Robert Porter CALDWELL, Congress, TN (1821-1885)

CALDWELL, Robert Porter, a Representative from Tennessee; born in Adair County, Ky., December 16, 1821; moved with his parents to Henry County, Tenn.; a few years later moved to Obion County; attended the public schools at Troy and Lebanon; studied law at Troy; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Trenton in 1845; member of the State house of representatives in 1847 and 1848; served in the State senate in 1855 and 1856; elected attorney general for the sixteenth judicial circuit of Tennessee in 1858; during the Civil War was a major in the Twelfth Regiment, Tennessee Infantry, of the Confederate Army; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-second Congress (March 4, 1871-March 3, 1873); unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1872 to the Forty-third Congress; resumed the practice of law in Trenton, Tenn.; died in Trenton March 12, 1885; interment in Oakland Cemetery.

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