Robert Augustus Toombs (July 2, 1810 – December 15, 1885) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political leader, United States Senator from Georgia, 1st Secretary of State of the Confederacy, and a
ConfederateThe Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865. It was established in two phases with provisional and permanent organizations, which existed concurrently....
general in the
Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
.
Early life
Born near
WashingtonWashington is a city in Wilkes County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,295 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Wilkes County...
,
Wilkes County, GeorgiaWilkes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 10,687. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 10,262 . The county seat is Washington, Georgia....
, Robert Augustus Toombs was the fifth child of Catherine Huling and Robert Toombs. His father died when he was five, and he entered
Franklin CollegeThe Franklin College of Arts and Sciences is the founding college of the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States. The college was named in honor of Benjamin Franklin...
at the
University of GeorgiaThe University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning. Founded in 1785, UGA claims to be the oldest public university in the United States....
in
AthensAthens-Clarke County is a unified city-county in Georgia, U.S., in the northeastern part of the state. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial creation of Athens and its subsequent growth...
when he was just fourteen. During his time at Franklin College he was a member of the
Demosthenian Literary SocietyThe Demosthenian Literary Society is a debating society at The University of Georgia in Athens,Georgia. It was founded in 1803 by the first graduating class of the University's Franklin College. The society was founded on February 19, 1803 and the anniversary is celebrated now with the Society's...
, which reveres him as its most accomplished and legendary alumnus to this day. After the university chastised him for unbecoming conduct in a card-playing incident, Toombs continued his education at
Union CollegeUnion College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in the wake of the American Revolution, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents...
, in
Schenectady, New YorkSchenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 61,821, making it the ninth-largest city in New York...
, from which he graduated in 1828. Toombs went on to study law at the
University of VirginiaThe University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
Law School in
CharlottesvilleCharlottesville is an independent city geographically located in Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom....
. Shortly after his admission to the Georgia
barBar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:The bar is a dividing line in a courtroom...
, he married his childhood sweetheart, Julia A. Dubose, with whom he had three children.
Public service
Toombs was admitted to the bar in 1830, and served in the
Georgia House of RepresentativesThe Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly of Georgia.-Composition:According to the state constitution of 1983, this body is to comprise no fewer than 180 members elected for two-year terms. Current state law provides for 180 members...
(1838, 1840–1841, and 1843–1844). His genial character, proclivity for entertainment, and unqualified success on the legal circuit earned Toombs the growing attention and admiration of his fellow Georgians. On the wave of his growing popularity, Toombs won a seat to the
United States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
(1844–1853), and joined his close friend and fellow representative Alexander H. Stephens from
Crawfordville, GeorgiaCrawfordville is a city in Taliaferro County, Georgia, United States. The population was 572 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Taliaferro County.-Geography:Crawfordville is located at ....
. Their friendship forged a powerful personal and political bond that effectively defined and articulated Georgia's position on national issues in the middle decades of the nineteenth century. Toombs, like Stephens, emerged as a states' rights partisan, became a national Whig, and once the Whig Party dissolved, aided in the creation of the short-lived Constitutional Union Party in the early 1850s. From 1853 to 1861 Toombs served in the
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
, only reluctantly joining the Democratic Party when lack of interest among other states doomed the Constitutional Union Party.
From Unionist to Confederate
Throughout the 1840s and 1850s, Toombs fought to reconcile national policies with sectional interests. His support for the Georgia Platform in 1850 demonstrated his commitment to preserving the
UnionDuring the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three states which were not part of the secession attempt by the 11 states that tried to form the Confederacy...
. He opposed the Annexation of Texas, the Mexican-American War,
President PolkJames Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States .Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, but mostly lived in and represented the state of Tennessee...
