Matt Whitaker Ransom | |
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President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate | |
In office January 7, 1895 – January 10, 1895 |
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Preceded by | Isham G. Harris |
Succeeded by | Isham G. Harris |
United States Senator from North Carolina |
|
In office January 30, 1872 – March 4, 1895 |
|
Preceded by | Joseph Carter Abbott |
Succeeded by | Marion Butler |
United States Minister to Mexico | |
In office 1895–1897 |
|
Preceded by | Isaac P. Gray |
Succeeded by | Powell Clayton |
Attorney General of North Carolina | |
In office 1853–1855 |
|
Preceded by | William Eaton, Jr. |
Succeeded by | Joseph B. Batchelor |
Personal details | |
Born |
Warren County, North Carolina |
October 8, 1826
Died | October 8, 1904 Garysburg, North Carolina |
(aged 78)
Military service | |
Allegiance | Confederate States of America |
Service/branch | Confederate States Army |
Years of service | 1861 – 1865 |
Rank | Brigadier General |
Unit | 1st North Carolina Infantry Regiment |
Commands | 35th North Carolina Infantry Ransom's Brigade |
Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Matt Whitaker Ransom (October 8, 1826 – October 8, 1904) was a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and a Democratic U.S. senator from the state of North Carolina between 1872 and 1895.
Matt Ransom was born in Warren County, North Carolina to Robert and Priscilla Whitaker Ransom. He was the elder brother of General Robert Ransom and a cousin to fellow Confederate officer Wharton J. Green, who served as a U. S. Congressman after the Civil War. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1847, where he was a member of the Philanthropic Society. After serving as North Carolina Attorney General and as a member of the North Carolina General Assembly, he was chosen as one of the three commissioners from North Carolina to the Confederate government at Montgomery, Alabama in 1861.
Ransom was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the 1st North Carolina Infantry Regiment and later Colonel of the 35th North Carolina Infantry. This regiment was part of his brother Robert's brigade, which Matt later commanded. Ransom was promoted to Brigadier General June 13, 1863. Ransom saw action in the battles of Seven Pines, the Seven Days Battles, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Plymouth, Weldon, Suffolk and the siege of Petersburg. He was wounded three times during the Civil War and finally surrendered at Appomattox.