Carlile was born in
Winchester, Virginia. He was educated by his mother until he was fourteen years old, when he became salesman in a store, and at the age of seventeen went into business on his own account. He then studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1840, and began practice in
Beverly. Entering politics, he joined the
Democratic Party. He was selected as a delegate to the
Virginia state constitutional convention in 1850. Carlile served in the
Virginia State Senate from 1847 to 1851. He joined the new
Know Nothing political movement in 1854 and represented
Virginia's 11th District in the
United States House for one term. Carlile was a delegate from
Harrison County to the Virginia
secession convention in 1861, voting no on the controversial resolution. He was a leader in the anti-secession movement, and was prominent in the
Wheeling Convention of June 1861. On June 13, 1861, at the first session of the Second Wheeling Convention, Carlile authored "A Declaration of the People of Virginia." The document pronounced Virginia's Ordinance of Secession illegal because the convention at which it had been drafted had been convened by the General Assembly, not by a referendum. It also called for the reorganization of the government of Virginia, arguing that due to Virginia's decision to secede from the United States, all state government offices had been vacated. The pro-Union
Restored Government of Virginia was quickly recognized by
President Abraham Lincoln and
Congress as the legitimate government of the entire Commonwealth of Virginia, with Wheeling as its provisional capital. He was averse, however, to the formation of a new state out of the bulk of the pro-Union territory of Virginia—what became
West Virginia. Carlile was again chosen to Congress in 1861 by the
Union Party, but kept his seat in the House of Representatives only from July 4 through July 13, when he was elected as one of two United States Senators representing the Restored Government. He served until 1865. In the Senate, he was uniformly in favor of a strict construction of the
Constitution, opposing all measures recognizing that there existed a rebellion of states instead of individuals, and denying the right of Congress to interfere in any way with the slaves (Carlile being a slaveowner himself). He frequently met with Lincoln to try to garner his support for his causes. Following the war, Carlile retired from politics and returned home to resume his law practice. He died in
Clarksburg, West Virginia, and was buried in the
Odd Fellows Cemetery in Clarksburg. ==References and links==