Lucius Jacques Dupré was a prominent Confederate politician during the American Civil War. He was a representative from Louisiana in the Confederate Congress from 1862 to 1865.
Background
Lucius Jacques Dupré was born on April 18, 1822, in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. He was the son of Cyprien Dupré and Marceline Guidry Dupré. His siblings were Laperle Dupré Guidry, Estelle Dupre Voorhies and Joseph Alcé Dupré.
Education
Lucius Jacques Dupré attended the University of Virginia and studied law there under Henry Saint George Tucker and at the University of Louisiana.
Lucius Jacques Dupré practiced law in Opelousas. Before the war, Lucius served as judge of the Fifteenth Judicial District and was one of the most prominent lawyers in Louisiana. He was a delegate to the state secession convention in 1861, where he supported secession. In the early days of the war, Dupre enlisted as a private in the 18th Louisiana Regiment.
He was also elected as a pro-administration member of both the first and the second Confederate House. He served on the Judiciary, Printing, and Indian Affairs Committees. An opponent of conscription, Dupre claimed that Louisiana was left without sufficient troops to save New Orleans from falling into federal hands.
Lucius spent much of his Confederate congressional career advocating a Confederate land invasion of New Orleans. Disillusioned and probably bankrupt by the war, he returned to Louisiana when the war ended and resumed his law practice.
Achievements
Religion
"Peculiar institution" of slavery was not only expedient but also ordained by God and upheld in Holy Scripture.
Politics
Stands for preserving slavery, states' rights, and political liberty for whites. Every individual state is sovereign, even to the point of secession.
Connections
Lucius Jacques Dupré was married to Caroline Victoire Vanhille. Their children were Jacques Lucius Dupré, Laurent Dupré, Marie Edmonia Dupré Reaud, Gilbert Louis Dupré, Lucius G. Dupré.