James Mandeville Carlisle

Background

He was born on May 22, 1814; the only son of Christopher Carlisle, a resident of Alexandria near Washington, D. C. , and his wife, Anne Mandeville.

Education

In 1825 the family moved to Washington, D. C. , where James attended the Catholic Seminary, completing his education at Partridge's military school. Of a studious disposition, he became a fine classical scholar, and showed a special aptitude for the French and Spanish languages. He studied law at Baltimore and Washington, giving lessons in modern languages in order to defray his expenses, and was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court at Washington in 1837.

Career

Opening an office in Washington, he quickly secured a promising connection, his familiarity with French and Spanish inducing retainers in cases involving early land titles in Florida and Louisiana. In 1849 he obtained wide publicity as junior counsel to Horace Mann in the defense of Daniel Drayton and Edward Sayres who were tried for larceny in transporting and assisting slaves to escape. He was frequently consulted by the legations of the various Central and South American republics, and in 1852 was retained as standing legal adviser to the British legation. In 1862 he appeared as counsel for Costa Rica before the joint commission at Washington respecting the claims of United States citizens arising out of the occupation of Nicaragua by troops of Costa Rica. On the reorganization of the supreme court of the District of Columbia in 1863 he refused to take the new oath in that court, and thereafter confined his practise to the Supreme Court of the United States and the Court of Claims, where, however, for the next ten years he held a larger number of briefs than any other practitioner. In 1864 he was retained as counsel for Colombia before the commission of that year to consider the undecided claims against New Granada arising, inter alia, from the Panama Riots of 1856. In 1871 he was counsel for Spain before the mixed commission under the agreement of Feb. 12, 1871, and in the same year was retained as counsel for the British government before the mixed claims commission under Article 12 of the Treaty of Washington, acting throughout the proceedings which lasted two years. He had for some years suffered from paralysis of the optic nerve, and after 1866 he could never read a printed book, but continued his professional work, relying largely on his phenomenal memory. He died at Washington.

Achievements

• He was a brilliant lawyer, and a charming person.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Oration delivered on the fourth of July, 1855, at the Capitol

    (Oration delivered on the fourth of July, 1855, at the Cap...)

Personality

Personally he was a man of much dignity and charm. He is spoken of as "an advanced boulevardier immaculately attired, given to dropping in at foreign legations and chatting on familiar terms with the titled and great".

He was remarkably sound and versatile lawyer, of quick perception, with an intuitive grasp of vital points.

Connections

Had an illegitimate son with his African American maid in between his two marriages. His son was John Abraham.

Father:

Christopher Carlisle

Mother:

Anne Mandeville

Son:

John Abraham

References

• Eminent and Representative Men of Virginia and the District of Columbia of the Nineteenth Century: With a Concise Historical Sketch of Virginia, by ... of the District of Columbia (Classic Reprint)