William M. Lowe
Encyclopedia
William Manning Lowe was an American
politician who served the state of Alabama
in the U.S. House of Representatives
between 1879 and 1881 and in 1882. He was born on June 12, 1842 in Huntsville, Alabama
. He attended the Wesleyan University at Florence, Alabama
and the University of Virginia
. During the Civil War
, he served in the Confederate Army
as a private
, lieutenant
, captain, and lieutenant colonel
. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced in Huntsville. He was solicitor
of the fifth judicial circuit between 1865 and 1867. In 1870 he was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives
, and was a delegate to the Alabama constitutional convention of 1875.
Lowe was elected in 1878 as a Greenback
to the U.S. House of Representatives, but in initial results was defeated for reelection by Joseph Wheeler
in 1880, 601 votes for Lowe having been declared illegal by election judges. In a highly contentious recount that lasted over a year, Lowe successfully contested Wheeler's election and assumed the office on June 3, 1882. Lowe, however, only served four months, and died of tuberculosis
at his home in Huntsville on October 12, 1882. He was buried in Maple Hill Cemetery
in Huntsville. Wheeler won a special election and served the remaining weeks of the term.
The Huntsville Weekly Democrat October 18, 1882
----
Col. Lowe died in this city, lat Thursday, Oct. 12, at 3:45 a. m. Twelve months or more ago, he was attacked with bronchitis and lost his voice. Last Spring, he had a serious attack of pneumonia in Washington City. He came home in the Summer, greatly impaired in health, returned to Washington, and went, thence to Baltimore for medical advice, and was advised to go to Colorado. He returned from Colorado to enter the canvass for re-election to Congress, some of his friends saying that he was greatly improved and would be able to make a vigorous canvass.—The result proves that they were mistaken. He went to Scottsboro and, afterward, to Tuscumbia and Florence, to see his friends, but was unable to speak. Week before last he came home greatly oppressed in breathing. Last Wednesday afternoon, his breathing became very difficult, yet he received visits from political friends as late, we hear as 9 o'clock p. m., and talked with them. Shortly after, the difficulty of breathing increased, he called for and drank an egg nog and sweet milk, went to sleep and never became conscious up to the moment of his death. We join with the community generally in profound sympathy with his sisters in their distress.
Col. Lowe was a student in the Wesleyan University at Florence, a law student at Lebanon University, Tenn., and for some months, in the law school of the University of Virginia. He had more than ordinary intellectual capabilities, unusual powers of irony and sarcasm, and affluent political ambition. He entered political life as a speaker, advocating Douglas for President in 1860.
In 1861, he volunteered as a private in a Huntsville company, which was assigned to the 4th Alabama regiment, and was seriously wounded in the head in the first battle of Manassas. He was brought home, recovered, and Gov. A. B. Moore appointed him his aid with the rank of Colonel. Afterward, he served as aid to Gen. Clanton and to Gen. Withers, but (so far as we have been able to ascertain) was never engaged in any perilous service after the first battle of Manassas. He was captured on the South side of the Tennessee river in Morgan Co., Ala., we hear, just before the war ended, taken to some Northern prison, and, afterwards, released.
In 1865-6, the Alabama Legislature elected him Solicitor of the Huntsville judicial circuit, and in '67 or '68, he was removed by U. S. military order. In 1870, he was elected as a Democrat to the Alabama Legislature and served one session. In 1875 he represented Madison County in the Constitutional Convention, as a Democrat. In 1878, he ran, as an Independent Greenback Democrat for Congress and was elected, and in 1880 as a candidate for re-election, and defeated by popular vote, but given the seat by Congress.
At his death, he was a candidate for re-election to Congress.
Speaker Keifer, of the U. S. House of Representatives appointed the rest of the Alabama delegation in the House, Speers, of Ga., Hooker of Miss., Dibrell, McMillan, Simonton and Moore, of Tenn., to attend the funeral, and, we hear, Ex-Marshal Jos. H. Sloss as special Sergeant at-Arms. None of the Congressmen were here. Mr. Herbert started (the Montgomery Advertiser says) from Montgomery on Friday, expecting the funeral to occur on Saturday, but Col. Lowe's remains were buried in our city Cemetery on Friday afternoon.
Col. Lowe's body had not been buried before Geo. Turner, Chairman of the Radical Executive Committee of Alabama, telegraphed to Henderson, Sec'y of the Republican Central Committee, Washington, D. C., naming D. D. Shelby as Lowe's probable successor and calling for help from the Hubbell two per cent, assessment of public officers: "You must aid the district as much as possible." Thus, the Radical Party in power hope to buy up votes to defeat the popular will. Will not freemen indignantly respond by voting for Luke Pryor, and prevent their rights and liberties from being sold to the highest bidder?
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician who served the state of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
in the U.S. House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
between 1879 and 1881 and in 1882. He was born on June 12, 1842 in Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
. He attended the Wesleyan University at Florence, Alabama
Florence, Alabama
Florence is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the northwestern corner of the state.According to the 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the city's population was 36,721....
and the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
. During the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, he served in the Confederate Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
as a private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
, lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
, captain, and lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced in Huntsville. He was solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
of the fifth judicial circuit between 1865 and 1867. In 1870 he was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives
Alabama House of Representatives
The Alabama House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal amount of districts, with each constituency containing at least 42,380 citizens. There are no term...