's
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
policy, and the
Walker TariffThe 1846 Walker tariff was a Democratic bill that reversed the high rates of tariffs imposed by the Whig-backed "Black Tariff" of 1842 under the tenth president, John Tyler. It was one of the lowest tariffs in American history and primarily supported by Southern Democrats who had little industry...
of 1846. In common with Alexander H. Stephens and
Howell Cobb Howell Cobb was an American political figure. A Southern Democrat, Cobb was a five-term member of the United States House of Representatives and Speaker of the House from 1849 to 1851...
, he defended
Henry ClayHenry Clay, Sr. was a nineteenth-century American statesman and orator who represented Kentucky in both the House of Representatives and Senate. He served as Secretary of State from 1825 to 1829....
's
Compromise of 1850The Compromise of 1850 was a complex package of five bills, passed in September 1850, defusing a four-year confrontation between the slave states of the South and the free states of the North that arose from expectation of territorial expansion of the United States with the Texas Annexation and...
against southerners who advocated
secessionSecession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity.-Secession theory:...
from the Union as the only solution to sectional tensions over slavery. He denounced the
Nashville ConventionThe Nashville Convention was a political meeting held in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 3 – 11, 1850. Delegates from nine slave holding states met to consider a possible course of action if the United States Congress decided to ban slavery in the new territories being added to the country as a...
, opposed the secessionists in Georgia, and helped to frame the famous
Georgia platformThe Georgia Platform was a statement executed by a Georgia Convention in response to the Compromise of 1850. Supported by Unionists, the document affirmed the acceptance of the Compromise as a final resolution of the sectional slavery issues while declaring that no further assaults on Southern...
(1850). His position and that of Southern Unionists during the decade 1850–1860 has often been misunderstood. They disapproved of secession, not because they considered it wrong in principle, but because they considered it inexpedient. He favored the
Kansas-Nebraska ActIn United States history, the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opened new lands, repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, and allowed settlers in those territories to determine if they would allow slavery within their boundaries...
, the admission of
KansasKansas is a state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa tribe, who inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south wind," although this was...
under the
Lecompton ConstitutionThe Lecompton Constitution was the second of four proposed constitutions for the state of Kansas . The document was written in response to the anti-slavery position of the 1855 Topeka Constitution of James H. Lane and other free-state advocates...
, and the
English BillThe English Bill was an offer made by the United States Congress to Kansas Territory. Kansas was offered some millions of acres of public lands in exchange for accepting the Lecompton Constitution....
(1858). However, his faith in the resiliency and effectiveness of the national government to resolve sectional conflicts waned as the 1850s drew to a close.
On June 24, 1856, Toombs introduced in the Senate the Toombs Bill, which proposed a constitutional convention in Kansas under conditions which were acknowledged by various anti-slavery leaders as fair, and which mark the greatest concessions made by the pro-slavery senators during the Kansas struggle. The bill did not provide for the submission of the constitution to popular vote, and the silence on this point of the territorial law under which the Lecompton Constitution of Kansas was framed in 1857 was the crux of the Lecompton struggle.
Secession and Civil War
In the presidential campaign of 1860 he supported
John C. BreckinridgeJohn Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky and was the 14th Vice President of the United States, to date the youngest vice president in U.S...
, and on December 22, soon after the election of
Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery...
, sent a telegram to Georgia that asserted that "secession by the 4th of March next should be thundered forth from the ballot-box by the united voice of Georgia." He delivered a farewell address in the Senate (January 7, 1861), returned to Georgia, and with Governor
Joseph E. BrownJoseph Emerson Brown , often referred to as Joe Brown, was governor of Georgia from 1857 to 1865, and a U.S. Senator from 1880 to 1891. During the American Civil War, Brown, a former Whig, had constant disagreements with Confederate President Jefferson Davis, whom he saw as an incipient...
led the fight for secession against Stephens and Herschel V. Johnson (1812–1880). His influence was a most powerful factor in inducing the "old-line Whigs" to support immediate secession.
