Early life William T. Martin was born on March 25, 1823, in
Glasgow, Kentucky. He graduated from
Centre College in 1844 and was admitted to the bar in
Mississippi.
Career He served multiple terms as district attorney before the war. While himself opposing
secession, he raised the
Adams County cavalry troops, when war broke out, riding with them to
Richmond, Virginia, the new
Confederate States of America capitol. He quickly rose to colonel of the
Jeff. Davis Legion, and served in
J.E.B. Stuart's brigade during the
Peninsular Campaign, seeing action at the
Battle of Williamsburg; the
Battle of Seven Pines; as well as Stuart's circumnavigation of the Union army while it stood on the doorsteps of Richmond. During the
Seven Days Battles, Martin's men primarily participated in raids on Union supply lines north of the
Chickahominy River. During the
Northern Virginia Campaign, Martin and his legion were left in the vicinity of Richmond to watch McClellan's departing army, and was assigned to the cavalry brigade of
Wade Hampton III. Hampton's brigade re-joined
Robert E. Lee's
Army of Northern Virginia for the
Maryland Campaign. Martin's men were not present for the
Battle of South Mountain but participated at the
Battle of Antietam and Stuart's
Chambersburg Raid. While the Confederate army was engaged at the
Battle of Fredericksburg, the Jeff. Davis Legion was active in raids on
Dumfries and
Occoquan. Promoted to
brigadier general, in January 1863 Martin was ordered to the Western Theater, where he commanded divisions at the
Tullahoma Campaign and the
Battle of Chickamauga and served as cavalry commander under
James Longstreet at
Knoxville. After Longstreet's return to the east, he was promoted to major general, led a division under Major General
Joseph Wheeler at
Atlanta and rose to command of the military district of Northwest Mississippi by war's end. After the war, he returned to his law practice in Mississippi, becoming a trustee of both
University of Mississippi and
Jefferson College in
Washington, Mississippi. He served in the state senate, and was a delegate to Democratic National Conventions in 1868, 1872, 1876, and 1880. He was the president of the Natchez, Jackson, and Columbus railroad, of which he oversaw the construction in 1884. Martin is notable for opposing the
Mississippi Constitution of 1890, ending black suffrage, being one of three delegates refusing to sign it. One of America's first black Congressmen,
John R. Lynch, praised Martin in his memoirs for "reflecting the sentiments and respecting the wishes of the dominant and better element of the people of his county." Martin also served as a
primary source on the
Forks of the Road slave market for historian
Frederic Bancroft.
Personal life Martin married Margaret (Dunlop Conner) Martin. They resided at
Montaigne, a mansion in Natchez, Mississippi, now listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. They had eleven children.
Death Martin died on March 16, 1910, in
Natchez, Mississippi. ==Legacy==