Thomas E. Bramlette | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bramlette c. 1860-1865 | |
| 23rd Governor of Kentucky | |
| In office September 1, 1863 – September 3, 1867 | |
| Lieutenant | Richard Taylor Jacob |
| Preceded by | James Fisher Robinson |
| Succeeded by | John L. Helm |
| Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives | |
| In office August 2, 1841 – August 1, 1842 | |
| Preceded by | James Haggard |
| Succeeded by | Francis H. Winfrey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Elliott Bramlette January 3, 1817 Cumberland County, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | January 12, 1875 (aged 58) Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Resting place | Cave Hill Cemetery Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Political party | Whig Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Sallie Travis Mary E. Adams |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States Union |
| Branch/service | Union Army |
| Years of service | 1861 – 1862 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | 3rd Kentucky Infantry |
| Battles/wars | Civil War |
Thomas Elliott Bramlette (January 3, 1817 – January 12, 1875) was the 23rd Governor of Kentucky. He was elected in 1863 and guided the state through the latter part of the Civil War and the beginning of Reconstruction. At the outbreak of the war, Bramlette put his promising political career on hold and enlisted in the Union Army, raising and commanding the 3rd Kentucky Infantry. In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him district attorney for Kentucky. A year later, he was the Union Democratic Party's nominee for governor. Election interference by the Union Army gave him a landslide victory over his opponent, Charles A. Wickliffe. Within a year, however, federal policies such as recruiting Kentucky African-Americans for the Union Army and suspending the writ of habeas corpus for Kentucky citizens caused Bramlette to abandon his support of the Lincoln administration and declare that he would "bloodily baptize the state into the Confederacy".
After the war, Bramlette issued a general pardon for most ex-Confederates in the state. He opposed ratification of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments and the establishment of the Freedmen's Bureau in Kentucky. Among his accomplishments not related to the war and its aftermath were the reduction of the state's debt and the establishment of the Kentucky Agricultural and Mechanical College (now the University of Kentucky). Following his term as governor, Bramlette returned to his legal practice in Louisville. He died January 12, 1875, and was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery.