Thomas Pinckney (October 23, 1750November 2, 1828) was an American statesman, diplomat, and military officer who fought in both 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

and the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, achieving the rank of major general. He served as

Governor of South Carolina The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the ''ex officio'' commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making year ...

and as the U.S. minister to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. Born into a prominent family in Charles Town in the Province of South Carolina, Pinckney studied in Europe before returning to America. He supported the independence cause and worked as an aide to General Horatio Gates. After the Revolutionary War, Pinckney managed his plantation and won election as Governor of South Carolina, serving from 1787 to 1789. He presided over the state convention which ratified 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 It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

. In 1792, he accepted President

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

's appointment to the position of minister to Britain, but was unable to win concessions regarding the

impressment Impressment, colloquially "the press" or the "press gang", is a type of conscription of people into a military force, especially a naval force, via intimidation and physical coercion, conducted by an organized group (hence "gang"). European nav ...

of American sailors. He also served as an envoy to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and negotiated the Treaty of San Lorenzo, which defined the border between Spain and the United States. Following his diplomatic success in Spain, the Federalists chose Pinckney as

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

's running mate in the 1796 presidential election. Under the rules then in place, the individual who won the most electoral votes became president, while the individual who won the second most electoral votes became vice president. Although Adams won the presidential election,

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed l ...

candidate

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

won the second most electoral votes and therefore, won election as vice president. After the election, Pinckney served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from 1797 to 1801. His brother, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, was the Federalist vice presidential nominee in 1800 and the party's presidential nominee in

1804 Events January–March * January 1 – Haiti gains independence from France, and becomes the first black republic. * February 4 – The Sokoto Caliphate is founded in West Africa. * February 14 – The First Serbian uprising begins th ...

and 1808. During the War of 1812, Pinckney was commissioned as a major general. Pinckney was elected as a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1797.

Early life and Revolutionary War years

Pinckney was born on October 23, 1750, in Charlestown in the Province of South Carolina. His father, Charles Pinckney, was a prominent colonial official, while his mother, Eliza Lucas, was known for her introduction of indigo culture to the colony. Pinckney was the second of three siblings to survive to adulthood; his older sister, Harriott, later married a wealthy South Carolina planter, while his older brother, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, became a prominent leader in South Carolina. When Pinckney was 3, his father took the family to

on colonial business, but the elder Pinckney died in 1758. His mother kept the family in Great Britain, and Pinckney studied at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, and the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

. Pinckney was admitted to the bar in November 1774 and almost immediately left for South Carolina. Though he had spent the majority of his life in England, Pinckney sympathized with the Patriot cause in the

. Along with his brother, Charles, he became a captain in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

in June 1775. After seeing much action, he became an aide-de-camp to General Horatio Gates, and was captured by the British at the disastrous Battle of Camden in 1780. By that time he had married and had an infant child. He was allowed to recuperate from his wounds at his mother-in-law Rebecca Brewton Motte's plantation outside Charleston. In 1781 he and his family traveled to Philadelphia, where he was released by the British in a prisoner exchange. Pinckney returned to the South and that year fought under the Marquis de Lafayette in Virginia.

Governor and ambassador

After the war, Pinckney focused on his plantations and his legal practice. In 1787, he ran for the position of

at the urging of his friend, Edward Rutledge. Pinckney was elected governor with little opposition. He strongly favored ratification of the

and presided over the state convention that ratified the Constitution. He served in the South Carolina House of Representatives for St. Philip's and St. Michael's Parish from January 3 to December 20, 1791. Pinckney initially declined appointment to a federal position, but in 1792 he agreed to serve as President

's ambassador to Britain. As Pinckney was unable to get the British to reach an agreement on various issues, including the practice of

or the evacuation of British forts in American territory, Washington dispatched

John Jay John Jay (, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, diplomat, signatory of the Treaty of Paris (1783), Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served from 1789 to 1795 as the first chief justice of the United ...

as a special envoy to Britain. Pinckney helped Jay conclude the

Jay Treaty The Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, commonly known as the Jay Treaty, and also as Jay's Treaty, was a 1794 treaty between the United States and Great Britain that averted ...

, which addressed some issues between the U.S. and Britain but proved divisive in the United States. In 1795, while he continued to serve as the ambassador to Britain, Pinckney was sent to

to negotiate a treaty regarding boundaries and U.S. navigation on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. In the resulting Treaty of San Lorenzo, Spain agreed to allow Americans to export goods through the Mississippi River. Upon his return to the United States, Pinckney joined with his mother-in-law, Rebecca Motte in developing a rice plantation known as Eldorado on the Santee River outside Charleston. She lived there with him and her daughter and grandchildren in her later years.

Presidential election of 1796

Pinckney's diplomatic success with Spain made him popular at home, and on his return the

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

party nominated him as a candidate in the 1796 presidential election. The Federalists were strongest in the region of

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, and they hoped that Pinckney's Southern roots would help him win votes in his home region. Pinckney would be the ostensible running mate of Vice President

, but under the electoral rules in place prior to the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment, each member of the Electoral College cast two votes for president with no distinction made between presidential votes and vice presidential votes. Pinckney, Adams, and the main

candidates,

and Aaron Burr, each had a potential chance at winning the presidency.Heidenreich (2011), pp. 151–165

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

clashed with Adams over control of the Federalist Party, and he may have worked to elect Pinckney as president over Adams. Many Democratic-Republicans held favorable views of Pinckney, who had not been closely identified with the Federalist Party before 1796. Some Democratic-Republicans hoped that Pinckney could bridge partisan divides. Thus, Pinckney could potentially attract electors who would not consider voting for Adams.Scherr (1975), pp. 51–59 In the election, most New England electors voted for the Federalist candidates, most Southern electors voted for Democratic-Republican candidates, and the two parties each received support from electors in the middle states. South Carolina split its vote between Jefferson and Pinckney, awarding each candidate 8 electoral votes. However, several New England electors, fearing the possibility of Pinckney's election over Adams, refused to vote for Pinckney. Adams finished with 71 electoral votes, Jefferson with 68 electoral votes, and Pinckney with 59 electoral votes. Adams became president and, under the rules then in place, the runner-up, Jefferson, became vice president.

