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James L. Kemper

James L. Kemper
James L Kemper.jpg
37th Governor of Virginia
In office
January 1, 1874 – January 1, 1878
Lieutenant Robert E. Withers
Henry Wirtz Thomas
Preceded by Gilbert Carlton Walker
Succeeded by Frederick W. M. Holliday
27th Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates
In office
January 8, 1861 – January 14, 1863
Preceded by Oscar M. Crutchfield
Succeeded by Hugh W. Sheffey
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
In office
1853–1865
Personal details
Born (1823-06-11)June 11, 1823
Madison County, Virginia
Died April 7, 1895(1895-04-07) (aged 71)
Walnut Hills, Orange County, Virginia
Political party Democratic (Before 1867, 1873-1895)
Conservative Party of Virginia (1867–1873)
Spouse(s) Cremora "Belle" Conway Cave (m.1855, d.1870)
Children 7
Alma mater Washington College
Profession Lawyer, Soldier, Politician
Religion Presbyterian until 1861
Southern Presbyterian 1861-1895
Military service
Allegiance  United States of America
 Virginia
 Confederate States of America
Service/branch  United States Army
 Confederate States Army
Years of service 1846–1848 (USA)
1861–1865 (CSA)
Rank Union army cpt rank insignia.jpg Captain (USV)
Confederate States of America General.png Major General (CSA)
Unit Regiment of Virginia Volunteers (USA)
Commands 7th Virginia Infantry
Kemper's Brigade
Kemper's Division
Virginia Reserve Forces
Battles/wars

Mexican-American War
American Civil War


Mexican-American War
American Civil War

James Lawson Kemper (June 11, 1823 – April 7, 1895) was a lawyer, a Confederate general in the American Civil War, and the 37th Governor of Virginia. He was the youngest of the brigade commanders, and the only non-professional military officer, in the division that led Pickett's Charge, in which he was wounded and captured but rescued.

Kemper was born at Mountain Prospect plantation in Madison County, Virginia, the son of William and Maria E. Allison Kemper. His father's family had emigrated from near what became Siegen, Germany, in the early 18th century. His great-grandfather had been among the miners recruited for Governor Alexander Spotswood's colony at Germanna, Virginia, and his merchant father had moved to the new town of Madison Court House in the 1790s after his own father had died falling from a horse in 1783, leaving his widow to take care of five daughters and a son. By the time young James was born, his paternal grandmother and four aunts also lived at the plantation which William Kemper had bought for $5,541.40 in 1800. His maternal great-grandfather, Col. John Jasper Stadler, had served on George Washington's staff as a civil engineer and planned fortifications in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina during the American Revolutionary War, and his grandfather John Stadler Allison served as an officer in the War of 1812, but died when his daughter Maria was very young. Although several of his paternal ancestors were involved in the German Reformed Church, William Kemper was an elder in the local Presbyterian church and his mother was devout, but also hosted dances and parties that lasted several days. His brother, Frederick T. Kemper later founded Kemper Military School).


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