U.S. Presidents with Confederate Ties-- Part 4: John Tyler's Children

John Tyler was busy having children of his own and, plenty of them.  His first wife died during his administration in September 1842, and he remarried a woman thirty years his junior in 1844.  In all, he fathered 15 children in his life, some at the age of 70.

One of his sons was  an assistant secretary of war for the Confederacy.  Another was the register of the Confederate Treasury.  At least three other sons served in the Confederate Army.

From Find a Grave

Robert Tyler--  Register of Treasury

John Tyler, Jr.  Colonel in Confederate Army and Assistant Secretary of War

Tazewell Tyler served as a Confederate surgeon

David Gardiner Tyler was a private in the Confederate Army

--Old Secesh

U.S. Presidents with Confederate Ties-- Part 1: John Tyler

From the February 21, 2022, Monroe News "Tom Emery:  "Several U.S. presidents had Confederate ties" by Tom Emery.

Several former U.S. presidents had strong Confederate ties.

John Tyler, a Virginian, became president after William Henry Harrison died after just a month in office in 1841.  Two decades later, he was a secession advocate  and was elected to the Provisional Congress of the Confederacy.

In November 1861, he won election to the Confederate  House of Representatives, but died the following January 8, 1862, before he could be seated.

After John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry, Tyler was elected commander of his community's home town guard with the rank of captain.  he was presiding officer of the Virginia Peace Conference in an effort to prevent war in 1861.

--Old Secesh

Fort Wool in Chesapeake Bay-- Part 3: An Association With U.S. Presidents

Continued from December 30, 2020.

Fort Wool has a little-known association with U.S. presidents.

President Andrew Jackson, broken-hearted after the death of his wife and in ill-health, came to Fort Wool in the late 1820s and 1830s and, in effect, made the fort into his "White House."  He built a hut on the island and spent time watching ships pass by.

He even made key policy decisions from there.  Ironically, his Secretary of War, John C. Calhoun, had become the president's arch rival at this time, by threatening to pull South Carolina out of the Union.  This was a move that Jackson effectively squelched, at least for the time being.

In the mid-1840s, President  John Tyler took sanctuary on the island after the death of his first wife.

President Abraham Lincoln also visited the island.

--Old Secesh

The SCV Sees the Flag Attack As a "Nightmare"-- Part 2

Commander Barrow continued:  "They want to remove our flags, the names of our streets, our monuments.  We're in a country that's supposed to be tolerant, and suddenly they're targeting our culture.  I can't wait to wake up from this nightmare."

These comments came after a ceremony at Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery to honor the Pennsylvania doctor who in the 1870s exhumed the remains of thousands of Confederate soldiers killed at the Battle of Gettysburg and had their remains shipped back.  (Sure sounds like something a racist group would do.)

About 18,000 Confederate soldiers are buried at Hollywood Cemetery, many in an area referred to as Gettysburg Hill thanks to the doctor's efforts. Small Confederate flags were fluttering amongst the tombstones.

Jefferson Davis along with U.S. presidents John Tyler and James Monroe are also buried there.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy's Only US President Buried 150 Years Ago-- Part 2

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

The Confederacy's Only US President Buried 150 Years Ago-- Part 1

From the RVA News 150, Richmond, Virginia.  It is kind of strange that I would come across this article just a day after my wife forwarded me an article about how President Tyler still has two living grandchildren.  I will be writing about that on my history blog, Cooter's History Thing.

As the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia, was host to many state funerals in it streets during the course of the war.  The persons were often buried in the city's Hollywood Cemetery.

On January 22, 1862, the new country buried its first and only United States president, John Tyler.  Referred to by his opponents as "His Accidency" or "The Accidental President" John Tyler, the 10th president had ascended to that position upon the sudden death of William Henry Harrison a few weeks into his term, the first vice president to do so in the succession plan.

President Tyler died January 18, 1862, and his funeral procession was held Jan. 22nd after a full-fledged state funeral.  He had passed away at age 71 at the Exchange Hotel in Richmond.

More to Come.  --Old Secesh