Alexander Stephens

Alexander H. Stephens

Library of Congress

Quick Facts

Significance:

US and Confederate politician, Vice President of the Confederacy

Place of Birth:

Wilkes County, Georgia

Date of Birth:

February 11, 1812

Place of Death:

Atlanta, Georgia

Date of Death:

March 4, 1883

Alexander Stephens served in Georgia’s state legislature and US Congress before his selection as the Vice President of the Confederacy in 1861. After the surrender at Appomattox Court House, federal soldiers captured Stephens and brought him to Fort Warren in Boston as a prisoner. Following his release, Stephens continued in politics and eventually became the 50^th governor of Georgia in 1882.  

Early Life and Political Career

Born to Andrew Baskins Stephens and Margaret Grier in February 1812, Alexander Stephens became an orphan at the age of 14. Following the death of his parents, the young Stephens went to live with his uncle, General Aaron Grier. Stephens attended what is now the University of Georgia, graduating at the top of his class in 1832.¹ 

Elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1836, Stephens served in the state legislature until he won a seat in the US House of Representatives in the early 1840s. During his time in Congress, Stephens supported the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Despite being a defender of slavery and states' rights, Stephens opposed secession and even voted 'no' during Georgia’s secession convention. After Georgia decided to secede, however, Stephens did sign the ordinance of secession from the United States.  

Stephens assisted in the creation of the Confederate Constitution during the Montgomery Convention in February and March 1861. Shortly after, he gave a speech on the streets of Savannah called the "Cornerstone Speech." During this speech, Stephens highlighted what he believed to be the reasons for succession as well as his hopes for the Confederacy and its new constitution. By November 1861, he had been appointed to serve as the Vice President of the Confederacy.² 

Vice President of the Confederacy

As Vice President, Stephens worked closely with President Jefferson Davis, but as the US Civil War waged on, a rift between the two men grew. Stephens publicly disagreed with Davis on several occasions.³ Stephens became a prominent proponent for a peaceful solution to end the war. Accompanied by Assistant Secretary of War John Cambell and Virginia Senator Robert Hunter, Stephens met with President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward at Hampton Roads, Virginia in February 1865. Despite a four-hour long meeting, the Confederate delegation did not come to an agreement with the US delegation.⁴ 

Imprisonment at Fort Warren in Boston

A little more than a month after General Robert E. After Lee's surrender in Appomattox Court House, federal soldiers arrived at Stephens’ house in Georgia and apprehended him. Authorities transported Stephens to Fort Warren on Georges Island in Boston Harbor. He arrived at Fort Warren at eleven o’clock at night on May 24, after a nearly two-week long journey. Shortly after his arrival at Fort Warren, Stephens wrote in his diary:  

For the first time in my life I had the full realization of being a prisoner. I was alone.⁵ 

Placed in solitary confinement, officers permitted Stephens to have a supervised hour-long walk each day. Although Stephens had the privilege of communicating with his friends through letters, he struggled with his confinement in a basement casemate. In another entry shortly after his arrival he wrote:  

The horrors of imprisonment, close confinement, no one to see or to talk to, with the reflection of being cut off for I know not how long — perhaps for ever — from communication with dear ones at home, are beyond description. Words utterly fail to express the soul's anguish. This day I wept bitterly.⁶

Early in his confinement, Stephens wrote to President Andrew Johnson, asking for amnesty. Desperate for his release, he wrote to Secretary of State William Seward, urging him to talk to the President about the status of his amnesty application.⁷ On July 29, 1865, Stephens received news of an order that authorized his release from solitary confinement. 

Under the new terms of his imprisonment, Stephens could receive visitors, talk to other prisoners, and walk the grounds between sunrise and sunset. Enjoying his newfound freedom, Stephens listened to a band playing in the fort, talked with Major Appleton, and went on walks.⁸ 

Still desperate for freedom, Stephens continued to lobby for his release by writing letters to President Johnson, General Ulysses S. Grant, and Secretary of State Seward. Friends also campaigned on his behalf. Stephens received news of his impending release on October 12, 1865, and left Fort Warren the next day.⁹ 

Later Life

Following his release from Fort Warren, Stephens won a seat in the United States Senate in the 1866 election cycle. When Senate Republicans refused to seat Stephens, he used the resulting "break" to write Constitutional View of the Late War Between the States (1868-70), a two-volume apology for the Confederacy. Following the hiatus, Stephens served in the House of Representatives from 1873 until his resignation in 1882, when he won the Georgia gubernatorial election. Stephens passed away on March 3, 1883 after serving four months in office.¹⁰ 

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Footnotes

1. Robbert Grier Stephens, Jr, "The Background and Boyhood of Alexander H. Stephens," The Georgia Review volume 9, no. 4 (Winter 1955): 386. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41395370; "Alexander Stephens," American Battlefield Trust, accessed April 26, 2023.  
2. "Alexander Stephens," American Battlefield Trust; History.com Editors, "Alexander H Stephens," last modified August 21, 2018, accessed April 26, 2023; Alexander Stephens, "Cornerstone Speech," (1861) Indiana State Library, 1717-729.  
3. "Alexander Stephens," American Battlefield Trust; History.com Editors, "Alexander H Stephens;" Chad Morgan, "Alexander Stephens 1812-1883," New Georgia Encyclopedia, last modified Jun 6, 2017, accessed April 26, 2023. 
4. "Hampton Roads Peace Conference," National Park Service, last modified February 2, 2021, accessed April 26, 2023; Morgan, "Alexander Stephens 1812-1883," New Georgia Encyclopedia; Alexander Stephens, "Recollections of Alexander H. Stephens," (New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1910), 100-128. 
5. Stephens, "Recollections of Alexander H. Stephens," 173-204, 370-375. 
6. Stephens, "Recollections of Alexander H. Stephens," 133.
7. Stephens, "Recollections of Alexander H. Stephens," 394-410. 
8. Stephens, "Recollections of Alexander H. Stephens," 415-532. 
9. History.com Editors, "Alexander H Stephens;" "Governor Alexander Hamilton Stephens," National Governors Association, accessed April 26, 2023. 
10. History.com Editors, "Alexander H Stephens;" "Governor Alexander Hamilton Stephens," National Governors Association.