Andrew Gordon Magrath


Andrew Gordon Magrath was an American politician and jurist who served as the last Governor of South Carolina under the Confederate States of America, a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina and a Confederate District Judge for the District of South Carolina.

Education and career

Born on February 8, 1813, in Charleston, South Carolina, Magrath received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1831 from South Carolina College, attended Harvard Law School and read law with James L. Petigru in 1835. He entered private practice in Charleston from 1835 to 1839, in 1841, and from 1843 to 1856. He was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1840, and 1842. Magrath was a member of the Democratic Party.

Federal judicial service

Magrath was nominated by President Franklin Pierce on May 9, 1856, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina vacated by Judge Robert Budd Gilchrist. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 12, 1856, and received his commission the same day.
Magrath's service was notable for his strongly proslavery decisions. In the trial of William C. Corrie for his ownership of the slave vessel Wanderer in 1858, Magrath rewrote the law from the bench by announcing that bringing enslaved people from Africa was not a crime if they had been enslaved prior to their purchase.
His service terminated on November 7, 1860, due to his resignation.

Confederate service

Magrath was a member of South Carolina's secession convention in 1860, and was the first speaker at the signing ceremony. He was the Secretary of State of South Carolina from 1860 to 1861. He was a Judge of the Confederate District Court for the District of South Carolina from 1861 to 1864. He was elected on December 18, 1864, as the last Governor of South Carolina under the Confederate States of America, serving from December 20, 1864, to May 25, 1865, when he was deposed by the Union Army and imprisoned at Fort Pulaski. Magrath was the final governor to be elected by a secret ballot of the State Legislature, with gubernatorial selection being changed to popular election. He served a partial term until he was overthrown and imprisoned by the Union Army.

Later career and death

After his release from prison in December 1865, Magrath resumed private practice in Charleston from 1865 to 1893. He died on April 9, 1893, in Charleston. He was interred at Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston.