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Thomas Haughey | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromAlabama's6th district | |
| In office July 21, 1868 – March 3, 1869 | |
| Preceded by | Williamson Robert Winfield Cobb |
| Succeeded by | William Crawford Sherrod |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1826 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | August 5, 1869(1869-08-05) (aged 42–43) Courtland, Alabama, U.S. |
| Manner of death | Assassination |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Tulane University (MD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States• Union |
| Branch/service | United States Army • Union Army |
| Years of service | 1862–1865 |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Thomas Haughey (1826 – August 5, 1869) was a surgeon who served asU.S. representative forAlabama from 1868 until 1869, shortly before hisassassination. A supporter of another Republican candidate assassinated him during his re-election campaign.
Born nearGlasgow, Scotland, Haughey received a limited education.[1] He immigrated with his father to the United States, where they settled inNew York City. In 1841, he moved toJefferson County, Alabama. While teaching inSt. Clair County, he studied medicine. Haughey attendedNew Orleans Medical College and graduated as both a physician and surgeon in 1858, starting a medical practice inElyton.[1]
During the onset of theCivil War, Haughey was against both war andsecession and was sympathetic to the North and the plight of slaves. He did not hide his views and joined theUnion League, but soon fled toKentucky due to threats to his safety. Once there, he joined theUnion Army's3rd Regiment Tennessee Volunteer Infantry as a surgeon, serving from January 1862 to his honorable discharge on February 23, 1865, when the regiment was mustered out. After the war, he resumed his medical practice inDecatur, Alabama.
He served as delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1867. Upon the readmission of the State of Alabama to representation, Haughey was elected as aRepublican to the40th US Congress. He served from July 21, 1868, to March 3, 1869. After returning to Alabama, Haughey began a campaign for reelection, giving speeches throughout the district. Running as anIndependent Republican, his opponents were regular Republican candidate Jerome J. Hinds, a protégé of SenatorGeorge E. Spencer, andDemocratWilliam Crawford Sherrod.
The race was intense with accusations of theft, bribery, corruption, and perjury between the candidates.
At a speech before a crowd at the courthouse inCourtland, Alabama, on July 31, Haughey came into a confrontation with a man named Collins, an ally of Hinds who espoused the cause of his Republican opponent. When Haughey was said to have been obnoxious toward Collins, a man known to be prone to violence, a fistfight ensued. The altercation ended when Collins pulled a pistol and fired it into Haughey's stomach. Confined to a bed, Haughey lingered on for five days before succumbing to his wounds on August 5, 1869, at age 43. He was interred in Green Cemetery nearPinson, Alabama.[2]
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromAlabama's 6th congressional district 1868–1869 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
| People | |
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