Chronology

1830

Josiah Abigail Patterson (J.A.P.), Campbell Sr. born March 2 to Presbyterian minister Rev Robert Bond Campbell and his wife Mary Ada (Patterson) Campbell, in Lancaster District, South Carolina¹Citation: Autobiography of Judge J.A.P. Campbell: Written for his Descendants on the 84th Anniversary of His Birth, March 2 A.D. 1914, Daily Clarion Ledger, Jackson, Mississippi, October 22, 1914..

1843

Began Davidson College, age 13, as a member of the Class of 1847. Left before graduating²Citation: Death announcement of Judge J.A.P. Campbell, Jackson (Mississippi) Daily News, January 11, 1917..

1845

Moved with his family to Madison County Mississippi³Citation: Campbell Autobiography, op. cit..

1847

Licensed to practice law June 12, 1847, at age 17⁴Citation: Campbell Autobiography, op. cit..

1848

In March, settled as a private practice lawyer in Kosciusko Mississippi⁵Citation: Campbell Autobiography, op. cit..

1850

Married Eugenia Elizabeth Nash, daughter of First Baptist Church of Kosciusko minister William Whitfield Nash and his wife Nancy (Dodson) Nash⁶Citation: Campbell Autobiography, op. cit..

1851

Elected to the Mississippi legislature representing Attala County at age 21⁷Citation: Campbell Autobiography, op. cit..

1859

Became speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives at age 29⁸Citation: Campbell Autobiography, op. cit..

1860

Elected, at age 30, to be one of seven Mississippi representatives of the Confederate Constitutional Convention, which adopted articles of secession from the United States⁹Citation: Campbell Autobiography, op. cit..

1862

Enlisted May 3, 1862, as Captain of the Campbell Guard of Attala County, Mississippi, which later became Company K of the 40th Mississippi Regiment¹⁰Citation: Campbell Autobiography, op. cit..

Appointed May 14, 1862, as Lt Colonel of the 40th Mississippi Regiment.

Wounded October 5, 1862, at the Battle of Corinth but later rejoined the company at Grenada¹¹Citation: “W.D. Holder Chapter, United Daughters of Confederacy, Memorialize Judge Campbell,” Daily Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Mississippi, March 6, 1932, p 5..

Appointed December 16, 1862, as Colonel of the Confederate Army Cavalry, and assigned to duty as a member of the Military Court of Lt General Polk’s Army Corps.

1863

Released from regimental duty January 8, 1863, appointed a member of the Military Court, and ordered to return to Kosciusko Mississippi.

1864

Appointed July 29, 1864, by the CSA Army Secretary of War, to be presiding judge of the Military Court of Lt General Hardee’s Corps.

1865

Permitted to return to his home on May 2, 1865, after stating his “solemn obligation not to take up arms against the Government of the United States.”

1867

Elected December 15, 1866, as circuit judge of the 5th judicial district of Mississippi (Attala, Leake, Madison, Yazoo and Holmes)¹²Citation: Campbell Autobiography, op. cit..

Began his duties on the first Monday of January 1867.

1870

Elected Professor of Law in the University of Mississippi, but declined. The University nevertheless conferred him the honorary title of LL.D¹³Citation: Campbell Autobiography, op. cit..

Appointed by the Governor as one of three commissioners to codify the statutes of Mississippi¹⁴Citation: Campbell Autobiography, op. cit.¹⁵Citation: Memorialize Judge Campbell, op. cit..

1875

Appointed by James Zachariah George as “one of the committee which managed the glorious campaign in 1875.¹⁶Citation: Campbell Autobiography, op. cit.¹⁷Citation: Campbell refers to General James Zachariah George, the chairman of the Mississippi “Democratic State committee that faced the task of overthrowing the Ames administration and establishing white supremacy in the State. General George was put in charge of the campaign as State chairman, to which he gave his whole time and thought. When the Clinton riot and its attendant reprisals seemed to destroy hope of success, he met Governor Ames in conference and handled the situation with frankness, calmness and great strength of character. Quiet was restored and the campaign proceeded, with as much freedom from violence as could have been expected, to the election of a white majority in the legislature.” Courts, Judges, and Lawyers of Mississippi, 1798-1935, Dunbar Rowland, B.S., LL.B., LL.D., Press of Hederman Press, Jackson, Mississippi, 1935, pp 99-103.”

1876

Appointed at age 46 on April 14, 1876, by Governor J.M. Stone, as Supreme Judge of the 3rd District of the Supreme Court of Mississippi. Spent most of that time as Chief Justice¹⁸Citation: Campbell Autobiography, op. cit.¹⁹Citation: Speech Delivered by Judge J.A. Teat, at Louisville, July 13th, 1914, Opening his Campaign for Circuit Judge, Mississippi Searchlight, July 13, 1914, pp 5-7.

1878

Prepared a new code of statutes for the state of Mississippi. (It was adopted in 1880, and as of 2022, still largely serves as the foundation for the state’s current laws²⁰Citation: Campbell Autobiography, op. cit..)

1880

New code adopted.

1884

Reappointed February 25, 1884, by Governor Robert Lowry, as Judge of the Mississippi Supreme Court of the 3rd District. Spent most of that time as Chief Justice²¹Citation: Speech Delivered by Judge J.A. Teat, op. cit..

1894

Retired as Chief Justice from the Mississippi Supreme Court at age 64²²Citation: Campbell Autobiography, op. cit.²³Citation: Memorialize Judge Campbell, op. cit..

1902

Invited on November 19, 1902, by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to submit an oil painting of himself. As of 2022, the painting, based on this photograph, hangs in the Mississippi Archives building in Jackson Mississippi.

1909

Called by C.H. Alexander, Esq., the former chairman of a committee of the State Bar association, as the “author of more legal reforms than any other lawyer, judge or legislator in the state²⁴Citation: Campbell Autobiography, op. cit..”

1917

Died January 10, 1917, at age 86, as the last living signer of the Confederate Constitution. Memorialized as ranking among “the most illustrious sons of Mississippi” and “recognized as the foremost legal authority in the state.” Body laid in state on January 12, 1917²⁵Citation: Memorialize Judge Campbell, op. cit..