Background
William Thompson Martin was the eldest son of John Henderson and Emily Monroe (Kerr) Martin. He was born on March 25, 1823 at Glasgow, Kentucy.
William Thompson Martin was the eldest son of John Henderson and Emily Monroe (Kerr) Martin. He was born on March 25, 1823 at Glasgow, Kentucy.
He graduated from Centre College in 1840, shortly after the family had moved to Vicksburg, Miss.
Following the death of the father he moved to Natchez in 1842 and was there admitted to the bar as soon as he reached his majority. He was a Whig and opposed secession in 1851 and again in 1860, when he was accused of unfaithfulness to the South and of untrustworthiness. Though a Unionist he prepared for the conflict, after becoming convinced that it was inevitable, by organizing in the spring of 1861 the Adams County troop of cavalry, of which he was elected captain. After the firing on Fort Sumter he led his men to Richmond. He proved himself a resourceful and daring cavalry leader, was soon given command of the Jeff Davis Legion, and participated in all the battles against McClellan in the Peninsular campaign. When J. E. B. Stuart made his famous raid around McClellan's army, Martin commanded the rear third of the detachment. Upon the battlefield at Sharpsburg (Antietam) he acted as personal aide to Robert E. Lee. In December 1862 he was made brigadier-general and in November 1863 major-general. After the failure of Lee's Maryland campaign, Martin was ordered to the West. He was in the battle of Chickamauga and a number of other important engagements, commanding a division of Wheeler's cavalry during the Atlanta campaign. Toward the close of 1864 he was transferred to northwest Mississippi and ordered to protect that region from lawless bands. After the war he took an active interest in politics, education, and railroad building. He was a delegate to the state constitutional convention of 1865. In the Mississippi constitutional convention of 1890, he was one of three members who did not sign that document. He followed this course because the constitution contained a provision forbidding the legislature to pay principal or interest of the Union Bank bonds and the Planters' Bank bonds. Before the war he had opposed repudiation and had advocated the payment of these bonds. He was a delegate to Democratic national conventions between 1868 and 1880, and was a member of the state Senate from 1882 to 1894. In 1884, under his sole presidency a railroad line between Natchez and Jackson, known as the Natchez, Jackson & Columbus Railroad, was completed. For twelve years he was a trustee of the University of Mississippi, and for a time was president of the board of trustees of Jefferson College, Washington, Miss.
William Thompson Martin was the district attorney of Natchez, Mississippi, at the outbreak of the Civil War. He raised the Adams County Cavalry Company, became its Captain and led the company in action at Manassas, Virginia. Promoted Lieutenant Colonel of the 4th Mississippi Cavalry Battalion in February 1862, he fought at South Mountain and Sharpsburg as an aide to General Robert E. Lee. He was promoted Brigadier General in December, 1862 and remained on Lee's staff until sent west in March, 1863. There he commanded a division in the Tullahoma and Chickamauga campaigns and was promoted to Major General in November, 1863. He led Corps in operations in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Atlanta campaign and finished the war commanding the District of Northwest Mississippi. Following the war, he served in the Mississippi State Legislature and was president of the Columbus Railroad.
As district attorney, he made an enviable reputation as a vigorous prosecutor and as an eloquent and forceful speaker. He was a man of moral as well as physical courage, and he did not hesitate to take unpopular stands in following his own best judgment.
On January 5, 1854, he married Margaret Dunlop Conner, whose mother lived near Natchez. They had four sons, and five daughters.
7 December 1789 - 15 September 1841
1800 - ____
6 June 1824 - 6 October 1882
____ - 31 December 1837
_____ - 20 September 1841
8 May 1836 - 9 March 1920
22 July 1856 - 19 March 1900
10 December 1857 - 1936
16 October 1859 - 11 December 1944
16 February 1866 - 22 November 1938
24 February 1873 - 18 May 1939
1855 - 1932
5 December 1867 - 11 December 1929
16 October 1874 - 5 January 1957
21 February 1871 - 16 March 1913
12 April 1861 - 4 January 1938
15 December 1869 - 4 December 1870
