Edmund Pettus

Photo of Edmund Pettus

Edmund Winston Pettus (July 6 1821–July 27 1907), for whom the civil rights landmark Edmund Pettus Bridge was named, was born in Limestone County, Alabama. He earned his fame as a Confederate Brigadier General. Pettus was a lawyer and judge and served throughout the western theater during the American Civil War. He resumed his law practice after the war and went on to serve in the U.S. Senate. He served in the Senate from March 4 1897 to his death on July 27 1907. The Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, became a civil rights landmark when on Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965, a band of civil rights marchers on their way to Montgomery crossed the bridge, only to be attacked by state troopers on the other side.

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*Biography from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

Preceded by: James L. Pugh	U.S. Senator from Alabama 1887-1907	Succeeded by: Joseph F. Johnston
Served alongside: John Tyler Morgan