Introduction
Ridgley Ceylon Powers (December 24, 1836 – November 11, 1912) was a Union officer in the American Civil War and a Mississippi politician who served as that state's Governor from 1871 to 1874.
Background
He was born in Mecca, Ohio, on Christmas Eve. Later in life, he graduated from the University of Michigan and completed post-graduate work at Union College located in Schenectady, New York, in 1862.
Wartime participation
In the second year of the American Civil War, Powers enlisted into the United States Army as a private. He became a second lieutenant and later a captain in the 125th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served at the Third Battle of Chattanooga and in the Atlanta Campaign before returning with his regiment to Tennessee for much of the remainder of the war. He ended his military service as a colonel upon the end of the conflict.
Governorship
In 1865, the Ohioan settled in Noxubee County, Mississippi as a cotton planter, later becoming sheriff. During Reconstruction, Powers was elected the seventh lieutenant governor and began his term in 1870. Governor James L. Alcorn resigned the following year to accept a U.S. Senate seat, thereby making Powers the acting governor; he finished the unexpired term ending in 1874.
Death
Powers died in Los Angeles, California in 1912.