History of Tullahoma, (Coffee County) Tennessee United States of America

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Isham Green Harris, senator, was born near Tullahoma, Franklin county, Tenn., Feb. 10, 1818; son of Isham Harris, a native of Montgomery county, N.C., who removed to Bedford and thence to Franklin county, Tenn., about 1810. His elder brother, William R. Harris, born in North Carolina, Sept. 26, 1803, was a lawyer in Paris, Tenn., judge of the 9th circuit, 1836-45, and judge of the supreme court of the state from 1855 till his death, Jan. 13, 1858. Isham Green attended Winchester academy, and left home in 1832. He was a clerk at Paris, Tenn., in a dry goods store, 1832-37; conducted a store in partnership with a brother in Tippah county, Miss., 1837-40; studied law, 1840-41, and practised, 1841-47. He was a state senator, 1847-48; district presidential elector, 1848-49; representative in the 31st and 32d congresses, 1849-53; declined to stand as a candidate for re-election in 1852, and removed to Memphis in 1853, where he practised law for three years. He again entered politics as candidate for Democratic elector at large in 1856, and was elected by 10,000 majority. He was governor of Tennessee, 1857-62; aide-de-camp to Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston in 1862, and was with him on the battle-field of Shiloh, saw him fall and received his last messages to his friends; was aide to Gen. G. T. Beauregard, 1862-63; to General Bragg, 1863-64; to Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, 1864, and to Gen. Joseph B. Hood, 1864-65. This service made him a participant in all the battles in Tennessee and North Georgia, 1862-65. He was in Mexico and England, 1865-76; and while absent, Governor Brownlow offered a reward for his apprehension, charging him with having carried off $500,000, the school fund of the state. Upon his return to Tennessee he called upon Governor Brownlow and restored the entire sum which he had carried in his wanderings. He resumed the practice of law in Memphis, Tenn., in 1867, and in 1877 succeeded the Hon. Henry Cooper as U.S. senator. He was re-elected in 1883, 1889 and 1895. He served on the committees on finance and on rules and was president pro tempore of the senate in the 53d congress. His skill as a parliamentarian was acknowledged by every Vice-President, he being called to the chair when dispatch of business was important. He died in Washington, D.C., July 8, 1897.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Tullahoma, (Coffee County) Tennessee

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