Unlike the crises of 1850, these events galvanized Toombs and energized ambitions for becoming the president of the new
ConfederateThe Confederate States of America was a separatist political entity existing between 1861 to 1865, established by eleven southern slave states of the United States of America, each of which had previously declared their secession from the United States...
nation. The selection of
Jefferson DavisJefferson Finis Davis was an American politician who served as President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history, 1861 to 1865, during the American Civil War....
as the new nation's chief executive not only dashed Toombs's highest hopes but also turned him into one of the most outspoken critics of the Confederate government and its policies. Nevertheless, Davis chose Toombs as his first
Confederate States Secretary of StateThe Confederate States Secretary of State was the head of the Confederate States State Department from 1861 to 1865 during the American Civil War. There were three people who served the position in this time. The department crumbled with the Confederate States of America in May 1865, marking the...
. Within months of his appointment, a frustrated Toombs stepped down to join the
Confederate States ArmyThe Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865. It was established in two phases with provisional and permanent organizations, which existed concurrently....
. He received a commission as a brigadier general on July 19, 1861, and served first as a brigade commander in the (Confederate)
Army of the PotomacThe Confederate Army of the Potomac, whose name was short-lived, was the command under Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard in the early days of the American Civil War. Its only major combat action was the First Battle of Bull Run. Afterwards, the Army of the Shenandoah was merged into the Army of the...
, and then in David R. Jones's
divisionA division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between ten to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps...
of the
Army of Northern VirginiaThe Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac. Three districts were created under the Department of Northern Virginia:*Aquia...
through the
Peninsula CampaignThe Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...
,
Seven Days BattlesThe Seven Days Battles was a series of six major battles over the seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, away from...
,
Northern Virginia CampaignThe Northern Virginia Campaign, also known as the Second Bull Run Campaign or Second Manassas Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during August and September 1862 in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E...
, and
Maryland CampaignThe Maryland Campaign, or the Antietam Campaign is widely considered one of the major turning points of the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North was repulsed by Maj. Gen. George B...
. He was wounded in the hand at the
Battle of AntietamThe Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil...
. He resigned his CSA commission on March 3, 1863, to become
ColonelIn the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, Colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and just below the rank of Brigadier General. It is equivalent to the naval rank of Captain in the other uniformed services...
of the 3rd Cavalry of the Georgia
MilitiaThe term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
, and subsequently served as a brigadier general and adjutant and inspector-general of General
Gustavus W. SmithGustavus Woodson Smith , more commonly known as G.W. Smith, was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Mexican-American War, a civil engineer, and a major general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life and Mexico:Smith was born in Georgetown,...
's division of Georgia militia. Denied a military promotion, he resigned his commission and returned home to
Washington, GeorgiaWashington is a city in Wilkes County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,295 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Wilkes County...
.
Final years
When the Confederacy finally collapsed in 1865, Toombs barely escaped arrest by Union troops and went into hiding until he fled to
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
on November 4, and then to
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
and
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He returned to the United States via
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1867. Because he refused to request a pardon from Congress, he never regained his American citizenship. He did restore his lucrative law practice as an "unreconstructed" southerner. In addition, he dominated the Georgia constitutional convention of 1877, where once again he demonstrated the political skill and temperament that earlier had earned him a reputation as one of Georgia's most effective leaders.
Legacy
Georgia's Toombs County is named for Robert Toombs. So is the
Georgia town of Toomsboro, though with a slightly altered spelling. His legacy also lives on in his hometown of
Washington, Georgia. Visitors to Washington can tour the
Robert Toombs HouseRobert Toombs House Historic Site in Washington, Georgia was the home of Robert Toombs, Confederate general and cabinet member. Operated as a state historic site, the 19th century period historic house museum also features exhibits about the life of Robert Toombs.The house was declared a National...
, a State Historic Site operated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Robert Toombs Christian Academy in
Lyons, GeorgiaLyons is a city in Toombs County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,169 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Toombs County.Lyons is part of the Vidalia Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
was named in his honor.
External links