Richard Henderson (mayor)

Richard Henderson (1815 – June 11, 1878) was an anti-secessionist attorney who served as the first post-Civil War mayor of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Richard Henderson
Mayor of Chattanooga
In office
October 7, 1865 – December 28, 1865
Preceded byMilo Smith (1862–1863)
Military occupation (1863–1865)
Succeeded byCharles E. Lewis
Personal details
Born1815
Warren County, Tennessee
DiedJune 11, 1878

Biography

Henderson was born in Warren County, Tennessee in 1815.[1] After pursuing a legal career, he moved to Chattanooga in 1840 where he founded his own law office.[1] He was against the secession of the South prior to the Civil War and during the Union Army's occupation of Chattanooga, he worked with its commanders to administer the city.[1]

After the war, the city was returned to civilian control and an election authorized for October 7, 1865 although no citizens who supported secession or aided the Confederate government were allowed to vote or run for office.[1] Henderson was elected mayor and spent the remainder of his term re-drafting all city ordinances to conform to a new post-Slavery world.[1][2] He served until December 28, 1865, when Charles Lewis was elected, the first full-term mayor of the city after the Civil War.[3] He died on June 11, 1878.[1]

References
  1. "1865 Richard Henderson". chattanooga.gov. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  2. Mines, Linda Moss (April 18, 2020). "Mines: Chattanooga leadership in the 19th-century". Chattanooga Times Free Press.
  3. "1866 Charles E. Lewis". chattanooga.gov. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.