Columbia, SC 29208, United States
Bonham was educated in the "old field" schools of Edgefield District, the academies of Edgefield and Abbeville, and the South Carolina College (present-day University of South Carolina), graduating in 1834.
Columbia, SC 29208, United States
Bonham was educated in the "old field" schools of Edgefield District, the academies of Edgefield and Abbeville, and the South Carolina College (present-day University of South Carolina), graduating in 1834.
Milledge Bonham was born on December 25, 1813, at Red Bank, South Carolina, United States. He was descended from Nicholas Bonham, who was living in Barnstable, Massachusetts, in 1659 when he was married to Hannah Fuller, granddaughter of a Mayflower Pilgrim. James Bonham, fifth in the line of descent from Nicholas, moved to South Carolina after the close of the Revolution and married Sophie Smith. Their eighth child was Milledge Luke. His father died when he was two years old.
Under the care of his mother, Milledge Bonham was educated in the "old field" schools of Edgefield District, the academies of Edgefield and Abbeville, and the South Carolina College (present-day University of South Carolina), graduating in 1834 under the presidency of the famous Dr. Thomas Cooper.
Milledge Bonham successfully practiced law in the intervals of his public and military life. He was in command of the South Carolina Brigade in the Seminole War and was always interested in the militia. He served in the state legislature from 1840 to 1844, representing Edgefield District. When the war was declared with Mexico in 1846 he was appointed by President Polk lieutenant-colonel of the 12th Infantry. His adjutant was Captain Winfield Scott Hancock, afterward major-general in the United States Army, and his brigade commander was General Franklin Pierce, afterward president. He was an original member of the Aztec Club, was cited by General Pierce for conspicuous service, and for a year served as governor of one of the conquered provinces. Upon his return to Edgefield in 1848, he resumed his law practice and was elected solicitor of the southern district in South Carolina, serving till 1857 when he was elected as States Rights Democrat to fill the unexpired congressional term of his cousin, Preston S. Brooks. He remained in Congress till the secession of South Carolina in 1860.
Appointed commander-in-chief of the South Carolina troops around Charleston, at the request of Governor Pickens Bonham waived his rank and served under General Beauregard of the newly created Confederate Army. In April 1861 he was appointed brigadier-general in the Confederate Army and was in command of the first troops arriving in Virginia for the defense of Richmond. He led his brigade in the fighting around Fairfax, Centerville, Vienna, and First Manassas. He was one of the many officers who protested against President Davis's interpretation of the ranking of officers who had served in the "old army," and in 1862 he resigned his commission in the army and was at once elected to the Confederate Congress. Later in the same year, he was elected governor of South Carolina and served with marked success in a period of internal difficulties. In February 1865 he was reappointed brigadier-general of cavalry and served under Joseph E. Johnston until he surrendered with Johnston's army.
After the end of the Civil War Bonham resumed his law practice, served in the legislature in the early days of Reconstruction, was a delegate to the national Democratic convention in 1868, but kept out of active politics till the "Red Shirt Campaign" of 1876, when he took an active and enthusiastic part in restoring white supremacy in the state government. He was appointed by Governor Wade Hampton in 1878 as railroad commissioner and served in this capacity during the difficult days of building up the wrecked transportation system of the state until his death.
During his military career Milledge Bonham participated in the Seminole War, the Mexican-American War, the American Civil War. He also served as a major-general of militia for several years.
He also served in the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina's 4th district, in the Confederate House of Representatives and as Governor of South Carolina.
Milledge Bonham was a member of the Democratic party. As governor, he supported the administration on conscription, raised troops, took a strong position against deserters, and used slave labor for building defenses.
Milledge Bonham was married on November 13, 1845, to Ann Patience Griffin. They had fourteen children, one of them was Bonham's namesake, who later became governor of South Carolina. Bonham fought in the Seminole Wars as a major and adjutant general of a South Carolina brigade in 1836.
1766-1815
1780-1858
1799-1839
1802-1835
1804-1861
1807-1836
1829-1894
1847-1862
1849-1887
1851-1910
1853-1884
1854-1943
1857-1921
1859-1906
1863-1864
1866-1903
1868-1954
1871-1961
