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John Trousdale Coffee | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives | |
| In office 1858–1859 | |
| Preceded by | James Chiles |
| Succeeded by | Christian Kribben |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1816-12-14)December 14, 1816 Smith County, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | May 23, 1890(1890-05-23) (aged 73) Georgetown, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Children | 13 |
John Trousdale Coffee (December 14, 1816 – May 23, 1890) was an American politician, elected to the State Senate and then to the House, where he was elected as Speaker of the House (1856–1858). During theAmerican Civil War, he served as aConfederate officer in Missouri. In the late war, he moved toWaco, Texas, and later lived inGeorgetown, where he practiced law again. He had a total of four wives and thirteen children.
Coffee was born inSmith County, Tennessee where he taught himself law and was admitted to the bar. He moved toSpringfield, Missouri in 1842 following the deaths of his father and first wife.
Coffee married his first wife in Tennessee. After her death in 1842, he migrated to Missouri, where he married again.
His second wife died in 1845, two weeks after childbirth. That year in September, he married for the third time. By the end of the Civil War, when they had moved toWaco, Texas, he had a total of seven children. After his wife's death, he moved with his family toGeorgetown, Texas.
There he married for the fourth time. With his young wife, he had six more children.[1] One daughter, Catherine Jane, married rancherJohn Wesley Snyder.[2]
Coffee practiced law in Springfield andBolivar, Missouri.[1]
He raised an army unit to participate in theMexican–American War (1846–1848), but the war ended while they were en route to New Orleans.
Coffee returned to Missouri in 1849, where he was elected as the circuit attorney forDade County. He lived inGreenfield.[1]
In 1854, he was elected to theMissouri State Senate. He resigned in 1855 to accept acaptain position with the First U.S. Army Cavalry Regiment atFort Leavenworth, Kansas. After serving only four months, he resigned the captain position due to illness and returned to Greenfield.[1]
In 1856, he argued to allow "squatter sovereignty" to solve theBleeding Kansas problem (the argument was that Missourians should be allowed to vote deciding whether Kansas should be a slave state and they could do that by claiming land in Kansas). In 1857 he was a publisher of the Greenfield Southwest newspaper.
In 1858, Coffee ran again for the Missouri Senate but lost in the Democratic primary toB. H. Cravens. He ran for theMissouri House of Representatives and was electedSpeaker of the Missouri House of Representatives in his first term.[1] In 1860 he lost a Democratic primary forMissouri Secretary of State and returned to law practice.
With the beginning of theAmerican Civil War, Coffee raised a regiment in Dade County and was commissioned as a colonel in theConfederate Army. AfterSterling Price retreated from Missouri, Coffee stayed in the state. He harassed Union troops in skirmishes aroundNeosho, Missouri. One of his most famous skirmishes was theBattle of Lone Jack.[1]
Coffee's troops were routed by Union troops on August 12, 1863 atPineville when 60-70 of his men were killed. In October 1863, Coffee's troops captured the Union garrison in his hometown of Greenfield and burned the courthouse. Among the destroyed records was his land deed, which caused him to lose his land claim in Missouri.[1]
After the Pineville conflict, Coffee was passed over for promotion for GeneralJoseph O. Shelby, who was given command of Missouri forces. Coffee left for Arkansas, where he attempted unsuccessfully to recruit a new regiment. In late 1864 or early 1865, he moved toWaco, Texas with his large family.
After the surrender of the Confederates, Coffee refused a request by Shelby to continue the fight under the flag ofEmperor Maximilian of Mexico. He formally surrendered toGeorge Armstrong Custer on July 26, 1865 inAustin, Texas.[1]
He died inGeorgetown, Texas on May 23, 1860.
| Preceded by | Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives 1858– 1859 | Succeeded by |