View source for James Seddon

{{Short description|American lawyer and politician}}
{{for-multi|the British politician|James Seddon (British politician)|the footballer|Jimmy Seddon}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name         = James Seddon
|image        = James Alexander Seddon 1.jpg
|office       = 4th [[Confederate States Secretary of War]]
|president    = [[Jefferson Davis]]
|term_start   = November 21, 1862
|term_end     = February 5, 1865
|predecessor  = [[George W. Randolph|George Randolph]]
|successor    = [[John C. Breckinridge|John Breckinridge]]
|state1       = [[Virginia]]
|district1    = {{ushr|Virginia|6|6th}}
|term_start1  = March 4, 1849
|term_end1    = March 3, 1851
|predecessor1 = [[John Botts]]
|successor1   = [[John Caskie]]
|term_start2  = March 4, 1845
|term_end2    = March 3, 1847
|predecessor2 = [[John Winston Jones|John Jones]]
|successor2   = [[John Botts]]
|birth_name=James Alexander Seddon
|birth_date   = {{birth date|1815|7|13}}
|birth_place  = [[Falmouth, Virginia]], US
|death_date   = {{death date and age|1880|8|19|1815|7|13}}
|death_place  = [[Goochland County, Virginia]], US
|party        = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|spouse       = Sarah Bruce
|alma_mater   = [[University of Virginia]]
}}
'''James Alexander Seddon''' (July 13, 1815 &ndash; August 19, 1880) was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms as a [[United States House of Representatives|Representative]] in the [[United States Congress]], as a member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]. Seddon was appointed [[Confederate States Secretary of War]] by [[Jefferson Davis]] during the [[American Civil War]].

==Life and career==
Due to frail health, Seddon was educated primarily at home and became self-taught as a youth. At the age of twenty-one, he entered the [[University of Virginia School of Law]]. After graduation, Seddon settled in [[Richmond, Virginia]], establishing a successful law practice.

In 1845, the Democratic Party nominated Seddon for Congress, and he was easily elected. He was renominated two years later but declined due to platform differences with the party. In 1849, Seddon was reelected to Congress, serving from December 1849 until March 1851. Owing to poor health, he declined another nomination at the end of his term. He retired to "Sabot Hill," his plantation located along the [[James River]] above Richmond.

Seddon attended the [[Peace Conference of 1861]] held in Washington, D.C., which attempted to devise a means of preventing the impending civil war. Later in the same year, he attended the [[Provisional Congress of the Confederate States]]. President Davis named him his fourth Secretary of War, succeeding [[George W. Randolph]]. He held this post until January 1, 1865, when he retired from public life to his plantation and was succeeded by [[John C. Breckinridge]]. His service of more than twenty-four months as Secretary made him the most durable of the five secretaries.

==Electoral history==
*'''1845'''; Seddon was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 52.28% of the vote, defeating Whig John Minor Botts.
*'''1849'''; Seddon was reelected with 53.64% of the vote, defeating Whig challenger Botts.

==External links==
{{wikisource|works=or}}
{{Commons category}}
{{CongBio|S000220}}
*{{Find a Grave|6005865|access-date=January 12, 2010}}
*[http://www.spartacus-educational.com/USACWsneddon.htm James Seddon biography at Spartacus Educational]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061103144622/http://www.csawardept.com/history/Cabinet/Seddon/index.html James Seddon biography at the Confederate States War Department]

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{s-bef|before=[[John Winston Jones|John Jones]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[List of United States Representatives from Virginia|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[Virginia's 6th congressional district]]|years=1845–1847}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John Botts]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[John Botts]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[List of United States Representatives from Virginia|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[Virginia's 6th congressional district]]|years=1849–1851}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John Caskie]]}}
|-
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[George W. Randolph|George Randolph]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Confederate States Secretary of War]]|years=1862–1865}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John C. Breckinridge|John Breckinridge]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{CSCabinet}}
{{VirginiaRepresentatives06}}
{{American Civil War|Leaders}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seddon, James}}
[[Category:1815 births]]
[[Category:1880 deaths]]
[[Category:Burials at Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia)]]
[[Category:Executive members of the Cabinet of the Confederate States of America]]
[[Category:Deputies and delegates to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States]]
[[Category:People of Virginia in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:University of Virginia School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Virginia lawyers]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia]]
[[Category:People from Falmouth, Virginia]]
[[Category:19th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:19th-century Virginia politicians]]
[[Category:19th-century United States representatives]]