Civil War Wiki
Explore
Main Page
All Pages
Community
Interactive Maps
Recent Blog Posts
Wiki Content
Recently Changed Pages
Americana, SΓ£o Paulo
Ranks and insignia of the Confederate States
Pulaski Riot
List of American Civil War topics
Martin Delany
Battle of Laredo
Thomas Sherwin
Union Army officers
Felix Salm-Salm
Andre Cailloux
Stephen Atkins Swails
John B. Weber
George Luther Stearns
Henry Larcom Abbot
James William Abert
United States Military Academy alumni
Dennis Hart Mahan
Robert Parker Parrott
Lloyd J. Beall
Benjamin Stoddert Ewell
William Gilham
Caleb Huse
James Madison Leach
Community
Help
FANDOM
Fan Central
BETA
Games
Anime
Movies
TV
Video
Wikis
Explore Wikis
Community Central
Start a Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Sign In
Sign In
Register
Civil War Wiki
5,850
pages
Explore
Main Page
All Pages
Community
Interactive Maps
Recent Blog Posts
Wiki Content
Recently Changed Pages
Americana, SΓ£o Paulo
Ranks and insignia of the Confederate States
Pulaski Riot
List of American Civil War topics
Martin Delany
Battle of Laredo
Thomas Sherwin
Union Army officers
Felix Salm-Salm
Andre Cailloux
Stephen Atkins Swails
John B. Weber
George Luther Stearns
Henry Larcom Abbot
James William Abert
United States Military Academy alumni
Dennis Hart Mahan
Robert Parker Parrott
Lloyd J. Beall
Benjamin Stoddert Ewell
William Gilham
Caleb Huse
James Madison Leach
Community
Help
Editing
John M. Clayton (Arkansas)
Back to page
Edit
Edit source
View history
Talk (0)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
''This article is about the assassinated [[Arkansas]] [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]. For the [[United States Secretary of State|U.S. Secretary of State]] and [[United States Senate|Senator]] from [[Delaware]] with the same name, see [[John M. Clayton]].'' '''John Middleton Clayton''' (October 13, 1840 – January 29, 1889) was a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[United States House of Representatives|Congressman]]-elect in post-[[American Civil War|Civil War]] [[Arkansas]]. He may be best remembered for his mysterious [[assassination]] in 1889. The identity of his assassin remains unknown. ==Biography== [[Image:JMClayton-Arkansas.jpg|thumb|right|220px|John Middleton Clayton]] Clayton and his twin brother, William ([[W.H.H. Clayton]]), were born on a farm near [[Chester, Pennsylvania]] to John and Ann Glover Clayton. His father was an [[orchard]] keeper and [[carpenter]]. His parents had ten children in all, although six died in infancy. Clayton went on to marry a woman named Sarah Ann with whom he had six children. During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], he served in the [[Army of the Potomac]] where he engaged in several [[Military campaign|campaigns]] in the east. In 1867, he and his family moved to [[Arkansas]] where he managed a plantation owned by older brother, [[Powell Clayton]], who would become the [[List of Governors of Arkansas|Governor of Arkansas]] the next year. In 1871, Clayton was elected to the [[Arkansas House of Representatives]] representing [[Jefferson County, Arkansas|Jefferson County]], his brother, Powell, starting his term in the [[United States Senate]] the same year. In 1873, he served in the [[Arkansas Senate]] representing Jefferson, [[Bradley County, Arkansas|Bradley]], [[Grant County, Arkansas|Grant]] and [[Lincoln County, Arkansas|Lincoln Counties]], also serving as [[Speaker of the Senate]] ''pro tempore'' for part of his term. He served on the first board of trustees of Arkansas Industrial University, today the [[University of Arkansas]], when it was chartered in 1871. Two years later, Clayton helped [[Pine Bluff, Arkansas]] secure the Branch Normal College, today the [[University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff]]. He became involved in the [[Brooks-Baxter War]] of 1874 which was fought over the disputed election for the governor's office between [[Joseph Brooks]] and [[Elisha Baxter]]. Clayton, a supporter of Brooks', raised troops in Jefferson County and marched them to [[Little Rock, Arkansas]] where they fought Baxter supporters. He remained loyal to Brooks to the end of the conflict when [[President of the United States|President]] [[Ulysses S. Grant]] declared Baxter the rightful governor. Clayton remained involved in [[Arkansas]] politics in the years after [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction]]. With the support of [[African American|black]] [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] voters, he became sheriff of Jefferson County in 1876, being reelected to five successive, two year terms. In 1888, he ran to represent [[Arkansas's 2nd congressional district]] in the [[United States House of Representatives]], going up against incumbent [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Clifton R. Breckinridge]]. The election became one of the most [[election fraud|fraudulent]] in Arkansas' history. Clayton lost the election by a narrow margin of 846 out of over 34,000 votes cast. However, in one case in [[Conway County, Arkansas|Conway County]], four masked and armed [[White people|white]] men stormed into a predominately black voting precinct and, at gunpoint, stole the ballot box that contained a large majority of votes for Clayton. Losing under such circumstances, Clayton decided to contest the election and went to [[Plumerville, Arkansas]] to start an investigation on the matter. On the evening of January 29, 1889, an unknown assailant shot through the window to the room he was staying in at a local boardinghouse and killed him instantly. He was later declared the winner of the election and Breckinridge was unseated and the seat declared vacant. His assassin was never found. Clayton was interned in Bellwood Cemetery in [[Pine Bluff, Arkansas]]. ==References== *[http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=1620 John M. Clayton at the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture] * Barnes, Kenneth C. ''Who Killed John Clayton? Political Violence and the Emergence of the New South, 1861β1893''. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1998. ==External links== *{{findagrave|20430328}} Retrieved on 2008-10-17 {{start box}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{U.S. Representative box | state=Arkansas | district=2 | before=[[Clifton R. Breckinridge]] | after=[[Clifton R. Breckinridge]] | years=''declared winner after death'' }} {{end box}} {{Persondata |NAME= Clayton, John M. |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] [[United States Army]] officer |DATE OF BIRTH= October 13, 1840 |PLACE OF BIRTH= near [[Chester, Pennsylvania]] |DATE OF DEATH= January 29, 1889 |PLACE OF DEATH= [[Plumerville, Arkansas]] }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Clayton, John M.}} [[Category:1840 births]] [[Category:1889 deaths]] [[Category:Arkansas Republicans]] [[Category:Members of the Arkansas House of Representatives]] [[Category:Arkansas State Senators]] [[Category:American sheriffs]] [[Category:Union Army officers]] [[Category:Twin people]] [[Category:African Americans' rights activists]] [[Category:Election fraud]] [[Category:Assassinated American politicians]] [[Category:People from Pine Bluff, Arkansas]] [[Category:People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War]] [[Category:People murdered in Arkansas]] [[Category:Deaths by firearm in Arkansas]] [[Category:Unsolved murders in the United States]]
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to the Civil War Wiki are considered to be released under the CC-BY-SA
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Templates used on this page:
Template:End box
(
view source
)
Template:Find a Grave
(
view source
)
Template:Findagrave
(
view source
)
Template:Persondata
(
view source
)
Template:S-end
(
view source
)
Template:S-par
(
view source
)
Template:Start box
(
view source
)
Template:U.S. Representative box
(
view source
)
Follow on IG
TikTok
Join Fan Lab