John Barnwell (July 15, 1748 – August 27, 1800) was a soldier and public official from South Carolina. He was the son of Nathaniel Barnwell and Mary Gibbes. During the American Revolution, he served in the South Carolina Provincial Congress (1775–1776) and the first

South Carolina General Assembly The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and t ...

(1776). As a major in the

South Carolina militia The South Carolina National Guard consists of the South Carolina Army National Guard and the South Carolina Air National Guard] American law specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions. In fact, the National Guard i ...

during the American Revolutionary War, 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 The South Carolina Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives. It consists of 46 senators elected from single member districts for four-year terms at the sa ...

from 1778 until his death. He was elected to the Confederation Congress in 1784 but did not attend. He was a member of the state convention to ratify the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

in 1788. In 1795, he was elected to the

4th United States Congress The 4th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsy ...

but declined to serve. Barnwell County, South Carolina, is named for him, or possibly his brother Robert Barnwell or his grandfather John Barnwell. Other relatives include Robert Woodward Barnwell and Senator Robert Barnwell Rhett.

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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