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James Alexander Seddon Biography

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SEDDON, James Alexander (1815-80). An American jurist and public official, born at Falmouth, Stafford Co., Va. He studied law at the University of Virginia and began practice in Richmond. He was a Democratic member of Congress in 1845-51. In February, 1861, he was a Virginia delegate to the Peace Convention held in Washington and presented a minority report recommending the adoption of amendments to the Constitution suggested by J. J. Crittenden, which specifically recognized the right of peaceable secession. He was a member of the First Confederate Congress and on Nov. 21, 1862, was appointed Secretary of War by President Davis. He resigned in January, 1865.

The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol. XX (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920) 666.