Albert Smith Marks (October 16, 1836November 4, 1891) was an American attorney, soldier and politician. He was the 21st governor of Tennessee from 1879 to 1881. Prior to that, he had served as a state chancery court judge. Marks fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, and part of his leg was amputated as a result of a wound suffered at the Battle of Stones River in 1862. Early life Marks was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, one of seven children of Elisha Marks and Elizabeth (Lashbrook) Marks. His parents were pious Methodists, and initially wanted Albert to become a minister. He attended school in Owensboro until the age of 14, when his father died, and he focused on helping his mother maintain the family farm. Although he had little formal education afterward, he was an avid reader, and poured through multiple books on history and ancient literature. When he was 19, Marks moved to Winchester, Tennessee, to work in the law firm of his mother's cousin, Arthur S. Colyar. He read law with Colyar, and was admitted to the bar in 1858. The firm then practiced under the name Colyar, Marks and Frizzell. After Frizzell withdrew in 1861, the firm continued as Colyar and Marks. Civil War Although he was a Southern Democrat, Marks was an opponent of secession. In early 1861, he ran as the pro-Union candidate for his district's representative to the state's proposed convention on secession, and canvassed with his opponent, future governor Peter Turney. When war broke out, Marks nevertheless joined the Confederate Army. He was elected captain of Company E, 17th Tennessee Infantry, which was initially under the command of Felix K. Zollicoffer, and saw action at the battles of Camp Wildcat (October 1861) and Mill Springs (January 1862) in Kentucky. After Zollicoffer's death in the latter engagement, the 17th was reassigned to General Bushrod Johnson's forces. In May 1862, Marks was promoted to major. During a reorganization of Confederate forces in June 1862, Marks was promoted to colonel, and placed in command of the 17th. His regiment was assigned to General Simon B. Buckner's division, which launched an invasion of Kentucky in the Fall of 1862. Marks's regiment fought at the Battle of Munfordville, where was he chosen by Buckner to accept the formal surrender of Union forces. Following this invasion, the 17th was assigned to General Patrick Cleburne's division, with which it