Henry A. Wise

Henry A. Wise
33rd Governor of Virginia
In office
January 1, 1856 – January 1, 1860
LieutenantElisha W. McComas
William Lowther Jackson
Preceded byJoseph Johnson
Succeeded byJohn Letcher
6th United States Minister to Brazil
In office
August 10, 1844 – August 28, 1847
PresidentJohn Tyler
James K. Polk
Preceded byGeorge H. Proffit
Succeeded byDavid Tod
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia
In office
March 4, 1833 – February 12, 1844
Preceded byRichard Coke Jr.
Succeeded byThomas H. Bayly
Constituency8th district (1833–1843)
7th district (1843–1844)
Personal details
Born
Henry Alexander Wise

(1806-12-03)December 3, 1806
Drummondtown, Virginia
DiedSeptember 12, 1876(1876-09-12) (aged 69)
Richmond, Virginia
Political partyJacksonian (1832–1834)
Whig (1834–1842)
Democratic (1842–1868)
Republican (after 1868)
Children14, including Richard Alsop and John Sergeant
Parent
Alma materWashington College
Winchester Law School
ProfessionPolitician, lawyer
Signature
Military service
AllegianceConfederate States
Branch/serviceConfederate States Army
Years of service1861–1865
RankBrigadier General
UnitArmy of Northern Virginia
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Henry Alexander Wise (December 3, 1806 – September 12, 1876) was an American attorney, diplomat, politician and slave owner[1] from Virginia. As the 33rd Governor of Virginia, Wise served as a significant figure on the path to the American Civil War, becoming heavily involved in the 1859 trial of abolitionist John Brown. After leaving office in 1860, Wise also led the move toward Virginia's secession from the Union in reaction to the election of Abraham Lincoln and the Battle of Fort Sumter.

In addition to serving as governor, Wise represented Virginia in the United States House of Representatives from 1833 to 1844 and was the United States Minister to Brazil during the presidencies of John Tyler and James K. Polk. During the American Civil War, he was a general in the Confederate States Army. In politics, Wise was consecutively a Jacksonian Democrat, a Whig supporter of the National Bank, a dissident Whig supportive of President Tyler, a Democratic secessionist, and a Republican supporter of President Ulysses S. Grant during Reconstruction. His sons Richard Alsop Wise and John Sergeant Wise both also served in the Confederate Army and the post-war United States House as Republicans. After the Civil War ended, Wise accepted that slavery had been abolished and advocated a peaceful national reunification.

  1. ^ Weil, Julie Zauzmer; Blanco, Adrian; Dominguez, Leo. "More than 1,800 congressmen once enslaved Black people. This is who they were, and how they shaped the nation". Washington Post. Retrieved February 20, 2023.