{{short description|American politician}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Thomas Hardeman, Jr. <!-- include middle initial, if not specified in birth_name --> | honorific_suffix = | image = Thomas Hardeman Jr. (cropped).jpg | image_size = | office1 = Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives | term1 = 1863-1865 {{br}} 1875-1877 | predecessor1 = Warren Akin Sr. (first term) {{br}} Augustus Octavius Bacon (second term) | successor1 = Robert McWhorter (first term) {{br}} Augustus Octavius Bacon (second term) | state2 = Georgia | district2 = 3rd | state3 = Georgia | district3 = at-large | term_start2 = March 4, 1859 | term_end2 = January 23, 1861 | term_start3 = March 4, 1883 | term_end3 = March 3, 1885 | preceded2 = Robert P. Trippe | succeeded2 = ''American Civil War'' | preceded3 = ''District established'' | succeeded3 = George T. Barnes | office4 = Member of the<br />Georgia House of Representatives | term4 = 1853-1859<br />1863-1865<br />1875-1877 | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1825|1|12}} | birth_place = Eatonton, Georgia, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1891|3|6|1825|1|12}} | death_place = Macon, Georgia, U.S. | death_cause = | body_discovered = | resting_place = Rose Hill Cemetery (Macon, Georgia) | resting_place_coordinates = {{Coord|32.84646|-83.63329|type:landmark|display=inline}} | monuments = | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater = Emory College | occupation = Politician and soldier | employer = | organization = | known_for = | notable_works = | style = | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = Opposition Party 1858–1860<br />Democratic Party 1863–1885 | movement = | opponents = | boards = | spouse = | children = | parents = | relatives = | awards = | module = | module2 = | website = <!-- {{URL|Example.com}} --> | footnotes = | box_width = | allegiance = {{flagicon|CSA|1862}} Confederate States of America | service_years = 1861–65 (CSA) | branch = {{army|CSA}} | rank = Colonel (CSA) | unit = 2nd Georgia Battalion (CSA)<br />45th Georgia Infantry (CSA) | commands = | battles = | signature = Signature of Thomas Hardeman Jr. (1825–1891).png }}
'''Thomas Hardeman Jr.''' (January 12, 1825 – March 6, 1891) was an American politician, lawyer and soldier.
==Early years== Hardeman was born in Eatonton, Georgia and graduated from Emory College in 1845. He studied and was admitted to the state bar in 1847. Rather than practicing law, he pursued interests in the warehouse and commission business.
==Political and military service== After serving in the Georgia House of Representatives in 1853, 1855, and 1857, Hardeman was elected in 1858 as an Opposition Party candidate to the 36th United States Congress as a Representative of Georgia's 3rd congressional district and served a partial term from March 4, 1859, until January 23, 1861, when he resigned to become a captain in the ''Floyd Rifles''.
During the American Civil War, Hardeman was major of the 2nd Georgia Battalion in the Confederate States Army.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Second (2nd) Georgia independent infantry battalion | url=http://scvcamp1399.org/units/2ndGA_Battalion_CoA-B-C-D.txt | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703201222/http://scvcamp1399.org:80/units/2ndGA_Battalion_CoA-B-C-D.txt | archive-date=2013-07-03}}</ref> Later, he became a colonel in the 45th Georgia Infantry, a regiment he organized.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ranger95.com/civil_war/georgia/infantry/45th_inf_regt.html |title=45th Infantry Regiment |publisher=Ranger95.com |accessdate=2012-03-28 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024090257/http://www.ranger95.com/civil_war/georgia/infantry/45th_inf_regt.html |archivedate=2014-10-24 }}</ref>
During the war, he served in the Georgia House of Representatives in 1863, 1864, and 1874. Hardeman served as the Speaker of the House from 1863 to 1865, and again in 1875–1877.<ref name="Avery1881">{{cite book|author=Isaac Wheeler Avery|title=The History of the State of Georgia from 1850 to 1881: Embracing the Three Important Epochs: the Decade Before the War of 1861-5; the War; the Period of Reconstruction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A-JPAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA350-IA3|year=1881|publisher=Brown & Derby|page=350|isbn=9780404045715}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Confederate Records of the State of Georgia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6wBAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA445|year=1910|publisher=C.P. Byrd, state printer|pages=445–447}}</ref>
After the war, Hardeman was a delegate to the 1872 Democratic National Convention. He was also president of the State convention and chairman of the Democratic State executive committee for four years. In 1882, Hardeman won the election again to the U.S. House of Representatives as an at-large Democrat to the 48th United States Congress. He served one term from March 4, 1883, to March 3, 1885.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/14510?current_search_qs=%3FPreviousSearch%3DSearch%252cLastName%252c%252c%252c%252c%252cFalse%252cFalse%252cFalse%252c%252cState%26CurrentPage%3D120%26SortOrder%3DState%26ResultType%3DGrid%26Command%3D122|title=Hardeman, Thomas, Jr. (1825-1891)|publisher=United States House of Representatives|accessdate=November 23, 2018}}</ref>
==Death== Thomas Hardeman Jr. died in Macon, Georgia, on March 6, 1891, and was buried in that city's Rose Hill Cemetery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.georgiaudc.com/documents/rosehill.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907053242/http://www.georgiaudc.com/documents/rosehill.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 7, 2008 |title=Rosehill cemetery |publisher=Georgiaudc.com |date= |accessdate=2012-03-28}}</ref> The Colonel Thomas Hardeman Jr. Chapter 2170 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy was named in his honor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.georgiaudc.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040129015250/http://www.georgiaudc.com/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=January 29, 2004 |title=Col. Thomas Hardeman Jr. Chapter 2170 Macon UDC |publisher=Georgiaudc.com |date= |accessdate=2012-03-28}}</ref> Hardeman Avenue in downtown Macon, Georgia, was also named for him.
==See also== * List of speakers of the Georgia House of Representatives
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{commons category-inline}} *{{CongBio|H000181}} Retrieved on 2008-10-19 * [http://acumen.lib.ua.edu/u0003/0000753/0000085/0001/?page=1&limit=40 Letter from Thomas Hardeman, Macon, Georgia, to Robert Jemison, Jr., Tuscaloosa, Alabama, May 23, 1843] * {{Find a Grave|7115288}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state = Georgia | district = 3 | before= Robert Pleasant Trippe | after= American Civil War | years= March 4, 1859 – January 23, 1861 }} {{US House succession box | state = Georgia | district = AL | before= New at-large seat resulting from congressional apportionment | after= George T. Barnes | years= March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885 }} {{s-end}}
{{Speakers of the Georgia House of Representatives}} {{Democratic Party of Georgia}} {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardeman, Thomas Jr.}} Category:1825 births Category:1891 deaths Category:People from Eatonton, Georgia Category:Opposition Party United States representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives Category:Confederate States Army officers Category:People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War Category:Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Category:Emory University alumni Category:Speakers of the Georgia House of Representatives Category:State political party chairs of Georgia (U.S. state) Category:19th-century American lawyers Category:United States representatives who owned slaves Category:19th-century United States representatives Category:19th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly