1st Confederate States Congress Last updated August 27, 2025 1862–1864 Confederate meeting
The 1st Confederate States Congress , consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, convened between February 18, 1862, and February 17, 1864. This assembly took place during the first two years of Jefferson Davis 's presidency , convening at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond , Virginia . [ 1]
Sessions The following sessions were held during the period February 18, 1862, and February 17, 1864, at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia.
1st Session – February 18, 1862 to April 21, 1862 2nd Session – August 18, 1862 to October 13, 1862 3rd Session – January 12, 1863 to May 1, 1863 4th Session – December 7, 1863 to February 17, 1864 Officers House Clerk : Robert Emmett Dixon Sr., Georgia (died April 24, 1863) Albert Reese Lamar, Georgia — sessions 3 and 4 Assistant Clerk : James McDonald, Virginia Assistant Clerk : David Louis Dalton, Alabama — sessions 3 and 4 Doorkeeper : Robert Harrison Wynne, Alabama Members Senate Confederate States senators were elected by the state legislatures, or appointed by state governors to fill casual vacancies until the legislature elected a new senator. It was intended that one-third of the Senate would commence fresh six-year terms with each subsequent Congress following the inaugural one.
Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their terms. In this Congress, all senators were newly elected. Senators of Class 1 served a two-year term, expiring at the end of this Congress, requiring a new election for the six-year term,1864–1870. Class 2 senators served what was intended to be a four-year term, due to end on the expiry of the next Congress in 1866. Class 3 senators were meant to serve a six-year term, due to expire at the end of the Third Confederate Congress in 1868. As the Confederate Congress lasted less than four full years, the distinction between classes 2 and 3 was ultimately academic.
The members of the classes were selected by drawing of lots, which was done during the meeting of the Senate on February 21, 1862. [ 3]
The class is indicated before the name.
Alabama
Arkansas
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Louisiana
Mississippi
Missouri
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
House of Representatives X : Originally member of the Provisional Confederate Congress
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
Missouri According to the Confederate law, the people of Missouri were entitled to elect thirteen representatives. The state never implemented the re-apportionment, and continued to use its existing seven districts. Pending an election, the appointed members of the delegation to the Provisional Congress were assigned to serve in the First Congress. Since No election was held, the appointed members served throughout the Congress. [ 5] Senate committees Accounts [ 9]
Claims
Commerce
Clement Claiborne Clay , Alabama, Chairman Augustus Emmett Maxwell , Florida William Theophilus Dortch , North Carolina Robert Ludwell Yates Peyton , Missouri (died on September 3, 1863) Henry Cornelius Burnett , Kentucky — sessions 1 and 2 James McNair Baker , Florida — session 3 William Simpson Oldham Sr. , Texas — sessions 3 and 4 James Lawrence Orr , South Carolina — session 4 Engrossment and Enrollment
Landon Carter Haynes Sr. , Tennessee, Chairman — session 1 (appointed, but substituted by James Phelan ) James Phelan , Mississippi, Chairman — sessions 1 and 2 William Theophilus Dortch , North Carolina, Chairman — sessions 3 and 4 Augustus Emmett Maxwell , Florida Charles Burton Mitchel , Arkansas — sessions 1 and 2 Robert Ludwell Yates Peyton , Missouri — session 2 James McNair Baker , Florida — session 2 Allen Taylor Caperton , Virginia — sessions 3 and 4 Finance
Robert Woodward Barnwell , South Carolina, Chairman Thomas Jenkins Semmes , Louisiana Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter , Virginia George Davis , North Carolina (resigned on January 11, 1864) Gustavus Adolphus Henry Sr. , Tennessee — sessions 1 and 2 John Wood Lewis Sr. , Georgia — session 2 Herschel Vespasian Johnson , Georgia — sessions 3 and 4 Edwin Godwin Reade , North Carolina — session 4 Foreign Affairs
James Lawrence Orr , South Carolina, Chairman John Bullock Clark Sr. , Missouri Louis Trezevant Wigfall , Texas William Lowndes Yancey , Alabama (died on July 26, 1863) William Ballard Preston , Virginia (died on November 16, 1862) Robert M. T. Hunter , Virginia — session 3 Augustus Emmet Maxwell , Florida — sessions 3 and 4 Herschel Vespasian Johnson , Georgia — session 4 Indian Affairs
Judiciary
Military Affairs
Naval Affairs
Albert Gallatin Brown , Mississippi, Chairman William Theophilus Dortch , North Carolina William Emmett Simms , Kentucky James McNair Baker , Florida William Simpson Oldham Sr. , Texas —sessions 1 and 2 Robert Ward Johnson , Arkansas — session 2 Augustus Emmett Maxwell , Florida — session 3 William Lowndes Yancey , Alabama (died on July 26, 1863) — session 3 Herschel Vespasian Johnson , Georgia — sessions 3 and 4 Robert Jemison Jr. , Alabama — session 4 Patents
Pay and Mileage (Session 1)
Post Offices and Post Roads
William Simpson Oldham Sr. , Texas, Chairman Landon Carter Haynes Sr. , Tennessee Charles Burton Mitchel , Arkansas James McNair Baker , Florida John Bullock Clark Sr. , Missouri — sessions 1, 2, and 4 James Phelan , Mississippi — session 1 (appointed but substituted by Landon Carter Haynes ) William Emmett Simms , Kentucky —session 1 (appointed but declined ) John Wood Lewis Sr. , Georgia — session 2 Robert Ludwell Yates Peyton , Missouri (died on September 3, 1863) — session 3 Printing
Public Lands
Rules (Session 1)
Territories
House committees Accounts [ 9]
Claims
William "Extra Billy" Smith , 9th Virginia, Chairman (resigned on April 4, 1863) — sessions 1 and 3 David Clopton , 7th Alabama Jeremiah Watkins Clapp , 1st Mississippi James Robert McLean , 6th North Carolina Charles James Munnerlyn , 2nd Georgia James Farrow , 5th South Carolina Theodore Legrand Burnett , 6th Kentucky Erasmus Lee Gardenhire , 4th Tennessee Charles Jacques Villeré , 1st Louisiana — sessions 1, 2, and 3 Henry Marshall , 5th Louisiana (appointed but declined ) — session 3 William Dunlap Simpson , 4th South Carolina — sessions 3 and 4 Thomas Burton Hanly , 4th Arkansas — session 4 William Bacon Wright , 6th Texas — session 4 Commerce
Jabez Lamar Monroe Curry , 4th Alabama, Chairman Henry Cousins Chambers , 4th Mississippi Robert Pleasant Trippe , 7th Georgia Horatio Washington Bruce , 7th Kentucky Thomas David Smith McDowell , 4th North Carolina Charles Jacques Villeré , 1st Louisiana Franklin Barlow Sexton , 4th Texas James Lyons , 3rd Virginia William Mordecai Cooke Sr. , 1st Missouri (died on September 3, 1863) — sessions 1, 2, and 3 Charles Fenton Collier , 4th Virginia — session 2 Julian Hartridge , 1st Georgia — session 2 Currency (Session 4)
William Waters Boyce , 6th South Carolina, Chairman Francis Strother Lyon , 5th Alabama James Lawrence Pugh , 8th Alabama Charles Magill Conrad , 2nd Louisiana Robert Rufus Bridgers , 2nd North Carolina George Washington Jones , 7th Tennessee Peter W. Gray , 3rd Texas John Brown Baldwin , 11th Virginia Robert Johnston , 15th Virginia Elections
William N. H. Smith , 1st North Carolina, Chairman Jabez Lamar Monroe Curry , 4th Alabama Jeremiah Watkins Clapp , 1st Mississippi George Graham Vest , 5th Missouri Robert Pleasant Trippe , 7th Georgia John Watkins Crockett Jr. , 2nd Kentucky Erasmus Lee Gardenhire , 4th Tennessee James Baird Dawkins , 1st Florida (resigned on December 8, 1862) — sessions 1 and 2 Waller Redd Staples , 12th Virginia — sessions 1, 3, and 4 Enrolled Bills
John Milton Elliott , 12th Kentucky, Chairman Henry Cousins Chambers , 4th Mississippi William Henry Tibbs , 3rd Tennessee — sessions 1, 2, and 3 Augustus Hill Garland , 3rd Arkansas — session 3 John Allen Wilcox , 1st Texas — session 3 Thomas W. Freeman , 6th Missouri — session 4 Thomas Burton Hanly , 4th Arkansas — session 4 William Bacon Wright , 6th Texas — session 4 Foreign Affairs
