John McClure | |
---|---|
Associate Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court |
|
In office 1968–1871 |
|
Personal details | |
Born | Missing Ohio |
Died | 1915 |
Political party | Republican |
Residence |
(1) Arkansas County |
Occupation | United States Army lieutenant colonel |
(1) Arkansas County
John McClure (died 1915), sometimes called Poker Jack, was a politician and judge in Arkansas during Reconstruction. He was originally a lawyer from Ohio.
McLure was part of Powell Clayton's inner circle. A Republican carpetbagger, he arrived in the capital city of Little Rock as the lieutenant colonel of an African-American regiment in the United States Army. Dismissed from the Army for playing cards, he gained the sobriquet, "Poker Jack," from the Democrats. After the American Civil War ended, he became an agent of the Freedmens Bureau for Arkansas County in eastern Arkansas. In 1868, he was appointed to the Arkansas Supreme Court and served until 1871.