William Gilmore Simms (April 17, 1806 – June 11, 1870) was an American writer and politician from the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

who was a "staunch defender" of slavery. A poet, novelist, and historian, his ''History of South Carolina'' served as the definitive textbook on state history for much of the 20th century. Literary scholars consider him a major force in antebellum Southern literature; in 1845

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

pronounced him the best novelist America had ever produced. Throughout much of his literary career he served as editor of several journals and newspapers."Review of ''From Nationalism to Secessionism: The Changing Fiction of William Gilmore Simms'' by Charles S. Watson," reviewed by Richard J. Calhoun, '' South Atlantic Review'' 60.1 (1995), pp. 149-151. He also served in 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 ...

from 1844–1846.

Early and family life

Simms was born on April 17, 1806, in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

,Ehrlich, Eugene and Gorton Carruth. ''The Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide to the United States''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982: 249. of Scots-Irish ancestors. His mother, Harriet Ann Augusta (''née'' Singleton, 1784-1808) died during his infancy; his father William Gilmore Simms Senior (1762-1830) failed in business and joined Coffee's Indian fighters. Simms was raised by his maternal grandmother, Jane Miller Singleton Gates, who had lived through the American Revolutionary War and who told Simms stories about it. 1911 Britannica. In his teen years, Simms worked as a clerk in a drugstore and aspired to study medicine. Simms began to study law when he was eighteen (circa 1824).Hubbell, Jay B. ''The South in American Literature: 1607-1900''. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1954: 573. He would receive an honorary LLD from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

in 1841. He married Anna Malcolm Giles in 1826. After her death, he married Chevillette Eliza Roach (pronounced "Roche"), with whom he had 14 children, only 5 of whom lived to adulthood. He was admitted to the South Carolina bar in 1827; however, he soon abandoned this profession for literature.

Early writings

Simms first wrote poetry at the age of eight. In his 19th year, he produced a

monody In music, monody refers to a solo vocal style distinguished by having a single melodic line and instrumental accompaniment. Although such music is found in various cultures throughout history, the term is specifically applied to Italian song of ...

on General

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (February 25, 1746 – August 16, 1825) was an American Founding Father, statesman of South Carolina, Revolutionary War veteran, and delegate to the Constitutional Convention where he signed the United States Constit ...

(Charleston, 1825). Two years later, in 1827, he published ''Lyrical and Other Poems and Early Lays''. In 1828 he became a journalist as well as editor and part owner of the ''City Gazette'', a position he held until 1832 when the publication failed. Simms devoted his attention entirely to writing and in rapid succession published ''The Vision of Cortes, Cain, and Other Poems'' (1829); ''The Tricolor, or Three Days of Blood in Paris'' (1830); and his strongest long poem, ''Atalantis, a Tale of the Sea'' (1832). ''Atalantis'' established his fame as an author. His novel ''Martin Faber, the Story of a Criminal'', an expanded version of an earlier short story called "The Confessions of a Murderer", was published in 1833. This gained Simms a national audience.

Editor and politician

Simms also edited several South Carolina newspapers, and in the 1840s and 1850s edited important southern journals, including the ''Magnolia'', the ''Southern and Western,'' and the proslavery ''Southern Quarterly Review.'' During the nullification controversy prompted by South Carolina in 1832, Simms supported Union. In the 1840s he pushed for American freedom from British literary models and supported the intensely nationalistic Young America group. Based on the popularity of the novels described below, Simms became part of the Southern planter class. He came to firmly support slavery (a "fire-eater"), an attitude that when held widely by Southerners helped lead to secession and creation of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

and 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 ...

. Elected to the

, Simms served from 1844–1846. However he lost election for

lieutenant governor of South Carolina The lieutenant governor of South Carolina is the second-in-command to the governor of South Carolina. Beyond overseeing the Office on Aging and the responsibility to act or serve as governor in the event of the office's vacancy, the duties of th ...

by only one vote.

Novels about the South

Simms wrote a number of popular books between 1830 and 1860, sometimes focusing on the pre-colonial and colonial periods of Southern history, and replete with local color. His first success was with '' The Yemassee'' (1835, about the

Yemassee War The Yamasee War (also spelled Yamassee or Yemassee) was a conflict fought in South Carolina from 1715 to 1717 between British settlers from the Province of Carolina and the Yamasee and a number of other allied Native American peoples, includ ...

of 1715 in the South Carolina low country). Simms also published eight novels set in South Carolina 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 ...

