Charles Magill Conrad (December 24, 1804 – February 11, 1878) was a Louisiana politician who served in the United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, and Confederate Congress. He was Secretary of War under President Millard Fillmore and, briefly, Franklin Pierce, from 1850 until 1853. Conrad also briefly acted as the United States Secretary of State following the tenure of Daniel Webster.

Charles Conrad
Member of the C.S. House of Representatives
from Louisiana's 2nd district
In office
February 18, 1862 – March 18, 1865
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Acting United States Secretary of State
In office
October 25, 1852 – November 5, 1852
PresidentMillard Fillmore
Preceded byDaniel Webster
Succeeded byEdward Everett
22nd United States Secretary of War
In office
August 15, 1850 – March 7, 1853
PresidentMillard Fillmore
Preceded byGeorge W. Crawford
Succeeded byJefferson Davis
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Louisiana's 2nd district
In office
March 4, 1849 – August 17, 1850
Preceded byBannon Thibodeaux
Succeeded byHenry Bullard
United States Senator
from Louisiana
In office
April 14, 1842 – March 3, 1843
Appointed byAndre B. Roman
Preceded byAlexandre Mouton
Succeeded byAlexander Porter
Personal details
Born
Charles Magill Conrad

(1804-12-24)December 24, 1804
Winchester, Virginia, U.S.
DiedFebruary 11, 1878(1878-02-11) (aged 73)
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Political partyWhig

Biography

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Charles Magill Conrad was born in Winchester, Virginia, in 1804, moved to Mississippi with his family as a boy, and later moved to Louisiana. He was educated under a Dr. Huld in New Orleans. He was appointed to the U.S. Senate in April 1842 to fill the unexpired term of Alexandre Mouton, serving to March 1843, and was defeated for reelection in his own right. He later served in the House of Representatives from 1849 to 1850, resigning to accept appointment as Secretary of War in Fillmore's cabinet. Conrad remained in charge of the War Department from August 15, 1850, to March 7, 1853. He was a leader of the secession movement in Louisiana in December 1860. During the American Civil War, under the Confederate States of America, he served as a delegate to the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States as a member of the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, and as a representative from Louisiana to the Confederate Congress, 1862–1864. Following the war, he resumed the practice of law. He died in New Orleans in 1878.

See also

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References

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  • This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainWilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1900). "Conrad, Charles Magill" . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
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