William Waters Boyce
Born: October 24, 1818
Birthplace: Charleston, South Carolina
Father: Robert Boyce 1778 – 1838
(Buried: First Baptist Churchyard, Charleston, South Carolina)
Mother: Lydia Waters 1790 – 1830(Buried: Huguenot Cemetery, Saint Augustine, Florida)
Wife: Mary Elizabeth Pearson 1820 – 1908
(Buried: Saint Johns Episcopal Cemetery, Winnsboro, South Carolina)
Children:
Frances Ann Boyce Gaillard 1842 – 1913
(Buried: Saint Johns Episcopal Cemetery, Winnsboro, South Carolina)
James Alston Boyce 1844 – 1845
(Buried: Monticello Cemetery, Fairfield County, South Carolina)
Mary Pearson Boyce DuBose 1845 – 1867
(Buried: Saint Johns Episcopal Cemetery, Winnsboro, South Carolina)
Political Party: Democratic Party
Education:
Attended South Carolina College
Attended University of Virginia
Occupation before War:
1839 – 1853: Attorney in Winnsboro South Carolina
1846 – 1847: South Carolina State Representative
1853 – 1860: United States Congressman from South Carolina
1853 – 1855: Member of House Claims Committee
1855 – 1857: Member of House Naval Affairs Committee
1857 – 1859: Chairman of House Elections Committee
1859 – 1860: Member of House Elections Committee
1860: Withdrew from United States Congress on December 21st
1860: Owner of property valued at nearly sixty thousand dollars.
Civil War Career:
1861 – 1862: South Carolina Delegate Confederate Provisional Congress
1862 – 1865: Confederate States Congressman from South Carolina
1862 – 1864: Member of House Naval Affairs Committee
1863 – 1864: Member of House Ways and Means Committee
1863 – 1864: Chairman of House Currency Committee
1864 – 1865: Chairman of House Naval Affairs Committee
Supporter of Strong Central Economic Program
His primary reservation in military matters was his desire to keep large numbers of men in local defense duty.
His demand for "Audacity! Audacity! Audacity!" was dampened by his conviction that President Davis was both incompetent and "puffed up with his own conceit"
He wished for Congress to preempt control over foreign policy.
He allowed Davis few discretionary powers in military matters.
Boyce opposed the suspension of habeas corpus primarily because it placed arbitrary power in the wrong hands.
Boyce secured a constitutional prohibition against reelection of a President.
He later proposed the office of general – in – chief and a committee on the conduct of the war.
1864: Published a dramatic open letter urging the President to call a convention of all the states of the old Union to discuss peace when this failed, he remained prominent in peace circles until the end of war.
1865: His wealth was wiped out at the end of the war
Occupation after War:
Attorney in Washington D.C.
Died: February 3, 1890
Place of Death: His country home in Ashland, Virginia
Age at time of Death: 71 years old
Burial Place: Saint Johns Episcopal Cemetery, Winnsboro, South Carolina
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