William Hodges Mann was an American Democratic

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...

 politician. Mann was the 46th Governor of Virginia

Governor of Virginia

The governor of Virginia serves as the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Virginia for a four-year term. The position is currently held by Republican Bob McDonnell, who was inaugurated on January 16, 2010, as the 71st governor of Virginia....

 from 1910 to 1914. He attended Brownsburg

Brownsburg, Virginia

Brownsburg is an unincorporated community in Rockbridge County, Virginia, United States. The village of Brownsburg was established on November 23, 1793. By 1835, Brownsburg was a thriving commercial hub and was centrally located on the stagecoach line between Staunton and Lexington...

 Academy.

Political career

Brown became Deputy Clerk of Nottoway County, Virginia

Nottoway County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 15,725 people, 5,664 households, and 3,885 families residing in the county. The population density was 50 people per square mile . There were 6,373 housing units at an average density of 20 per square mile...

. He left to serve in the 12th Virginia Infantry

12th Virginia Infantry

The 12th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia....

 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...

 until he was injured; he was the last Confederate soldier

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 to serve as Governor of Virginia. He then served the Confederacy in various positions.

After Appomattox, Mann began practicing law in Nottoway County. In 1870, he became the first county judge of Nottoway County. He introduced legislation to construct 350 high schools in Virginia and to close 800 rural saloons. Mann was in favor of Prohibition

Prohibition

Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...

 but only at the state level.

He is also known for refusing to prevent the execution of the juvenile Virginia Christian during his governorship.

External links

• Biography by the National Governors Association
  National Governors Association
  The National Governors Association , founded in 1908 as the National Governors' Conference, is funded primarily by state dues, federal grants and contracts and private contributions. NGA represents the governors of the fifty U.S. states and five U.S. territories The National Governors Association...