Life span: 10/09/1813 to 01/26/1867TabsLife SummaryFull name: John Jones PettusPlace of Birth: Wilson County, TNBurial Place: Wabbaseka, ARBirth Date Certainty: ExactDeath Date Certainty: ExactGender: MaleRace: WhiteSectional choice: SouthOrigins: Slave StateNo. of Spouses: 2No. of Children: 3Family: John Jones Pettus (father), Alice Taylor Winston (mother), Permelia Virginia Winston (first wife), Sarah H. Potts (second wife, 1861)Occupation: PoliticianAttorney or JudgeFarmer or PlanterRelation to Slavery: SlaveholderPolitical Parties: DemocraticSouthern Democratic (1860)Other Affiliations: Fire-Eaters (Secessionists)Government: GovernorState legislatureMilitary: Confederate Army Note Cards John Jones Pettus (American National Biography) ScholarshipInsisting that the Republicans would force emancipation on Mississippi and turn the state into "a cesspool of vice, crime and infancy," Pettus led the forces that took Mississippi out of the Union on 9 January 1861…. Pettus was an energetic and forceful wartime governor. As soon as Mississippi seceded, he established a state armory, sent militia to Florida to assist in the seizure of Federal installations, and redoubled his efforts to acquire arms for the state. Although hampered by a cumbersome political structure that forced him to share power in 1861 with the legislature and secession convention, he moved decisively to put his office at the center of the Mississippi war effort. If anything, he was overly zealous. He accepted into state service far more troops than the number of four regiments of twelve-month volunteers authorized by the legislature. The problem of what to do with the idle troops who could not be equipped because of the lack of arms plagued Pettus until a mobilization order in September 1861 called these troops into the Confederate army. This order removed a political embarrassment for Pettus and strengthened his bid for reelection in October 1861. He carried all but four of the state's counties.William L. Barney, "Pettus, John Jones," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/04/04-00782.html. Events Date span begin Life span End Event 11/21/1859 11/21/1859 New governor of Mississippi is inaugurated in Jackson and calls for a convention of southern states 11/26/1860 11/26/1860 Governor John J. Pettus of Mississippi calls for a state convention to consider secession 12/18/1860 12/18/1860 Governor Hicks refuses to call the Maryland legislature to hear the Mississippi secession commissioner 12/19/1860 12/19/1860 Mississippi secession commissioner tells a large Baltimore crowd that "slavery was ordained by God" 01/13/1861 01/13/1861 Mississippi militia at Vicksburg fire warning shots across bows of Cincinnati to New Orleans riverboat 03/22/1861 03/22/1861 In Mississippi, Governor Pettus provides two regiments of infantry to the new Confederate Army Major TopicsSecession Documents Subject Docs Date Title 11/15/1860 Ripley (OH) Bee, “Southern Pranks,” November 15, 1860 01/27/1861 New York Herald, “The Blockade of the Mississippi River,” January 27, 1861 Images John Jones Pettus, detail Bibliography Chicago Style Entry Link Dubay, Robert W. John Jones Pettus, Mississippi Fire-Eater: His Life and Times, 1813-1867. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1975. View Record
John Jones Pettus (American National Biography) ScholarshipInsisting that the Republicans would force emancipation on Mississippi and turn the state into "a cesspool of vice, crime and infancy," Pettus led the forces that took Mississippi out of the Union on 9 January 1861…. Pettus was an energetic and forceful wartime governor. As soon as Mississippi seceded, he established a state armory, sent militia to Florida to assist in the seizure of Federal installations, and redoubled his efforts to acquire arms for the state. Although hampered by a cumbersome political structure that forced him to share power in 1861 with the legislature and secession convention, he moved decisively to put his office at the center of the Mississippi war effort. If anything, he was overly zealous. He accepted into state service far more troops than the number of four regiments of twelve-month volunteers authorized by the legislature. The problem of what to do with the idle troops who could not be equipped because of the lack of arms plagued Pettus until a mobilization order in September 1861 called these troops into the Confederate army. This order removed a political embarrassment for Pettus and strengthened his bid for reelection in October 1861. He carried all but four of the state's counties.William L. Barney, "Pettus, John Jones," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/04/04-00782.html.
