United States Supreme Court Associate Justice. He graduated at the age of fourteen from the University of Georgia in 1825, then attended West Point Military Academy for three years but withdrew following the death of his father. He then studied law, was admitted to the bar and established a law practice in Montgomery, Alabama. He served as a member the Alabama State Legislature, (1837-43). In 1853, President Franklin Pierce appointed him a Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court but when the South seceded from the Union, and due to impending conflict with the Lincoln Administration, he resigned from the Court on April 30, 1861. During the Civil War, he served in the Confederacy as Assistant Secretary of War for conscription, (1862-65). After the war, was imprisoned by the Union Army for several months and was released by order of President Andrew Johnson. He then re-established law practice and returned to the Supreme Court on several occasions to argue cases.

United States Supreme Court Associate Justice. He graduated at the age of fourteen from the University of Georgia in 1825, then attended West Point Military Academy for three years but withdrew following the death of his father. He then studied law, was admitted to the bar and established a law practice in Montgomery, Alabama. He served as a member the Alabama State Legislature, (1837-43). In 1853, President Franklin Pierce appointed him a Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court but when the South seceded from the Union, and due to impending conflict with the Lincoln Administration, he resigned from the Court on April 30, 1861. During the Civil War, he served in the Confederacy as Assistant Secretary of War for conscription, (1862-65). After the war, was imprisoned by the Union Army for several months and was released by order of President Andrew Johnson. He then re-established law practice and returned to the Supreme Court on several occasions to argue cases.

Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith