James Lawrence Orr

James Orr
United States Ambassador to Russia
In office December 12, 1872 – May 6, 1873
President	Ulysses Grant
Preceded by	Andrew Curtin
Succeeded by	Marshall Jewell
Governor of South Carolina
In office November 29, 1865 – July 6, 1868
Lieutenant	W.D. Porter
Preceded by	Benjamin Perry
Succeeded by	Robert Scott
Confederate States Senator from South Carolina
In office February 18, 1862 – May 10, 1865
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office December 7, 1857 – March 4, 1859
Preceded by	Nathaniel Banks
Succeeded by	William Pennington
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 5th district
In office March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1859
Preceded by	Armistead Burt
Succeeded by	John Ashmore
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 2nd district
In office March 4, 1849 – March 4, 1853
Preceded by	Richard Simpson
Succeeded by	William Aiken
Personal details
Born	(1822-05-05)May 5, 1822 Craytonville, South Carolina, U.S.
Died	May 5, 1873(1873-05-05) (aged 50) St. Petersburg, Russia
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	University of Virginia

James Lawrence Orr (May 12, 1822 – May 5, 1873) was an American politician who served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives in the United States Congress. He later served in the Confederate Congress during the American Civil War and was the 73rd Governor of South Carolina.

Biography

Orr was born at Craytonville, South Carolina located in Anderson County, South Carolina. He graduated at the University of Virginia in 1841 and became an attorney. He served as a Democratic Congressman from South Carolina from 1849 to 1859, serving as the Speaker of the House from 1857 to 1859. Congressman Orr was an advocate of states' rights who used his position of power to assist those persons who promoted the continuation of slavery. He foresaw the consequences of the decision by South Carolina to attempt to secede from the Union, but he remained loyal to that State. He was one of the three commissioners sent to Washington, D.C. to negotiate the transfer of federal property to the State of South Carolina; the failure of these negotiations led directly to the bombardment of one of the highest-profile federal assets within South Carolina, Fort Sumter.

After Fort Sumter and the outbreak of the American Civil War, the former congressman organized and commanded Orr's Regiment of South Carolina Rifles, which saw little action before he resigned in 1862 and entered the Confederate Senate. Ironically, the regiment continued to bear his name throughout the war and fought in some of the most prominent battles of the Army of Northern Virginia. In the Senate, he remained a strong proponent of states' rights.

At the end of the war, Orr was elected governor in 1865 of the state of South Carolina and served until 1868 with the passage of a new state constitution. He died in St. Petersburg, Russia shortly after being named Minister to Russia by President Ulysses S. Grant. He is interred in the First Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Anderson, South Carolina.

References

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Richard Simpson	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 2nd congressional district 1849–1853	Succeeded by William Aiken
Preceded by Armistead Burt	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 5th congressional district 1853–1859	Succeeded by John Ashmore
Political offices
Preceded by Nathaniel Banks	Speaker of the United States House of Representatives 1857–1859	Succeeded by William Pennington
Preceded by Benjamin Perry	Governor of South Carolina 1865–1868	Succeeded by Robert Scott
Confederate States Senate
New constituency	Confederate States Senator (Class 3) from South Carolina 1862–1865 Served alongside: Robert Barnwell	Constituency abolished
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Andrew Curtin	United States Ambassador to Russia 1872–1873	Succeeded by Marshall Jewell