At the end of his presidency, John Tyler returned to his Virginia home just outside Richmond where he remained largely out of politics until the Virginia secession crisis of 1861. A strong advocate of states rights, he nonetheless worked for a compromise to keep Virginia from leaving the Union. And, he especially worked against Virginia going to war.
After he failed, he stood with his state and supported the Confederacy, even becoming a member of the House of Representatives shortly before his death.
Upon his death, he became the only US president whose death was not officially recognized in Washington, DC due to his allegiance to the Confederacy.
Despite his wishes for a simple funeral, the Confederate government gave him a state one with all the pomp and circumstance that entails.
After lying in state, the body was taken from the Capitol to St. Paul's Church where Bishop Johns gave an eloquent sermon to a packed house. Then, the group went to Hollywood Cemetery where Tyler was buried near President James Monroe. President Jefferson Davis, his cabinet, most of the Congress and many state officials attended.
The graves of both presidents are found in President's Circle at the cemetery.
A Leader in Two Countries. --Old Secesh
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