Wade Hampton III graduated from South Carolina College (present-day the University of South Carolina) in 1836 and then spent two years studying law before returning home to manage his family’s properties in South Carolina and Mississippi.
Wade Hampton III graduated from South Carolina College (present-day the University of South Carolina) in 1836 and then spent two years studying law before returning home to manage his family’s properties in South Carolina and Mississippi.
Wade Hampton III was a Confederate general, governor of South Carolina, and United States senator. He inherited a position in the ruling gentry of the state from his grandfather and his father, who bore the same name.
Background
Wade Hampton III was born on March 28, 1818, in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. He was the son of Wade Hampton II and his wife Ann Fitzsimmons. He was born into one of the most influential families in the S. His father had served with distinction in the War of 1812 and been a United States senator, and his grandfather had been a Revolutionary War veteran, brigadier general, and United States senator and congressman. Hampton grew up on a sprawling plantation tended by many slaves.
He grew up in a wealthy family, he was known in his youth for being an avid bear hunter, killing as many as 80 bears.
Education
Wade Hampton III received private schooling in his youth. He graduated from South Carolina College (present-day the University of South Carolina) in 1836 and then spent two years studying law before returning home to manage his family’s properties in South Carolina and Mississippi.
Wade Hampton III pursued a career in politics, and in 1852 he was elected to the South Carolina General Assembly. After two terms as a representative, he went on to serve as a state senator from 1856 to 1861.
Hampton enlisted as a private in the South Carolina Militia; however, the governor of South Carolina insisted that Hampton accept a colonel's commission, even though he had no military experience. Hampton organized and partially financed the unit known as "Hampton's Legion." They first saw combat in July 1861, at the First Battle of Bull Run, where he deployed his Legion at a decisive moment, giving the brigade of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson time to reach the field.
Hampton was promoted to brigadier general on May 23, 1862, while commanding a brigade in Stonewall Jackson's division. At the Battle of Seven Pines on May 31, 1862, he was severely wounded in the foot but remained on his horse while it was being treated, still under fire. Hampton returned to duty in time to lead a brigade at the end of the Seven Days Battles. During the winter of 1862, around the Battle of Fredericksburg, Hampton led a series of cavalry raids behind enemy lines, earning a commendation from General Robert E. Lee.
In the Gettysburg Campaign, Hampton’s brigade participated in Stuart's wild adventure to the northeast, swinging around the Union army and losing contact with Lee. Stuart and Hampton reached the vicinity of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, late on July 2, 1863. In the remainder of the battle, Hampton was wounded three separate times, twice by saber and the final a piece of shrapnel to the hip which left him recuperating until November of that year.
During the Overland Campaign of 1864, Stuart was killed at the Battle of Yellow Tavern and Hampton was given command of the Cavalry Corps on August 11, 1864. He distinguished himself in his new role at the bloody Battle of Trevilian Station, defeating Philip Sheridan's cavalry, and in fact, lost no cavalry battles for the remainder of the war. In September, Hampton conducted what became known as the "Beefsteak Raid", in which his troopers captured over 2,400 head of cattle and over 300 prisoners behind enemy lines.
Hampton was promoted to lieutenant general on February 14, 1865, but eventually surrendered to the Union along with General Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee at Bennett Place in Durham, North Carolina. He returned to his estate to find it had been burned and ransacked in Sherman’s march, and his slaves freed.
After the war, Wade Hampton III was instrumental in reclaiming South Carolina from transplanted Northern influence. He was elected South Carolina Governor, serving from 1876 to 1879. He was later elected as a Democratic Senator from South Carolina to the United States Senate, serving from 1879 to 1891.
Achievements
Politics
Wade Hampton III backed Andrew Johnson’s plans for Reconstruction and sought reconciliation between North and South. But with the imposition of Radical policies, Hampton took the lead in South Carolina in the fight to restore white supremacy. With the Republicans firmly in control from 1868 to 1876, however, he devoted himself primarily to restoring his greatly depleted fortune. In 1876 he campaigned vigorously as the Democratic candidate for governor. His triumph was largely attributable to systematic efforts by his backers to prevent blacks from voting.
Views
Hampton’s views shifted and he became a vocal critic of Reconstruction efforts. Along with fellow Confederate General Jubal Early, Hampton would later become a prominent figure in the "Lost Cause," a cultural movement that condemned Reconstruction and attempted to reconcile the Confederate loss in the Civil War.
Quotations:
"We owe much of our late success to these colored voters. Let us show all of them that the true interest of both races can best be secured by cultivating peace and promoting prosperity among all classes of our fellow-citizens."
Personality
Wade Hampton III was known for his out-going and brave personality.
Physical Characteristics:
An associate described Wade as "six feet in height, broad-shouldered, deep-chested, with legs which, if he chose to close them in a grip, could make a horse groan with pain."
Quotes from others about the person
"To strangers, he was reserved though always courteous, the gentleman as surely as the aristocrat; with his friends, he was candid, cordial and free of any suggestion of the Grand Seigneur." - Historian Douglas Freeman
Interests
Politicians
Andrew Johnson
Sport & Clubs
Hoarse riding, hunting
Connections
In October 1838, Wade Hampton III married Margaret Preston, who died in the summer of 1855. He married the second time Mary Singleton McDuffie, a daughter of Senator George McDuffie of South Carolina, in June 1858. Hampton had nine children by his marriages.