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David Wyatt Aiken | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's3rd district | |
| In office March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1887 | |
| Preceded by | Solomon L. Hoge |
| Succeeded by | James S. Cothran |
| Member of theSouth Carolina House of Representatives fromAbbeville District | |
| In office November 28, 1864 – December 21, 1866 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1828-03-17)March 17, 1828 Winnsboro, South Carolina, US |
| Died | April 6, 1887(1887-04-06) (aged 59) Cokesbury, South Carolina, US |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Profession | journalist,farmer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Confederate States of America |
| Branch/service | Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1861–64 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Commands | 7th South Carolina Infantry |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War -Peninsula Campaign -Northern Virginia Campaign -Battle of Antietam -Gettysburg Campaign |
David Wyatt Aiken (March 17, 1828 – April 6, 1887) was a slave owner,[1]Confederate army officer during theAmerican Civil War and areconstruction era five-termUnited States Congressman fromSouth Carolina.
Aiken was born inWinnsboro, South Carolina, and received his early education under private tutors. He attended theMount Zion Institute in Winnsboro and graduated fromSouth Carolina College inColumbia in 1849. He taught college for two years before marrying Mattie Gaillard in 1852 and engaging in agricultural pursuits, owning aplantation and traveling extensively inEurope and throughout the United States, where he spoke in defense of slavery to large crowds.[2] He became the editor of the WinnsboroNews and Herald, and was married a second time to Miss Smith ofAbbeville, where Aiken settled and continued to farm. In 1855, Aiken became a founding member of the State Agricultural Society.[3]
He was a slave owner, and owned the Smith family slave plantation after marrying Smith, which held about 40 slaves.[4][5]
In 1858 Aiken attended a political convention in Mobile, Alabama, and began speaking publicly in favor of secession.[6] With South Carolina'ssecession and the advent of the Civil War, Aiken enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private in the 7th South Carolina Infantry. He was later appointed adjutant of the regiment and in 1862 was elected itscolonel. He led it in thePeninsula andNorthern Virginia Campaigns. He was severely wounded by a shot through his lungs at theBattle of Antietam in September 1862.[3] After his lengthy recovery, he commanded his regiment in theGettysburg Campaign inJoseph B. Kershaw'sbrigade, seeing action near the Peach Orchard in theBattle of Gettysburg. However, lingering effects of his wound soon forced Aiken to administrative duty inMacon, Georgia for a year, before he resigned from the Confederate army in mid-1864 and returned home.
He was a member of the State house of representatives from 1864–66 and served as secretary and treasurer of theState Agricultural and Mechanical Society of South Carolina in 1869.[3] Aiken was a prominent figure in theReconstruction-era Democratic party, and a leader in efforts to suppress the voting rights of recently emancipated slaves, and an advocate of "white man's government."[7] He publicly called for the assassination of a black state legislator,Benjamin F. Randolph, saying “never to suffer this man Randolph to come into your midst; if he does, give him four feet by six.”[8] On October 16, 1868, Randolph was assassinated by three men in broad daylight. Aiken was detained by state authorities on suspicion of being an accessory-before-the-fact, and freed on $5,000 bond. No one was ever brought to trial for Randolph's assassination.
In 1872, Aiken was an activist on behalf ofThe National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, more commonly known as the Grange, organizing 76 local chapters across South Carolina. Aiken was a member of the executive committee of theNational Grange from 1873–85, served as its chairman in 1875, and was president of the South Carolina Grange from 1875–1877. Starting in 1869, Aiken was a correspondent ofThe Rural Carolinian, a magazine for southern planters and farmers.[9] He eventually became editor and owner and held those positions until 1877.[6]
Aiken served as a delegate to theDemocratic National Convention atSt. Louis in 1876, and was elected as aDemocrat to theForty-fifth and to the four succeeding Congresses (serving from 1877 until 1887). He was chairman of the Committee on Education in theForty-eighth andForty-ninth Congresses. With his health declining, Aiken became an invalid during his last term in office and was not a candidate for renomination in 1886.[3]
Aiken died inCokesbury, South Carolina.
His son,Wyatt Aiken, also served in Congress and a first cousin,William Aiken, Jr., became a Congressman andGovernor of South Carolina.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's 3rd congressional district 1877–1887 | Succeeded by |
| Education and Labor (1867–1883) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Education (1883–1947) | ||
| Labor (1883–1947) | ||
| Education and Labor* (1947–) | ||
| Note | * Alternately namedEconomic and Educational Opportunities in 104th Congress andEducation and the Workforce in 105th through 109th and 112th through 115th Congresses. | |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
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