James Seddon
4thConfederate States Secretary of War
In office November 21, 1862 – February 5, 1865
President	Jefferson Davis
Preceded by	George Randolph
Succeeded by	John Breckinridge
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's6th district
In office March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851
Preceded by	John Botts
Succeeded by	John Caskie
In office March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847
Preceded by	John Jones
Succeeded by	John Botts
Personal details
Born	James Alexander Seddon (1815-07-13)July 13, 1815 Falmouth, Virginia, US
Died	August 19, 1880(1880-08-19) (aged 65) Goochland County, Virginia, US
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Sarah Bruce
Alma mater	University of Virginia

James Alexander Seddon (July 13, 1815 – August 19, 1880) was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms as aRepresentative in theUnited States Congress, as a member of theDemocratic Party. Seddon was appointedConfederate States Secretary of War byJefferson Davis during theAmerican Civil War.

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 theUniversity of Virginia School of Law. After graduation, Seddon settled inRichmond, Virginia, establishing a successful law practice. Seddon married Sarah Bruce on December 23, 1845, in Richmond, Virginia.

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 theJames River above Richmond.

Seddon attended thePeace 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 theProvisional Congress of the Confederate States. President Davis named him his fourth Secretary of War, succeedingGeorge W. Randolph. He held this post until January 1, 1865, when he retired from public life to his plantation and was succeeded byJohn C. Breckinridge. His service of more than twenty-four months as Secretary made him the most durable of the five secretaries.

James Seddon was a strong advocate of secession and served as Confederate secretary of war from November 1862 until his resignation in January 1865.

Upon assuming office in November 1862, Seddon inherited a conscription system established by the April 1862 act, which drafted white males aged 18 to 35, but he directed its rigorous enforcement through the Conscription Bureau to address acute manpower shortages.^[1]

In the wake of theRichmond Bread Riot—instigated by a mob of hungry women on the streets of the Confederate capital on April 2, 1863.The New York Times ran a front-page article on April 8, 1863, under the headline: "Bread Riot in Richmond. Three Thousand Hungry Women Raging in the Streets..."^[2]

In May 1863, President Jefferson Davis and Secretary of War James Seddon suggested to General Lee that he detach significant forces, to relieve the pressure on Vicksburg, Mississippi, but Robert E Lee objected and began his invasion into Pennsylvania that brought him toGettysburg and defeat.

After the Confederacy lost the war, Seddon was arrested by Union forces in May 1865, served seven months in prison atFort Pulaski facing potential charges for mistreating Union prisoners. President Johnson ordered the charges dropped. Mr. Seddon retired from public life and died in Goochland County, Virginia, on August 19, 1880.^[3] He is buried atHollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.

• 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.

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James Seddon

Wikimedia Commons has media related toJames Alexander Seddon.

• United States Congress."James Seddon (id: S000220)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• "James Seddon".Find a Grave. Retrieved12 January 2010.
• James Seddon biography at Spartacus Educational
• James Seddon biography at the Confederate States War Department

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

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