The 2nd Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, met from May 2, 1864, to March 18, 1865, during the last year of Jefferson Davis's presidency, at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia;Historical Atlas ..., pp. 135-138 the Confederacy's government effectively dissolved 16 days later, when it fled Richmond on April 3, 1865. Its members were elected in the 1863 congressional elections.
Sessions Held May 2, 1864, through March 18, 1865, at the Virginia State Capital in Richmond, Virginia. The term of the Second Congress was due to end on February 18, 1866. However, due to the defeat and dissolution of the Confederacy prior to that time, the Congress did not function after the end of its second and final session. 1st Session – May 2, 1864 to June 14, 1864 2nd Session – November 7, 1864 to March 18, 1865
Leadership
Senate
President: Alexander H. Stephens President pro tempore: R. M. T. Hunter
House
Speaker: Thomas S. Bocock
Officers
Senate
Secretary: James H. Nash, South Carolina Recording Clerk: John W. Anderson, Alabama Sergeant-at-Arms: Lafayette H. Fitzhugh, Kentucky Doorkeeper: James Page, North Carolina Assistant Doorkeeper: John Wadsworth, Georgia
House
Clerk: Albert Reese Lamar, Georgia Assistant Clerk: David Louis Dalton, Alabama — sessions 3 and 4 Doorkeeper: Robert Harrison Wynne, Alabama
Members
Senate X: served in the Senate of the First Congress (i.e. reelected or continued in office for this Second Congress).
Confederate States senators were elected by the state legislatures, or appointed by state governors to fill casual vacancies until the legislature elected a new senator. It was intended that one-third of the Senate would begin new six-year terms with each Congress after the first.
Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their terms. Senators of Class 1 were intended to serve a six-year term, starting with this Congress and expiring in 1870. Class 2 senators served what was intended to be a four-year term, due to end on the expiry of this Congress in 1866. Class 3 senators were meant to serve a six-year term, due to expire in 1868.Permanent Constitution of the Confederate States and Confederate Senate Journal
Alabama 3. Robert Jemison Jr. X 1. Richard Wilde Walker
Arkansas 1. Robert Ward Johnson X 3. Charles Burton Mitchel X (died September 20, 1864) Augustus Hill Garland (took his seat on November 8, 1864 – Appointed to fill vacancy)
Florida 1. James McNair Baker X 2. Augustus Emmet Maxwell X
Georgia 3. Benjamin Harvey Hill X 1. Herschel Vespasian Johnson X
Kentucky 3. Henry Cornelius Burnett X 1. William Emmet Simms X
Louisiana 2. Thomas Jenkins Semmes X 3. Edward Sparrow X
Mississippi 2. Albert Gallatin Brown X 1. John William Clark Watson
Missouri 2. Waldo Porter Johnson X 1. (vacant caused by the inability of the Missouri legislature to meet and elect a senator) George Graham Vest (took his seat on January 12, 1865 – Appointed to fill vacancy)
North Carolina 2. William Theophilus Dortch X Thomas Samuel Ashe (elected to succeed Dortch in 1866 on December 3, 1864— never seated) 1. William Alexander Graham
South Carolina 2. Robert Woodward Barnwell X 3. James Lawrence Orr X
Tennessee 3. Landon Carter Haynes X 2. Gustavus Adolphus Henry Sr. X
Texas 3. William Simpson Oldham Sr. X 2. Louis Trezevant Wigfall X
Virginia 3. R. M. T. Hunter X 2. Allen Taylor Caperton X
House of Representatives The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
X: reelected
Alabama 1. Thomas Jefferson Foster X 2. William Russell Smith X 3. Congress refused to seat Representative-elect W. R. W. Cobb, an avowed Unionist; the district was not represented; 4. Marcus Henderson Cruikshank 5. Francis Strother Lyon X 6. William Parish Chilton Sr. X 7. David Clopton X 8. James L. Pugh X 9. James Shelton Dickinson
Arkansas 1. Felix Ives Batson X 2. Rufus King Garland Jr. 3. Augustus Hill Garland X (resigned to become CS senator November 8, 1864) David Williamson Carroll (took his seat on January 11, 1865 – Elected to fill vacancy on October 24, 1864Historical Atlas ..., p. 135) 4. Thomas Burton Hanly X
Florida 1. Samuel St. George Rogers 2. Robert Benjamin Hilton X
Georgia 1. Julian Hartridge X 2. William Ephraim Smith 3. Mark Harden Blandford 4. Clifford Anderson 5. John Troup Shewmake 6. Joseph Hubbard Echols 7. James Milton Smith 8. George Nelson Lester 9. Hiram Parks Bell 10. Warren Akin Sr.
