Elisha Baxter
| Elisha Baxter | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 10th Governor of Arkansas | |
|
In office January 6, 1873 – November 12, 1874 |
|
| Lieutenant | Volney V. Smith |
| Preceded by |
Ozra Amander Hadley as Acting Governor |
| Succeeded by | Augustus Hill Garland |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 1, 1827 Rutherford County, North Carolina |
| Died | May 31, 1899 (aged 71) Batesville, Arkansas |
| Political party | Republican |
Elisha Baxter (September 1, 1827 – May 31, 1899) was the tenth Governor of the State of Arkansas.
Baxter was born in Forest City, Rutherford County, North Carolina. He sought and obtained an appointment as a cadet to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Baxter's father, William Baxter, strongly opposed his appointment, and Baxter resigned it.
Baxter returned home and became a businessman. He ran a successful mercantile business in Rutherford County with his brother-in-law Spenser Eaves.
In 1852, Baxter moved to Batesville, Arkansas and opened a mercantile business with his brother, Taylor A. Baxter. It soon failed. Baxter joined the Whig party and was elected as mayor of Batesville in 1853. One year later he was elected as state representative from Independence County to the tenth general assembly. He studied law and, in 1856, was admitted to the Arkansas bar. He was reelected to the House in 1858 and served two terms from Independence County, leaving in 1860.
At the start of the American Civil War, Baxter refused to fight for the Confederacy and attempted to flee to Missouri. He was captured and tried for treason. He escaped north and joined the 4th Arkansas Mounted Infantry (USA), serving as colonel of that regiment.
In 1864, after Arkansas was occupied by Union troops, Baxter was appointed as Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court. In 1868 the Reconstruction-era state legislature elected him and Andrew Hunter to the US Senate, but he was not seated. There was controversy in Congress due to the southern states' refusal to extend the franchise to freedmen. From 1868 to 1872, Baxter served as a judge on the 3rd Circuit Court.
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