Wade Hampton (early 1750sFebruary 4, 1835) was an American soldier and politician. A two-term U.S. Congressman, he may have been the wealthiest planter, and one of the largest slave holders in the United States, at the time of his death.

Biography

Born in the early 1750s, sources vary on Hampton's exact birth year, listing it as 1751, 1752 or 1754. He was the scion of the politically important Hampton family, which was influential in state politics almost into the 20th century. His second great-grandfather Thomas Hampton (1623–1690) was born in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and settled in the

Virginia Colony The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (histor ...

. Thomas Hampton's father, William, a wool merchant, sailed from England and appears on the 1618 passenger list of the Bona Novo. The ship was blown off course and arrived in Newfoundland. It would arrive in Jamestown the following year, 1619. He would send for his wife and three children to arrive in Jamestown in 1620.

Military career

Hampton served in 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 ...

as a captain in the

2nd South Carolina Regiment The 2nd South Carolina Regiment was raised on June 6, 1775, at Charleston, South Carolina, for service with the Continental Army. History At organization the regiment consisted of 10 companies from eastern South Carolina and was part of the So ...

(1777-1781) and as the lieutenant colonel of a South Carolina

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

cavalry

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 conscript ...

. He was a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

member of Congress for South Carolina from 1795 to 1797 and from 1803 to 1805, and a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia app ...

1800 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 18), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 12 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 16 ...

. He was appointed to the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

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 o ...

of Regiment of Light Dragoons in October 1808, and was promoted to

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 February 1809, appointed as the top military officer in the

Territory of Orleans The Territory of Orleans or Orleans Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from October 1, 1804, until April 30, 1812, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Louisiana. History In 180 ...

.Heitman p. 78 He used the U.S. military presence in New Orleans to suppress the 1811 German Coast Uprising, a slave revolt which he believed was a Spanish plot. In the same year, he purchased ''

The Houmas The Houmas, also known as Burnside Plantation and currently known as Houmas House Plantation and Gardens, is a historic plantation complex and house museum in Burnside, Louisiana. The plantation was established in the late 1700s, with the curre ...

'', a sugar plantation in

Ascension Parish, Louisiana Ascension Parish (french: Paroisse de l'Ascension, es, Parroquia de Ascensión) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 126,500. Its parish seat is Donaldsonville. The parish was created ...

. This may have been a gift for his daughter and son-in-law, as the son-in-law was managing the plantation by 1825. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, Hampton commanded the American forces in the

Battle of the Chateauguay The Battle of the Chateauguay was an engagement of the War of 1812. On 26 October 1813, a combined United Kingdom, British and British North America, Canadian force consisting of 1,530 regulars, volunteers, militia and Mohawk people, Mohawk wa ...

in 1813, leading thousands of U.S. soldiers to defeat at the hands of a little over a thousand colonial Canadian

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

and 180

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans * Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people * Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...

warriors, then getting his army lost in the woods. On April 6, 1814, he resigned his commission and returned to South Carolina.

Later life

Thereafter, he acquired a large fortune through

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various isla ...

speculation. Hampton had a mansion, now known as the Hampton-Preston House, which is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

, in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...

. At his death in the 1830s, it was said that he was the wealthiest planter in the U.S. and possessed some 3,000 slaves amongst his holdings. In his

anti-slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

compendium '' American Slavery As It Is'',

Theodore Weld Theodore Dwight Weld (November 23, 1803 – February 3, 1895) was one of the architects of the American abolitionist movement during its formative years from 1830 to 1844, playing a role as writer, editor, speaker, and organizer. He is best known ...

cites a witness who heard him boasting that he killed some of his slaves for a nutritional experiment. The witness represents Hampton's words as: " ey died like rotten sheep!!" Wade Hampton I is interred in the churchyard at Trinity Episcopal Church in Columbia, South Carolina's

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...

. His son

Wade Hampton II Wade Hampton II (April 21, 1791 – February 10, 1858) was an American politician, plantation owner, and soldier in the War of 1812. He was a member of the Hampton family, whose influence was strong in South Carolina politics and social circles fo ...

and grandson

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 ...

also became prominent in South Carolina social and political circles.

Legacy

Fort Hampton, a fort in Alabama, was named in honor of General Hampton.

Notes

References

* *

External links

Wade Hampton
in the

Louisiana Historical Association The Louisiana Historical Association is an organization established in 1889 in Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20 ...

's ''Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'' *
Wade Hampton Letter
a
The Historic New Orleans Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hampton, Wade 1 1750s births 1835 deaths United States Army generals United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 1800 United States presidential electors American people of English descent Wade Hampton family American planters American slave owners Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina