James Alexander WALKER, Congress, VA (1832-1901)

WALKER James Alexander , a Representative from Virginia; born near Mount Meridian, Augusta County, Va., August 27, 1832; attended private schools, and was graduated from Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Va., in 1852; studied law in the University of Virginia at Charlottesville in 1854 and 1855; was admitted to the bar in 1856 and commenced practice in Newbern, Pulaski County, Va., in 1856; attorney for the Commonwealth in 1860; entered the Confederate Army in April 1861 as captain of the Pulaski Guards, afterwards Company C, Fourth Virginia Infantry, Stonewall Brigade; promoted to lieutenant colonel and assigned to the Thirteenth Virginia Infantry in July 1861, becoming colonel in March 1862; was promoted to brigadier general and assigned as commander of the Stonewall Brigade in May 1863; member of the house of delegates of Virginia in 1871 and 1872; elected Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in 1877; until 1893 was a member of the Democratic Party; elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Congresses (March 4, 1895-March 3, 1899); chairman, Committee on Elections No. 3 (Fifty-fifth Congress); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1898 to the Fifty-sixth Congress; resumed the practice of his profession; died in Wytheville, Wythe County, Va., October 21, 1901; interment in East End Cemetery.

Bibliography

Caldwell, Willie Walker. Stonewell Jim: A Biography of General James A. Walker, C.S.A. Elliston, Va.: Northcross House, 1990; Campbell, Edward C. ``James Alexander Walker: A Biography.'' Master's thesis, Virginia Polytechnical Institute and State University, 1972.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present