, beginning with ''

The Partisan "The Partisan" is an anti-fascist anthem about the French Resistance in World War II. The song was composed in 1943 by Russian-born Anna Marly (1917–2006), with lyrics by French Resistance leader Emmanuel d'Astier de La Vigerie (1900–1969), ...

'' (1835), which was perhaps Simms's most-read novel, and ''Katharine Walton'' (1851). Other South Carolina-related books included ''Mellichampe'' (1836), ''The Kinsmen'' (1841), Woodcraft (1854), ''The Forayers'' (1855), ''Eutaw'' (1856), and ''Joscelyn'' (1867). He later published ten novels dealing with the expansion into the frontier territory from Georgia to Louisiana, including ''Richard Hurdis; or, the Avenger of Blood. A Tale of Alabama'' (1838) and ''Border Beagles: A Tale of Mississippi'' (1840). He also wrote about the conflicts between Native Americans, Spaniards and French in Florida in ''The Lily and the Totem, or, The

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss politica ...

in Florida'' (1850); ''Vasconselos'' (1853; an account of DeSoto's expedition from the Native American viewpoint); and the overlapping experiences of Native Americans, Spanish, and English in ''The Cassique of Kiawah'' (1859; a novel set during the 1680s in Colonial-era Charleston). Regarding America's native population, Simms once said that "Our blinding prejudices... have been fostered as necessary to justify the reckless and unsparing hand with which hite Americanshave smitten them in their habitations and expelled them from their country." At first, Southern readers, especially those in his home town of Charleston, did not support Simms's work, in part because he lacked an aristocratic background. Eventually, however, he was referred to as the Southern version of

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...

, and Charleston residents invited him into their prestigious St. Cecilia Society. In 1845, Simms published ''The Wigwam and the Cabin'' (1845); a compilation of short stories, one of which describes a loyal slave.

thought the collection "decidedly the most American of American books". and declared Simms to be "immeasurably the greatest writer of fiction in America." In 1852, Simms published ''As Good as A Comedy; Or, The Tennessean’s Story.'' It and "Paddy McGann" (1867) constitute his two full-length works of Southern humor; he also wrote "Sharp Snaffles" and "Bill Bauldy," two tall tales. He also wrote poetry and, in a letter to literary critic and poet

Rufus Wilmot Griswold Rufus Wilmot Griswold (February 13, 1815 – August 27, 1857) was an American anthologist, editor, poet, and critic. Born in Vermont, Griswold left home when he was 15 years old. He worked as a journalist, editor, and critic in Philadelphia, New Y ...

, Simms said that he was not interested in form as much as content, torn "between the desire to appear correct, and the greater desire to be original and true".

Nonfiction history and biography

Simms' ''History of South Carolina'' (1842) served for several generations as the standard school textbook on the state's history. He also wrote ''The Social Principle: The True Source of National Permanence'' (1843) and several very popular biographies of Revolutionary War heroes

Francis Marion Brigadier-General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the Swamp Fox, was an American military officer, planter and politician who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. During the Ameri ...

Nathanael Greene Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependabl ...

, and

John Laurens John Laurens (October 28, 1754 – August 27, 1782) was an American soldier and statesman from Province of South Carolina, South Carolina during the American Revolutionary War, best known for his criticism of slavery and his efforts to help recr ...

. He also penned a compendium of

Captain John Smith John Smith (baptized 6 January 1580 – 21 June 1631) was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author. He played an important role in the establishment of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first pe ...

’s works covering the founding of the Virginia Colony as well as a book detailing the

Chevalier Bayard Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard (c. 1476 – 30 April 1524) was a French knight and military leader at the transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, generally known as the Chevalier de Bayard. Throughout the centuries since his ...

. Simms wrote a history of Alabama, and was a popular lecturer on American history. He accumulated one of the largest collections of Revolutionary War manuscripts in the country. Most of this collection was lost when stragglers from Sherman's army burned his plantation home Woodlands, located in Bamberg, SC.Busick, Sean R. ''A Sober Desire for History: William Gilmore Simms as Historian.'', 2005. .

Pro-slavery writings

William Gilmore Simms at National Portrait Gallery IMG_4394

Simms strongly supported

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. In the November 1837 issue of the ''Southern Literary Messenger'', Simms published a lengthy review of English social reformer

Harriet Martineau Harriet Martineau (; 12 June 1802 – 27 June 1876) was an English social theorist often seen as the first female sociologist, focusing on racism, race relations within much of her published material.Michael R. Hill (2002''Harriet Martineau: Th ...

's ''Society in America'', a review that essentially functioned as an extended defense of slavery. This essay would be published as a standalone pamphlet the next year under the title ''Slavery in America''; the essay would be republished in 1852 under the title "The Morals of Slavery" as part of the edited volume ''The Pro-Slavery Argument''. Simms was very critical of ''

Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U. ...

'' and wrote negative reviews."Simms's Review of Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Charles S. Watson, ''American Literature,'' Vol. 48, No. 3 (Nov., 1976), pp. 365-368 Some scholars have argued that his 1852 novel ''The Sword and the Distaff''--republished in a slightly revised edition in 1854 under the title ''Woodcraft''--is an example of

Anti-Tom literature Anti-Tom literature consists of the 19th century pro-slavery novels and other literary works written in response to Harriet Beecher Stowe's ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''. Also called plantation literature, these writings were generally written by author ...

; these scholars often rely on the readings of Joseph V. Ridgely. Other scholars see Ridgely's reading as faulty, citing an excessive reliance placed on an offhand remark Simms makes in a letter from 1852 and problems with the chronology of Simms's composition of Woodcraft alongside the publication of ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''. Simms was part of a "sacred circle" of southern intellectuals including

Edmund Ruffin Edmund Ruffin III (January 5, 1794 – June 18, 1865) was a wealthy Virginia planter who served in the Virginia Senate from 1823 to 1827. In the last three decades before the American Civil War, his pro-slavery writings received more attention th ...

James Henry Hammond James Henry Hammond (November 15, 1807 – November 13, 1864) was an attorney, politician, and planter from South Carolina. He served as a United States representative from 1835 to 1836, the 60th Governor of South Carolina from 1842 to 1844, and ...

Nathaniel Beverley Tucker Nathaniel Beverley Tucker (September 6, 1784 – August 26, 1851) was an American author, judge, legal scholar, and political essayist. Life and politics Tucker was generally known by his middle name. He was born into a socially elite and p ...

, and

George Frederick Holmes George Frederick Holmes (1820 – November 4, 1897), emigrated to the United States where he taught history and literature and became the first Chancellor of the University of Mississippi (from 1848 to 1849). From 1857 until his death, Holmes taug ...

. Together they published numerous articles calling for moral reform of the South, including a stewardship role of masters in relation to slavery.Drew Gilpin Faust, ''A Sacred Circle: The Dilemma of the Intellectual in the Old South, 1840-1860'', University of Pennsylvania Press, 1977

American Civil War and final years

During the

, Simms espoused the side of the Secessionists in a weekly newspaper. Only his eldest son, who shared his name, was old enough to serve in the Confederate army, and because of the common name, his identification as a volunteer or conscript private is unclear. Stragglers from Sherman's army burnt and destroyed Simms' plantation home Woodlands near the South Carolina border, along with 10,000 books and Revolutionary era manuscripts. Other than for the backwoods novel ''Paddy McGann'' (1863), Simms published little after the Civil War began. He advised several southern politicians and made elaborate proposals for Confederate military defenses. During the war, he wrote little of literary importance. His family impoverished by the war, Simms took on many writing and editing chores which ruined his health. He compiled an anthology of Southern war poems in 1866.

Death and legacy

Simms died of cancer at his eldest daughter's home at 13 Society Street in Charleston on June 11, 1870. He is buried in Magnolia Cemetery. A large bronze bust of Simms is centrally located in Charleston's

Battery Park The Battery, formerly known as Battery Park, is a public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City facing New York Harbor. It is bounded by Battery Place on the north, State Street on the east, New York Harbor to ...

. The bust was sculpted by John Quincy Adams Ward with a granite base designed by Edward Brickell White."The Simms Memorial". ''News and Courier''. June 6, 1879. p. 4 The monument was dedicated in 1879. In 2016, the family had a ceremony honoring him in Hanahan,

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 = ...

Posthumous reputation

Scholars at DocSouth note Simms's volume of work describes the historic and cultural diversity of the South, from the class hierarchy, sectional self-consciousness and agrarian economy of the Low Country; to both the violence and civilization of the Gulf South (which had both plantations and frontier); and the pioneering of the Appalachian Mountains. David Aiken, an editorial board member of the

white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...

neo-Confederate Neo-Confederates are groups and individuals who portray the Confederate States of America and its actions during the American Civil War in a positive light. The League of the South, the Sons of Confederate Veterans and other neo-Confederate organ ...

