William E. Simms

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William Emmett[1] Simms (January 2, 1822 – June 25, 1898) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky. He also served as a commissioner for the Confederate government of Kentucky and in several posts in the Confederate States government.

Simms was born near Cynthiana, Harrison County, Kentucky. He attended the public schools, and was graduated from the law department of Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky in 1846. He was admitted to the bar in 1846 and commenced practice in Paris, Kentucky.

Simms served as captain throughout the Mexican-American War, and was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1849 to 1851. He was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-sixth Congress (March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861), but unsuccessfully ran for reelection in 1860.

On October 21, 1861, Simms was appointed to the temporary rank of colonel in the Confederate Army. He was appointed lieutenant colonel in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States on December 24, 1861, and was assigned to the First Battalion, Kentucky Cavalry. He resigned his post February 17, 1862, having been chosen Senator from Kentucky to the Confederate States Congress. He was a member of the Senate of the First and Second Confederate Congresses and also served in President Davis' Cabinet.

After the war, he engaged in agricultural pursuits, and died on his estate, "Mount Airy," near Paris, Kentucky on June 25, 1898. He is interred in Paris Cemetery.

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  1. ^ The Kentucky Encyclopedia gives the name as "Elliott"

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