Robert Lowry (governor)

This article is about the 32nd governor of Mississippi. For the Baptist minister, see Robert Wadsworth Lowry.

Robert Lowry (March 10, 1829 – January 19, 1910) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 32nd governor of Mississippi from 1882 to 1890. Before entering politics, he was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.

Robert Lowry
Official portrait, 1905
32nd Governor of Mississippi
In office January 2, 1882 – January 13, 1890
Lieutenant	G. D. Shands
Preceded by	John M. Stone
Succeeded by	John M. Stone
Personal details
Born	(1829-03-10)March 10, 1829 Chesterfield District, South Carolina, U.S.
Died	January 19, 1910(1910-01-19) (aged 80) Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Confederate States
Branch/service	Confederate States Army
Years of service	1861–1865
Rank	Brigadier-General
Commands	6th Mississippi Infantry Regiment Lowry's Brigade
Battles/wars	American Civil War Battle of Shiloh (WIA) Battle of Corinth Battle of Magnolia Church Atlanta Campaign Tennessee Campaign Campaign of the Carolinas (POW)

Early life and military service

Lowry as State Senator

Robert Lowry was born in Chesterfield District, South Carolina on March 10, 1829,^[1] and was raised in Mississippi. During the American Civil War, he enlisted as a private in the Confederate States Army. He quickly received a commission in the 6th Mississippi Infantry Regiment.^[2] He commanded the regiment at the Battle of Shiloh, where it suffered very heavy casualties, and he was wounded.^[3] In early 1864, he led the troops that were sent to put down the local uprising of citizens near Jones County, Mississippi.^[4] Later, Lowry commanded a brigade of Mississippi regiments in the Third Corps, Army of Tennessee; in February 1865, he was finally promoted to brigadier-general. When the war was over, he returned to legal practice in Brandon. Lowry briefly served in the Mississippi State Senate after the war (1865–1866). Massive fraud in the gubernatorial election of 1881 resulted in the election of the subject over the Independent People's Party candidate, Benjamin King.^[5]

Governor (1882–1890)

Between 1882 and 1890, he was the Democratic governor of Mississippi, serving two four-year terms. He could be called a Bourbon Democrat. The Farmers' Alliance movement continued to show local action in Yazoo County and most areas of the state.^[6]

In September 1889, Lowry ordered the state militia to Leflore County, where organizing by the Colored Farmers' National Alliance and Cooperative Union sparked false rumors of an impending Black "uprising." Militia troops killed an estimated 25 Black people.^[7]

Political activity related to peonage and racial discrimination in the Mississippi delta and other areas of the state led to violence during his term of office.^[8] Rapid industrial development occurred during his administration as well as the founding of the first state-supported women's college at Columbus.^[9]

Personal life

Lowry was related to J.A.W. Lowry, a lawyer and politician in Bossier Parish in northwestern Louisiana.^[10]

See also

• List of Confederate States Army generals

References

1. Glory in Grey – Volume 2
2. Eicher, p. 355.
3. Duval, Mary V. (1887). The Students' History of Mississippi. Louisville, KY: The Courier-Journal. p. 203.
4. Coppock, Paul R. (February 3, 1980). "Lowry Brand of Bourbon". Commercial-Appeal (Memphis)
5. Cresswell, Stephen Edward (1995). Multiparty Politics in Mississippi, 1877–1902. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. p. 200. ISBN 0878057706.
6. (1888 November 15). "Board of Supervisors" Yazoo Sentinel (Yazoo City, MS).
7. Holmes, William F. (1973). "The Leflore County Massacre and the Demise of the Colored Farmers' Alliance". Phylon. 34 (3): 267–274. doi:10.2307/274185. ISSN 0031-8906. JSTOR 274185. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
8. (1889 September 19). "More Race Troubles". Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS).
9. "Robert Lowry: Thirty-second Governor of Mississippi". mshistorynow.mdah.state.ms.us. Archived from the original on November 17, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
10. ""John A. W. Lowry of Bossier Parish, Louisiana" in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Northwest Louisiana". Chicago and Nashville, Tennessee: Southern Publishing Company. 1890. Retrieved March 23, 2015.

Sources

• Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
• Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
• Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9.

External links

• Robert Lowry at Find a Grave
• Robert Lowry at The Political Graveyard
• Works by or about Robert Lowry at the Internet Archive

Party political offices
Preceded by John M. Stone	Democratic nominee for Governor of Mississippi 1881, 1885	Succeeded by John M. Stone
Political offices
Preceded by John M. Stone	Governor of Mississippi 1882–1890	Succeeded by John M. Stone
Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by Edward Mayes	President of the Mississippi Historical Society 1893	Succeeded by Stephen D. Lee