Henry Watkins Allen

Henry Watkins Allen was an American soldier and politician, and a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He served as the 17th Governor of Louisiana late in the war and was the last governor elected under Constitutional law to the post until the end of Reconstruction.

Allen was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, was educated at Marion College, Missouri, and taught school and practiced law in Mississippi. He served in the Texas Revolution against Mexico as a private and later as captain. He was elected as a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1846, after which he studied law at Harvard University. He later moved to Louisiana and was elected to the Louisiana Legislature in 1853. In 1859, he went to Europe with the intention of taking part in the Italian struggle for independence, but arrived too late. He toured through Europe, the incidents of which are recounted in Travels of a Sugar Planter. He was reelected to the legislature during his absence, and on returning took a prominent part in the business of that body. He had been a Know Nothing in politics but had joined the Democratic Party when Buchanan was nominated for president in 1856.

Source: Wikipedia