Herbert was born in
Laurensville,
South Carolina in 1834, and moved with his family to
Greenville, Alabama in 1846. He was educated at the
University of Alabama and the
University of Virginia, where he was a member of the
Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Eta chapter). He practiced law in Greenville until the
Civil War. Herbert entered the
Confederate Army as a second lieutenant. He served as captain of the Greenville Guards, and was later promoted to the rank of colonel of the
Eighth Regiment, Alabama Infantry. Herbert was wounded at the
Battle of the Wilderness May 6, 1864. After the war, Herbert returned to his law practice in
Greenville, Alabama. He was elected to Congress in 1877 from
Montgomery, Alabama as a
Democrat. He served eight terms in this office. During his tenure as Congressman, Herbert was chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs and was largely responsible for the increased appropriations which led to the revival of the
United States Navy. However, he was among those who favored a more limited program than the one proposed by Secretary of the Navy
Benjamin F. Tracy in 1890, which called for 40
battleships; only four battleships were authorized as a result. Tracy had been influenced by the works of naval strategist Captain
Alfred Thayer Mahan, which called for a large fleet capable of offensive action. Herbert also became well known for leading a charge in Congress to reduce the funding of the
United States Geological Survey, resulting in a public feud with
paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh. Herbert espoused racist views during his tenure in Congress, namely in his opposition to the
Reconstruction Acts. Herbert vocally opposed the acts and any granting of suffrage to African Americans, speaking in congress and claiming African Americans were unfit to have such rights. He claimed "the granting of universal suffrage to the Negro was the mistake of the nineteenth century". From 1897, when he left his Cabinet seat, to his death on March 6, 1919, six days before his 85th birthday, Herbert practiced law in
Washington, D.C. ==Namesake==