Governor Alfred Holt Colquitt

ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT, son of a Georgia representative and senator, was born in Walton County, Georgia, on April 20, 1824. He graduated from Princeton University in 1844, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1846, and established a legal career in Monroe, Georgia. During the Mexican War, he served as a soldier, and advanced to the rank of major and staff officer. He also saw active duty during the Civil War, serving as a captain in the Confederate army. He attained the rank of brigadier general and major general, participated in the Seven Days’ and Peninsula Campaigns, and commanded troops to victory in the battle of Olustee in Florida. After the war, Colquitt, who became a certified Methodist preacher, combined his faith with his career in public service. He entered politics in 1853 as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, an office he held until 1855. He also served in the Georgia House of Representatives in 1859, was a member of the 1861 Georgia Secession Convention, and was president of the Democratic State Convention. Colquitt won the 1876 Democratic gubernatorial nomination and was elected Georgia’s 34th Governor. In 1880 he was reelected under a new constitution for two more years. During his tenure, a new state constitution was sanctioned, state finances were restructured, taxes were cut, as well as the floating and bonded debts. After leaving office on November 4, 1882, Colquitt served as a member of the U.S. Senate from March 4, 1883, until his death. Governor Alfred H. Colquitt died on March 26, 1883, and he is buried at the Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, Georgia.