Martin Witherspoon Gary (March 25, 1831 – April 9, 1881) was an attorney, soldier, and politician from South Carolina. He attained the rank of
brigadier general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
in the
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. He played a major leadership role in the 1876 Democratic political campaign to elect
Wade Hampton III
Wade Hampton III (March 28, 1818April 11, 1902) was an American military officer who served the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War and later a politician from South Carolina. He came from a wealthy planter family, and ...
as governor, planning a detailed campaign to disrupt the Republican Party and black voters by violence and intimidation.
[Ehren K. Foley, "Sites of Violence: Cainhoy Riot," Citations: "Plan of the Campaign of 1876"](_blank)
, ''South Carolina during Reconstruction'' website, 2010-2012, Papers of Martin Witherspoon Gary, South Caroliniana Library, Columbia, South Carolina, accessed 26 October 2014
Gary was first elected to office as a state representative in 1860. He was elected to the
South Carolina State 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 sam ...
in 1876 from
Edgefield, South Carolina
Edgefield is a town in Edgefield County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,750 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Edgefield County.
Edgefield is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area.
Geography
Edgefield is l ...
, serving two terms. He fell out with Hampton after failing to get appointments to the U.S. Senate in 1877 and 1879, and left politics in 1881 after finishing his second term. He returned to his home in Cokesbury and died in April of that year.
Early life and career
Born in
Cokesbury, South Carolina
Cokesbury is a census-designated place (CDP) in Greenwood County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 215 at the 2010 census, down from 279 in 2000.
History
The name "Cokesbury" is a combination of the names of two prominent bishop ...
, to Dr. Thomas Reeder Gary and Mary Ann Porter, the young Gary received his primary education at Cokesbury Academy before enrolling at
South Carolina College in 1850. His participation in
Great Biscuit Rebellion
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
at the University of South Carolina in 1852 resulted in his withdrawal from the state college. The protesters demanded leave from compulsory participation in campus dining which was said to include wormy biscuits. He later returned to his studies and graduated from
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1854. In 1855, Gary was admitted to the bar in South Carolina and began practicing as a lawyer in
Edgefield.
Civil War
Gary was elected in 1860 to the
South Carolina House of Representatives
The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections.
Unlike many legislatures, seati ...
as a
secessionist
Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics lea ...
. His time in office was short.
When South Carolina seceded in 1861, he joined
Hamptons Legion as a
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
of infantry. At the
First Battle of Manassas
The First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the Battle of First Manassas , he was given control of the Legion after his superior officers were disabled. By 1862 Gary had been elected as
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
of the infantry
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
in the Legion and was promoted to
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
when given control of a
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
. Hampton's Legion came under the command of General
Longstreet and was active in the
battles of Virginia through mid-1863 before being transferred to help the
Army of Tennessee
The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating i ...
in the latter part of the year.
Back east, Gary was commissioned as a
brigadier general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
of a
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.
Br ...
. The
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.
Br ...
was part of the
Department of Richmond until January 1865. It included the infantry
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
of Hamptons Legion that had been mounted on March 11, 1864 and transferred from Longstreets Corps.
[Sifakis Page. 106-107] The Brigade was transferred to the Cavalry Corps,
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most oft ...
in January 1865, but Gary refused to surrender with General
Lee at
Appomattox. Instead he led 200 men of his brigade to escort President
Davis
Davis may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Mount Davis (Antarctica)
* Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago)
* Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land
Canada
* Davis, Saskatchewan, an unincorporated community
* Davis Strait, between Nunavut and Gre ...
and his cabinet from
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...
, to his mother's house in
Cokesbury
Cokesbury is the retail division of the United Methodist Publishing House. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Cokesbury serves as an agency of the United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant d ...
, where he ended his service as a Confederate soldier.
