Henry Cornelius BURNETT, Congress, KY (1825-1866)

BURNETT, Henry Cornelius, a Representative from Kentucky; born in Essex County, Va., October 5, 1825; moved with his parents to Kentucky in early childhood; attended the common schools and an academy at Hopkinsville, Christian County; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1847 and commenced practice in Cadiz, Ky.; clerk of the Trigg County circuit court 1851-1853; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fourth and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1855, to December 3, 1861, when he was expelled for support of secession; colonel of the Eighth Regiment, Kentucky Infantry, in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; president of the Kentucky Southern Conference in Russellville, October 29, 1861, and of the sovereignty convention in Russellville, November 18, which passed an ordinance of secession and organized a State government; Representative from Kentucky to the Provisional Confederate Congress and served from November 18, 1861, to February 17, 1862; elected as a Senator from Kentucky to the First and Second Confederate Congresses and served from February 19, 1862, to February 18, 1865; resumed the practice of law; died in Hopkinsville, Ky., October 1, 1866; interment in East End Cemetery, Cadiz, Trigg County, Ky.

Bibliography

Craig, Berry F. “Henry Cornelius Burnett: Champion of Southern Rights.” Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 77 (Autumn 1979): 266-74.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present