Randal William McGavock

Randal William McGavock (1826-1863) was an American Democratic politician, Southern planter, and Confederate Lt. Colonel. He served as the Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee from 1858 to 1859.

Early life
He was born on August 10, 1826 in Nashville. He was a fourth-generation Irish-American. His paternal grandfather was Randal McGavock (1766-1843), who served as Mayor of Nashville from 1824 to 1825 and owned the Carnton plantation. His father, Jacob McGavock, fought in the Creek War of 1813-1814 with Andrew Jackson. His maternal grandfather was Felix Grundy (1775-1840), U.S. Congressman from Tennessee from 1829 to 1838 and 13th United States Attorney General from 1838 to 1840. His mother was Louisa Caroline (Grundy) McGavock.

He attended a private academy, The Classical and Mathematical Seminary run by Professor Moses Stevens in Nashville, which closed down in 1846. From 1843 to 1846, he attended the University of Nashville. In 1847, he enrolled at the Harvard Law School, where he was active in the debating club called Kent Club and the Moot court. He received his law degree from the Harvard Law School in 1849. He then went on a twenty-month tour of Europe, Asia and Africa. He wrote articles about his experiences abroad for the Daily Nashville Union and published them in a book in 1854.

Career
Upon his return from Europe, he worked as a lawyer in Nashville. He joined the A.O.M.C., a fraternal organization whose members wore black robes and hoods during ceremonies. He also oversaw his family plantations in Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky.

He was active in the Tennessee Democratic Party. For example, he canvassed for James Buchanan in the 1856 campaign. He served as Mayor of Nashville from 1858 to 1859. He had won the election thanks to the Irish vote. In 1860, he campaigned for John C. Breckinridge. He was a strong proponent of states's rights.

Prior to the American Civil War of 1861-1865, he established a militia in Tennessee among the Irish. Meanwhile, his wife founded the Ladies Soldiers' Friend Society, a patriotic group that included Sarah Childress Polk, the widow of President James Polk (1795-1849). During the war, he served as Lt. Colonel of the 10th Tennessee C.S.A. in the Confederate States Army. He bought their uniforms. In 1861, he was imprisoned in Fort Warren on Georges Island in Massachusetts for five months. In 1862, he resumed the fight. However, he was killed in the Battle of Raymond near Raymond, Mississippi on May 12, 1863.

Personal life
He married Seraphina Deery in 1855. He was first buried in Raymond, but his sister Ann and her husband, Judge Henry Dickenson made arrangements for the body to be brought to their home in Columbus, Mississippi. Finally, on St. Patrick's Day, 1866, he was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville during a ceremony conducted by the Masons.

Legacy
His portrait was painted by Washington Bogart Cooper (1802-1888) circa 1850.

Primary source

 * Randal William McGavock, A Tennessean Abroad (1854).

Secondary source

 * Jack Allen, The Diary of Randal William McGavock, 1852-1862: An Interpretation of a Period (George Peabody College for Teachers, 1941).