Thomas Jenkins Semmes

1824–1899 (age 75)

Lawyer

Biography

Thomas Jenkins Semmes earned recognition as a brilliant lawyer and served as a Confederate senator, where he defended the legal foundations for his state's positions during the Civil War.

In the decades that followed he rededicated himself to the bar, helped rebuild legal institutions, taught younger advocates, and shared his firm belief that justice must temper every pursuit of power; his memory remains among the respectful monuments of Metairie.