Manuel S. Corley

Manuel Simeon Corley
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 3rd district
In office July 25, 1868 – March 3, 1869
Preceded by	Laurence M. Keitt (1860)
Succeeded by	Solomon L. Hoge
Personal details
Born	February 10, 1823 Lexington County, South Carolina
Died	November 20, 1902 (aged 79) Lexington, South Carolina
Resting place	Lexington, South Carolina
Political party	Republican
Profession	politician, editor
Religion	Lutheran
Military service
Allegiance	Confederate States of America
Service/branch	Confederate States Army
Years of service	1863–1865
Battles/wars	American Civil War

Manuel Simeon Corley (February 10, 1823 – November 20, 1902) was a U.S. Representative from South Carolina.

Biography

Corley was born in Lexington County, South Carolina, and spent four years as a student at Lexington Academy. He engaged in business in 1838.

Corley came out against talk of secession when it began being heard in South Carolina in the early 1850s,^[1] and an effort was made to expel him from the state. Corley was a leader in the state's Lutheran church^[2] and served as editor of the South Carolina Temperance Standard in 1855 and 1856.

Corley later claimed he had been the only editor in South Carolina to condemn as "disgraceful" South Carolina Sen. Preston Brooks assault on Massachusetts Sen. Charles Sumner on the senate floor in 1856.^[3] Corley entered the Confederate States Army in 1863 and was captured by Union troops at Petersburg, Virginia, on April 2, 1865. He took the oath of allegiance on June 5, 1865.

Corley served as delegate to the South Carolina Constitutional Convention of 1868. Running as a Republican, he was elected to the Fortieth Congress, serving from July 25, 1868, to March 3, 1869. He served as special agent of the United States Treasury in 1869, commissioner of agricultural statistics of South Carolina in 1870 and treasurer of Lexington County in 1874. He died in Lexington, South Carolina, on November 20, 1902, and was interred in St. Stephen's Lutheran Cemetery.

References

1. The Scalawags: Southern Dissenters In The Civil War And Reconstruction, James Alex Baggett, page 45
2. The Scalawags: Southern Dissenters In The Civil War And Reconstruction, James Alex Baggett, page 44
3. The Scalawags: Southern Dissenters In The Civil War And Reconstruction, James Alex Baggett, page 45

Sources

• United States Congress. "Manuel S. Corley (id: C000778)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.