North Carolina General Assembly of 1862–1864


The North Carolina General Assembly of 1862–1864 met in Raleigh from November 17, 1862 to December 22, 1862. Extra sessions were held on January 19, 1863–February 12, 1863; June 30, 1863–July 7, 1863; November 23, 1863–December 14, 1863; and May 17–30 1864. The assembly consisted of the 120 members of the North Carolina House of Commons from 82 counties and 50 senators representing one or more counties in North Carolina Senate elected by the voters in October 1862. Zebulon Baird Vance was Governor of North Carolina during this assembly. This assembly met during the American Civil War as part of the Confederate States of America. Much of the legislation passed by this assembly dealt with the managing the state and its population during wartime.

Assembly membership

House of Commons members

There were 82 counties with 120 delegates, 5 counties with three delegates, 28 counties with two delegates, and 49 counties with one delegate. The House of Commons delegates elected a Speaker, Clerk, Assistant Clerk, Doorkeeper, and Assistant Doorkeeper. The following delegates to the House of Commons were elected by the voters of North Carolina to represent each county and district:
CountyDelegates
per
County		Delegate
Alamance2Rufus Yancey McAden
Alamance2E. F. Watson
Alexander1John M. Carson
Anson2R. H. Burns
Anson2Purdie Richardson
Ashe1James M. Gentry
Beaufort2Richard Spaight Donnell
Beaufort2David Miller Carter
Bertie2Peyton T. Henry
Bertie2James Bond
Bladen1J.W. Russ
Brunswick1Daniel Lindsay Russell, Jr.
Buncombe1John Burgin
Burke1John Parks
Cabarrus1William S. Harris
Caldwell1Matthias A. Bernhardt
Camden1John Forbes
Carteret1Unknown/Vacant
Caswell2Samuel S. Harrison
Caswell2William Long
Catawba1George S. Hooper
Catawba1Horace L. Robards
Catawba1W.P. Reinhardt
Chatham3Thomas B. Harris
Chatham3William J. Headen
Chatham3Maurice Q. Waddell
Cherokee1James H. Bryson
Cherokee1John W. Fentress
Chowan1Lemuel C. Benbury
Cleveland2John R. Logan
Cleveland2David Beam
Columbus 1William M. Baldwin
Craven2J. B. J. Barrow
Craven2Thomas H. Gaskins
Craven2Richard A. Russell
Cumberland3John McCormick
Cumberland3Neill McKay
Cumberland3Jesse G. Shepherd
Currituck1Burwell M. Baxter
Davidson2Robert L. Beall
Davidson2Henry Walser
Davie1Henry B. Howard
Duplin2John D. Stanford
Duplin2L. W. Hodges
Edgecombe2Robert Bynum
Edgecombe2David Cobb
Forsyth2E. Kerner
Forsyth2John P. Nissen
Franklin1A. W. Pearce
Gaston1A. W. Davenport
Gates1William H. Manning
Granville3Robert B. Gilliam
Granville3James S. Amis
Granville3Eugene Grissom
Greene1Henry H. Best
Guilford3R. W. Glenn
Guilford3M.S. Sherwood
Guilford3William R. Smith
Halifax2Archibald H. Davis
Halifax2Henry Joyner
Haywood1Samuel L. Love
Henderson1Alexander Henry
Hertford1John A. Vann
Hyde1Edward L. Mann
Iredell2Thomas A. Allison
Iredell2John Young
Jackson1Joseph Keener
Johnston2W. H. Avera
Johnston2Seth Woodall
Jones1Anthony E. Rhodes
Lenoir1William W. Dunn
Lincoln1Ambrose White
Macon1J. M. Lyle
Madison1Jesse Wallen
Martin1James Robinson
McDowell1William F. Craig
Mecklenburg2John L. Brown
Mecklenburg2E. C. Grier
Montgomery1Edmund G.L. Barringer
Moore1Alexander Kelly
Nash1Henry G. Williams
New Hanover2Samuel J. Person
New Hanover2John R. Hawes
Northampton2Williamn W. Peebles
Northampton2Samuel T. Stancil
Onslow1James H. Foy
Orange2William N. Patterson
Orange2John Berry
Pasquotank1William E. Mann
Perquimans1James H. Riddick
Person1M. D. C. Bumpass
Pitt2Burton J. Albritton
Pitt2Churchill Perkins
Randolph 2Jonathan Worth
Randolph 2Isaac H. Foust
Randolph 2Marmaduke Swain Robins
Richmond1Sanders M. Ingram
Robeson2Neill McNeill
Robeson2Murdock McRae
Rockingham2W. J. Gilliam
Rockingham2James I. Reynolds
Rowan2Nathan Neely Fleming
Rowan2Francis Edwin Shober
Rutherford2A. R. Bryan
Rutherford2J. B. Carpenter
Sampson2William Kirby
Sampson2D. A. Bizzell
Sampson2Thomas H. Powell
Stanly1Lafayette Green
Stokes1William H. Flynt
Surry1Joseph Hollingsworth
Tyrrell1Eli Spruill
Union1Cyrus Q. Lemmond
Wake3J.H. Alford
Wake3William Laws
Wake3Daniel Gould Fowle
Wake3Calvin J. Rogers
Warren 2L. Henderson
Warren 2Thomas J. Judkins
Washington1James H. Smith
Watauga1William Horton
Wayne2Marcus K. Crawford
Wayne2B.B. Rives
Wilkes2W.W. Hampton
Wilkes2E.M. Welborn
Yadkin1Andrew C. Cowles
Yancey1D.M. Young

