Edmund Pettus | |
|---|---|
 Pettus in 1899 | |
| United States Senator from Alabama | |
| In office March 4, 1897 – July 27, 1907 | |
| Preceded by | James L. Pugh |
| Succeeded by | Joseph F. Johnston |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edmund Winston Pettus July 6, 1821 Limestone County, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | July 27, 1907 (aged 86) Hot Springs, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Relations |
|
| Alma mater | Clinton College |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch/service | |
| Years of service | |
| Rank |
|
| Battles/wars | Mexican–American War American Civil War |
Edmund Winston Pettus (July 6, 1821 – July 27, 1907) was a lawyer and politician who represented Alabama in the United States Senate from 1897 to 1907.[2] He served as a senior officer of the Confederate States Army, commanding infantry in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. After the war, he was Grand Dragon, or supreme leader of the Ku Klux Klan, that terrorized and often killed African-Americans.[3]
The Edmund Pettus Bridge across the Alabama River in Selma, built in 1940, was named after him. According to Smithsonian, "The bridge was named for him, in part, to memorialize his history, of restraining and imprisoning African-Americans in their quest for freedom after the Civil War".[4] In 1965, the bridge became a landmark of the civil rights movement.
- ^ WSFA 12 News Staff (26 July 2020). "Great-great-granddaughter of Edmund Pettus wants bridge renamed". WBTV. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "S. Doc. 58-1 - Fifty-eighth Congress. (Extraordinary session -- beginning November 9, 1903.) Official Congressional Directory for the use of the United States Congress. Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing by A.J. Halford. Special edition. Corrections made to November 5, 1903". GovInfo.gov. U.S. Government Printing Office. 9 November 1903. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ Watson, Elbert L. (5 January 2015). "Edmund Pettus". Encyclopedia of Alabama.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
SMITHwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).