Wade Hampton I | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's4th district | |
| In office March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1805 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Winn |
| Succeeded by | O'Brien Smith |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's2nd district | |
| In office March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1797 | |
| Preceded by | John Hunter |
| Succeeded by | John Rutledge, Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | early 1750s |
| Died | (1835-02-04)February 4, 1835 (aged approximately 82–83) Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican |
| Relations | Wade Hampton III (grandson) |
| Children | Wade Hampton II |
| Profession | planter,soldier,politician |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Branch/service |  Continental Army United States Army |
| Years of service | 1777 - 1781; 1808 - 1814 |
| Rank | Major general |
| Battles/wars | American Revolutionary War 1811 German Coast Uprising War of 1812 |
Wade Hampton (c. 1750 – February 4, 1835) was an American military officer, planter and politician. A two-term U.S. congressman, he may have been the wealthiestplanter, and one of the largest slave holders in the United States, at the time of his death.[1][2]
Born in the early 1750s, sources vary on Hampton's exact birth year, listing it as 1751,[3] 1752,[4] or 1754.[5] He was the scion of the politically importantHampton family, which was influential in South Carolina state politics almost into the 20th century. His second great-grandfather Thomas Hampton (1623–1690) was born in England before moving to the Englishcolony of Virginia. Thomas Hampton's father, William, a wool merchant, sailed from England and appears on the 1618 passenger list of the Bona Novo. The ship was blown off course and arrived in Newfoundland. It would arrive in Jamestown the following year, 1619. He would send for his wife and three children to arrive in Jamestown in 1620.
Hampton served in theAmerican Revolutionary War as a captain in the2nd South Carolina Regiment (1777–1781) and as thelieutenant colonel of a South Carolinavolunteercavalryregiment. He was aDemocratic-Republicanmember of Congress for South Carolina from 1795 to 1797 and from 1803 to 1805, and apresidential elector in1800.
He was appointed to theU.S. Army ascolonel ofRegiment of Light Dragoons in October 1808, and was promoted tobrigadier general in February 1809, appointed as the top military officer in theTerritory of Orleans.[6]
He used the U.S. military presence in New Orleans to suppress the1811 German Coast uprising, aslave rebellion which he believed was a Spanish plot. In the same year, he purchasedThe Houmas, asugar plantation inAscension Parish, Louisiana. This may have been a gift for his daughter and son-in-law, as the son-in-law was managing the plantation by 1825.
During theWar of 1812, Hampton commanded American forces in theBattle of the Chateauguay in 1813, leading thousands of U.S. soldiers to defeat at the hands of a little over a thousand Canadianmilitiamen and 180Mohawk warriors, then getting his army lost in the woods. On April 6, 1814, he resigned hiscommission and returned to South Carolina.
Thereafter, he acquired a large fortune throughlandspeculation. Hampton had amansion, now known as theHampton-Preston House, which is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places, inColumbia, South Carolina. At his death in the 1830s, it was said that he was the wealthiest planter in the U.S. and possessed some 3,000slaves amongst his holdings.[7] In hisanti-slavery compendiumAmerican Slavery As It Is,Theodore Weld cites a witness who heard him boasting that he killed some of his slaves for a nutritional experiment. The witness represents Hampton's words as: "[T]hey died like rotten sheep!!"[8]
Wade Hampton I is interred in the churchyard atTrinity Episcopal Church in Columbia, South Carolina'scapital city.
His sonWade Hampton II and grandsonWade Hampton III also became prominent in South Carolina social and political circles.
Fort Hampton, a fort in Alabama, was named for General Hampton.[9]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's 2nd congressional district 1795-1797 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's 4th congressional district 1803-1805 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
