Arthur Middleton (June 26, 1742 – January 1, 1787) was a

Founding Father of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary Patriots, also known as Revolutionaries, Continentals, Rebels, or American Whigs, were t ...

as a signer of the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...

, representing South Carolina in the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1 ...

Life

Middleton was born in Charleston,

Province of South Carolina Province of South Carolina, originally known as Clarendon Province, was a province of Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712 to 1776. It was one of the five Southern colonies and one of the thirteen American colonies. The monar ...

, in 1742. His parents were Henry Middleton and Mary Baker Williams, both of English descent. He was educated in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

, and

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

. He studied law at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

and traveled extensively in Europe where his taste in literature, music, and art was developed and refined. In 1764, Arthur and his bride Mary Izard settled at

Middleton Place Middleton Place is a plantation in Dorchester County, along the banks of the Ashley River west of the Ashley and about northwest of downtown Charleston, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Built in several phases during the 18th and 19th cent ...

. Keenly interested in Carolina, Middleton was a more radical thinker than his father. He was a leader of the American Party in Carolina and one of the boldest members of the

Council of Safety In the American Revolution, committees of correspondence, committees of inspection (also known as committees of observation), and committees of safety were different local committees of Patriots that became a shadow government; they took control ...

and its Secret Committee. In 1776, Middleton was elected to succeed his father in the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

and subsequently was a signer of the

. Also in 1776, he and

William Henry Drayton William Henry Drayton (September 1742 – September 3, 1779) was an American Founding Father, planter, and lawyer from Charleston, South Carolina. He served as a delegate for South Carolina to the Continental Congress in 1778-79 and signed t ...

designed the Great Seal of South Carolina. His attitude toward

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

was said to be ruthless, this stood in contrast to other South Carolina patriots such as

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 ...

who led the effort to reconcile with the loyalists after the war ended. 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 ...

, Middleton served in the defense of Charleston. After the city's fall to the British in 1780, he was sent as a prisoner of war to St. Augustine, Florida (along with Edward Rutledge and Thomas Heyward Jr.), until exchanged in July the following year.

Death, family and legacy

Middleton died on January 1, 1787, at age 44 and was buried in the family tomb in the Gardens at Middleton Place.''Congressional Record''
/ref> The death notice from the ''State Gazette of South-Carolina'' describes him as a "tender husband and parent, humane master, steady unshaken patriot, the gentleman, and the scholar." The plantation passed to

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, his eldest son, later governor of South Carolina, U.S. Representative and minister to Russia. Middleton was an ancestor of actor Charles B. Middleton, who played

Ming the Merciless Ming the Merciless is a fictional character who first appeared in the ''Flash Gordon'' comic strip in 1934. He has since been the main villain of the strip and its related movie serials, television series and film adaptation. Ming is depicted as ...

in the

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adve ...

movies of the 1930s. Middleton's son-in-law was Congressman

Daniel Elliott Huger Daniel Elliott Huger (June 28, 1779August 21, 1854) was a United States senator from South Carolina. Born on Limerick plantation, Berkeley County (near Charleston), his father was Daniel Huger, a Continental Congressman and U.S. Representativ ...

who was the grandfather-in-law of Confederate General Arthur Middleton Manigault. Middleton's sister, Susannah Middleton, was the great-great-grandmother of Baldur von Schirach, onetime leader of the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

and later governor ("Gauleiter" or "Reichsstatthalter") of the Reichsgau Vienna, who was convicted of

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

at the

Nuremberg trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945 ...

The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

ship USS ''Arthur Middleton'' (AP-55/APA-25) was named for him.

References

External links

*
Middleton Place

Biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1856
{{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, Arthur 1742 births 1787 deaths Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina South Carolina colonial people Middleton family American people of Barbadian descent American people of English descent Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence Continental Congressmen from South Carolina 18th-century American politicians People of South Carolina in the American Revolution American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain People educated at Harrow School People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Members of the Middle Temple Burials in South Carolina

Life

Death, family and legacy

See also

References

External links