Kentucky 1. Willis Benson Machen X 2. George Washington Triplett 3. Henry English Read X 4. George Washington Ewing X 5. James Chrisman X 6. Theodore Legrand Burnett X 7. Horatio Washington Bruce X 8. Humphrey Marshall 9. Eli Metcalfe Bruce X 10. James William Moore X 11. Benjamin Franklin Bradley 12. John Milton Elliott X
Louisiana 1. Charles Jacques Villeré X 2. Charles Magill Conrad X 3. Duncan Farrar Kenner X 4. Lucius Jacques Dupré X 5. Benjamin Lewis Hodge (died August 12, 1864) Henry Gray (took his seat on December 28, 1864 – Elected to fill vacancy October 17, 1864Historical Atlas ..., p. 136) 6. John Perkins Jr. X
Mississippi 1. Jehu Amaziah Orr 2. William Dunbar Holder X 3. Israel Victor Welch X 4. Henry Cousins Chambers X 5. Otho Robards Singleton X 6. Ethelbert Barksdale X 7. John Tillman Lamkin
Missouri In Confederate law, the people of Missouri were entitled to elect thirteen representatives. The state never implemented the reapportionment and continued to use its existing seven districts.Historical Atlas ... p. 20 and p. 128 1. Thomas Lowndes Snead 2. Nimrod Lindsay Norton 3. John Bullock Clark Sr. 4. Aaron H. Conrow X 5. George Graham Vest X (resigned January 12, 1865 to become CS senator) 6. Peter Singleton Wilkes 7. Robert Anthony Hatcher
North Carolina 1. William N. H. Smith X 2. Robert Rufus Bridgers X 3. James Thomas Leach 4. Thomas Charles Fuller 5. Josiah Turner 6. John Adams Gilmer 7. James Madison Leach (Representative-elect Samuel H. Christian died, in March 1864, before taking his seat. Leach was elected April 21, 1864.Historical Atlas ... p. 137 and notes p. 139) 8. James Graham Ramsay 9. Burgess Sidney Gaither 10. George Washington Logan
South Carolina 1. James Hervey Witherspoon Jr. 2. William Porcher Miles X 3. Lewis Malone Ayer Jr. X 4. William Dunlap Simpson X 5. James Farrow X 6. William Waters Boyce X
Tennessee 1. Joseph Brown Heiskell X 2. William Graham Swan X 3. Arthur St. Clair Colyar 4. John Porry Murray 5. Henry Stuart Foote X (fled to Canada before completing term) 6. Edwin Augustus Keebel 7. James McCallum 8. Thomas Menees X 9. John DeWitt Clinton Atkins X 10. John Vines Wright X 11. Michael Walsh Cluskey (Representative-elect David Maney Currin died, on March 25, 1864, before taking his seat. Cluskey was elected thereafter.Historical Atlas ... p. 137 and notes p. 140)
Texas 1. Stephen Heard Darden (Representative-elect John Allen Wilcox died, on February 7, 1864, before taking his seat. Darden was elected August 1864.) 2. Caleb Claiborne Herbert X 3. Anthony Martin Branch 4. Franklin Barlow Sexton X 5. John Robert Baylor 6. Simpson Harris Morgan
Virginia 1. Robert Latane Montague 2. Robert Henry Whitfield (resigned March 2, 1865) 3. Williams Carter Wickham 4. Thomas Saunders Gholson 5. Thomas Stanley Bocock X 6. John Goode Jr. X 7. William Cabell Rives (resigned March 7, 1865) 8. Daniel Coleman DeJarnette Sr. X 9. David Funsten X 10. Frederick William Mackey Holliday 11. John Brown Baldwin X 12. Waller Redd Staples X 13. LaFayette McMullen 14. Samuel Augustine Miller X 15. Robert Johnston X 16. Charles Wells Russell X
Delegates Non-voting members of the House of Representatives.
