John Mortimer Harrell (December 14, 1828 – July 4, 1907)[1] was an American lawyer and writer. He composed the very first telegram sent from Little Rock to Memphis. During the American Civil War, he distinguished himself as a cavalry officer in the operations of the West.[2] Afterwards, he served as commander of the Southern Division, Arkansas United Confederate Veterans.[3]
John M. Harrell | |
|---|---|
 Harrell in 1899 | |
| Born | John Mortimer Harrell December 14, 1828 Gatesville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | July 4, 1907 (aged 78) San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Resting place | Hollywood Cemetery, Hot Springs, Arkansas, U.S. 34°29′08.3″N 93°02′38.6″W / 34.485639°N 93.044056°W |
| Alma mater | University of Nashville (BA) |
| Subjects | |
| Notable works |
|
| Spouse |
Katie Harrell (m. 1876) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States |
| Service |  Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1861–1865 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant-Colonel |
| Commands | Harrell's Arkansas Cavalry Battalion |
| Wars | American Civil War |
Life and career
editIn 1861 John Mortimer Harrell was the political editor of the Old Line Democrat. He was the editor of the Southern States, a weekly that succeeded the Old Line Democrat. In 1876 he was one of the editors of the Arkansas Gazette. Soon after this he removed to Hot Springs, where he continued to reside for many years, until the death of his wife, when he moved out of the State. In about 1880 he was the editor of the Hot Springs Telegraph.[2]
During the Reconstruction Period, he served as secretary of the 1867 Democratic convention. He wrote extensively about politics in Little Rock during this time, keeping newspaper clippings and long commentaries on the articles. His writings were published in 1893 as the Brooks and Baxter War, and are one of the most prominent sources on the Brooks–Baxter War. In 1899, Harrell and John Dimitry co-authored Confederate Military History, Volume X: Louisiana and Arkansas.[2]
Selected works
edit- Brooks and Baxter War (1893)
- Confederate Military History, Volume X (1899)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "John Mortimer Harrell". Arkansas Gravestones. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
- ^ a b c Allsopp, Fred (1922). History of the Arkansas Press for a Hundred Years and More. Parke-Harper Publishing. p. 580 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Harrell, John M. (1893). Brooks and Baxter War. St. Louis: Slawson Printing Co. p. n7. OCLC 1041593455 – via Internet Archive.
