The North Carolina General Assembly of 1862–1864 met in Raleigh from November 17, 1862, to December 22, 1862. Extra sessions were held on January 19, 1863 – February 12, 1863; June 30, 1863 – July 7, 1863; November 23, 1863 – December 14, 1863; and May 17–30, 1864 . The assembly consisted of the 120 members of the North Carolina House of Commons from 82 counties and 50 senators representing one or more counties in North Carolina Senate elected by the voters in October 1862. Zebulon Baird Vance was Governor of North Carolina during this assembly. This assembly met during the American Civil War as part of the Confederate States of America. Much of the legislation passed by this assembly dealt with the managing the state and its population during wartime.
Assembly membership House of Commons members
There were 82 counties with 120 delegates, 5 counties with three delegates, 28 counties with two delegates, and 49 counties with one delegate. The House of Commons delegates elected a Speaker (Richard Spaight Donnell, Robert B. Gilliam, Marmaduke Swain Robins, William E. MannWilliam E. Mann served for a brief period as Speaker in the January adjourned session when Richard Donnell was ill.), Clerk, Assistant Clerk, Doorkeeper, and Assistant Doorkeeper. The following delegates to the House of Commons were elected by the voters of North Carolina to represent each county and district:
CountyDelegatesper CountyDelegateAlamance2Rufus Yancey McAdenAlamance2E. F. WatsonAlexander1John M. CarsonAnson2R. H. BurnsAnson2Purdie RichardsonAshe1James M. GentryBeaufort2Richard Spaight DonnellBeaufort2David Miller CarterBertie2Peyton T. HenryBertie2James BondBladen1J.W. RussBrunswick1Daniel Lindsay Russell, Jr.Buncombe1John BurginBurke1John ParksCabarrus1William S. HarrisCaldwell1Matthias A. BernhardtCamden1John ForbesCarteret1Unknown/VacantCaswell2Samuel S. HarrisonCaswell2William LongCatawba1George S. HooperAt some point George S. Hooper resigned and Horace L. Robards replaced him. W. P. Reinhardt attended the last special session. Robards may have joined the Confederate ArmyCatawba1Horace L. RobardsCatawba1W .P. ReinhardtChatham3Thomas B. HarrisChatham3William J. HeadenChatham3Maurice Q. WaddellCherokee1James H. BrysonJames H. Bryson resigned his seat at some point. John W. Fentress was elected to replace him for the third session.Cherokee1John W. FentressChowan1Lemuel C. BenburyCleveland2John R. LoganCleveland2David BeamColumbus 1William M. BaldwinWilliam M. Baldwin resigned his seat. No known replacement.Craven2J. B. J. BarrowJ. B. J. Barrow died before taking office and was replaced by Thomas H. Gaskins in the second special session.Craven2Thomas H. GaskinsCraven2Richard A. RussellCumberland3John McCormickCumberland3Neill McKayCumberland3Jesse G. ShepherdCurrituck1Burwell M. BaxterDavidson2Robert L. BeallDavidson2Henry WalserDavie1Henry B. HowardDuplin2John D. StanfordDuplin2L. W. HodgesEdgecombe2Robert BynumEdgecombe2David CobbForsyth2E. KernerForsyth2John P. NissenFranklin1A. W. PearceGaston1A. W. DavenportGates1William H. ManningGranville3Robert B. GilliamRobert B. Gilliam was elevated to the State Superior Court bench in 1863 and Richard Spaight Donnell was elected to replace him as Speaker of the House of Commons.Granville3James S. AmisGranville3Eugene GrissomGreene1Henry H. BestGuilford3R. W. GlennGuilford3M.S. SherwoodGuilford3William R. SmithHalifax2Archibald H. DavisHalifax2Henry JoynerHaywood1Samuel L. LoveHenderson1Alexander HenryHertford1John A. VannHyde1Edward L. MannIredell2Thomas A. AllisonIredell2 John YoungJackson1Joseph KeenerJohnston2W. H. AveraJohnston2Seth WoodallJones1Anthony E. RhodesLenoir1William W. DunnLincoln1Ambrose WhiteMacon1J. M. LyleMadison1Jesse WallenMartin1James RobinsonMcDowell1William F. CraigMecklenburg2John L. BrownMecklenburg2E. C. GrierMontgomery1Edmund G.L. BarringerMoore1Alexander KellyNash1Henry G. WilliamsNew Hanover2Samuel J. PersonNew Hanover2John R. HawesNorthampton2Williamn W. PeeblesNorthampton2Samuel T. StancilOnslow1James H. FoyOrange2William N. PattersonOrange2John BerryPasquotank1William E. MannPerquimans1James H. RiddickPerson1M. D. C. BumpassPitt2Burton J. AlbrittonPitt2Churchill PerkinsRandolph 2Jonathan WorthJonathan Worth resigned his position in the house after being elected as North Carolina State Treasurer. He was replaced by Isaac H. Foust.Randolph 2Isaac H. FoustRandolph 2Marmaduke Swain RobinsMarmaduke Swain Robins was elected on November 24, 1863 when illness kept Richard Spaight Donnell from that session. See Cheney, page 356, footnote 580.Richmond1Sanders M. IngramRobeson2Neill McNeillRobeson2Murdock McRaeRockingham2W. J. GilliamRockingham2James I. ReynoldsRowan2Nathan Neely FlemingNathan Neely Fleming was killed at the Battle of the Wilderness (May 57, 1964).Rowan2Francis Edwin ShoberRutherford2A. R. BryanRutherford2J. B. CarpenterSampson2William