State

Governor Thomas Bragg He was trul.v one of tho most «lislinyiiisliocl m«kii that North Carolina ever lias pro¬ duced. and we believe you'll agree w ith this statement after reading of his accomplish¬ ments. W ARREN is an ancienl county, bearing the name of the Revolutionary General in command at Bunker Hill whose command "Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes" has become a classic in American his¬ tory. The ancient county has been the bailiwick of many eminent men. Here lived the great Nathaniel Macon, considered by many com¬ petent authorities as our ' ablest statesman, the only Carolinian ever elected Speaker of the National House of Representatives (while a resident of this state), in whose honor the city of Macon. Georgia, was named. Thereafter he served with outstanding distinction in the United States Senate, where his colleague was his fellow county- man. Governor James Turner, fur¬ nishing one of but two instances in our history where one county has had both Senators at the same time: the other instance being the county of Orange, when William A. Graham and Wiley P. Mangum sat at the same time in the seats of the mighty — Mangum also hav¬ ing been elected as President pro tern of that body. «?/ R. C. LAWRENCE Representatives of its famous Hawkins family sat in one or both branches of the General Assembly for more than forty years, and scions of that line have filled many important positions of public trust from United States Senator on down. One of the clan had eight sons, seven of whom graduated from the University. The remain¬ ing one, who did not graduate, became Governor of the State. It was the birthplace of John Hall, one of the first Justices of the Su¬ preme Court as now constituted; and of the distinguished Weldon N. Edwards, stalwart exponent of the doctrine of State’s rights. The old county is still at the task of producing eminent sons, as witness Congressman John Hosea Kerr, ranking next after Congressman Doughton in the length of his legislative service; his son of the same name, prominent state legis¬ lator. Masonic Grand Master J. Edgar Allen, and other outstanding men. Among the most famous of all the sons of Warren was Thomas Bragg, who was born in the very town of Warrenton itself in 1810. He was not only one of the most distinguished men our State has produced, but he had two famous brothers — John Bragg, who be¬ came a distinguished jurist and member of Congress from Ala¬ bama. and Braxton Bragg who. after serving with high distinction in the Mexican war. became a full General in the army of the Con¬ federacy. and is said to have pos¬ sessed the confidence of President Jefferson Davis to a greater extent than any Southern General with the exception only of Robert E. Lee. Fort Bragg, largest artillery post in the world, commemorates his name and fame, although his statesman brother, Thomas, ren¬ dered a much finer service to his native State. Located at Jackson Thomas read law in the office of John Hall, who served as one of the first justices of the Supreme Court as now constituted; and thereafter located at Jackson in Northampton County which thenceforth became the scene of his life’s labors. He was a Demo¬ crat in politics at a time when the Whigs were dominant in the political life of the State. As early as 1842 he sat in the General As¬ sembly. defeating Thomas J. Gal¬ ling, brother of the inventor of the Gatling gun; and he several times served as Presidential Elector. He was not always successful in his political efforts, being soundly de¬ feated on one occasion by that outstanding son of the cast, Ken¬ neth Rayner. The decade preceding the open¬ ing of the Civil War was truly the "silver age" in the political annals of our State, for no other decade saw such a galaxy of brilliant men belonging to both political parties. The Democrats were uniformly un¬ successful in their cfTorts to carry the State until 1852, when they elected David S. Reid as Governor upon a platform favoring the aboli- THE STATE. March 29. 1947