Hon. John Gaillard
(b. 5 Sep 1765 - d. 26 Feb 1826)

{Congressional Cemetery, DC: Range 29 Site 40)

A Senator from South Carolina. Educated for the legal profession in England. Elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate and served from 1804 until his death. Served as President pro tempore of the Senate on several occasions.


The National Intelligencer, Tuesday, February 28, 1826
>The House
A message was received from the Senate, announcing the death of the Honorable John Gaillard, and that his funeral was appointed to take place tomorrow, at eleven o'clock, whereupon, Mr. Wilson, of South Carolina, presented the following:

Resolved, unanimously, That the House will attend the funeral of the Hon. John Gaillard, late a member of the Senate from South Carolina, tomorrow, at 11 o'clock, a.m.; and, as a testimony of respect for the memory of the deceased, will go into mourning, and wear crape for thirty days.

The resolution was unanimously agreed to.

Mr. Drayton of S.C. moved an adjournment--but withdrew his motion at the request of Mr. Tucker, of S.C. who moved that, when the House adjourn, it adjourn to meet tomorrow morning at half past ten o'clock, which was agreed to; and then, on motion of Mr. Wilson, The House adjourned.


The National Intelligencer, Tuesday, February 28, 1826
The annunciation of the death of the Honorable John Gaillard, the oldest Member, for several years past, of the Senate of the United States has caused a cessation, for a day or two, of the labours of Congress. Such cessation is the courtesy usually shewn to the memory of any member of either House, departing this life whilst engaged in public service. It is peculiarly proper, when the country loses the services of such a man as Mr. Gaillard, one of the most efficient, and at the same time one of the most amiable, men in public life. His character is very appropriately portrayed in the address, by which his worthy colleague announced his death; and is yet more strikingly illustrated by the traits added, with the feeling of an afflicted friend, by Mr. Dickerson. The Funeral is to take place at eleven o'clock; and no other subject is expected to-day to engage the attention of either House of Congress.

The following is the Order of Procession, adopted by the Committee of Arrangements, for the funeral of the Honorable John Gaillard, Senator of the United States from the State of South Carolina:

The Committee of Arrangements, Pall Bearers, and Mourners, will attend at Mr. Tims', the late residence of the deceased, at ten o'clock, a.m. this day, at which time the corpse will be removed, in charge of the Committee of Arrangements, attended by the Sergeant-at-arms of the Senate, from Mr. Tims' to the Senate Chamber, where Divine Service will be performed.

At 11 o'clock the funeral will move from the Senate Chamber to the place of interment, in the following order:

Order of Procession:

The Chaplains to both Houses of Congress

Physicians who attended the deceased

Committee of Arrangements
Mr. Holmes  
Mr. Berrien Mr. VanDyke
Mr. Ruggles Mr. Findlay

Pall Bearers
Mr. Macon Mr. Dickerson
Mr. Smith Mr. Chandler
Mr. Lloyd Mr. Harrison

Relatives of the deceased, and

The Senator and Representatives from the State of South Carolina, as mourners

The President of the United States (John Quincy Adams)

The Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate of the United States

Vice President and Secretary of the Senate

The Senate of the United States

The Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives

Speaker and Clerk of the House of Representatives

The House of Representatives

The Supreme Court and Bar

The Heads of Departments

Foreign Ministers

Citizens and Strangers


The National Intelligencer, March 29, 1826
The late Mr. Gaillard was brought into public life by friends, whose object was to withdraw his attention from the contemplation of an overwhelming domestic calamity, over which he had long brooded in solitude. The youthful and lovely partner of his bosom, together with an infant daughter, perished before his eyes in the Santee. -- He was overwhelmed with grief, and gave himself up to solitude and despair. He would sit motionless, it is said, for days with his hat drawn over his eyes, and head thrown on his bosom. From this situation he was forced by his friends, who, after many efforts, succeeded in drawing him within the circle of social and political excitement.