KirbySampson2D. A. BizzellD. A. Bizzell died in office and Thomas H. Powell was elected to replace him in the second session. Sampson2Thomas H. PowellStanly1Lafayette GreenStokes1William H. FlyntSurry1Joseph HollingsworthTyrrell1Eli SpruillUnion1Cyrus Q. LemmondWake3J.H. AlfordWake3William LawsWake3Daniel Gould FowleDaniel G. Fowle resigned his seat after being elected as Adjutant General of North Carolina. He was replaced by Calvin J. Rogers in the second special session. Wake3Calvin J. RogersWarren 2L. HendersonWarren 2Thomas J. JudkinsWashington1James H. SmithJames H. Smith did not take his seat until the first special session.Watauga1William HortonWayne2Marcus K. CrawfordWayne2B.B. RivesWilkes2W.W. HamptonWilkes2E.M. WelbornYadkin1Andrew C. CowlesYancey1D.M. Young
Senate members
The Senators elected a President, Clerk, Assistant Clerk, Doorkeeper, and Assistant Doorkeeper. The following Senators were elected by the voters of North Carolina to represent each county:
DistrictCountiesSenatorHome County 1Pasquotank & PerquimansWilliam H. Bagley Perquimans2Camden & CurrituckD. McD. Lindsay Camden3Chowan & GatesMills H. Eure Gates4Hyde & TyrrellCharles McCleese Tyrrell5NorthamptonW.S. CopelandNorthampton6HertfordJoseph B. SlaughterHertford7BertieThomas M. GarrettBertie8Martin & WashingtonJames G. Galloway Washington9HalifaxM.L. WigginsHalifax10EdgecombeJesse H. PowellEdgecombe11PittElias J. BlountPitt12BeaufortEdward J. WarrenBeaufort13CravenWilliam B. WadsworthCraven14Carteret & JonesM.F. Arendell Carteret15Greene & LenoirEdward Patrick Lenoir16New HanoverEli W. HallNew Hanover17DuplinJames DicksonDuplin18OnslowA.J. MurrellOnslow19Bladen, Brunswick, & ColumbusJohn W. Ellis Columbus20CumberlandW.B. WrightCumberland21SampsonThomas I. FaisonSampson22WayneWilliam K. LaneWayne22WayneBenjamin AycockWilliam K. Lane resigned and Benjamin Aycock took his place in the Extra Session in 1863.Wayne23JohnstonC.B. SandersJohnston24WakeJohn P.H. RussWake25NashA.G. TaylorNash26FranklinWashington HarrisFranklin27WarrenE. D. DrakeE. D. Drake died in office and was replaced by Thomas J. Pritchard in the extra session in 1863.Warren27WarrenThomas J. PritchardWarren28GranvilleR.W. LassiterGranville29PersonJames HolemanPerson30OrangeWilliam A. GrahamOrange31Alamance & RandolphGiles MebaneAlamance32ChathamWilliam P. TaylorChatham33Montgomery & MooreCalvin W. Wooley Montgomery34Richmond, & RobesonGiles Leitch Robeson35Anson & UnionWilliam C. Smith Anson36GuilfordPeter AdamsGuilford37CaswellBedford BrownCaswell38RockinghamFrancis L. SimpsonRockingham39MecklenburgJohn A. YoungMecklenburg40Cabarrus & StanlyJ.W. Smith Stanly41Davie & RowanJames Graham RamsayRowan42DavidsonH. AdamsDavidson43Forsyth & StokesJames E. Matthews Stokes44Ashe, Surry, Watauga, & YadkinIsaac Jarratt Ashe45Alexander, Iredell, WilkesLeander Q. Sharpe Iredell46Burke, Caldwell, & McDowellSamuel J. Neal Burke47Catawba, Gaston, & LincolnJames White Lincoln48Cleveland & RutherfordM.O. Dickson Rutherford49Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, & YanceyWilliam Marcus ShippBuncombe50Cherokee, Haywood, Jackson, & MaconC.D. Smith Macon
Legislation The Civil War was ongoing during the entire term of this assembly. The assembly passed public laws dealing with the following: the destroyed court house in Hertford County, funding of the state insane asylum (Dorothea Dix Hospital), establishing the eighth judicial district, prohibiting the distillation of spirituous liquors, modifying acts so that justices of the peace absent from counties under occupation of Union troops would not lose their position, acts dealing with the state militia, purchase and hiding of emergency provisions, authorization to the governor for the use of slave labor for building fortifications, provisions to survivors of soldiers dying in service, resolution to declare the separation of the United States and Confederate State final, creating a Roll of Honor maintained by the Governor of Confederate soldiers and patriots from North Carolina, a resolution condemning the confiscation of North Carolina government iron by the Confederate Government, extending the statute of limitations till the war is over, allowing the governor to draft all able bodied men between 18 and 45 years old into the militia, making monopolies, extortions, and speculation illegal during the war, and raising wartime taxes. The senate and house occasionally went into secret sessions, according to the minutes. This General Assembly created the Office of the North Carolina State Auditor, who was initially elected by the legislature every two years. Samuel F. Phillips was elected by this legislature as the first auditor. For details about legislation and minutes of this assembly, see Legislative Documents.
See also List of North Carolina state legislatures
Notes
References