Henry Stuart Foote , 5th Tennessee, Chairman William Russell Smith , 2nd Alabama Robert Jefferson Breckinridge Jr. , 11th Kentucky John Perkins Jr. , 6th Louisiana Ethelbert Barksdale , 6th Mississippi James Robert McLean , 6th North Carolina John McQueen , 1st South Carolina Daniel Coleman DeJarnette Sr. , 8th Virginia Walter Preston , 13th Virginia Indian Affairs
Otho Robards Singleton , 5th Mississippi, Chairman John Perkins Ralls , 3rd Alabama Thomas Burton Hanly , 4th Arkansas John Milton Elliott , 12th Kentucky Lucius Jacques Dupré , 4th Louisiana Archibald Hunter Arrington , 5th North Carolina William Henry Tibbs , 3rd Tennessee William Bacon Wright , 6th Texas John Goode Jr. , 6th Virginia Elias Cornelius Boudinot , Cherokee Nation — session 4 Judiciary
Lucius Jeremiah Gartrell , 8th Georgia, Chairman Edmund Strother Dargan , 9th Alabama Augustus Hill Garland , 3rd Arkansas James William Moore , 10th Kentucky Thomas Samuel Ashe , 7th North Carolina Joseph Brown Heiskell , 1st Tennessee (resigned on February 6, 1864) James Philemon Holcombe , 7th Virginia Charles Wells Russell , 16th Virginia Medical Department (Sessions 2 - 4)
Augustus Romaldus Wright , 10th Georgia, Chairman John Perkins Ralls , 3rd Alabama Grandison Delaney Royston , 2nd Arkansas — sessions 2 and 3 James Chrisman , 5th Kentucky Caspar Wistar Bell , 3rd Missouri William N. H. Smith , 1st North Carolina James Farrow , 5th South Carolina Thomas Menees , 8th Tennessee John Goode Jr. , 6th Virginia Military Affairs
William Porcher Miles , 2nd South Carolina, Chairman James Lawrence Pugh , 8th Alabama Robert Benjamin Hilton , 2nd Florida Augustus Holmes Kenan , 4th Georgia Eli Metcalfe Bruce , 9th Kentucky Charles Jacques Villeré , 1st Louisiana Henry Cousins Chambers , 4th Mississippi Thomas Alexander Harris , 2nd Missouri Robert Rufus Bridgers , 2nd North Carolina William Graham Swan , 2nd Tennessee John Allen Wilcox , 1st Texas (died on F ebruary 7, 1864) Reuben Davis , 2nd Mississippi — session 1 Roger Atkinson Pryor , 4th Virginia (resigned on April 5, 1862) — session 1 Felix Ives Batson , 1st Arkansas — sessions 1, 2, and 3 Naval Affairs
Charles Magill Conrad , 2nd Louisiana, Chairman David Clopton , 7th Alabama Augustus Romaldus Wright , 10th Georgia Burgess Sidney Gaither , 9th North Carolina William Waters Boyce , 6th South Carolina David Maney Currin , 11th Tennessee John Randolph Chambliss Sr. , 2nd Virginia Charles Wells Russell , 16th Virginia — session 1 James Baird Dawkins , 1st Florida (resigned on December 8, 1862) — sessions 1 and 2 William "Extra Billy" Smith , 9th Virginia, (resigned on April 4, 1863) — sessions 1 and 3 George Baird Hodge , 8th Kentucky — sessions 2 and 3 John Marshall Martin , 1st Florida — sessions 3 and 4 Charles Fenton Collier , 4th Virginia — session 4 Thomas W. Freeman , 6th Missouri Charles James Munnerlyn , 2nd Georgia — temporary, session 4 Ordnance and Ordnance Stores (Sessions 2 - 4)
Alexander Boteler , 10th Virginia, Chairman David Clopton , 7th Alabama Julian Hartridge , 1st Georgia Charles Magill Conrad , 2nd Louisiana Jeremiah Watkins Clapp , 1st Mississippi John Vines Wright , 10th Tennessee Caleb Claiborne Herbert , 2nd Texas — sessions 2 and 3 George Baird Hodge , 8th Kentucky — sessions 2 and 3 William Mordecai Cooke Sr. , 1st Missouri (died on September 3, 1863) — sessions 2 and 3 Lewis Malone Ayer Jr. , 3rd South Carolina — session 4 Patents
Caspar Wistar Bell , 3rd Missouri, Chairman William Parish Chilton Sr. , 6th Alabama Robert Benjamin Hilton , 2nd Florida Hardy Strickland , 9th Georgia Henry English Read , 3rd Kentucky Henry Marshall , 5th Louisiana William Lander , 8th North Carolina William Bacon Wright , 6th Texas Waller Redd Staples , 12th Virginia — sessions 1, 3, and 4 Pay and Mileage (Sessions 1 - 2)
Post Offices and Post Roads
William Parish Chilton Sr. , 6th Alabama, Chairman Robert Benjamin Hilton , 2nd Florida William White Clark , 6th Georgia Aaron H. Conrow , 4th Missouri Allen Turner Davidson , 10th North Carolina John DeWitt Clinton Atkins , 9th Tennessee Robert Johnston , 15th Virginia Israel Victor Welch , 3rd Mississippi — sessions 1 and 2 Grandison Delaney Royston , 2nd Arkansas — sessions 1, 2, and 3 Caleb Claiborne Herbert , 2nd Texas — sessions 1, 2, and 3 Thomas Burton Hanly , 4th Arkansas — session 4 Printing
