George Alfred Trenholm was a prominent politician in the Confederate States of America

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 and served as the Secretary of the Treasury during its final year.

Biography

George Alfred Trenholm was born in Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

. When his father, William Trenholm, died, George left school early. He went to work for a major cotton broker, John Fraser and Company in Charleston. By 1853 he was head of the company, and by 1860 was one of the wealthiest men in the United States. He had interests in steamships, hotels, cotton, plantations, and slaves; he was also director of the Bank of Charleston and of a South Carolina railroad. When 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...

 broke out, John Fraser and Company became the Confederate government's overseas banker and financed its own fleet of blockade runners. One of these may have been the SS Georgiana

SS Georgiana

The Georgiana was a brig-rigged, iron hulled, propeller steamer of with a jib and two heavily raked masts, hull and stack painted black. Her clipper bow sported the figurehead of a "demi-woman". Georgiana was reportedly pierced for fourteen guns and could carry over four hundred tons of cargo...

, which sunk in a naval action near Charleston in March 1863. Christopher Memminger

Christopher Memminger

Christopher Gustavus Memminger was a prominent political leader and the first Secretary of the Treasury for the Confederate States of America.-Early life and career:...

 used Trenholm as an unofficial adviser throughout his own term as Secretary of the Treasury; Trenholm was appointed to that post on July 18, 1864. He was a more charismatic figure than his predecessor and this helped him with the press and with Congress.

Trenholm fled Richmond with the rest of the government in April 1865 and went south as far as Fort Mill, South Carolina

Fort Mill, South Carolina

Fort Mill is a fast-growing suburban town in both York and Lancaster counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina, and a suburb of the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Rock Hill...

. Due to illness he asked President Davis to accept his resignation, which Davis accepted with his thanks on April 27, 1865. He was later briefly imprisoned at Fort Pulaski near Savannah

Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...

, Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

.