James Innes Randolph Explained

Birth Date:25 October 1837
Birth Place:Winchester, Virginia, U.S.
Death Place:Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Allegiance:Confederate States
Branch:Confederate Army
Rank:Major
Battles:American Civil War
Laterwork:Poetry
Relations:Harold Randolph (son)

James Innes Randolph, Jr. (October 25, 1837  - April 29, 1887) was a Confederate army officer, lawyer, and poet.

Early life and education

Randolph was born in Winchester, Virginia and attended Hobart College in Geneva, New York and was a graduate of the State and National Law School in Poughkeepsie, New York.[1]

Career

American Civil War

Randolph served in the Confederate army as a topographical engineer in the American Civil War, reaching the rank of major.[2] [3] [4]

Writings

After the war, he moved to Baltimore, Maryland to practice law. After giving up the practice, he wrote editorials for the Baltimore American in addition to poems. He continued writing and living in Baltimore until his death in April 1887.

His best known poem is "I'm A Good Ol' Rebel", in where he berates the U.S. and disparages its national symbols while praising the Confederacy, lamenting its defeat at the hands of the U.S.[5]

Notes and References

  1. 'South Writers: A New Biographical Dictionary,' Joseph Flora/Amber Vogel-editors,' Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, Louisiana: 2006, Biographical Sketcj of James Ynnes Randolph, Jr., pg. 331
  2. Web site: Randolph, Innes. myweb.wvnet.edu. October 2, 2017.
  3. Edwin Anderson Alderman & Joel Chandler Harris (eds.), Library of Southern Literature 349 (New Orleans: Martin & Hoyt Co., 1910)(1907)(Vol. 15, Biographical Dictionary of Authors, Lucian Lamar Knight ed.)
  4. Curtis Carroll Davis, "James Innes Randolph, Jr. (1837-1887)," in Robert Bain, Joseph M. Flora & Louis D. Rubin, Jr. (eds.), Southern Writers: A Biographical Dictionary 368-369 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1979)
  5. Book: Harter, Eugene C.. The Lost Colony of the Confederacy. 2 October 1985. Texas A&M University Press. 10. 9781585441020. October 2, 2017.