Benjamin Harvey Hill | |
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United States Senator from Georgia |
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In office March 4, 1877 – August 16, 1882 |
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Preceded by | Thomas Norwood |
Succeeded by | Middleton Barrow |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 9th district |
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In office May 5, 1875 – March 4, 1877 |
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Preceded by | Hiram Bell |
Succeeded by | Hiram Bell |
Confederate States Senator from Georgia |
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In office February 18, 1862 – May 10, 1865 |
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Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Position abolished |
Deputy to the C.S. Congress from Georgia |
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In office February 8, 1861 – February 17, 1862 |
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Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Position abolished |
Personal details | |
Born |
Jasper County, Georgia |
September 14, 1823
Died | August 16, 1882 Gurley, Alabama |
(aged 58)
Nationality | American |
Political party | Democratic |
Other political affiliations |
Whig (Before 1855) American (1855–1859) Constitutional Union (1859–1861) |
Alma mater | University of Georgia |
Benjamin Harvey Hill (September 14, 1823 – August 16, 1882) was a U.S. Representative, U.S. senator and a Confederate senator from the state of Georgia.
Hill was born September 14, 1823, in Hillsboro, Georgia, in Jasper County. He was of Welsh and Irish American ancestry. He attended the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, where he was a member of the Demosthenian Literary Society and graduated in 1844 with first honors. He was admitted to the Georgia bar later in 1844. He married Caroline E. Holt in Athens, in 1845.
Hill was a candidate representing a number of parties, reflecting the volatile politics before the American Civil War and after. He was elected to the state legislature of Georgia in 1851 as a member of the Whig Party. He supported Millard Fillmore running on the Know-Nothing ticket in 1856, and was an elector for that party in the Electoral College. In 1857, he ran for governor of Georgia unsuccessfully against the Democratic nominee Joseph E. Brown. In 1859, he was elected to the state senate as a Unionist. In 1860, he was again an elector, this time for John Bell and the Unionist party.