, and was a delegate to the Alabama constitutional convention of 1875.
Lowe was elected in 1878 as a Greenback
United States Greenback Party
The Greenback Party was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology that was active between 1874 and 1884. Its name referred to paper money, or "greenbacks," that had been issued during the American Civil War and afterward...
to the U.S. House of Representatives, but in initial results was defeated for reelection by Joseph Wheeler
Joseph Wheeler
Joseph Wheeler was an American military commander and politician. He has the rare distinction of serving as a general during war time for two opposing forces: first as a noted cavalry general in the Confederate States Army in the 1860s during the American Civil War, and later as a general in the...
in 1880, 601 votes for Lowe having been declared illegal by election judges. In a highly contentious recount that lasted over a year, Lowe successfully contested Wheeler's election and assumed the office on June 3, 1882. Lowe, however, only served four months, and died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
at his home in Huntsville on October 12, 1882. He was buried in Maple Hill Cemetery
Maple Hill Cemetery (Huntsville, Alabama)
Maple Hill Cemetery is the oldest and largest cemetery in Huntsville, Alabama. Founded on two acres in about the year 1822, it now encompasses nearly 100 acres and contains over 80,000 burials...
in Huntsville. Wheeler won a special election and served the remaining weeks of the term.
Death
Death of Hon. Wm. M. LoweThe Huntsville Weekly Democrat October 18, 1882
----
Col. Lowe died in this city, lat Thursday, Oct. 12, at 3:45 a. m. Twelve months or more ago, he was attacked with bronchitis and lost his voice. Last Spring, he had a serious attack of pneumonia in Washington City. He came home in the Summer, greatly impaired in health, returned to Washington, and went, thence to Baltimore for medical advice, and was advised to go to Colorado. He returned from Colorado to enter the canvass for re-election to Congress, some of his friends saying that he was greatly improved and would be able to make a vigorous canvass.—The result proves that they were mistaken. He went to Scottsboro and, afterward, to Tuscumbia and Florence, to see his friends, but was unable to speak. Week before last he came home greatly oppressed in breathing. Last Wednesday afternoon, his breathing became very difficult, yet he received visits from political friends as late, we hear as 9 o'clock p. m., and talked with them. Shortly after, the difficulty of breathing increased, he called for and drank an egg nog and sweet milk, went to sleep and never became conscious up to the moment of his death. We join with the community generally in profound sympathy with his sisters in their distress.
Col. Lowe was a student in the Wesleyan University at Florence, a law student at Lebanon University, Tenn., and for some months, in the law school of the University of Virginia. He had more than ordinary intellectual capabilities, unusual powers of irony and sarcasm, and affluent political ambition. He entered political life as a speaker, advocating Douglas for President in 1860.
In 1861, he volunteered as a private in a Huntsville company, which was assigned to the 4th Alabama regiment, and was seriously wounded in the head in the first battle of Manassas. He was brought home, recovered, and Gov. A. B. Moore appointed him his aid with the rank of Colonel. Afterward, he served as aid to Gen. Clanton and to Gen. Withers, but (so far as we have been able to ascertain) was never engaged in any perilous service after the first battle of Manassas. He was captured on the South side of the Tennessee river in Morgan Co., Ala., we hear, just before the war ended, taken to some Northern prison, and, afterwards, released.
In 1865-6, the Alabama Legislature elected him Solicitor of the Huntsville judicial circuit, and in '67 or '68, he was removed by U. S. military order. In 1870, he was elected as a Democrat to the Alabama Legislature and served one session. In 1875 he represented Madison County in the Constitutional Convention, as a Democrat. In 1878, he ran, as an Independent Greenback Democrat for Congress and was elected, and in 1880 as a candidate for re-election, and defeated by popular vote, but given the seat by Congress.
At his death, he was a candidate for re-election to Congress.
Speaker Keifer, of the U. S. House of Representatives appointed the rest of the Alabama delegation in the House, Speers, of Ga., Hooker of Miss., Dibrell, McMillan, Simonton and Moore, of Tenn., to attend the funeral, and, we hear, Ex-Marshal Jos. H. Sloss as special Sergeant at-Arms. None of the Congressmen were here. Mr. Herbert started (the Montgomery Advertiser says) from Montgomery on Friday, expecting the funeral to occur on Saturday, but Col. Lowe's remains were buried in our city Cemetery on Friday afternoon.
Col. Lowe's body had not been buried before Geo. Turner, Chairman of the Radical Executive Committee of Alabama, telegraphed to Henderson, Sec'y of the Republican Central Committee, Washington, D. C., naming D. D. Shelby as Lowe's probable successor and calling for help from the Hubbell two per cent, assessment of public officers: "You must aid the district as much as possible." Thus, the Radical Party in power hope to buy up votes to defeat the popular will. Will not freemen indignantly respond by voting for Luke Pryor, and prevent their rights and liberties from being sold to the highest bidder?