Charles E. Nash

Charles Edmund Nash
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Louisiana's 6th district
In office
March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877
Preceded byDistrict established
Succeeded byEdward White Robertson
Personal details
BornMay 23, 1844
Opelousas, Louisiana, U.S.
DiedJune 21, 1913 (aged 69)
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Military service
AllegianceUnited States[1]
Branch/serviceUnion Army[1]
Years of service1863–1865[1]
RankSergeant major[1]
Unit82nd Regiment, U.S. Volunteers[1]
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War[1]

Charles Edmund Nash (May 23, 1844 – June 21, 1913) was an American politician who served a single two-year term as Republican in the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana.

He was Louisiana's first African-American to serve as congressman; John Willis Menard was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1868 and P. B. S. Pinchback was elected to the U. S. Senate in 1872, but neither one served. Nash would remain the state's only black U.S. Representative for more than a century — until 1991, when William J. Jefferson's tenure in the 2nd Louisiana District began.[2]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Nash's Congressional biography, Accessed 11 April 2015.
  2. ^ Murray, Shailagh; Lengel, Allan (February 16, 2006). "The Legal Woes Of Rep. Jefferson". The Washington Post. p. A01. Retrieved April 11, 2015.