Jim Martin
1st Confederate Sec. of War
Tue Apr 24 23:31:06 2001


Leroy Pope Walker was born in Huntsville, Alabama on February 7, 1817. He studied law at the University of Virginia, at Charlottesville, and was admitted to the bar in 1837. He was elected to the Alabama House Of Representatives and served 1843-44, 1847-51, and again in 1853. From 1847-50 he was Speaker Of The House.

One of Alabama's most prominent secessionists, he was appointed the first Confederate Secretary of War on February 21, 1861. On April 11th, after President Jefferson Davis and the cabinet as whole deliberated, Walker authorized the bombardment of Fort Sumter to commence at 4:30 a.m., the next day. He was also largely responsible for the organization and recruitment of troops, and mobilizing the army. Much of the Confederacy's successes in battles during the first year of the war were due to his efforts while in office.

Following his resignation on September 17, 1861, he was commissioned a brigadier general in the Confederate Army. He commanded garrisons at Mobile and Montgomery, Alabama before resigning his commission in March 1862. From April 1864 to war's end, he served as a military court judge and held the rank of colonel.

After the war, he returned to his law practice and was involved with several high profile cases. In 1883, he gained an acquittal in his defense of Frank James, a former Confederate, and brother of Jesse James. He continued his involvement with politics as well. He was president of the Alabama State Constitutional Convention in 1875, and was a state delegate to the Democratic National Convention the following year. Walker died on August 23, 1884, and is buried at Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville, Alabama.