Arizona Territory Marcus H. MacWillie X
Cherokee Nation Elias Cornelius Boudinot X
Creek and Seminole Nations Samuel Benton Callahan
Senate committees Accounts
Allen Taylor Caperton, Virginia, Chairman William Emmett Simms, Kentucky William Theophilus Dortch, North Carolina
Claims
Henry Cornelius Burnett, Kentucky, Chairman James McNair Baker, Florida John William Clark Watson, Mississippi — session 2 Waldo Porter Johnson, Missouri William Simpson Oldham Sr., Texas — session 2
Commerce
William Simpson Oldham Sr., Texas, Chairman Richard Wilde Walker, Alabama Augustus Emmett Maxwell, Florida William Theophilus Dortch, North Carolina Landon Carter Haynes Sr., Tennessee
Engrossment and Enrollment
William Theophilus Dortch, North Carolina, Chairman Augustus Emmett Maxwell, Florida Allen Taylor Caperton, Virginia Richard Wilde Walker, Alabama — session 1 John William Clark Watson, Mississippi — session 1 Henry Cornelius Burnett, Kentucky — temporary, session 1 Waldo Porter Johnson, Missouri — temporary, sessions 1 and 2
Finance
Robert Woodward Barnwell, South Carolina, Chairman Thomas Jenkins Semmes, Louisiana Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter, Virginia William Alexander Graham, North Carolina Robert Jemison Jr., Alabama — session 1 James Lawrence Orr, South Carolina — temporary, session 2 William Simpson Oldham Sr., Texas — temporary, session 2
Foreign Relations
James Lawrence Orr, South Carolina, Chairman William Emmett Simms, Kentucky Waldo Porter Johnson, Missouri Louis Trezevant Wigfall, Texas Allen Taylor Caperton, Virginia
Indian Affairs
Robert Ward Johnson, Arkansas, Chairman Augustus Emmet Maxwell, Florida Waldo Porter Johnson, Missouri William Simpson Oldham Sr., Texas Allen Taylor Caperton, Virginia
Judiciary
Benjamin Harvey Hill, Georgia, Chairman Richard Wilde Walker, Alabama Thomas Jenkins Semmes, Louisiana John William Clark Watson, Mississippi Landon Carter Haynes Sr., Tennessee William Simpson Oldham Sr., Texas — temporary, session 2
Military Affairs
Edward Sparrow, Louisiana, Chairman Robert Ward Johnson, Arkansas Henry Cornelius Burnett, Kentucky Gustavus Adolphus Henry Sr., North Carolina Louis Trezevant Wigfall, Texas Augustus Hill Garland, Arkansas — temporary, session 2
Naval Affairs
Albert Gallatin Brown, Mississippi, Chairman James McNair Baker, Florida Herschel Vespasian Johnson, Georgia William Emmett Simms, Kentucky William Alexander Graham, North Carolina
Patents
Augustus Emmett Maxwell, Florida, Chairman Benjamin Harvey Hill, Georgia Landon Carter Haynes Sr., Tennessee
Post Offices and Post Roads
Charles Burton Mitchel, Arkansas (died September 20, 1864) — session 1 James McNair Baker, Florida Landon Carter Haynes Sr., Tennessee William Simpson Oldham Sr., Texas Robert Jemison Jr., Alabama — session 1 Augustus Hill Garland, Arkansas — session 2 Richard Wilde Walker, Alabama — temporary, session 2 Allen Taylor Caperton, Virginia — temporary, session 2
Printing
John William Clark Watson, Mississippi, Chairman James Lawrence Orr, South Carolina Landon Carter Haynes Sr., Tennessee
Public Buildings
Richard Wilde Walker, Alabama James McNair Baker, Florida William Emmett Simms, Kentucky
Public Lands
James McNair Baker, Florida, Chairman Robert Ward Johnson, Arkansas Gustavus Adolphus Henry Sr., North Carolina
Rules
James Lawrence Orr, South Carolina, Chairman Robert Ward Johnson, Arkansas Thomas Jenkins Semmes, Louisiana
Territories
Louis Trezevant Wigfall, Texas, Chairman Charles Burton Mitchel, Arkansas (died September 20, 1864) — session 1 Robert Woodward Barnwell, South Carolina
House committees Accounts
John Troup Shewmake, 5th Georgia Israel Victor Welch, 3rd Mississippi James Farrow, 5th South Carolina James McCallum, 7th Tennessee Robert Johnston, 15th Virginia
Claims
James Shelton Dickinson, 9th Alabama Warren Akin Sr., 10th Georgia George Washington Triplett, 2nd Kentucky Israel Victor Welch, 3rd Mississippi William N. H. Smith, 1st North Carolina