{⋆★⋆} LG Hampton, Wade

Wade Hampton III​

Born: March 28, 1818

Birthplace: William Rhett House, Charleston, South Carolina

Father: Wade Hampton II 1791 – 1858

(Buried: Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Columbia, South Carolina)​

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Mother: Ann Fitzsimmons 1794 – 1833

(Buried: Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Columbia, South Carolina)​

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Wives:

1st​ Wife: Margaret Buchanan Frances Preston 1818 - 1852

(Buried: Trinity Episcopal Church, Columbia, South Carolina)​

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Married: October 10, 1838 in Washington County, Virginia

2nd​ Wife: Mary Singleton McDuffie 1830 – 1874

(Buried: Trinity Episcopal Church, Columbia, South Carolina)​

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Married: January 27, 1858 in Albemarle, South, Carolina

Children:

Wade Hampton IV 1840 – 1879​

(Buried: Trinity Episcopal Church, Columbia, South Carolina)

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Thomas Preston Hampton 1843 – 1864​

(Buried: Trinity Episcopal Church, Columbia, South Carolina)​

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Sarah Buchanan Hampton Haskell 1845 – 1886​

(Buried: Trinity Episcopal Church, Columbia, South Carolina)​

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Harriet Hampton 1848 – 1853​

(Buried: Trinity Episcopal Church, Columbia, South Carolina)​

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George McDuffie Hampton 1859 – 1917​

(Buried: Trinity Episcopal Church, Columbia, South Carolina)​

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Mary Singleton "Daisy" Hampton Tucker 1861 – 1934​

(Buried: Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Church, Columbia, S.C.)​

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Alfred Hampton 1861 – 1942​

(Buried: Gavilan Hills Memorial Park, Gilroy, California)​

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Catherine Fisher Hampton 1867 – 1867​

(Buried: Trinity Episcopal Church, Columbia, South Carolina)

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Education:

1836: Graduated from South Carolina College​

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Occupation:

Plantation Manager in South Carolina & Mississippi​

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Member of South Carolina State General Assembly​

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1858 – 1861: South Carolina State Senator​

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Civil War Career:

Served as a Private in South Carolina State Militia​

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Colonel in the South Carolina State Militia​

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1861 – 1862: Colonel of Hampton's South Carolina Legion​

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1861: Participated in the First Battle of Bull Run wounded

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1862 – 1863: Brigadier General in Confederate Army​

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1862: Served in the Peninsula Campaign & Battle of Seven Pines​

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1862: Severely Wounded in foot at Battle of Seven Pines​

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1862: Participated in the Seven Days Campaign​

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1862 – 1865: Commander in the Confederate Cavalry​

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1862: Participated in the Battle of Fredericksburg​

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1863: Wounded during the Battle of Brandy Station​

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1863: Participated in Battle of Gettysburg Wounded by Sabre​

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1863 – 1865: Major General of Confederate Cavalry​

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1864: Participated in the Overland Campaign​

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1864: Given Command of Confederate Cavalry​

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1864: Led the Confederate Cavalry at Battle of Trevilian Station​

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1864: Led the Confederate Cavalry during Siege of Petersburg​

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1864 – 1865: Returned to South Carolina to Recruit Soldiers​

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1865: Promoted to the rank of Lt. General of Confederate Cavalry​

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1865: Served with General Joseph Johnston's Army​

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1865: Surrendered at Bennett Place, Durham, North Carolina​

Occupation after War:

Chairman of South Carolina State Democratic Party Committee​

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1870: Helped in the Union Reform Campaign​

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Leading Opponent of Radical Reconstruction​

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1877 – 1879: Governor of South Carolina​

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1879 – 1891: United States Senator from South Carolina​

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1893 – 1897: United States Railroad Commissioner​

Died: April 11, 1902

Place of Death: Columbia, South Carolina

Age at time of Death: 84 years old

Cause of Death: Valvular Heart Disease

Burial Place: Trinity Episcopal Church, Columbia, South Carolina

The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia
Printed on Saturday, April 12, 1902, on Page 1.​

 

[DanSBHawk]

It would have greatly advanced civil rights in South Carolina if Hampton had been prosecuted and hung after the war. He was an influential **** and Lost Causer during the post-war.

 

[Cavalier]

My memory may be fading faster than I imagined but wasn't Ashley Wilkes a member of Cobb's Georgia Legion?

John

 

[Pollaco]

My memory may be fading faster than I imagined but wasn't Ashley Wilkes a member of Cobb's Georgia Legion?

John

No I don't think so , I believe when Ashley died Hampton sent a touching letter to Scarlett. My memory is getting "fuzzy" as well.

 

[Cavalier]

@Polloco Aha! Well, you learn something new everyday. Thank you.

John

 

[Pollaco]

@Polloco Aha! Well, you learn something new everyday. Thank you.

John

You know, you may be right. Maybe it was Hamilton instead of Wilkes.

 

[Biscoitos]

One of Wade Hampton's plantations was in Washington County, Mississippi, about 34 miles south of Greenville. A small community named Hampton marks the spot. If you can't find Hampton, look approx 1 mile east of a slightly larger community named Glen Allan.

A few miles north of Hampton is another very small community named Foote. Shelby Foote's great grand father purchased the land in the 1880's.

Coincidentally, another famous person also owned a large cotton slave plantation in Washington County, Mississippi.
But he died at age 48 in June 1861 and is not exactly a Civil War notable. Civil War era notable, for sure.

