Tag: John Kenna

Woody Williams Statue Approved For Capitol

The statue of Williams will replace one of John Kenna, a Confederate veteran who represented West Virginia in the U.S. House and Senate.

During its special session this week, the legislature passed a resolution to honor one of West Virginia’s most notable veterans.

Both chambers of the legislature approved a resolution to place a statue of Hershel “Woody” Williams inside the U.S. Capitol.

That resolution came up during the regular session earlier this year but didn’t make it to the finish line.

Williams, who died in 2022 at age 98, was the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from World War II. Williams, who lived in Barboursville, was a Marine Corps veteran who served in combat in the Pacific.

The statue of Williams will replace one of John Kenna, a Confederate veteran who represented West Virginia in the U.S. House and Senate.

Kenna’s statue, which has stood in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall since 1901, will be moved to the Culture Center in Charleston.

January 11, 1893: Senator John Kenna Dies

U.S. Senator John Kenna died in Washington, D.C., on January 11, 1893, at age 44. He was born in Kanawha County. When he was just a child, his father was shot and killed in Charleston. Afterward, his mother moved the family to Missouri, where Kenna served in the Confederate Army for about a year during the Civil War.

After the war, the family returned to Kanawha County, and Kenna became a lawyer. Elected Kanawha County prosecuting attorney when he was 24, he rose quickly through the political ranks. Along with future Governor William MacCorkle, future U.S. Senator W. E. Chilton, and others, Kenna was part of the influential “Kanawha Ring” of Democrats.

He served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives before turning 38. In 1883, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, unseating rival democrat Henry Gassaway Davis. While in Congress, Kenna pushed to improve navigation on the Kanawha River.

His death at age 44 was attributed to pleurisy, complicated by heart trouble. Along with Francis Pierpont, John Kenna is one of two West Virginians memorialized by a statue in the U.S. Capitol.

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