Edmund Pettus

Edmund Pettus
Edmund Pettus
	Pettus in 1899
United States Senator; from Alabama
	In office; March 4, 1897 – July 27, 1907
Preceded by	James L. Pugh
Succeeded by	Joseph F. Johnston
Personal details
Born	Edmund Winston Pettus; July 6, 1821; Limestone County, Alabama, U.S.
Died	July 27, 1907 (aged 86); Hot Springs, North Carolina, U.S.
Party	Democratic
Relations	John J. Pettus (brother); Caroline Randall Williams (great-great granddaughter);
Alma mater	Clinton College
Military service
Allegiance	United States; Confederate States;
Branch/service	United States Volunteers; Confederate States Army;
Years of service	1847–1849 (U.S.); 1861–1865 (C.S.);
Rank	Lieutenant (U.S.); Brigadier-General (C.S.);
Battles/wars	Mexican–American War; American Civil War Stones River Campaign (POW); Vicksburg Campaign (POW); Chattanooga Campaign; Atlanta Campaign; Campaign of the Carolinas (WIA) (POW);

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Edmund Winston Pettus (July 6, 1821 – July 27, 1907) was an American lawyer, politician and military officer who represented Alabama in the United States Senate from 1897 to 1907. He served as a senior officer of the Confederate States Army, commanding infantry in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. After the war, he was Grand Dragon, or supreme leader, of the Ku Klux Klan, which terrorized and often killed African Americans.

A bridge across the Alabama River in Selma, built in 1940, was named after him. According to Smithsonian, "The bridge was named for him, in part, to memorialize his history, of restraining and imprisoning African-Americans in their quest for freedom after the Civil War". In 1965, the bridge became a landmark of the civil rights movement.