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Thomas E. Bramlette
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Thomas E. Bramlette
Thomas Elliott Bramlette (January 3, 1817 – January 12, 1875) was the 23rd governor of Kentucky. He was elected in 1863 and guided the state through the latter part of the Civil War and the beginning of Reconstruction. At the outbreak of the war, Bramlette put his promising political career on hold and enlisted in the Union Army, raising and commanding the 3rd Kentucky Infantry. In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him district attorney for Kentucky. A year later, he was the Union Democratic Party's nominee for governor. Election interference by the Union Army gave him a landslide victory over his opponent, Charles A. Wickliffe. Within a year, however, federal policies such as recruiting Kentucky African-Americans for the Union Army and suspending the writ of habeas corpus for Kentucky citizens caused Bramlette to abandon his support of the Lincoln administration and declare that he would "bloodily baptize the state into the Confederacy".
After the war, Bramlette issued a general pardon for most ex-Confederates in the state. He opposed ratification of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments and the establishment of the Freedmen's Bureau in Kentucky. Among his accomplishments not related to the war and its aftermath were the reduction of the state's debt and the establishment of the Kentucky Agricultural and Mechanical College (now the University of Kentucky). Following his term as governor, Bramlette returned to his legal practice in Louisville. He died January 12, 1875, and was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery.
Thomas Elliott Bramlette was born on January 3, 1817, at Elliott's Cross Roads in Cumberland (now Clinton) County, Kentucky. He was the son of Colonel Ambrose S. and Sarah (Elliott) Bramlette. His father served two terms in the Kentucky Senate and several terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives.
Bramlette studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1837 at the age of 20, and began practicing in Louisville, Kentucky. In September of that year, Bramlette married Sallie Travis, the first of his two wives. The couple had two children, Thomas and Corinne.
Bramlette's political career began in 1841, when he was elected to represent Clinton County in the General Assembly. In 1848, Governor John J. Crittenden appointed Bramlette Commonwealth's Attorney. He resigned the position in 1850 to continue his legal practice, relocating to Columbia, Kentucky in 1852. He was the Whig nominee for his district's seat in the House of Representatives in 1853, but was defeated by Democrat James Chrisman. In 1856, he was elected as a judge in Kentucky's 6th Judicial District, serving with distinction for five years.
Bramlette resigned his judgeship and accepted a commission as a colonel in the Union Army on August 7, 1861. In violation of Kentucky's agreement to remain neutral in the Civil War, he raised and commanded the 3rd Kentucky Infantry. On September 19, the 3rd Kentucky marched on Lexington to forestall a peace conference scheduled there on September 21 and to arrest the state's junior Senator, John C. Breckinridge. A delay allowed Breckinridge to escape before the arrest was made, and he enlisted in the Confederate Army shortly thereafter.
Bramlette resigned his military commission on July 13, 1862, at Decherd, Tennessee. He returned to Louisville to accept President Abraham Lincoln's offer to become United States District Attorney for Kentucky. During his tenure in this position, he vigorously enforced Kentucky's wartime laws against Confederates and Confederate sympathizers.
Union Democrats chose Joshua Fry Bell as their candidate for governor of Kentucky in 1863, but Bell was skeptical of Kentucky's future with the Union and withdrew his name from consideration. The party's central committee chose Bramlette to replace Bell, and Bramlette declined a commission as a brigadier general in the Union Army to make the race. During the election, Union forces intimidated and jailed supporters of Bramlette's opponent, former governor Charles A. Wickliffe. As a result, Bramlette carried the election by a margin of nearly 4-to-1. During his term, he turned down an offered seat in the U.S. House of Representatives as well as a nomination to become the Democratic candidate for Vice-President in 1864.
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Thomas E. Bramlette
Thomas Elliott Bramlette (January 3, 1817 – January 12, 1875) was the 23rd governor of Kentucky. He was elected in 1863 and guided the state through the latter part of the Civil War and the beginning of Reconstruction. At the outbreak of the war, Bramlette put his promising political career on hold and enlisted in the Union Army, raising and commanding the 3rd Kentucky Infantry. In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him district attorney for Kentucky. A year later, he was the Union Democratic Party's nominee for governor. Election interference by the Union Army gave him a landslide victory over his opponent, Charles A. Wickliffe. Within a year, however, federal policies such as recruiting Kentucky African-Americans for the Union Army and suspending the writ of habeas corpus for Kentucky citizens caused Bramlette to abandon his support of the Lincoln administration and declare that he would "bloodily baptize the state into the Confederacy".
After the war, Bramlette issued a general pardon for most ex-Confederates in the state. He opposed ratification of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments and the establishment of the Freedmen's Bureau in Kentucky. Among his accomplishments not related to the war and its aftermath were the reduction of the state's debt and the establishment of the Kentucky Agricultural and Mechanical College (now the University of Kentucky). Following his term as governor, Bramlette returned to his legal practice in Louisville. He died January 12, 1875, and was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery.
Thomas Elliott Bramlette was born on January 3, 1817, at Elliott's Cross Roads in Cumberland (now Clinton) County, Kentucky. He was the son of Colonel Ambrose S. and Sarah (Elliott) Bramlette. His father served two terms in the Kentucky Senate and several terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives.
Bramlette studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1837 at the age of 20, and began practicing in Louisville, Kentucky. In September of that year, Bramlette married Sallie Travis, the first of his two wives. The couple had two children, Thomas and Corinne.
Bramlette's political career began in 1841, when he was elected to represent Clinton County in the General Assembly. In 1848, Governor John J. Crittenden appointed Bramlette Commonwealth's Attorney. He resigned the position in 1850 to continue his legal practice, relocating to Columbia, Kentucky in 1852. He was the Whig nominee for his district's seat in the House of Representatives in 1853, but was defeated by Democrat James Chrisman. In 1856, he was elected as a judge in Kentucky's 6th Judicial District, serving with distinction for five years.
Bramlette resigned his judgeship and accepted a commission as a colonel in the Union Army on August 7, 1861. In violation of Kentucky's agreement to remain neutral in the Civil War, he raised and commanded the 3rd Kentucky Infantry. On September 19, the 3rd Kentucky marched on Lexington to forestall a peace conference scheduled there on September 21 and to arrest the state's junior Senator, John C. Breckinridge. A delay allowed Breckinridge to escape before the arrest was made, and he enlisted in the Confederate Army shortly thereafter.
Bramlette resigned his military commission on July 13, 1862, at Decherd, Tennessee. He returned to Louisville to accept President Abraham Lincoln's offer to become United States District Attorney for Kentucky. During his tenure in this position, he vigorously enforced Kentucky's wartime laws against Confederates and Confederate sympathizers.
Union Democrats chose Joshua Fry Bell as their candidate for governor of Kentucky in 1863, but Bell was skeptical of Kentucky's future with the Union and withdrew his name from consideration. The party's central committee chose Bramlette to replace Bell, and Bramlette declined a commission as a brigadier general in the Union Army to make the race. During the election, Union forces intimidated and jailed supporters of Bramlette's opponent, former governor Charles A. Wickliffe. As a result, Bramlette carried the election by a margin of nearly 4-to-1. During his term, he turned down an offered seat in the U.S. House of Representatives as well as a nomination to become the Democratic candidate for Vice-President in 1864.
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