Robert Desha as an American politician that represented Tennessee's 5th Congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. He was born near Gallatin, Tennessee on January 14, 1791. He attended the public schools and engaged in mercantile business at Gallatin. On March 12, 1812, he was appointed as a captain in the Twenty-fourth Regiment of the United States Infantry in the War of 1812. He also served as a brevet major before being honorably discharged on June 15, 1815. He was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twentieth and Twenty-first Congresses. He served from March 4, 1827 to March 3, 1831. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1830 for the Twenty-second Congress. He moved to Mobile, Alabama and continued to engage in mercantile pursuits there until his death on February 6, 1849. He was interred in Magnolia Cemetery.
This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
