Thanks to Doug Arp who helped me with this research and suggested the story.

Vicksburg and Warren County have had their share of men who were elected to national office, but few enjoyed fame beyond their allotted terms, and one actually became more famous — or his wife did — for years and years after his death.

Some served in Congress, some in the Senate, some in both offices. Only one achieved higher status, as the president of a nation. Though all represented Warren County, only one was born here, and another in Hinds County — the rest were from “off” — Arkansas, Maine, North Carolina, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and Maryland.

The most famous was — no argument about it — Jefferson Davis, who made his first speech on Court Square in 1843 and went on to become a congressman, senator, cabinet secretary and president of the Confederate States. He was also a national military hero, but perhaps his most lasting contribution was his determination that the Smithsonian Institution would be established and, for years, he served as regent. He listed his address as Palmyra, which was at Davis Bend on the Mississippi, and then Warrenton.

Another Congressman who became a senator was William McKendree Gwin, who owned a home in town, behind where the Attic Gallery now stands, and also a home at Eagle Bend. His congressional career was from Mississippi, his senatorial tenure from California where he was the first full-term senator for the new state. One of his many claims to fame was the establishment of the Pony Express. Gwin attempted reconciliation between the North and South, was arrested and jailed on orders of Abe Lincoln, was released and became Duke of Sonora, a Mexican state. Ironically, it was his personal carriage that was used to transport Abraham Lincoln from the railroad station to his hotel in Washington for his first inauguration.

There were other senators from Warren County including one from the 1900s, Key Pittman, born in Vicksburg in 1872. He moved to the west, was in the Alaska gold rush in 1897, then moved to Nevada where he served two terms as senator in the 1920s.

Others with Vicksburg connections, but who lived elsewhere when they were elected, include Hiram G. Revels, who pastored Bethel A.M.E. Church but was living in Natchez when elected to the Senate in 1870. He served a partial term with distinction. He made history as the first black United States senator.

Henry Stuart Foote lived in Vicksburg twice, but was in Jackson when chosen to the Senate. He later moved to California, back to Vicksburg, then to Tennessee where he was elected to the Confederate Congress.

Walker Brooke lived in Lexington when he served in the Senate in the 1850s, then moved to Vicksburg (his home stood where the First Presbyterian Church is located). He opposed secession, then served in the Confederate Congress and judicial system. After the war, he choked to death on an oyster in downtown Vicksburg while dining with Sgt. Levi Fletcher, a Yankee officer during the military occupation.

William Lewis Sharkey was chief justice of the state Supreme Court in the mid-1800s. He had a home in Jackson and another at Yokena where he gave land for the community cemetery. He first practiced law at Warrenton. He was provisional governor of Mississippi after the War Between the States, then chosen senator, but the radicals in Washington refused to seat him.

Probably the most famous congressman from Vicksburg was Sergeant Smith Prentiss, elected in 1837. He was a brilliant man, a lawyer, and is considered one of the greatest orators in the history of the Congress. He went through several fortunes and a lot of alcohol before his death in 1850 at age 42. He is best remembered for his defense of a bedbug at an impromptu trial held at a Raymond hotel.

The name of Patrick W. Tompkins is hardly a household one. He served only two years in Congress, 1847-1849, then left for the California gold rush where he died four years later.

A local congressman who is still remembered after over 150 years was William A. Lake who was a Whig in the 34th Congress, 1855-1857. His personal fame rests not on what he did in Washington but on his temper and poor marksmanship, for in 1861 while running for the Confederate Congress he was killed by his opponent in a duel. Lake lives on in local folklore, for it was said Mrs. Lake watched the duel with a pair of field glasses from the widow’s walk atop their home on Main Street, and in later years it was claimed by some that after the tragic event she came downstairs, and you can still get a whiff of her perfume and hear the rustle of her skirts as she passes. Her descendants say they never heard the story, which is probably the grandmother of all ghost stories made up locally, long before every old house had to have one and there were any tourists to be lured and entertained. The clincher is that Judge Lake was killed in Hopefield, Ark., across from Memphis. Those must have been some fine binoculars that Mrs. Lake had!

One congressman, George C. McKee, did very well for himself while representing the people. He was from Illinois, a carpetbagger here and a Union officer who took his seat the day Mississippi was readmitted to the Union (though Lincoln said we had never been out of it) Feb. 23, 1870. He served until 1875, when the carpetbagger government was overthrown, then he had a series of federal jobs, all political, until his death.

Thomas Clendinen Catchings was one of the most outstanding local congressmen. He was born near Brownsville in Hinds County, was home-schooled and attended the University of Mississippi and Oakland College before serving in the Confederate Cavalry. He was attorney general and then served in Congress 14 years, 1885-1901. It was during his tenure in Washington that the Vicksburg National Military Park was established and the Yazoo Diversion Canal was dug.

The longest-serving congressman from Vicksburg was James William Collier, who was in office 12 terms, 1909-1933, and then in the Roosevelt administration. His home, at Speed and Washington, was razed so a convenience store could be built. Collier was the only local official in national office who was born in Warren County.

Another local congressman was Patrick Henry, who was a West Pointer. He had an impressive career, was sent to Congress in 1901 and defeated for re-election.

Of these public officials, only Brooke, Lake, Catchings, Collier and Henry are buried here, all in Cedar Hill Cemetery. Their tombstones fail to tell their stories, but one, for a state representative, has a thought-provoking inscription. It is for Eugene Magee, who served from Wilkinson County before moving here. “Erected by his two friends,” it reads. Makes you wonder how he got elected since he didn’t live in Chicago or south Texas.

James R. Chalmers was also in Congress after the War Between the States. He had been a Confederate general from Holly Springs. The book of biographies of those who served in Congress lists him as from Vicksburg, but he showed up in no local records. It was probably a typo.

Gordon Cotton is an author and historian who lives in Vicksburg.