John Vines Wright

John Vines Wright (June 28, 1828 – June 12, 1908) was an American secessionist, politician, military officer and judge. He served a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 7th congressional district of Tennessee and in the First and Second Congress of the Confederate States. He served in the Confederate States Army as a colonel. He later became a judge of the circuit court of Tennessee and a chancellor and judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Biography John Vines Wright was born in Purdy, Tennessee, in McNairy County the son of Benjamin C. and Martha Ann Hicks Wright. He completed preparatory studies and attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, where he pursued courses in medicine and law. After graduating from the law department, he was admitted to the bar in 1852, and he commenced practice in Purdy. His brother was Marcus J. Wright.

Political career Elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fourth, the Thirty-fifth, and the Thirty-sixth Congresses, Wright served from March 4, 1855 to March 3, 1861.

During the Civil War, Wright served in the Confederate Army as colonel of the 13th Tennessee Infantry Regiment in 1861. He was present at the Battle of Belmont where his horse was shot from under him. His daughter Georgia Hays married Frank Lyon.

Wright died in Washington, D.C., on June 12, 1908. He is interred in Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C.