John Rutledge Jr.
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's2nd district
In office March 4, 1797 – March 3, 1803
Preceded by	Wade Hampton I
Succeeded by	William Butler
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from St. Peter's Parish
In office November 24, 1794 – March 3, 1797
Personal details
Born	1766 (1766) Charles Town,Province of South Carolina,British America
Died	September 1, 1819(1819-09-01) (aged 52–53) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Party	Federalist
Spouse	Sarah Motte Smith
Profession	planter,soldier
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Branch/service	South Carolina Militia
Years of service	1799-1819
Rank	major
Commands	Seventh Brigade, South Carolina Militia
Battles/wars	War of 1812

John Rutledge Jr. (1766 – September 1, 1819) was aUnited States representative fromSouth Carolina. Born inCharles Town in theProvince of South Carolina, he was a son ofJohn Rutledge, who wasPresident of South Carolina,Governor of South Carolina, aContinental Congressman,Philadelphia Convention Framer of the United StatesConstitution, and Chief Justice of theSupreme Court of the United States, and a nephew ofEdward Rutledge, anotherContinental Congressman from South Carolina. The younger John received private instruction and also attended school in Charleston andPhiladelphia. He studied law with his father, was admitted to thebar about 1787 and practiced in Charleston; he also engaged as aplanter. From 1794 to 1797, he was a member of theSouth Carolina House of Representatives. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1794 to the Fourth Congress, and was elected as aFederalist to the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Congresses, serving from March 4, 1797, to March 3, 1803. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the Thirteenth Congress, and commanded a company of the Twenty-eighth Regiment, South Carolina Militia, in 1799. In 1801, he was the Federalist nominee in aspecial election for the U.S. Senate, losing toThomas Sumter.^[1] He was promoted to major and in 1804 succeeded to the command of the regiment and served as its commander in theWar of 1812. He commanded the Seventh Brigade from 1816 until his death in Philadelphia.

On December 26, 1792, he married Sarah Motte Smith, daughter of the Right ReverendRobert Smith (1732–1801). Together they had seven children. In 1804 he caught his wife in an illicit affair with Dr. Horace Senter. He mortally wounded Dr. Senter in a duel. He and Sarah Motte signed articles of separation in 1809 and lived apart for the remainder of their lives.^[2]

In a curious incident in 1801, a letter to PresidentThomas Jefferson was sent from someone purporting to beNicholas Geffroy, a silversmith inNewport, Rhode Island. The letter detailed accusations against many citizens and office-holders, and insisted that "A purification is necessary, & we cannot be purified unless you cleanse the Augean Stable completely." Geffroy received a response from Jefferson, but doubted its authenticity and denied having ever written to the President. The United States SenatorChristopher Ellery, a local resident, vouched for its authenticity and apparently impounded the letter for return to Jefferson. Ellery in turn accused Rutledge, also then resident in Newport, of having forged this and another letter from Geffroy. These "Geffroy letters" were subsequently published in theNewport Rhode-Island Republican on September 18, 1802, under the headline "Rutledge's Letters To the President of the United States." As noted in that article, although Geffroy possessed some mastery of spoken English, it was doubted that he could write, "with any degree of correctness, a single sentence of the language." After a flurry of accusations and affidavits, Rutledge challenged Ellery to a duel, which he declined. Rutledge assaulted Ellery in January 1803, "publicly caning him and pulling him by the nose and ears". Although Rutledge vehemently maintained his innocence in the affair, he decided not to seek reelection in 1803 given the negative publicity.

• United States Congress."John Rutledge Jr. (id: R000553)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Letter to Thomas Jefferson from “Nicholas Geffroy,” 1 August 1801
• A Defence against Calumny; or, Haman, in the shape of C. Ellery, Esq., hung upon his own gallows. Being the substance of certain publications ... refuting the accusation against J. Rutledge, of writing two letters to the President of the United States, urging the "displacement" of all the Federalists in Rhode Island, and the appointment to office of such persons as should be recommended by C. Ellery, John RUTLEDGE (Member of Congress.), Christopher ELLERY, 1803, pages 28–29.
• A Contribution to the Bibliography and Literature of Newport, R. I.: Comprising a List of Books Published Or Printed, in Newport, with Notes and Additions, Charles Edward Hammett, C. E. Hammett, jun. 1887, page 46.

• Frank Huntington (1900)."Rutledge, John" .Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography.

• 1766 births
• 1819 deaths
• Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives
• American militiamen in the War of 1812
• Rutledge family
• Owners of plantations in South Carolina
• American duellists
• Federalist Party United States representatives from South Carolina
• American militia officers
• Burials at St. Peter's churchyard, Philadelphia
• 19th-century United States representatives
• 18th-century United States representatives
• 18th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly
• Candidates in the 1794 United States elections
• Candidates in the 1801 United States elections

• Articles with short description
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• Use mdy dates from November 2020