Later life

Public service

Portrait of Major General Thomas Pinckney by Samuel Morse

Pinckney was elected to the

in September 1797, and served until March 1801. His service was frequently affected by poor health, and he declined to seek another term in 1800. While in Congress, he supported the

Alien and Sedition Acts The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 were a set of four United States statutes that sought, on national security grounds, to restrict immigration and limit 1st Amendment protections for freedom of speech. They were endorsed by the Federalist Par ...

. He also served as one of the impeachment managers appointed by the House in 1798 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against William Blount. After leaving Congress, Pinckney once again focused on developing his plantations. At the request of President

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

, he returned to military service during the

. He did see battle during the war, but served as an administrator of American forces in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

. In 1826, he succeeded his brother as the president of the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

, an organization made up of veteran officers of the American Revolutionary War.

Denmark Vesey conspiracy

In 1822, news was reported of a massive planned slave uprising, to be led by Denmark Vesey, a literate free man of color. Vesey and numerous other free blacks and slaves were quickly arrested in a roundup and suppression of rebellion by authorities. Slaves constituted the majority of the population in Charleston, where there was a substantial population of

free people of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (; ) were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not enslaved. However, the term also applied to people born free who we ...

. Whites long feared just such an uprising. In closed court proceedings, Vesey and numerous other suspects were convicted; they were soon executed as conspirators. Arrests continued, with some suspects deported from the country. Pinckney published a pamphlet listing factors that he thought led to the rebellion conspiracy and should be prevented in the future. *1st: The example of

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

(now

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

), where slaves were freed by the victors in the French Revolution of 1804. Many of the freed slaves and their families resettled in the Charleston area. Vesey planned an insurrection on

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. It is referred to, both legally and commonly, as () in French, though ''la fête nationale'' is also u ...

, July 14, 1822. *2nd: The indiscreet zeal in favor of universal liberty, expressed by many of our fellow citizens in the States north and east of Maryland; aided by the black population of those states. *3rd: The idleness, dissipation, and improper indulgences permitted among all classes of negroes in Charleston, and particularly among the domestic being taught to read and write. Being taught to read and write is the most dangerous. *4th: The facility of obtaining money afforded by the nature of their occupations to those employed as mechanics, draymen, fisherman, butchers, porters and hucksters. *5th: The disparity of numbers between the white and black inhabitants of the city.

Death

Pinckney died in Charleston, South Carolina, on November 2, 1828. He is interred in St. Philip's Churchyard.

Legacy and honors

*From at least 1801 through 1825, he and his second wife Frances Pinckney lived at a town house they built at 14 George Street, in Charleston. It is now preserved as the Middleton-Pinckney House and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. * Pinckneyville, Georgia, was named after General Thomas Pinckney, after he traveled through the area. That town no longer exists, as its residents left to found the nearby Norcross. Pinckneyville is the name of a

Middle School Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

in Norcross. * Pinckney, New York, was named after him. *Pinckney was portrayed by Hugh O'Gorman in the miniseries ''

'', though he is erroneously portrayed as a United States Senator instead of Ambassador to Great Britain during the George Washington administration

Family

His father, Charles Pinckney, was Chief Justice of South Carolina. His mother, Eliza Lucas, was prominent for introducing the cultivation of indigo to the colonies. His brother Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and his cousin Charles Pinckney were signers of the

. Pinckney first married Elizabeth Motte in 1779, a daughter of Jacob and Rebecca Brewton Motte, a planter and merchant family. After her death, he married in 1797 her younger sister, Frances, the widow of John Middleton. (He was a cousin of Arthur Middleton.) The Mottes were patriots in the Revolution. Pinckney's elder son, Colonel Thomas Jr. (1780–1842), married Elizabeth Izard (1781–1862), a cousin twice removed of South Carolina Congressman Ralph Izard. His younger son, named Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1789–1865) after his brother, married Phoebe Caroline Elliott, a daughter of a South Carolina State Representative, William Elliott, and Phoebe Waight. That son served as Lt. Governor of South Carolina between 1832 and 1834. The Pinckneys' daughter Elizabeth married William Lowndes, son of Revolutionary War-era South Carolina Governor Rawlins Lowndes. He became a leading

voice in the House of Representatives from 1812 until his death in 1822. Lowndes's connection to the Pinckneys, despite their contrasting political affiliation, helped gain the younger man's election to Congress in 1811.Vipperman, Carl. ''William Lowndes and the Transition of Southern Politics'' (Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 1989), 24–32.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

External links

Congressional biography of Thomas PinckneyNGA Biography of Thomas PinckneyStuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
Emory University
Pinckney family papers, 1823–1864
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinckney, Thomas 1750 births 1828 deaths 18th-century American diplomats 18th-century American planters 19th-century American planters Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Ambassadors of the United States to Great Britain American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain Continental Army officers from South Carolina Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina Federalist Party state governors of the United States Governors of South Carolina People educated at Westminster School, London Pinckney family Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina United States Army generals Candidates in the 1796 United States presidential election People of the Creek War Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves 18th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 18th-century South Carolina politicians Members of the American Philosophical Society