Senate members

The Senators elected a President, Clerk, Assistant Clerk, Doorkeeper, and Assistant Doorkeeper. The following Senators were elected by the voters of North Carolina to represent each county:
DistrictCountiesSenatorHome County
1Pasquotank & PerquimansWilliam H. BagleyPerquimans
2Camden & CurrituckD. McD. LindsayCamden
3Chowan & GatesMills H. EureGates
4Hyde & TyrrellCharles McCleeseTyrrell
5NorthamptonW.S. CopelandNorthampton
6HertfordJoseph B. SlaughterHertford
7BertieThomas M. GarrettBertie
8Martin & WashingtonJames G. GallowayWashington
9HalifaxM.L. WigginsHalifax
10EdgecombeJesse H. PowellEdgecombe
11PittElias J. BlountPitt
12BeaufortEdward J. WarrenBeaufort
13CravenWilliam B. WadsworthCraven
14Carteret & JonesM.F. ArendellCarteret
15Greene & LenoirEdward PatrickLenoir
16New HanoverEli W. HallNew Hanover
17DuplinJames DicksonDuplin
18OnslowA.J. MurrellOnslow
19Bladen, Brunswick, & ColumbusJohn W. EllisColumbus
20CumberlandW.B. WrightCumberland
21SampsonThomas I. FaisonSampson
22WayneWilliam K. LaneWayne
22WayneBenjamin AycockWayne
23JohnstonC.B. SandersJohnston
24WakeJohn P.H. RussWake
25NashA.G. TaylorNash
26FranklinWashington HarrisFranklin
27WarrenE. D. DrakeWarren
27WarrenThomas J. PritchardWarren
28GranvilleR.W. LassiterGranville
29PersonJames HolemanPerson
30OrangeWilliam A. GrahamOrange
31Alamance & RandolphGiles MebaneAlamance
32ChathamWilliam P. TaylorChatham
33Montgomery & MooreCalvin W. WooleyMontgomery
34Richmond, & RobesonGiles LeitchRobeson
35Anson & UnionWilliam C. SmithAnson
36GuilfordPeter AdamsGuilford
37CaswellBedford BrownCaswell
38RockinghamFrancis L. SimpsonRockingham
39MecklenburgJohn A. YoungMecklenburg
40Cabarrus & StanlyJ.W. SmithStanly
41Davie & RowanJames Graham RamsayRowan
42DavidsonH. AdamsDavidson
43Forsyth & StokesJames E. MatthewsStokes
44Ashe, Surry, Watauga, & YadkinIsaac JarrattAshe
45Alexander, Iredell, WilkesLeander Q. SharpeIredell
46Burke, Caldwell, & McDowellSamuel J. NealBurke
47Catawba, Gaston, & LincolnJames WhiteLincoln
48Cleveland & RutherfordM.O. DicksonRutherford
49Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, & YanceyWilliam Marcus ShippBuncombe
50Cherokee, Haywood, Jackson, & MaconC.D. SmithMacon

Legislation

The Civil War was ongoing during the entire term of this assembly. The assembly passed public laws dealing with the following: the destroyed court house in Hertford County, funding of the state insane asylum, establishing the eighth judicial district, prohibiting the distillation of spirituous liquors, modifying acts so that justices of the peace absent from counties under occupation of Union Troops would not loose their position, acts dealing with the state militia, purchase and hiding of emergency provisions, authorization to the governor for the use of slave labor for building fortifications, provisions to survivors of soldiers dying in service, resolution to declare the separation of the United States and Confederate State final, creating a Roll of Honor maintained by the Governor of Confederate soldiers and patriots from North Carolina, a resolution condemning the confiscation of North Carolina government iron by the Confederate Government, extending the statute of limitations till the war is over, allowing the governor to draft all able bodied men between 18 and 45 years old into the militia, making monopolies, extortions, and speculation illegal during the war, and raising wartime taxes. The senate and house occasionally went into secret sessions, according to the minutes. This General assembly create the Office of the North Carolina State Auditor, who was initially elected by the legislature every two years. Samuel F. Phillips was elected by this legislature as the first auditor. For details about legislation and minutes of this assembly, see .