Campbell family

John Archibald Campbell (1811-1889), associate justice of the United States Supreme Court and assistant secretary of the Confederate War Department, was born in Washington, Wilkes County, Ga. He attended Franklin College, the University of Georgia, and the United States Military Academy. Later, he studied law under Governor John Clark of Georgia. In 1837, he moved to Mobile, Ala., and later married Anna Esther Goldthwaite. The couple had six children: Henrietta, Mary Ellen, Katherine R., Clara, Duncan G., and Anna.

John A. Campbell worked as a lawyer and legislator in Alabama and, in 1852, was appointed to the United States Supreme Court. From 1852 to 1861, Justice Campbell heard important cases involving slavery and states rights. When Alabama left the Union, Campbell resigned from the Supreme Court, and later took a position with the Confederate War Department. Campbell's son and four sons-in-law all served as Confederate officers.

Colonel George W. Lay (husband of Campbell's daughter Henrietta), a graduate of West Point, served as a member ofGeneral Winfield Scott's staff, and as assistant adjutant or assistant inspector general for Confederate generals Milledge L. Bonham, Joseph E. Johnston, and Robert E. Lee. Lieutenant Colonel A. Pendleton Mason (husband of Mary Ellen) also served on Lee's and Johnston's staffs. Captain Frederick M. Colston (husband of Clara) was an artillery staff officer under General Edward P. Alexander. Colonel Virginius Despeaux Groner (husband of Katherine) commanded the 61st Virginia Infantry Regiment. Duncan G. Campbell served as an engineer officer for Generals Lafayette McLaws and Gustavus W. Smith.

John A. Campbell, along with Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter (1809-1887) and Alexander H. Stephens (1812-1883), negotiated for terms of peace with Abraham Lincoln and William H. Seward on 3 February 1865 on board a ship in Hampton Roads. The talks were unsuccessful. After the war, Campbell and Hunter were arrested for the assassination of Lincoln. Campbell was incarcerated at Fort Pulaski, Ga. However, federal authorities soon released Campbell without pressing charges.

Following the war, Campbell's children settled at various locations around the South. Katherine and Virginius Groner lived in Norfolk, Va.; Clara and Frederick Colston lived in Baltimore, Md.; and others returned to Alabama. Two of Campbell's sons-in-law were quite prosperous. Virginius Groner became a shipping merchant, and Frederick Colston started his own businesses. Colston also became involved in civic affairs, including veterans' organizations and the writing of Civil War history.

Sources of this note: Crute, Joseph H., Jr., Confederate Staff Officers 1861-1865 ; Krick, Robert K., Lee's Colonels ; and Rolley and Twyman, The Encyclopedia of Southern History .

From the guide to the Campbell Family Papers, 1781-1938, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)