Laurence M. Keitt, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Laurence M. Keitt

American politician

Date of Birth: 04-Oct-1824

Place of Birth: Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States

Date of Death: 02-Jun-1864

Profession: lawyer, politician

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Libra

Laurence Massillon Keitt (October 4, 1824 – June 2, 1864) was an American planter, lawyer, politician, and soldier from South Carolina.
During his tenure in the United States House of Representatives, he was included in several lists of Fire-Eaters—men who adamantly urged the secession of southern states from the United States, and who resisted measures of compromise and reconciliation, leading to the American Civil War. Keitt is notable for being involved in two separate acts of legislative violence in the Congressional chambers.
In the first, Keitt assisted Representative Preston Brooks (D-SC) in his 1856 attack on Senator Charles Sumner (R-MA) in the Senate chamber by brandishing a pistol and cane to prevent other Senators from coming to Sumner's aid.
The second was in 1858, when he attacked and attempted to choke Representative Galusha Grow (R-PA) during an argument on the floor of the U.S.
House. When the Civil War began, he served as a deputy of the Provisional Confederate States Congress and later as a colonel in the Confederate States Army, until he was mortally wounded at the Battle of Cold Harbor in June 1864.