Thomas Overton Moore

Thomas Overton Moore (April 10, 1804 – June 25, 1876) was an attorney, slaveowner, and politician who was the 16th Governor of Louisiana from 1860 until 1864 during the American Civil War. Moore supported Louisiana's secession from the Union in January, 1861, but was largely powerless to stop Union forces from capturing large portions of the state during his term as governor.

Early years Moore was born in Sampson County, North Carolina, one of eleven children of James Moore and Jane Overton. The Moores were a Carolina planter family, and Jane Overton was the daughter of General Thomas Overton, a Tennessean and friend of Andrew Jackson. In 1829, Moore moved to Rapides Parish, Louisiana, to become a cotton planter. The next year, he married Bethiah Johnston Leonard, with whom he had five children.

Originally the manager of his uncle's plantation, he bought his own (Moreland), along with two others (Lodi and Emfield) worked by slave labor,

After Republican Abraham Lincoln was announced as the winner of the 1860 presidential election, Moore called a special session of the Louisiana legislature on December 10. Stating that "I do not think it comports with the honor and respect of Louisiana to live under the government of a Black Republican President," Moore urged the legislature to authorize a secession convention.