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...

organization The

League of the South The League of the South (LS) is an American white nationalist, neo-Confederate, white supremacist organization, headquartered in Killen, Alabama, which states that its ultimate goal is "a free and independent Southern republic". The group def ...

, lamented that Simms was purged from the canon of American literature because of the "unpardonable sin Simms committed when he published an account of Columbia, South Carolina's destruction in which he dared to deny the North a righteous victory." Simms asserted of the North's tactics in the Civil War, "whatever might have existed in virtue of their cause, is forfeit by the processes which they have taken for its maintenance." Author and segregationist Donald Davidson claimed, "The neglect of Simms's stature is nothing less than a scandal when it results....in the disappearance of his books from the common market and therefore from the readers' bookshelf. This is literary murder". Literary scholars and historians continue to recognize Simms as a major force in Antebellum literature and a leading intellectual. The University of South Carolina has digitized most of his works and papers, which have been digitized by the available as print on demand books. During recent years, a "Simms Renascence" has included scholars such as James E. Kibler, Mary Ann Wimsatt, Sean Busick, Charles S. Watson, and John C. Guilds. Kibler may be currently the leading authority on Simms's poetry; Guilds produced the major biography of the prolific author; Busick has concentrated on Simms's work as a historian; Wimsatt has published "The Major Fiction of William Gilmore Simms" as well as an edited version of his short stories, titled "Tales of the South" (a writer for "The Virginia Quarterly Review" calls Wimsatt's introduction to the tales "magisterial"). Contributing to the renascence is a handsome journal titled "The Simms Review." Issued annually, it contains recent articles about the author.

List of works

*''Monody, on the Death of Gen. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney'' (1825) *''Lyrical and Other Poems'' (1827) *''Tile Vision of Cortes, Cain, and Other Poems'' (1829) *''The Tricolor, or Three Days of Blood in Paris'' (1830) *''Atalantis, a Tale of the Sea'' (1832). *''Martin Faber, the Story of a Criminal'' (1833) *''Guy Rivers: A Tale of Georgia'' (1834) *'' The Yemassee'' (1835) *''

'' (1835) *''Pelayo: a Story of the Goth'' (1838) *''Mellichampe'' (1836) *''Richard Hurdis; or, the Avenger of Blood. A Tale of Alabama'' (1838) *''Border Beagles: A Tale of Mississippi'' (1840) *''History of South Carolina''
1840
with an expanded second edition i
1860
*''The Kinsmen'' (1841) *''The Wigwam and the Cabin'' (1845) *’’The Life of Captain John Smith, the Founder of Virginia” (1846) *''The Lily and the Totem, or, The Huguenots in Florida'' (1850) *''Katharine Walton'' (1851) *''The Tennessean's Story'' (1852) *''The Golden Christmas'' (1852) *''Vasconselos'' (1853) *''Southward Ho! A Spell of Sunshine'' (1854) *''Woodcraft'' (1854) *''The Forayers'' (1855) *''Eutaw'' (1856) *''The Cassique of Kiawah'' (1859) * ''Simms' poems: Areytos Songs and Ballads of the South'' (1860) *''A City Laid Waste: The Capture, Sack, and Destruction of the City of Columbia'' (1865
online
*''Joscelyn'' (1867)

Footnotes

External links

The Simms Initiatives at the University of South Carolina

The William Gilmore Simms Society
* * *
Works by William Gilmore Simms
at

The Online Books Page The Online Books Page is an index of e-text books available on the Internet. It is edited by John Mark Ockerbloom and is hosted by the library of the University of Pennsylvania. The Online Books Page lists over 2 million books and has several feat ...

Complete text of ''Martin Faber, the Story of a Criminal''

Biography of Simms

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simms, William Gilmore 1806 births 1870 deaths 19th-century American historians 19th-century American novelists American male novelists 19th-century American poets American proslavery activists Historians of the American Revolution Historians of the Southern United States South Carolina lawyers Lawyers from Charleston, South Carolina Writers from Charleston, South Carolina American male poets Writers of American Southern literature 19th-century American male writers Novelists from South Carolina American white supremacists 19th-century American lawyers Burials at Magnolia Cemetery (Charleston, South Carolina) Deaths from cancer in South Carolina