James Chesnut, Jr.

Who was James Chesnut, Jr.?

James Chesnut, Jr. was a signatory of the Constitution of the Confederate States of America, and a Confederate States Army general.

A lawyer, prominent in South Carolina state politics, he served as a Democratic senator in 1858-60, where he proved moderate on the slavery question. But on Lincoln’s election in 1860, Chesnut resigned and took part in the South Carolina secession convention, later helping to draft the Confederate Constitution. As aide to General P.G.T. Beauregard, he ordered the firing on Fort Sumter, and served at First Manassas. Later he was aide to Jefferson Davis, and promoted Brigadier-General, returning to law practice after the war.

His wife was Mary Boykin Chesnut, whose published diaries reflect their busy social life and prominent friends such as John Bell Hood, Louis T. Wigfall and Wade Hampton III, as well as Jefferson Davis.