Trusten W. Polk (May 29, 1811 – April 16, 1876) served as the 12th Governor of Missouri in 1857 and U.S. Senator from 1857 to 1862.

Trusten Polk
United States Senator
from Missouri
In office
March 4, 1857 – January 10, 1862
Preceded byHenry S. Geyer
Succeeded byJohn B. Henderson
12th Governor of Missouri
In office
January 5, 1857 – February 27, 1857
LieutenantHancock Lee Jackson
Preceded bySterling Price
Succeeded byHancock Lee Jackson
Personal details
Born(1811-05-29)May 29, 1811
Bridgeville, Delaware, U.S.
DiedApril 16, 1876(1876-04-16) (aged 64)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseElizabeth Skinner
EducationYale University (BA)
Military service
AllegianceConfederate States
Branch/serviceConfederate States Army
RankColonel
UnitMissouri State Guard
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Biography

edit

Polk was born in Bridgeville, Delaware. A Democrat, he was elected Governor of Missouri in 1856 and served from January 5, 1857, until February 27 when he resigned to become a U.S. Senator. Hancock Lee Jackson succeeded him as governor until the election of Robert Marcellus Stewart.

Polk was expelled from the U.S. Senate January 10, 1862, for his support of the South in the American Civil War. He was appointed as a colonel in the Missouri State Guard under the command of Confederate General Sterling Price, and later served as a judge in the military courts of the Department of Mississippi in 1864 and 1865.[1]

After the war, Polk was a lawyer in St. Louis, Missouri. He is buried there in Bellefontaine Cemetery following his death on April 16, 1876, aged 64.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Trusten W Polk". Missouri State Archives. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
edit
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Governor of Missouri
1856
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Missouri
1857
Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Missouri
1857–1862
Served alongside: James S. Green, Waldo P. Johnson
Succeeded by