Ethelbert Barksdale (January 4, 1824 – February 17, 1893) was a slave owner,[1] a U.S. Representative from Mississippi, and a member of the Confederate States Congress during the American Civil War.

He was the younger brother of William Barksdale, a Confederate general who was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War.

He edited the official journal of the state from 1854 to 1861 and again in 1876–1883, served as editor of the Jackson Clarion, has been active in Democratic Party politics, and earned the moniker, the Sir Robert Peel, of Mississippi.

Near the war's end, in an effort to provide recruits for the Confederate States Army, Barksdale introduced legislation that would permit "Negroes" to fight for the South against the Union, a measure supported by Robert E.

[4] Initially it passed the Confederate House, was barely defeated in the Senate, but weeks later, a version of this "last resort" effort was eventually approved, though never implemented.