Charles S. Morehead

Charles S. Morehead
20th Governor of Kentucky
In office September 4, 1855 – August 30, 1859
Lieutenant	James G. Hardy
Preceded by	Lazarus W. Powell
Succeeded by	Beriah Magoffin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 8th district
In office March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1851
Preceded by	Garrett Davis
Succeeded by	John C. Breckinridge
Attorney General of Kentucky
In office 1832–1838
Governor	John Breathitt James T. Morehead James Clark
Preceded by	James W. Denny
Succeeded by	Owen G. Cotes
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives
In office 1828–1832
Personal details
Born	Charles Slaughter Morehead (1802-07-07)July 7, 1802 Nelson County, Kentucky
Died	December 21, 1868(1868-12-21) (aged 66) Greenville, Mississippi
Resting place	Frankfort Cemetery
Political party	Whig Know Nothing
Relations	Cousin of James Turner Morehead
Alma mater	Transylvania University
Occupation	Farmer
Profession	Lawyer

Charles Slaughter Morehead (July 7, 1802 – December 21, 1868) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky, and served as the 20th Governor of Kentucky. Though a member of the Whig Party for most of his political service, he joined the Know Nothing, or American, Party in 1855, and was the only governor of Kentucky ever elected from that party.

Morehead's political service began in the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1828. In 1832, he was appointed state attorney general. He served in this capacity for five years, and later returned to the Kentucky House, where he was chosen Speaker of the House three times. He was elected to Congress in 1848 and served two terms. After his congressional tenure, he joined the Know Nothing Party and was chosen as the party's candidate for governor in 1855. The campaign was marred by anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic rhetoric that touched off the "Bloody Monday" riots in Louisville.

Morehead was a delegate to the Peace Conference of 1861 and the Border States Convention that attempted to stave off the Civil War. Although he favored Kentucky's neutrality, Morehead sympathized with the South and was an open critic of the Lincoln administration. He was imprisoned for disloyalty in September 1861, although no formal charges were ever brought against him. He was released from prison in January 1862, and afterward fled to Canada, Europe, and Mexico. After the war, he returned to the United States and settled on his plantation in Greenville, Mississippi, where he died on December 21, 1868.