James L. Alcorn

James L. Alcorn
United States senator
from Mississippi
In office
December 1, 1871 – March 3, 1877
Preceded byHiram R. Revels
Succeeded byLucius Q. C. Lamar
28th Governor of Mississippi
In office
March 10, 1870 – November 30, 1871
LieutenantRidgley C. Powers
Preceded byAdelbert Ames
Succeeded byRidgley C. Powers
Member of the Mississippi Senate
In office
1848–1854
Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives
In office
1846, 1856–1857
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives
In office
1843
Personal details
Born
James Lusk Alcorn

(1816-11-04)November 4, 1816
Golconda, Illinois Territory
DiedDecember 19, 1894(1894-12-19) (aged 78)
Friars Point, Mississippi, US
Political partyWhig, Republican
Alma materCumberland College
ProfessionPolitician, lawyer
Signature
Military service
Allegiance Confederate States
Branch Mississippi Militia
Years of service1861–1862
Rank Brigadier-General
WarsAmerican Civil War

James Lusk Alcorn (November 4, 1816 – December 19, 1894) was a governor, and U.S. senator during the Reconstruction era in Mississippi. A Moderate Republican and Whiggish "scalawag",[1] he engaged in a bitter rivalry with Radical Republican Adelbert Ames, who defeated him in the 1873 gubernatorial race. Alcorn was the first elected Republican governor of Mississippi.[1]

Although a Unionist,[2] Alcorn briefly served as a Confederate brigadier-general of the Mississippi Militia. Among former Confederates who joined the postbellum Republican Party, only James Longstreet had been of higher rank than Alcorn.

  1. ^ a b Sansing, David G. (July 10, 2017). James Lusk Alcorn. Mississippi Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  2. ^ James Lusk Alcorn. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved March 13, 2022.