Christopher Columbus Bowen

Republican Representative of South Carolina's 2nd district

Congresses Served

House Terms

January 5, 1832 (48 years old)

Birthday

June 23, 1880

Death

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, and moved to Georgia in 1850 to engage in agriculture before studying law.
Admitted to the bar in 1862 and practiced law in Charleston, South Carolina.
Served as a captain in the Confederate States Army Coast Guard during the Civil War.
Resumed law practice in Charleston after the war.
Played a significant role in the Republican Party’s early activities in South Carolina, serving as the first chairman of the state’s Republican central committee and as a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1867.
Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from July 20, 1868, to March 3, 1871.
Unsuccessful in his reelection bid in 1870, contested the election results which were marred by irregularities, leading to a long deliberation by the Election Committee.
Served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1871 to 1872 and was elected sheriff of Charleston in November 1872.
Died in New York City in 1880 and was interred in Charleston, South Carolina.
His political career was marked by his efforts to reestablish and strengthen the Republican Party in the post-Civil War South, particularly in South Carolina.