Postbellum activities
After the war, Gary resumed his law practice in Edgefield and pursued a number of other business ventures. Fed up with the
Radical Republican
The Radical Republicans (later also known as "Stalwarts") were a faction within the Republican Party, originating from the party's founding in 1854, some 6 years before the Civil War, until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Recon ...
government which obeyed the constitutional amendments and allowed the African-American majority in the South Carolina population to have a say in the government, he became an outspoken racist. On one occasion he said "that the negro shall not become a part of the body politic, or from any qualification either as to education or property, be allowed to vote in this country." Gary worked with white
paramilitary
A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
groups, rifle clubs and the
Red Shirts, who organized in 1874 to suppress black voting in the state. A manuscript of his "Plan of the Campaign of 1876" shows the level of detail and attention he gave to this project.
In the summer of 1876,
Matthew Calbraith Butler wrote to his former commander,
Wade Hampton III
Wade Hampton III (March 28, 1818April 11, 1902) was an American military officer who served the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War and later a politician from South Carolina. He came from a wealthy planter family, and ...
, urging him to seek the governorship in the upcoming election. Butler omitted the details of the violent campaign planned by Gary and others, and Hampton accepted. Two years later Gary claimed credit for convincing Hampton to run.
It soon became apparent that Hampton did not support Gary's campaign plan, known as a modified version of the
Mississippi Plan
The Mississippi Plan of 1875 was developed by white Southern Democrats as part of the white insurgency during the Reconstruction Era in the Southern United States. It was devised by the Democratic Party in that state to overthrow the Republican Pa ...
or the "Shotgun Policy.
It was also known in South Carolina as the "Edgefield Plan" due to Gary's leadership in its design and implementation. It called for the bribery or intimidation of African-American Republican voters by local Democratic "rifle clubs" or "Red Shirts," formed ostensibly to attend campaign events and to ensure order at polling places.
The Red Shirts conducted parades and rode openly at political gatherings with the overt goal of overturning the Republicans.
Gary's tactics helped Hampton to win, as black Republican voting was deeply suppressed in Aiken and Edgefield counties.
[Melinda Meeks Hennessy, “Racial Violence During Reconstruction: The 1876 Riots in Charleston and Cainhoy”](_blank)
''South Carolina Historical Magazine,'' Vol. 86, No. 2, (April 1985), 104-106 In addition, Hampton had expressed himself as a moderate with paternalistic interest in blacks and won their trust and votes in several areas.
![Robert E Lee with his Generals, 1869](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Robert_E_Lee_with_his_Generals%2C_1869.jpg)
In Edgefield and Laurens counties, the total votes for Hampton exceeded the total number of registered voters. The election returns from these two counties were challenged by the state board of returns. Their contribution was critical, as Hampton had a victory margin of only 1100 votes statewide. Hampton's victory resulted from a deal between South Carolina Democratic leaders and the national Republican Party. In April 1877 Republican candidate
Hayes received the hitherto contested votes of South Carolina electors and was finally declared the winner of the contested United States presidential race. In return, he ordered the withdrawal of Federal troops from South Carolina and Louisiana, ending the formal Reconstruction era.
Gary was elected to the state senate from
Edgefield County
Edgefield County is a county located on the western border of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 25,657. Its county seat and largest municipality is Edgefield. The county was established on March 12, 17 ...
in 1876, defeating
Lawrence Cain,
and was reelected in 1878. During his time in the State Senate, he became a vocal opponent of Governor Hampton because Hampton blocked his appointment to a
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
seat in 1877 and 1879. In addition, Hampton and his allies prevented Gary's candidacy in the gubernatorial election of 1880. Upon leaving the South Carolina Senate in 1881, Gary returned to his family home in Cokesbury. He died there on April 9, and was buried in
Tabernacle Cemetery in Cokesbury.
See also
*
List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)
Confederate generals
__NOTOC__
* Assigned to duty by E. Kirby Smith
* Incomplete appointments
* State militia generals
The Confederate and United States processes for appointment, nomination and confirmation of general officers were essential ...
Notes
References
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External links
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South Carolina Legislature Biography of Martin Witherspoon Gary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gary, Martin Witherspoon
1831 births
1881 deaths
People from Cokesbury, South Carolina
South Carolina lawyers
Democratic Party South Carolina state senators
Democratic Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives
Confederate States Army brigadier generals
People of South Carolina in the American Civil War
Harvard University alumni
19th-century American politicians
19th-century American lawyers
American white supremacists