Felix Kirk Zollicoffer (19 May 1812 – 19 January 1862) was a member of the US House of Representatives from Tennessee's 8th congressional district from 1853 to 1859 (as a member of the Know Nothings), succeeding William Cullom and preceding James M. Quarles. Zollicoffer fought in the American Civil War as a Brigadier-General in the Confederate States Army, and he was killed at Mill Springs in January 1862.
Biography[]
Felix Kirk Zollicoffer was born in Bigbyville, Maury County, Tennessee on 19 May 1812; his grandfather, descended from a Swiss family that arrived in North Carolina in 1710, received a tract of land in Tennessee as a reward for his service as a Continental Army captain during the American Revolutionary War. Zollicoffer worked as a printer for years, becoming State Printer of Tennessee in 1835. In 1836, he volunteered in the US Army to fight the Seminoles in Florida, and he served as Comptroller of the State Treasury of Tennessee from 1845 to 1849, State Senator from 1849 to 1852, and Representative from 1853 to 1859, representing the Know Nothings faction of the US Whig Party. Zollicoffer opposed his state's secession from the union despite his support for states' rights, but he decided to join the Confederate States Army and remain loyal to his state. On 9 May 1861, he became a Brigadier-General of the Provisional Army of Tennessee, followed by a July 1861 promotion to the same rank in the regular army. He commanded the District of East Tennessee, arresting pro-Union leaders in the area and enforcing Confederate rule. On 19 September 1861, he won a skirmish at Barbourville, but he was defeated at Camp Wildcat on 21 October. In January 1862, he began an offensive campaign in eastern Kentucky, resulting in the Battle of Mill Springs. During the chaos of the battle, Zollicoffer rode up to a Union regiment under the belief that they were blue-suited Confederate troops, only to be shot by Colonel Speed S. Fry with a pistol. Although inexperienced, Zollicoffer was known as a brave general, and his death was a loss for the CSA.