15. Continuously plagued by controversy throughout his lifetime, Robert Potter was kicked out of both Congress and the North Carolina legislature before being murdered in Texas
Serving in the United States Navy from 1815 until 1821, Robert Potter was subsequently admitted to the bar before entering politics. Elected to the North Carolina House of Commons in 1826, earning re-election in 1828, Potter successfully contested the 1828 congressional elections as a Jacksonian. Becoming a Representative from North Carolina, Potter served his first term uneventfully and won re-election in 1830. However, after attacking and castrating two men whom he believed, incorrectly, had slept with his wife, Potter was forced to resign his seat in November 1831. Returning to North Carolina, Potter was swiftly elected to the House of Commons once more.
Unable to avoid controversy, Potter was expelled from the chamber in January 1835. Two scandals have been attributed for this action, with Potter both “cheating at cards” and “brandishing a gun and knife during a fight over a card game”. Departing for Texas, Potter established himself as a prominent figure during the Texas Revolution, even serving as a signatory to the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836. Siding with the Moderators during the Regulator-Moderator War, on March 2, 1842, Potter was murdered after his house was attacked by Regulator militia. Attempting to swim across Lake Soda to safety, Potter was shot and drowned.