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in the western array. At the battle of Mission Ridge, after the National forces had penetrated the Confederate lines, Gen. Walthall, under direc- tion of Gen. Benjamin F. Cheatham, threw his brigade across the ridge and held the advancing troops in check until darkness enabled the Confederates to make their es- cape. He com- manded the rear- guard of General John B. Hood's army after that general's disas- trous defeat at Nashville, and protected them from capture by the pursuing forces of General George H. Thom-

as. In January,

1871, Gen. Walthall resumed the practice of law at Grenada, Miss., which he continued until March, 1885. He was delegate at large to the National Demo- cratic conventions of 1868, 1876, 1880, and 1884. He was appointed to the U. S. senate as a Demo- crat to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Lucius Q. 0. Lamar, took his seat on 12 March, , and was elected by the legislature in January, , for the unexpired term, without opposition. He was unanimously chosen in January, 1888, for the term that will end in 1895.

WALTHER, Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm, theologian, b. in Langenchursdorf, Saxony, 25 Oct., 1811; d. in St. Louis, Mo., 7 May, 1887. He was the youngest son of Rev. Gottlieb Heinrich Wil- helm Walther and a descendant of a long line of Lutheran clergymen. He received his classical education in the gymnasium at Schneeberg, in the Harz mountain, and his theological training at the University of Leipsic, where he was graduated in 1833. In the same year he became tutor in the family of a councilman at Kahla, and in 1837 be- came pastor at Braunsdorf. During his residence at Kahla he was acquainted with Rev. Martin Stephan in Dresden, who was at that time at the height of his popularity, but with whom Walther could not always agree. When, in 1838, Stephan gave the signal for emigration to this country, Walther, with a number of his members, decided to accom- pany them, and they arrived at New Orleans, La., on 5 Jan., 1839. On the way Stephan disclosed his true nature as a religious fanatic, and Walther separated from him. Some of the emigrants set- tled in St. Louis, while others went to the interior of the state, especially in Perry county. Among the latter was Walther, who located at Altenburg, as a Lutheran pastor, and after the deposition of Stephan became the deliverer of his deluded fol- lowers. In 1841, after the death of his brother Herman, he accepted the pastorate of the Lutheran congregation of Saxons in St. Louis, Mo., where he restored harmony among the people and gave them a proper form of government. His labors were so successful that in the fall of 1842 he dedi- cated the first Lutheran church of the Holy Trin- ity in St. Louis. He became the recognized leader among his countrymen, who settled in large num- bers in Missouri, and was chief in the movement that resulted in 1847 in the organization of the synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other states, of which he was the first president, and which is now the largest Lutheran synod in the country. In 1849 the theological seminary that was organized at Altenburg in a log-hut, 9 Oct., 1839, was removed to St. Louis, and Mr. Walther was elected its presi- dent, which post he held until his death. He was pre-eminently the leader of the so-called Missouri Lutherans. In 1872 the synodical conference of the Evangelical Lutheran church in North Amer- ica was organized, of which he was also the rec- ognized leader and in which he exercised a con- trolling influence throughout his life. He was an earnest and faithful student of the writings of Luther and the confession of the Evangelical Lu- theran church, a fine classical scholar, a profound theologian, an able leader and organizer, and a prolific author. In 1844 he began the publication of " Der Lutheraner," a semi-monthly, in St. Louis, Mo., of which he was the editor until 1887, and in 1855 he established there " Lehre und Wehre," a monthly, which he conducted until his death. He published a large number of sermons, ad- dresses, and criticisms, many of which appeared in German and English, and which are widely cir- culated in the United States and Europe. He has also issued several works, among which are "Dr. M. Luther's kleiner Katechismus ausgelegt von Dr. J. C. Dietrich, mit Zusatzen" (St. Louis, 1858): " Amerikanisch-Lutherische Evangelien-Postille " (1871 ; 9th ed., 1883) ; " Amerikanisch-Lutherische Epistel-Postille " (1871); "Amerikanisch-Luther- ische Pastoral Theologie" (1872); "Baieri, J. G., Compendium Theologias Positivae : Editio auctior et emendatior " (3 vols., 1879).

WALTON, George, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. in Frederick county, Va., in 1740 ; d. in Augusta, Ga., 2 Feb., 1804. He was entirely self-taught, and was eai"ly apprenticed to a carpenter. His employer would not permit him the use of a candle to read at night, but in his zeal for knowledge he found a substi- tute in pine-knots. At the expiration of his apprentice- ship he removed to Georgia, studied law with Henry Young, was admit- ted to the bar in 1774, and began practice at Augus- ta. He was one of four persons that called a public meeting at Savan-

nah, Ga., 27 July,

1774, for the consideration of public grievances, and was one of a com- mittee that was appointed on that occasion to institute a correspondence with the different parishes, inviting them to co-operate with the other provinces in North America in opposition to the arbitrary exercise of power by the British government. On 12 Jan., 1775, another meeting of the citizens was convened, but the majority were opposed to taking any decisive measures against the mother country, though Mr. Walton eloquently urged such action. He was one of the committee that prepared a petition to the king, and drew up the patriotic resolutions that were adopted on that occasion ; was active in promoting the Revolution in Georgia, and