Abraham Ellison Garrett a member of the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

.

He attended the public schools and Poplar Springs College, Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

. He studied law and was admitted to the bar

Admission to the bar in the United States

In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...

 and commenced practice in Livingston, Tennessee

Livingston, Tennessee

Livingston is a town in Overton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,498 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Overton County...

. He also engaged in agricultural pursuits.

Military service

He served as a lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...

 of the First Regiment, Tennessee Mounted Infantry, in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Garret served in the 1st Tennessee Mounted Infantry Regiment, U.S.A. Recruiting for this regiment was begun October 1863, and two companies had been mustered into service by the end of 1863; other companies were added during 1864, the last one on November 30, 1864. Garrett was promoted from major to lieutenant colonel on March 18, 1864. The companies were organized at Nashville and at Carthage, and did duty in the District of Middle Tennessee, Department of the Cumberland, until April 1865, when the regiment was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Subdistrict, District of Middle Tennessee.

Political career

He was a delegate to the State constitutional convention

Constitutional convention (political meeting)

A constitutional convention is now a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution...

 in 1865. He served as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives

Tennessee House of Representatives

The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Constitutional requirements:...

 in 1865 and 1866. he was elected as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to the Forty-second Congress

42nd United States Congress

The Forty-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1871 to March 3, 1873, during the third and fourth...

 (March 4, 1871-March 3, 1873) and was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1872. He then resumed the practice of law in Carthage, Tennessee

Carthage, Tennessee

Carthage is a town in Smith County, Tennessee, United States, and is part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,251 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Smith County, and perhaps best known as the hometown of former Vice President Al Gore, and his father,...

, where he died February 14, 1907 and was interred in Carthage Cemetery.