| Henry Dickerson McDaniel | |
| Order: | 52nd |
| Office: | Governor of Georgia |
| Term Start: | May 10, 1883 |
| Term End: | November 9, 1886 |
| Predecessor: | James S. Boynton |
| Successor: | John B. Gordon |
| Office2: | Member of Georgia State Senate |
| Term Start2: | 1874 |
| Term End2: | 1882 |
| Office3: | Member of Georgia House of Representatives |
| Term Start3: | 1872 |
| Term End3: | 1874 |
| Birth Date: | 4 September 1836 |
| Birth Place: | Monroe, Georgia, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Monroe, Georgia, U.S. |
| Resting Place: | Monroe Cemetery |
| Children: | 2 |
| Father: | Ira O. McDaniel |
| Profession: | Attorney |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Rank: | Major |
| Unit: | 11th Georgia Infantry |
| Battles: | |
| Signature: | Signature of Henry Dickerson McDaniel (1836–1926).png |
Henry Dickerson McDaniel (September 4, 1836 – July 25, 1926), was the 52nd Governor of Georgia from 1883 to 1886.
Henry Dickerson McDaniel was born on September 4, 1836, in Monroe, Georgia, to Ira McDaniel.[1] Ira McDaniel was one of the first professors of Mercer University.[2] McDaniel attended high school in Atlanta. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Mercer University in 1856. He established a law practice in Monroe in 1857. He later attended the University of Georgia and received a LL.D in 1906.[1] He was the youngest delegate to Georgia's secession convention in 1861.[1] [2]
McDaniel joined the Confederate States Army on July 2, 1861, as a first lieutenant of the 11th Georgia Infantry Regiment. McDaniel was promoted to major in November 1862.[1] McDaniel first attracted attention during the American Civil War for taking command of the 11th Georgia Infantry after the death of his officers at the Battle of Gettysburg.[1] [3] On July 10, 1863, he was shot by a Union soldier at Funkstown, Maryland.[1] [4] Two days later, he was captured by Union troops in Hagerstown, Maryland. He was hospitalized at Point Lookout and then transferred to Johnson's Island in Sandusky, Ohio.[4] He remained in a POW camp until July 1865.[1] [4]
McDaniel was a member of the Democratic Party. After the war, McDaniel entered Georgia state politics. He served in the House from 1872 to 1874 and in the Senate from 1874 to 1882.[5]
McDaniel was elected Governor of Georgia to complete the term of Alexander Stephens, who died shortly after his inauguration in 1883. He served out Stephens' term and was re-elected as governor in 1884.[5] During his administration, the Georgia School of Technology was established, and construction began on the new State Capitol.[5] [1] He signed the General Local Option Liquor Law into effect on September 18, 1885[6] as part of the Temperance Movement in Georgia.
McDaniel met Hester C. Felker at the Female Academy in 1857. He wrote letters to her throughout the war and while held prisoner.[4] After the war, McDaniel returned to Monroe, where he married Hester C. Felker on December 20, 1865.[1] [4] Felker's father did not approve of the marriage, but Henry and Hester McDaniel were married for sixty years. The couple had two children, Sanders and Gipsy.[4] [7]
His home, the McDaniel-Tichenor House,[8] was listed with the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
McDaniel died at his home in Monroe on July 25, 1926.[5] He was interred at Monroe Cemetery.[9]