Birthsite of Alexander Hamilton Stephens
Taliaferro County, Taliaferro County, Georgia
Marker Inscription
Birthsite of Alexander Hamilton Stephens. "Little Alec," Vice-President of the Confederacy, was born nearby in a log cabin Feb. 11, 1812, son of Andrew B. & Margaret Grier Stephens, a poor farm family. At his parents' death he was educated by an uncle, Gen. A. W. Grier, at Washington, and Franklin College (U. of Ga.) and was admitted to the Bar in 1834. He served as state legislator & senator from '36 to '42, as Congressman from '43 to '49 and again in '55. After the War he was elected U. S. Senator but was not allowed to take his seat. He served in Congress from '73 till '82 and was Gov. of Ga. at his death in 1883. "He was strong by his moral intrepidity." 131-3 GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1955
Erected by Georgia Historical Commission
The Story
In a Taliaferro County log cabin in 1812, a poor farm family welcomed Alexander Hamilton Stephens—"Little Alec"—orphaned young and educated by an uncle before rising to the bar and a long career in Congress. He became Vice-President of the Confederacy, and after the war served again in Congress and finally as Governor of Georgia, dying in office in 1883.
Why it matters
Stephens sat at the very center of the Confederacy's leadership, and his life traces the arc from secession through defeat to a Georgian's return to national and state office.
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Related people
- · Alexander Hamilton Stephens
- · Andrew B. Stephens
- · A. W. Grier
Themes & tags
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