Public Buildings
Quartermaster's and Commissary Departments and Military Transportation (Sessions 2 - 4)
William Parish Chilton Sr. , 6th Alabama, Chairman William White Clark , 6th Georgia John Jones McRae , 7th Mississippi William Lander , 8th North Carolina Lewis Malone Ayer Jr. , 3rd South Carolina Franklin Barlow Sexton , 4th Texas Walter Preston , 13th Virginia James Baird Dawkins , 1st Florida (resigned on December 8, 1862) — session 2 Henry Marshall , 5th Louisiana — sessions 2 and 3 Grandison Delaney Royston , 2nd Arkansas — session 3 Allen Turner Davidson , 10th North Carolina — temporary, session 3; permanent, session 4 Henry Stuart Foote , 5th Tennessee — session 4 Robert Pleasant Trippe , 7th Georgia — session 4 Thomas Burton Hanly , 4th Arkansas — session 4 Rules and Officers of the House (Sessions 1 - 3)
Territories and Public Lands
John Allen Wilcox , 1st Texas, Chairman (died February 7, 1864) Thomas Jefferson Foster , 1st Alabama David William Lewis , 5th Georgia George Washington Ewing , 4th Kentucky Henry Marshall , 5th Louisiana Thomas W. Freeman , 6th Missouri Thomas Menees , 8th Tennessee Albert Gallatin Jenkins , 14th Virginia (resigned on April 21, 1862) —session 1 Felix Ives Batson , 1st Arkansas — sessions 1, 2, and 3 Samuel Augustine Miller , 14th Virginia — session 4 War Tax (Session 2)
Lewis Malone Ayer Jr. , 3rd South Carolina, Chairman Francis Strother Lyon , 5th Alabama Thomas Burton Hanly , 4th Arkansas Robert Benjamin Hilton , 2nd Florida William White Clark , 6th Georgia James Chrisman , 5th Kentucky Israel Victor Welch , 3rd Mississippi Aaron H. Conrow , 4th Missouri William Lander , 8th North Carolina Joseph Brown Heiskell , 1st Tennessee Franklin Barlow Sexton , 4th Texas Charles Fenton Collier , 4th Virginia Ways and Means
Duncan Farrar Kenner , 3rd Louisiana, Chairman — sessions 1, 2, and 3 Francis Strother Lyon , 5th Alabama Willis Benson Machen , 1st Kentucky John Jones McRae , 7th Mississippi George Washington Jones , 7th Tennessee Malcolm D. Graham , 5th Texas John Brown Baldwin , 11th Virginia Muscoe Russell Hunter Garnett , 1st Virginia — session 1 Milledge Luke Bonham , 4th South Carolina (resigned on October 13, 1862) — session 1 and 2 Hines Holt , 3rd Georgia (resigned March 1, 1863) — sessions 1, 2, and 3 William Waters Boyce , 6th South Carolina — sessions 3 and 4 Julian Hartridge , 1st Georgia — session 4 John Perkins Jr. , 6th Louisiana — session 4 Joint committees Buildings (Session 1) [ 9]
Engrossment and Enrollment (Session 1)
Flag and Seal (Sessions 1 - 3)
Inauguration (Session 1)
Senators Representatives James Lyons , 3rd Virginia, Chairman Francis Strother Lyon , 5th Alabama Felix Ives Batson , 1st Arkansas Robert Benjamin Hilton , 2nd Florida Hines Holt , 3rd Georgia Horatio Washington Bruce , 7th Kentucky Henry Marshall , 5th Louisiana Otho Robards Singleton , 5th Mississippi William Mordecai Cooke Sr. , 1st Missouri Thomas David Smith McDowell , 4th North Carolina John McQueen , 1st South Carolina William Graham Swan , 2nd Tennessee John Allen Wilcox , 1st Texas Printing
Rules (Session 1)
Notes ↑ Historical Atlas ... , pp. 131-134 ↑ Casper Branner and his Descendants, John C. Branner, 1913, p. 218 ↑ Permanent Constitution of the Confederate States and Confederate Senate Journal 1 2 Historical Atlas ... , p. 132 ↑ Historical Atlas ... pp. 20 and 62-63 ↑ Historical Atlas ... , p. 133 ↑ Historical Atlas ... , p. 134 and note p. 139 ↑ Historical Atlas ... , p. 134 1 2 3 "First Confederate Congress (18 February 1862 - 17 February 1864)" . Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. References The Historical Atlas of the Congresses of the Confederate States of America: 1861-1865 , by Kenneth C. Martis (Simon and Schuster 1994)This page is based on this
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