Wood County History
By LOU MALLORY - Chairperson, Wood County Historical Commission
At the time of his death in 1858 General John Anthony Quitman of Mississippi was one of the most popular men in America.
He was born of German parents in New York in 1798. His father, a Lutheran minister, directed his son's education toward the pulpit but the young man chose the bar.
At 20 he was a teacher of English in Pennsylvania. At the age of 21, young Quitman was reading law in Ohio. By age 24, he was a member of the bar in the thriving city of Natchez, Mississippi. He married into a wealthy Southern family and entered actively into the social and political life of a new and growing state.
He was elected a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1832. He then became president of the state senate, was elected governor then went to the U.S. Congress. While politically a Jeffersonian Democrat, he was in principle, Mississippi's foremost independent. Again and again, he was elected to office while on the "wrong side" of some issues. However, his personal popularity overcame the opposition. There was no issue that faced the people during Quitman's era that he failed to meet boldly with his convictions. He never bartered his belief for public favor.
Quitman was a strong advocate of states' rights and the plantation system. In his 1850 gubernatorial inaugural address he stated, "When the constitution, or the reserved right of the state of the people are threatened, upon the state government especially devolves the duty of taking proper measures to defend the one and protect the other ... I deny the right of the federal government to supervise the manufactures or the agriculture of the country."
While jealous of the profession of law, Quitman was primarily a soldier. He was an enthusiastic student of military history. When Texas declared her independence and the Alamo fell, Quitman volunteered for service and went west with a small army which he personally financed to "lay out the promised land."
Later when the Mexican War broke out Quitman was commissioned a brigadier-general by President Polk and took command of a brigade of volunteers. He fought his way into Monterey with heroism.
He was in Mexico City eight hours before any other soldier. He boldly led his men in storming Chapultepec. As a reward for his generalship and his bravery, he was made "Civil and Military Governor of the City of Mexico." One historian said that Quitman had few equals as a military strategist, fearless soldier and inspiring leader.
Quitman wanted to see the political and territorial powers of the north and south in balance. To him, it was not enough that the United States should come out of the Mexican War with added territory. He felt the nation should annex all of Mexico and also take Cuba and Nicaragua. Had he lived until the Civil War, it is easy to guess what might have been his part - his convictions on the underlying issues were very definite. He had sensed the separation was coming. As early as 1851, he was toasted in Charleston, South Carolina, is "the first president of the Southern Republic."
Well-bred and well educated, Quitman was a man of culture and refinement. Among his awards was an honorary degree from Princeton University.
His name remained spotless throughout his career, to the point that his name became a byword for honor and patriotism. But he didn't totally escape the hazards of political life. He was arrested and charged with plotting the delivery of Cuba from Spain in violation of federal neutrality acts. This caused him to resign the governorship of Mississippi. The case against him was dismissed and he was elected to Congress in 1855 then re-elected and served until his death on July 17th, 1858 at his home, Monmouth Plantation near Natchez.
Teacher, lawyer, legislator, planter, soldier and patriot - General John A. Quitman found his place in American history.
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