Francis P. Fleming
Francis Philip Fleming (September 28, 1841December 20, 1908) was an American Democratic politician who served as the 15th governor of Florida from 1889 to 1893. A Confederate soldier and lawyer before Governor, Fleming's "racist record is undisputed". Biography Fleming was born September 28, 1841, in Panama Park (now part of Jacksonville), Duval County, Florida. He spent his early years with his parents, Lewis Fleming and his second wife Margaret Seton, on their St. Johns River plantation, "Hibernia". The plantation narrowly escaped destruction at the hands of the Independent Battalion, Massachusetts Cavalry in mid-April 1864 when Colonel Guy V. Henry, a relative of the Fleming family, ordered it spared. During the American Civil War, Fleming served the Confederate cause by enlisting as a private in the 2nd Florida Regiment and received a battlefield promotion to first lieutenant, and subsequently to the rank of captain. After being wounded, Fleming returned to Florida and actively enlisted new volunteers, commanding a volunteer company at the Battle of Natural Bridge at St. Marks on March 6, 1865. By the end of the war, Fleming had served under four generals: John Magruder, Joseph Johnston, John Bell Hood, and Robert E. Lee. After the war, Francis Fleming