John Barnwell (July 15, 1748 – August 27, 1800) was a soldier and public official from
South Carolina
)'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
.
He was the son of Nathaniel Barnwell and Mary Gibbes. During the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
, he served in the
South Carolina Provincial Congress
The Provincial Congresses were extra-legal legislative bodies established in ten of the Thirteen Colonies early in the American Revolution. Some were referred to as congresses while others used different terms for a similar type body. These bodies ...
(1775–1776) and the first
South Carolina General Assembly (1776). As a major in the
South Carolina militia during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, he was captured at Charlestown in 1780 and was later released in a prisoner exchange. He was appointed a general in the South Carolina militia after the war.
He frequently served in the
South Carolina Senate from 1778 until his death. He was elected to the
Confederation Congress
The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Mar ...
in 1784 but did not attend. He was a member of the state convention to ratify the
United States Constitution in 1788. In 1795, he was elected to the
4th United States Congress but declined to serve.
Barnwell County, South Carolina
Barnwell County is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 20,589. Barnwell County is part of the Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located in the Central Savann ...
, is named for him,
or possibly his brother
Robert Barnwell
Robert Gibbes Barnwell (December 21, 1761October 24, 1814) was a South Carolina slave owner, revolutionary and statesman who was a delegate to the Confederation Congress and a United States Congressman.
Barnwell was born in Beaufort in the ...
or his grandfather
John Barnwell
John Barnwell (born 24 December 1938) is an English former football player and manager. He was the chief executive of the League Managers Association.
Career Arsenal
Born in Newcastle, Barnwell first played as an amateur for Whitley Bay and ...
. Other relatives include
Robert Woodward Barnwell
Robert Woodward Barnwell (August 10, 1801 – November 5, 1882) was an American slave owner, planter, lawyer, and educator from South Carolina who served as a Senator in both the United States Senate and that of the Confederate States of Amer ...
and Senator
Robert Barnwell Rhett
Robert Barnwell Rhett (born Robert Barnwell Smith; December 21, 1800September 14, 1876) was an American politician who served as a deputy from South Carolina to the Provisional Confederate States Congress from 1861 to 1862, a member of the US H ...
.
Notes
References
*Kane, Joseph Nathan and Charles Curry Aiken. ''The American counties: origins of county names, dates of creation, and population data, 1950-2000'', 5th edition (Scarecrow Press, 2004), p. 15.
*Reynolds, Emily Bellinger and Joan Reynolds Faunt, comps. ''Biographical Directory of the Senate of the State of South Carolina, 1776–1964''. Columbia, South Carolina Archives Dept., 1964.
1748 births
1800 deaths
American militia generals
South Carolina militiamen in the American Revolution
South Carolina state senators
American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain
18th-century American politicians
{{SouthCarolina-stub