James Milton Amos

Term of Office, 1861-1863

James Milton Amos was born on February 6, 1830. He was the son of Dr. Milton Amos, a renowned citizen of Santa Rosa County. Little information is available on his place of birth, early life, or education. Like a number of other sheriffs, Amos served as the Milton Postmaster from 1851-1852 and was also a member of the Masonic Lodge #16, in Milton. In 1854, Amos married Martha L. Rogers. No record was found as to whether the marriage produced any children.

Amos, who stood about 5’8” tall and had light hair and gray eyes, was elected sheriff of Santa Rosa County in 1861. He served for only two years. His term as sheriff was during a time of great turmoil when the Confederate States of America had governing power. One of the problems he faced, in the last year of his term, was to confiscate all liquor and turn it over to the military for wartime medical purposes.

Following his term as sheriff, Amos became a member of the House of Representatives and served in this capacity from 1863-1864. In the summer of 1863, the Third Battalion of the Florida Cavalry was organized and was comprised of various independent companies from west Florida. It later became known as the Fifteenth Confederate Cavalry. No date is given as to when Amos may have enlisted into the cavalry but he is listed as having been released from military service on May 31, 1865 at Montgomery Alabama. He served in Company D at the rank of private. According to military records, from the Alabama Department of Archives and History, in Montgomery, Amos also served as a private in Company G Hilliby Blues, 14th Alabama Volunteers, CSA.

Little is known as to the road he followed after the war. Amos died on March 22, 1879. His wife died September 19, 1892.  Both are buried in the Magnolia Cemetery in Greenville, Alabama.