Edmund Winston Pettus was a prominent Confederate officer during the Civil War, rising to the rank of brigadier general. Following the war, he served as a U.S. Senator for Alabama from 1897 to 1907. Pettus was also known for his leadership role in the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist organization that employed violence and intimidation against African Americans during the Reconstruction era.
January 26, 1903: Re-election to the U.S. Senate
Edmund Pettus was re-elected to the U.S. Senate by the Alabama state legislature on January 26, 1903.
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January 22, 1907: Final Re-election to the U.S. Senate
Edmund Pettus secured his final re-election to the U.S. Senate on January 22, 1907. This term was set to begin in 1909.
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July 27, 1907: Death of Edmund Pettus
Edmund Pettus passed away on July 27, 1907, at the age of 86.
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1907: Death of Edmund Pettus
Edmund Pettus died in the summer of 1907, during his time in office as a U.S. Senator.
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1909: Posthumous Senate Term
Edmund Pettus was elected to the U.S. Senate for a term that would have begun in 1909, but he died before he could serve.
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1940: Bridge Named After Edmund Pettus
A bridge spanning the Alabama River in Selma was named after Edmund Pettus in 1940.
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1940: Edmund Pettus Bridge Construction
The Edmund Pettus Bridge across the Alabama River in Selma was built in 1940.
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1965: Edmund Pettus Bridge and the Civil Rights Movement
In 1965, the Edmund Pettus Bridge became a landmark of the civil rights movement when a march for voting rights was met with violence from state troopers and the KKK.
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1965: Bloody Sunday on the Edmund Pettus Bridge
The Edmund Pettus Bridge became a focal point of the civil rights movement in 1965 when peaceful demonstrators marching for voting rights were attacked on the bridge.
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2020: Proposal to Rename the Edmund Pettus Bridge
In 2020, Caroline Randall Williams, Edmund Pettus' great-great-granddaughter, suggested renaming the bridge after civil rights leader John Lewis.
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