James Chesnut Jr.Place of Birth: Mulberry, SCBurial Place: Knights Hill Cemetery, Camden, SCBirth Date Certainty: ExactDeath Date Certainty: ExactGender: MaleRace: WhiteSectional choice: SouthOrigins: Slave StateFamily: Mary Boykin (wife)Education: Princeton (College of New Jersey)Occupation: PoliticianMilitaryAttorney or JudgeFarmer or PlanterRelation to Slavery: SlaveholderPolitical Parties: DemocraticOther Affiliations: Fire-Eaters (Secessionists)Government: Confederate government (1861-65)US SenateState legislatureMilitary: Confederate Army Note Cards James Chesnut Jr. (Congressional Biographical Directory) ReferenceCHESNUT, James, Jr., a Senator from South Carolina; born near Camden, S.C., January 18, 1815; graduated from the law department of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1837; admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in Camden, S.C.; member, State house of representatives 1842-1854; delegate to the southern convention at Nashville in 1850; served in the State senate 1854-1858; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Josiah J. Evans and served from December 3, 1858, until November 10, 1860, when he withdrew; expelled from the Senate in 1861 for support of the rebellion; delegate to the Confederate Provisional Congress in 1861; during the Civil War served as colonel in the Confederate Army; appointed brigadier general in 1864; resumed the practice of law in Camden, Kershaw County, S.C., and died there on February 1, 1885; interment in Knights Hill Cemetery, near Camden, S.C."Chesnut, James, Jr.," Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 to Present, http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=c000348. Events Date span begin Life span End Event 11/10/1860 11/10/1860 In Washington D.C., South Carolinian James Chesnut, Jr. becomes the first Southern senator to resign his seat 11/11/1860 11/11/1860 In Washington D.C., the second South Carolina senator, James Henry Hammond, resigns his seat 04/11/1861 04/11/1861 General Beauregard demands that Major Anderson surrender Fort Sumter immediately 04/12/1861 04/12/1861 Beauregard again demands that Major Anderson surrender Fort Sumter immediately Documents Subject Docs Date Title 11/15/1860 Ripley (OH) Bee, “Southern Pranks,” November 15, 1860 Images James Chesnut, Jr. James Chesnut, Jr., detail James Chesnut, Jr., engraving James Chesnut, Jr., engraving, detail Bibliography
James Chesnut Jr. (Congressional Biographical Directory) ReferenceCHESNUT, James, Jr., a Senator from South Carolina; born near Camden, S.C., January 18, 1815; graduated from the law department of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1837; admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in Camden, S.C.; member, State house of representatives 1842-1854; delegate to the southern convention at Nashville in 1850; served in the State senate 1854-1858; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Josiah J. Evans and served from December 3, 1858, until November 10, 1860, when he withdrew; expelled from the Senate in 1861 for support of the rebellion; delegate to the Confederate Provisional Congress in 1861; during the Civil War served as colonel in the Confederate Army; appointed brigadier general in 1864; resumed the practice of law in Camden, Kershaw County, S.C., and died there on February 1, 1885; interment in Knights Hill Cemetery, near Camden, S.C."Chesnut, James, Jr.," Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 to Present, http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=c000348.
