- Thomas Clement Fletcher
Thomas Clement Fletcher (
January 21 ,1827 ndashMarch 25 ,1899 ) was the Governor ofMissouri during the latter stages of theAmerican Civil War and the early part of Reconstruction. He was the first Missouri governor to be born in the state.Early life and career
Fletcher was born in
Herculaneum, Missouri . His parents had immigrated to Missouri fromMaryland in 1818. He received a public school education and was elected circuit clerk inJefferson County, Missouri , from 1849 until 1856. He was admitted to the bar in 1857.Fletcher became a land agent for the southwest branch of the
Pacific Railroad (which later became theSt. Louis and San Francisco Railway ) whereupon he moved to St. Louis. Although he had been raised as a Democrat in a slave-owning family, he had been an ardentabolitionist since his boyhood and became a Republican after 1856.Civil War
Fletcher was a delegate to the 1860
Republican National Convention in Chicago, where he supported the nomination ofAbraham Lincoln . During the Civil War, he wasColonel of the31st Missouri Volunteer Infantry in theUnion army from 1862 until 1864, when he became Colonel of the47th Missouri Volunteer Infantry . In 1862 he was captured at theBattle of Chickasaw Bayou and taken toLibby Prison , and then exchanged in May 1863. He was present at the fall of Vicksburg and the Battle of Chattanooga, and commanded abrigade in theAtlanta Campaign .Returning home because of illness in the spring of 1864, Fletcher recovered in time to organize the 47th and 50th Missouri infantry
regiment s and to command a regiment at the Battle of Pilot Knob, Missouri, where GeneralSterling Price 's advance on St. Louis was stalled. For this service, President Lincoln brevetted himbrigadier general of volunteers.Political career
Fletcher was nominated for governor of Missouri by the
National Union Party and elected in 1864. He served from 1865 to 1869, and issued the proclamation abolishingslavery in the state. His administration was confronted with many problems, including amnesty for former Confederate soldiers, the disposition of the railroad property the state had acquired through default by the railroad companies failure to pay interest on bonds guaranteed by the state, and the reorganization of public education. The railroad property was sold under a guarantee of early completion and the state debt materially reduced. The public-school system was thoroughly reorganized and progress was made toward free education for all children.He was unsuccessful, however, in his repeated efforts to obtain a constitutional amendment abolishing the test oath as a qualification for voting and for engaging in the professions. He supported normal schools for training teachers, greater funding for the state university, and special attention to agricultural education.
After serving as governor, Fletcher returned to St. Louis and practiced law for a time. He then moved to
Washington, D. C. , where he continued to practice until his death. He wrote "Life and Reminiscences of General Wm. T. Sherman" (1891).He was buried in
Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis.Fletcher, Missouri , is named after him, as was the U.S. Army's Fort Fletcher inKansas .References
* "Death List of a Day", p. 7, "New York Times", 1899-3-26, Historical New York Times retrieved 2006-8-6 via
ProQuest ,St. Louis County, Missouri library* "Thomas Clement Fletcher." "Dictionary of American Biography Base Set." American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936. [http://0-galenet.galegroup.com.iii.slcl.org:80/servlet/HistRC/ Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group.]
Persondata
NAME= Fletcher, Thomas Clement
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Governor ofMissouri
DATE OF BIRTH=January 21 ,1827
PLACE OF BIRTH=Herculaneum, Missouri
DATE OF DEATH=March 25 ,1899
PLACE OF DEATH=
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