Life span: 04/10/1806 to 06/14/1864TabsLife SummaryFull name: Leonidas Lafayette PolkPlace of Birth: Anson County, NCBurial Place: Oakwood Cemetery, Raleigh, NCBirth Date Certainty: ExactDeath Date Certainty: ExactGender: MaleRace: WhiteSectional choice: SouthOrigins: Slave StateNo. of Spouses: 1No. of Children: 7Family: Andrew Polk (father), Serena Autry (mother), Sarah Pamela Gaddy (wife, 1857)Education: OtherOther Education: Davidson College, NCOccupation: PoliticianMilitaryFarmer or PlanterRelation to Slavery: SlaveholderPolitical Parties: Constitutional Union (1860)OtherOther Political Party: Opposition PartyGovernment: State legislatureMilitary: Confederate Army Note Cards Leonidas LaFayette Polk (American National Biography) ScholarshipNothing in Polk's early life predicted his rise to prominence in a movement of angry farmers. The son of a planter, a moderately successful politician within the bounds of traditional southern politics, and a failed businessman, Polk nevertheless possessed remarkable organizational skills, and he had a knack for getting people to accept his leadership. He did not enrich himself at the expense of the movement he led; in fact, he died in debt, unable even to collect the salary owed him as president of the alliance. Polk was not the most advanced ideologue of the Populist movement, but he saw clearly the necessity of subjugating issues of section and race in order to give the new political movement of farmers and workers a chance to succeed. Robert McMath, "Polk, Leonidas LaFayette," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/05/05-00624.html. Events Date span begin Life span End Event 09/04/1861 09/04/1861 Confederate troops invade western Kentucky and bring the state's efforts to remain neutral to an end 09/06/1861 09/06/1861 Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant occupy Paducah, Kentucky on the Ohio River 11/06/1861 11/06/1861 Brigadier General Grant sails from Cairo, Illinois to attack Confederate positions along the Mississippi 11/07/1861 11/07/1861 In Mississippi County, Missouri, Brigadier General Grant and his men overrun a Confederate camp at Belmont 11/11/1861 11/11/1861 Confederate General Leonidas Polk hurt in artillery accident at Columbus, Kentucky, seven others killed 02/25/1862 02/25/1862 At Columbus, Kentucky, Confederate forces begin the abandonment of "the Gibraltar of the West" 03/03/1862 03/03/1862 At Columbus, Kentucky, Union forces take possession of "the Gibraltar of the West" 04/03/1862 04/03/1862 Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston reorganizes the Army of the Mississippi into three corps 04/06/1862 04/06/1862 Massed Confederate forces attack the Union's Army of the Tennessee at Pittsburg Landing 04/07/1862 04/07/1862 At Pittsburg Landing, Union reinforcements turn the tide on the second day of the Battle of Shiloh 09/18/1863 09/20/1863 In Georgia, advancing Union forces suffer a very heavy defeat near Chickamauga Creek 06/14/1864 06/14/1864 Confederate General, and Episcopal bishop, Leonidas Polk is killed in action in Georgia Documents Author Docs Date Title 11/07/1861 Major-General Leonidas Polk, CSA, Report on the Battle at Belmont, November 7, 1861 Subject Docs Date Title 11/07/1861 Major-General Leonidas Polk, CSA, Report on the Battle at Belmont, November 7, 1861 11/08/1861 Brigadier-General U.S. Grant, To the troops of the November 7, 1861 engagement at Belmont, Missouri, November 8, 1861 11/12/1861 Brigadier-General U.S. Grant, Report of the November 7, 1861 engagement at Belmont, Missouri, November 12, 1861 Images Leonidas Lafayette Polk Leonidas Lafayette Polk, detail Bibliography
Leonidas LaFayette Polk (American National Biography) ScholarshipNothing in Polk's early life predicted his rise to prominence in a movement of angry farmers. The son of a planter, a moderately successful politician within the bounds of traditional southern politics, and a failed businessman, Polk nevertheless possessed remarkable organizational skills, and he had a knack for getting people to accept his leadership. He did not enrich himself at the expense of the movement he led; in fact, he died in debt, unable even to collect the salary owed him as president of the alliance. Polk was not the most advanced ideologue of the Populist movement, but he saw clearly the necessity of subjugating issues of section and race in order to give the new political movement of farmers and workers a chance to succeed. Robert McMath, "Polk, Leonidas LaFayette," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/05/05-00624.html.
