- Robert E. Withers
Robert Enoch Withers (
September 18 ,1821 –September 21 ,1907 ) was an American physician, military officer, newspaperman, politician and diplomat. He representedVirginia in theUnited States Senate and served as U.S.Consul inHong Kong .Biography
Withers was born near
Lynchburg, Virginia . He attended private schools and then graduated from the medical department of theUniversity of Virginia at Charlottesville in 1841. He commenced practice in Campbell County. In 1858, Withers moved toDanville, Virginia .During the
American Civil War , he entered the Confederate Army in early 1861 as the major of the 18th Virginia Infantry. He was subsequently promoted to colonel of theregiment , which he commanded until retired because of numerous disabling wounds. He was then appointed to command the Confederate military post at Danville, an administrative position he held until the close of the war.Following the Civil War, Withers moved back to Lynchburg in 1866 and established the "Lynchburg News", a daily paper devoted to the interests of the Conservative Party. He was nominated for
governor of Virginia by that party, but withdrew from the race. He was a presidential elector on the Democratic ticket in 1872. He was electedlieutenant governor in 1873. He was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate and served fromMarch 4 ,1875 , toMarch 3 ,1881 . He served as the chairman of the Committee on Pensions in the Forty-sixth Congress. Withers was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1881, losing to former Civil War generalWilliam Mahone of theReadjuster Party .He was appointed by President
Grover Cleveland as the United States consul at Hong Kong,China , from 1885–89, when he resigned. He returned to the United States and retired toWytheville, Virginia .Withers died at the "Ingleside"
plantation in Wytheville onSeptember 21 ,1907 . He was buried in the East End CemeteryReferences
*CongBio|W000659|name=WITHERS, Robert Enoch|inline=1
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