Harris Flanagin

Harris Flanagin (November 3, 1817 – October 23, 1874) was an American politician, slaveowner, and lawyer who served as the seventh governor of Arkansas from 1862 to 1864, and in exile until 1865. Prior to this he was a Confederate States Army officer who commanded infantry in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.

Early life and education Flanagin was born in the Roadstown section of Hopewell Township, Cumberland County, New Jersey, to James, a farmer and cabinetmaker, and Mary (née Harris) Flanagin. He was educated at a Quaker school in New Jersey and then went on to teach at Clermont Seminary in Frankford (present-day Philadelphia). Soon after he moved to Illinois, where he again tried teaching and while at this work studied law.

In 1838 Flanagin moved to Arkansas, settling first at Pine Bluff, then Little Rock, then Clark County in 1839, and Arkadelphia in 1842. In his new home state he made money through land speculation and by 1853 he was wealthy, owning thousands of acres of land and 6 slaves. He served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1842 to 1844 and the Arkansas Senate from 1848 to 1850. As a Whig, Flanigan stepped down from state politics in 1850 when support for his party began to collapse.

During the secession crisis in 1861, Flanagin was elected as a delegate to the state secession convention.

Electoral history