Charles Edmund Nash | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 6th district | |
In office March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877 | |
Preceded by | District established |
Succeeded by | Edward White Robertson |
Personal details | |
Born | May 23, 1844 Opelousas, Louisiana, U.S. |
Died | June 21, 1913 (aged 69) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | Union Army |
Years of service | 1863–1865 |
Rank | Sergeant major |
Unit | 82nd Regiment, U.S. Volunteers |
Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Charles Edmund Nash (May 23, 1844 – June 21, 1913) was an American politician who served a single two-year term as Republican in the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana.
He was Louisiana's first African-American to serve as congressman; John Willis Menard was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1868 and P. B. S. Pinchback was elected to the U. S. Senate in 1872, but neither one served. Nash would remain the state's only black U.S. Representative for more than a century — until 1991, when William J. Jefferson's tenure in the 2nd Louisiana District began.
Early life and education
Nash was born in Opelousas (the seat of St. Landry Parish) in southern Louisiana. He attended the common schools and was a bricklayer by trade.
Career
During the American Civil War, he enlisted in 1863 as a private in the Eighty-second Regiment, United States Volunteers, and was promoted to the rank of sergeant major. (This regiment is listed in the U.S. Colored Troops in the Mobile Campaign Union order of battle.) Nash was severely wounded near the end of the war, at the Battle of Fort Blakeley in Alabama, April 1865; he lost part of his leg.
After the war Nash was a businessman and was appointed night inspector of U.S. customs.
Nash was elected as a Republican to the Forty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877). He was unsuccessful as a candidate for reelection in 1876, as "Redeemer" Democrats regained control of Louisianan politics. He served briefly as postmaster at Washington in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, during the Chester A. Arthur administration, only from February 15 to May 1, 1882.
Later life and death
Nash died in New Orleans at the age of sixty-nine. He was interred there in Saint Louis Cemetery No. 3.
See also
References
- ^ Nash's Congressional biography Archived 2012-10-24 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed 11 April 2015.
- Murray, Shailagh; Lengel, Allan (February 16, 2006). "The Legal Woes Of Rep. Jefferson". The Washington Post. p. A01. Archived from the original on August 6, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
Further reading
- United States Congress. "Charles E. Nash (id: N000008)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
External links
- Quotations related to Charles E. Nash at Wikiquote
- Media related to Charles E. Nash at Wikimedia Commons
U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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Preceded byDistrict created | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 6th congressional district 1875–1877 |
Succeeded byEdward White Robertson |
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana | ||
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1st district | ||
2nd district | ||
3rd district | ||
4th district | ||
5th district | ||
6th district | ||
7th district | ||
8th district | ||
At-large | ||
Territory |
- 1844 births
- 1913 deaths
- People from Opelousas, Louisiana
- African-American people in Louisiana politics
- African-American members of the United States House of Representatives
- American bricklayers
- Louisiana postmasters
- Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana
- Union army soldiers
- African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era
- 20th-century African-American politicians
- 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives