Thomas Churchill

Thomas James Churchill (10 March 1824 – 10 March 1905) was a Confederate major general during the American Civil War and a governor of the state of Arkansas.

Churchill graduated from St. Mary's College in Bardstown in 1844 and studied law at Transylvania University in Lexington. Churchill had an extensive military career, serving in both the Mexican and Civil wars. He migrated to Arkansas in 1849, was appointed postmaster of Little Rock in 1857, and elected state treasurer, serving from 1874 to 1880. On September 6, 1880, he was elected Governor of Arkansas, and on January 13, 1881, he was sworn into office. During his term, regulations were enacted for the practice of medicine and surgery, and a State Board of Health was established. Funds were approved for an insane asylum and for the construction of a new school at Pine Bluff. The legislature appointed a special committee to audit the books when Churchill was the state treasurer. The committee found a shortage in the state funds, and a lawsuit was brought against Churchill. He was ordered to repay the missing money. After leaving the governor's office, Churchill retired from public life.

Movies

Pictures

Thomas J. Churchill was born near Louisville, Kentucky. He was educated at St. Mary's College and studied law at Transylvania University. He served during the Mexican-American War and rose to the rank of lieutenant in a regiment of mounted infantry. He was captured by the Mexican Army and remained a prisoner of war until near the end of the conflict. In 1848, he moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, married the daughter of Senator Ambrose Sevier, and became a planter.

At the start of the Civil War, Churchill offered his services to the state and was elected Colonel of the 1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles. His first combat took place at the Battle of Wilson's Creek near Springfield, Missouri. On 4 March 1862, he was promoted to brigadier general and soon thereafter took part in Kirby Smith's Kentucky Campaign. Churchill played an important role in the victory at Richmond, Kentucky.

In the latter part of 1862, Churchill was transferred back to Arkansas and placed in charge of the fortifications at Arkansas Post. In January 1863, the Post was attacked and seized in the Battle of Fort Hindman by an overwhelming Union force under Major General John McClernand. After his exchange, Churchill served in the Trans-Mississippi District and commanded a division during the Red River Campaign. He played a major role in the Battle of Jenkins Ferry and was promoted to Major General in March, 1865.

After the war, Churchill was Arkansas State Treasurer from 1874 to 1880 and was Governor of Arkansas from 1881 to 1883.

Churchill is buried at historic Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Mount Holly Cemetery is the original cemetery in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas and is the resting place for numerous Arkansans of note. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been nicknamed "The Westminster Abbey of Arkansas".

The cemetery is the burial place for 10 former Governors of Arkansas, 6 United States Senators, 14 Arkansas Supreme Court Justices, 21 Little Rock Mayors, numerous Arkansas literary figures, Confederate Generals, and other worthies.

Arkansas' gross domestic product for 2005 was $87 billion. Its per capita household median income (in current dollars) for 2004 was $35,295, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The state's agriculture outputs are poultry and eggs, soybeans, sorghum, cattle, cotton, rice, hogs, and milk. Its industrial outputs are food processing, electric equipment, fabricated metal products, machinery, paper products, bromine, and vanadium.

Several global companies are headquartered in the northwest corner of Arkansas, including Wal-Mart (the world's largest public corporation by revenue in 2007), J.B. Hunt and Tyson Foods. This area of the state has experienced an economic boom since the 1970s as a result.

In recent years, automobile parts manufacturers have opened factories in eastern Arkansas to support auto plants in other states. Additionally, the city of Conway is the site of a school bus factory.

Tourism is also very important to the Arkansas economy; the official state nickname "The Natural State" was originally created (as "Arkansas Is A Natural") for state tourism advertising in the 1970s, and is still regularly used to this day.

Thomas Churchill Biography

Mount Holly Cemetery

Arkansas on eBay

arkapedia

The Trans-Mississippi Department

The Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department was formed May 26, 1862, to include Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), and Louisiana west of the Mississippi River. It absorbed the Trans-Mississippi District (Department Number Two), which had been organized January 10, 1862, to include that part of Louisiana north of the Red River, the Indian Territory, and the states of Missouri and Arkansas, except for the country east of St. Francis County, Arkansas, to Scott County, Missouri. The combined department had its headquarters at Shreveport, Louisiana, and Marshall, Texas.
More Arkansas entries....