Walter L. Bragg was an American Democratic politician and government official. He was one of the original commissioners of the Interstate Commerce Commission

Interstate Commerce Commission

The Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...

 serving from the Commission's creation in 1887 until his death in 1891.

Early life

Bragg was born in Lowdnes County, Alabama on February 25, 1838. The Bragg family moved to Ouachita County, Arkansas in 1844, and Walter grew up there. He graduated from Harvard

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 in 1858. After graduation, he lived in the Ouachita county seat of Camden, Arkansas

Camden, Arkansas

Camden is a city in and the county seat of Ouachita County in the southern part of the U.S. state of Arkansas. Long an area of American Indians villages, the French also made a permanent settlement here because of its advantageous location above the Ouachita River. According to 2007 Census...

, where he began the practice of law.

During the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, Bragg fought on the Confederate side, principally with the Army of Tennessee

Army of Tennessee

The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating in most of the significant battles in the Western Theater...

, rising to the rank of captain. After the war, Bragg settled in Marion, Alabama

Marion, Alabama

Marion is the county seat of Perry County, Alabama. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 3,511. First called Muckle Ridge, the city was renamed after a hero of the American Revolution, Francis Marion.-Geography:...

, moving to the state capital of Montgomery

Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...

 in 1871.

Political career

In 1874, Bragg was elected head of the Democratic State Executive Committee, a post he held for three years. A delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1876, Bragg was elected as Alabama's representative on the Democratic National Committee

Democratic National Committee

The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...

. In 1880, he was a presidential elector when the Democrats carried the state.

In March, 1881, he was appointed President of the Alabama Railroad Commission, and was appointed to a second two year term in March, 1883. When his second term expired, he resumed the practice of law in Montgomery. When the Interstate Commerce Commission was created in 1887, Bragg was appointed by President Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland

Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...

. Bragg was reappointed shortly before Cleveland left office for the first time in 1889.

Still suffering from war wounds, Bragg fell into poor health. He died at Avon-by-the-Sea, New Jersey

Avon-by-the-Sea, New Jersey

Avon-by-the-Sea is a Borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 1,901...

after a two-year illness on August 21, 1891.