Balie Peyton

Balie Peyton (1803-1878) was an American politician that represented Tennessee's sixth district in the United States House of Representatives. He was born near Gallatin, Tennessee on November 6, 1803. He completed preparatory studies, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and commeced practice in Gallatin in 1824. He was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-third Congress and re-elected as a White supporter to the Twenty-fourth Congress. He served from March 4, 1833 to March 3, 1837.

He resumed the practice of law and moved to New Orleans in 1841, having been appointed the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, a position he held for the next four years. He served as aide-de-camp on the staff of General W.J. Worth during the Mexican War. He was appointed as Minister to Chile by President Zachary Taylor and served from August 9, 1849 to September 14, 1853 when he resigned. He moved to San Francisco, California in 1853 and continued the practice of law. He was the prosecuting attorney for San Francisco from 1853 to 1859.

He returned to Gallatin, Tennessee in 1859 and resumed the practice of law. He was a presidential elector on the Constitutional Union ticket of John Bell and Edward Everett in 1860. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1866 to the Fortieth Congress. He was a member of the Tennessee Senate between 1869 and 1871. He again resumed the practice of law before dying on his farm near Gallatin, Tennessee on August 18, 1878. He was interred on the family burying ground on his estate. He was the brother of U.S. Representative Joseph Hopkins Peyton.