Hunter

ures of that year he was not more hopeful, ex-
pressing the belief that the proposals of Clay
could not produce permanent accord between the
contending sections.

Between 1850 and the Civil War, Hunter
oscillated in his political attachments. When the
interests of the South were attacked, he was as
outspoken in their defense as was either Jeffer- ,
son Davis or Robert Toombs [qq.v.']. As a re-
sult these three were frequently referred to as
the "Southern Triumvirate." At other times
Hunter's natural conservatism and conciliatory
temper asserted itself, and he drew closer to the
North. As chairman of the Senate committee on
6nance he was in charge of the tariff bill of 1857
and conducted himself in such a manner as to
win friends in all parts of the Union. For this
and other reasons he was generally mentioned
for the presidency in 1860, and Virginia cast her
vote for him in the Charleston Convention of
that year. It was only after all hope of compro-
mise between the Southern and Northern De-
mocracy had "vanished after a second attempt
(that in Baltimore), that Hunter advised his
followers to support Breckinridge, the favorite
of the extreme pro-Southern group. Following
the election of Lincoln, Hunter was one of the
Senate committee of thirteen appointed to con-
sider "the grievances between the slaveholding
and the non-slaveholding states/* In this capac-
ity he voted with those favoring compromise and
concession. Meanwhile, he continued to confer
with and to advise President Buchanan, He re-
mained in Washington long enough to see Lin-
coln inaugurated, withdrawing from the Senate
Mar. 28, 1861, less than one month before Vir-
ginia seceded from the Union.

During the Civil War Hunter was in the serv-
ice of the Confederacy. Following the resigna-
tion of Toombs, he became secretary of state,
serving from July 25, 1861, to Feb. 18, 1862,
when he gave way to J. P. Benjamin and became
a member of the Senate. There he served with-
out distinction until the fall of the Confederate
government A peace movement, long cherished
both at the North and the South called him from
comparative obscurity, however, as the war
Beared its end. Many Southerners still hoped
for a negotiated peace that would recognize the
independence of the Confederate States. To pro-
BK>te this end, Hunter, Alexander H. Stephens,
and John A. Campbell [gg.#»3 "^ere sent to con-
duct Informal negotiations with President Lin-
coln and Secretary of State Seward, who had
agreed to meet than. To Hunter the results of
tibe fafc*fe conference at Hampton Roads on Feb.
3, tS6& werc disappointing indeed He saw lit-

Hunter

tie henceforth for the Southern cause but un-
conditional surrender, or on the other hand, pos-
sible victory as the result of a united and deter-
mined effort. Accordingly, he joined President
Davis and others in attempts to arouse the Con-
federacy to an appreciation of the dangers and
possibilities of the situation. On Feb. 6, 1865, he
presided over a mass meeting at the African
church, Richmond, which was addressed by
Davis in one of the masterly speeches of his life.
Three days later Hunter addressed a similar
meeting at the same place (Daily Dispatch,
Richmond, Feb. 7, 10, 1865). About this time,
however, he opposed the action of the Confed-
erate Congress in authorizing a levy of colored
troops.

Hunter was among the first to realize that the
Confederacy was in its death struggle. Renew-
ing his interest in peace, he urged President
Davis to take the initiative in opening negotia-
tions to that end, but Davis hesitated, passing
the responsibility to his Congress, and Hunter
came into some ridicule, being referred to local-
ly as the "conquered Senator/' In this connec-
tion also mention was made of his wealth, the
inference being that he was seeking to save his
slave property. To meet this and other charges
he published a letter in the Richmond Examiner,
Mar. 20, 1865, & which he denied the allegation
that he favored a "reconstruction of the old
Union." After the collapse of the Confederate
government he surrendered himself to the fed-
eral authorities and announced his willingness to
abide the wishes of Secretary of War Stanton,
who ordered him sent to Fort Pulaski, where he
was detained several months as a prisoner.
While he was in prison Gen. B. F. Butler, bent
upon vengeance, destroyed practically every-
thing of value on his lands and dispersed his pos-
sible labor supply.

In December 1867, Hunter participated in the
organization of a local conservative party that
did much to save Virginia from many of the evils
of Radical Reconstruction suffered by other
states. Beginning with 1874 he was treasurer
of Virginia for six years, and at the time of his
death he was collector for the port of Tappahan-
nock. Meanwhile he had written articles on
phases of Confederate history, one of which,
published in the Southern Historical Society
Papers for April 1877 (vol. IV), involved him
in an unfortunate controversy with Jefferson
Davis. He died at his estate, "Fonthill," near
Lloyds, Va. On Oct 4, 1836, he had married
Mary Evelina Dandridge, a niece by marriage
of his law-preceptor, Judge Henry St George
Tucker. They had eight children. Hunter was

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