Stephen A. Douglas. Yes, THAT Stephen A. Douglas, the "Little Giant" The Douglas of Lincoln Douglas debate fame.
He was a supporter of popular sovereignty, but only carried two states in the 1860 election, Missouri and New Jersey.

 

[Cavalier]

@Polloco My daughter gets home tommorow. She is a GWTW nut. I'll ask her, not that she pays a great deal of attention to important military related details like that, but she is pretty familiar almost every aspect of the story.

John

 

[Pollaco]

Yeah, let us know. I'm kind of curious myself.

 

[danny]

Uncanny timing. Just today, I read an article about Hampton in the December 2004 issue of Civil War Times. In it, Longstreet was quoted as saying that Hampton was "the greatest cavalry leader of our or any other age." Yet when the list of great Confederate leaders is mentioned, it is always Stuart and not Hampton who is cited as the cavalry leader.

Regarding Sheridan, the article's author states that Sheridan was so humiliated and incensed at his loss to Hampton at Trevilian Station that he asked Sherman to burn down Hampton's homes in South Carolina in February 1865. Three of his 4 homes were torched by Union troops. The article by Tom Elmore is an interesting read.

As per usual

 

[Cavalier]

@Polloco As per my resident Gone With the Wind buff, Ashley was a proud member of Cobb's Georgia Legion. She was quite elated that her life long GWTW interest finally came in handy and wishes me to thank you most sincerly for justifying her obsession.

John

 

[TarheelRob]

Uncanny timing. Just today, I read an article about Hampton in the December 2004 issue of Civil War Times. In it, Longstreet was quoted as saying that Hampton was "the greatest cavalry leader of our or any other age." Yet when the list of great Confederate leaders is mentioned, it is always Stuart and not Hampton who is cited as the cavalry leader.

Regarding Sheridan, the article's author states that Sheridan was so humiliated and incensed at his loss to Hampton at Trevilian Station that he asked Sherman to burn down Hampton's homes in South Carolina in February 1865. Three of his 4 homes were torched by Union troops. The article by Tom Elmore is an interesting read.

Hampton's story is one that needs to be told in full. He was (like a great many Confederates) the grandson of a Rev War hero. His upbringing was all about honor and chivalry. During the time of the WBTS he was one of the few involved who could be considered a legitimate peer of RE Lee (wealth, status, southern gentleman qualities). Then after the war he deftly/successfully walked the tightrope in his political career. My gg grandfather in the 6th NC cav fought under his command for a while. From then on, every generation in my family (including me) has had either Wade or Hampton as a middle name. He must have made quite an impression on my gg grandfather. Hampton is not discussed as much as the other ANV leaders because he wasn't a Virginian. His occasional disdain for Stuart and especially Fitz Lee is well documented. And obviously, he was no fan of Sherman.

 

[Pollaco]

@Polloco As per my resident Gone With the Wind buff, Ashley was a proud member of Cobb's Georgia Legion. She was quite elated that her life long GWTW interest finally came in handy and wishes me to thank you most sincerly for justifying her obsession.

John

No it's me who ought to be doing the thanking!

 

[gentlemanrob]

Happy Birthday Lt. General Wade Hampton! Salutes remembering a true patriot and leader on his birthday.

 

[ErnieMac]

IMO the best Confederate cavalry commander.

 

[Tennessee Union Gal]

I think you're right...and the doomed Charles Hamilton (Scarlett's first husband and Melanie's brother) died immediately of measles while with Hampton's Legion...so Scarlett received a beautifully written letter from Wade Hampton himself...

Wikipedia says:

"After rejoining the other party guests, she learns that war has been declared and the men are going to enlist. Seeking revenge, Scarlett accepts a marriage proposal from Melanie's brother, Charles Hamilton. They marry two weeks later. Charles dies of pneumonia following the measles two months after the war begins. As a young widow, Scarlett gives birth to her first child, Wade Hampton Hamilton, named after his father's general.[18]"

Of course, W.H.Hamilton never makes it into the film.

If I'm not mistaken. Charles Hamilton was with Wade Hampton, Ashley Wilkes was in Cobb's Legion. Yes poor little Wade Hampton Hamilton did not make the movie, nor did little Ella Kennedy, Scarlett's daughter by Frank Kennedy. They only had 3 hours, some characters had to go.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

IMO the best Confederate cavalry commander.

Would agree he was just as capable as Stuart, and perhaps a little more reliable and dependable. He was solid.

 

[Luke Freet]

Lee made a good choice with appointed Wade Hampton as his new cavalry chief. He proved an equal to Sheridan, despite the declining state of Lee's cavalry. Once he leaves and Fitz Lee takes command, things dropped dramatically, and Sheridan was able to ride circles around Confederate cavalry.

 

[Pollaco]

I'm still a little puzzled as to why he was transferred out of the Army of Northern Virginia near the end of the war,first to Johnston then the Army of Tennessee.Granted there wasn't much left of the ANV at the time of his last transfer to the AOT but why the first to Johnston's command.

 

[ErnieMac]

I'm still a little puzzled as to why he was transferred out of the Army of Northern Virginia near the end of the war,first to Johnston then the Army of Tennessee.Granted there wasn't much left of the ANV at the time of his last transfer to the AOT but why the first to Johnston's command.

Sherman was starting his march into the Carolinas and there was little available to stop him. Hampton, Butler's cavalry and Hoke's infantry were among the units sent south in late 1864 - early 1865 to shore up Confederate defenses.

 

[Pete Longstreet]

I just recently acquired a book on Hampton. Looking forward to reading it. Happy Birthday General.