James Williams (ambassador)

James Williams
BornJuly 1, 1796
Grainger County, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedApril 10, 1869(1869-04-10) (aged 72)
Graz, Austria
Known forUS Minister Resident to the Ottoman Empire (1858–1861)
SpouseLucy Jane Williams (née Graham)
Parents
  • Etheldred Williams (father)
  • Mary Williams (née Copeland) (mother)
Opening pages of Williams' 1863 "The Rise and Fall of the Model Republic"

James Williams (July 1, 1796 – April 10, 1869) was an American Minister Resident (Ambassador) to the Ottoman Empire, appointed on January 14, 1858, by President James Buchanan. James Williams remained in this function until the outbreak of the American Civil War, terminating his functions on May 25, 1861.[1] A native of Tennessee, he remained in Europe supporting the Confederacy by selling Confederate bonds, as well as writing numerous articles and books in favor of the South alongside Henry Hotze in London. Accused of treason for joining the Confederate cause as a US Government employee, he remained in Europe and died in Austria in 1869.[2]

  1. ^ "United States Department of State, Office of the Historian".
  2. ^ Manning, Martin J.; Wyatt, Clarence R. (2011). The History of Hamilton County and Chattanooga, Tennessee. ISBN 9781598842272.