George Trenholm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| George Alfred Trenholm | |
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| In office July 18, 1864 – April 27, 1865 |
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| Preceded by | Christopher Memminger |
| Succeeded by | John Henninger Reagan |
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| Born | February 25, 1807 Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | December 9, 1876 (aged 69) Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Profession | Politician |
George Alfred Trenholm (February 25, 1807 – December 9, 1876) was a prominent politician in the Confederate States of America.
George Alfred Trenholm was born in Charleston, South Carolina. At the age of sixteen he left school and went to work for a major cotton broker, John Fraser & Co. in Charleston. By 1853 he was head of the company. When the Civil War broke out, John Fraser & Co. became the Confederate government's overseas banker and financed its own fleet of blockade runners. Trenholm was appointed Confederate Secretary of the Treasury on July 18, 1864. He fled Richmond with the rest of the government in April, 1865. Due to illness he resigned on April 27, 1865. He was later briefly imprisoned at Fort Pulaski near Savannah, Georgia. [1]
[edit] Historical Basis for Rhett Butler
On April 4, 1989, Dr. E. Lee Spence, an internationally known shipwreck expert from Charleston, South Carolina, announced his discovery that Margaret Mitchell, who had claimed her Pulitzer Prize winning novel Gone With The Wind was pure fiction, had actually taken much of her compelling story of love, greed and war from real life[1] and that Mitchell had actually based Rhett Butler on the life of George Alfred Trenholm. Like Rhett, Trenholm was a tall, handsome, shipping magnate from Charleston, South Carolina, and made millions of dollars from blockade running. Both the real life Trenholm and the fictional Rhett were accused of making off with much of the Confederate treasury and were thrown in prison after the Civil War where they were visited by a beautiful woman with a "fast" reputation.[2][3] Spence's literary discovery that had its roots in his prior discoveries of some of Trenholm's wrecked blockade runners made international news.[4]
In his book, Treasures of the Confederate Coast: The "Real Rhett Butler" and Other Revelations, Dr. Spence reveals what the editors of Life magazine called "overwhelming evidence" that shipping and banking magnate George Trenholm was the historical basis for Mitchell's romantic sea captain.[5]
[edit] Bibliography
- The Confederate Navy In Europe - Warren F Spencer ISBN 0-8173-0861-X
- This fine addition to Civil War naval and diplomatic literature is deeply researched and full of facts" - American Historical Review
- The Secret Service of the Confederate States in Europe - James D Bulloch ISBN 0679-64022-3
- "The outcome was influenced more by what happened on the sea than on the land" P. Van Doren Stern
- George Alfred Trenholm and the Company That Went to War - pub 1973- Ethel S Nepveux
- George A Trenholm Financial Genius of the Confederacy - pub 1999 - Ethel S Nepveux ISBN 0-9668843-1-0 (Ethel Nepveux's research in British sources reveals the inner workings of the blockade running enterprise. In doing this she demonstrates the degree to which the Confederacy functioned as a nation vis a vis the nations of Europe. She lays to rest much of the mythology that has surrounded George Alfred Trenholm and replaces it with solid historical and, as is usually happens, the history is more exciting than the myths." Alexander Moore Ph.D., historian and book editor.) OCLC: 32431590
| Preceded by Christopher Memminger |
Confederate States Secretary of the Treasury 1864–1865 |
Succeeded by John Henninger Reagan |
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[edit] References
- ^ "Newsmakers: Frankly, My Dear, Historian is on Pins and Needles," Los Angeles Times, April 4, 1989, p. 2-A
- ^ Oggi (Italian weekly magazine), 5 dicembre 1994, pp. 38-40
- ^ "The Rhett Butler Connection," Treasure Diver, Volume 1, Number One, pp. 35-40
- ^ "Rhett Butler," La Stampa, Turin, Italy, 18/4/1989, p.5
- ^ The "Real Rhett Butler" Revealed
