Joseph Brooks (politician)

Joseph Brooks
19th Postmaster of Little Rock, Arkansas
In office
March 19, 1875  April 30, 1877
Nominated byUlysses S. Grant
Preceded byJames S. Pollock
Succeeded byOzro A. Hadley
Personal details
Born(1812-11-01)November 1, 1812
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
DiedApril 30, 1877(1877-04-30) (aged 64)
Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Resting placeBellefontaine Cemetery,
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
38°41′29.2″N 90°13′49.4″W / 38.691444°N 90.230389°W / 38.691444; -90.230389
Political partyRepublican
SpouseEllen Brooks
EducationIndiana Asbury University
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/serviceUnited States Volunteers
Years of service1862–1865
RankChaplain
Unit
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Joseph Brooks (November 1, 1821 April 30, 1877) was a Methodist minister, newspaper editor, and politician who served as the 19th postmaster of Little Rock, Arkansas, from 1875 to 1877. During the Reconstruction Period in Arkansas (1864–74), Brooks and the "Brindle Tails" faction of the state's Republican Party led a coalition group in an attempt to overthrow Republican governor Elisha Baxter. The Spring 1874 coup d'état attempt came to be known as the Brooks–Baxter War.

Brooks was wounded during the assassination of James M. Hinds, a Democrat who had supported Reconstruction, by a member of the Ku Klux Klan.