QUIT'MAN, JOHN ANTHONY ( 1799-1858). An American soldier, born at Rhinebeck, N. Y. He attended Hartwich Academy, Otsego County, N. Y., and in 1816 was appointed a tutor there. In 1818 he was appointed adjunct professor of English in Mount Airy College, Germantown, Pa. He determined to study law and went to Chilli cothe, Ohio, in 1819. He was admitted to the bar in 1821 and removed at once to Natchez, Miss. In 1823 he was appointed brigade inspec tor of the State militia, and in 1827 was a mem ber of the Legislature, where he drew up a new militia system. From 1828 to 1834 he was Chan cellor of the State, but resigned and was elected to the State Senate, of which he was president and for a few months acted as Governor of the State. He led a company to the aid of Texas in 1836, but saw no active service. On his return in I S37 he was made brigadier-general of the State militia. At the outbreak of the :Mexican War he was appointed brigadier-general of United States Volunteers, and was ordered to report to General Taylor at Camargo. At Monterey, under discretionary orders, he forced his way into the heart of the city- with 500 men, for which act he was later presented with a sword by Congress. He was brevetted major-general on September 23, 1846. He was transferred to the army of Gen eral Scott. led the assault at Vera Cruz, and com manded the expedition against Alvarado. He was
made major-general April 14, 1847, and was with General Worth in the capture of Puebla. He served with distinction at Chapultepee, carried the Belen Gate, and with the capture of the City of Mexico was made Governor by General Scott. He soon returned to the United States, was Presidential elector in 1848, and was elected Gov ernor of Mississippi in 1849. While he was Governor, General Lopez wished him to head a filibustering expedition to capture Cuba. Though he declined, the negotiations became known, and he was indicted in the United States court. He resigned as Governor and was tried before the United States District Court for East Louisiana, but the jury disagreed. He was again nominated for Governor, but after a heated canvass with drew because the Democrats of his State bad ac cepted the Compromise of 1850. In 1854 he was again interested in an expedition against Cuba, and was arrested, but not tried. From 1855 to 1858 he was a member of Congress and served as chairman of the Military Committee. General Quitman was radical in his views of States' Rights and in 1851 openly advocated the estab lishment of a Southern Confederacy. Consult Claiborne, Life and Correspondence of John A. Quitman (2 vols., New York, 1860).