Wade Hampton III
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Wade Hampton III during the Civil War |
Wade Hampton III (
March 28,
1818 –
April 11,
1902) was a
Confederate cavalry leader during the
American Civil War and afterwards a politician from
South Carolina, representing it as governor and
U.S. Senator.
Hampton was born in
Charleston, South Carolina, the eldest son of Wade Hampton II (
1791–
1858), known as "Colonel Wade Hampton", one of the wealthiest planters in the South, an officer of
dragoons in the
War of 1812, and an aide to General
Andrew Jackson at the
Battle of New Orleans. He was grandson of Wade Hampton (
1754–
1835),
lieutenant colonel of cavalry in the
American War of Independence, member of the
U.S. House of Representatives, and
brigadier general in the War of 1812.
Hampton grew up as a privileged boy, receiving private instruction. He had an active outdoor life, riding horses and hunting. He was known for taking hunting trips alone into the woods, hunting bears with only a knife. Some accounts credit him with killing as many as 80 bears. In
1836 he graduated from South Carolina College (now the
University of South Carolina), and was trained for the law, although he never practiced. He devoted himself, instead, to the management of his great
plantations in South Carolina and
Mississippi, and took part in state politics. He was elected to the South Carolina General Assembly in
1852 and served as a Senator from
1858 to
1861. Hampton's father died in
1858 and the son inherited a vast fortune, the plantations, and one of the largest collections of slaves in the South.
Although his views were conservative concerning the issues of secession and slavery, and he had opposed the division of the
Union as a legislator, at the start of the Civil War, Hampton was loyal to his home state. He resigned from the Senate and 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 at all. Hampton organized and partially financed the unit known as "Hampton's Legion", which consisted of six companies of infantry, four companies of cavalry, and one battery of artillery. He personally financed all of the weapons for the Legion.
Despite his lack of military experience and his relatively advanced age of 42, Hampton was a natural cavalryman—brave, audacious, and a superb horseman. He merely lacked some of the flamboyance of his contemporaries, such as his eventual commander,
J.E.B. Stuart, age 30. He was one of only two officers to achieve the rank of
lieutenant general in the cavalry service of the Confederacy, the other being the legendary
Nathan Bedford Forrest.
Hampton 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 wounded for the first of five times during the war when he led a charge against a federal artillery position, and a bullet creased his forehead.
Hampton was promoted to
brigadier general on
May 23,
1862, while commanding a brigade in Stonewall Jackson's division in the
Army of Northern Virginia. In the
Peninsula Campaign, 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, although the brigade was not significantly engaged.
After the Peninsula Campaign, General
Robert E. Lee reorganized his cavalry forces as a division under the command of J.E.B. Stuart, who selected Hampton as his senior subordinate, to command one of two cavalry brigades. During the winter of 1862, around the
Battle of Fredericksburg, Hampton led a series of cavalry raids behind enemy lines and captured numerous prisoners and supplies without suffering any casualties, earning a commendation from General Lee. During the
Battle of Chancellorsville, Hampton's brigade was stationed south of the James River, so saw no action.
In the
Gettysburg Campaign, Hampton was slightly wounded in the
Battle of Brandy Station, the war's largest cavalry battle. His brigade then 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 late on
July 2,
1863. While just outside of town, Hampton was confronted by a Union cavalryman pointing a rifle at him from 200 yards. Hampton charged the trooper before he could fire his rifle, but another trooper blindsided Hampton with a saber cut to the back of his head. On
July 3, Hampton led the cavalry attack to the east of Gettysburg, attempting to disrupt the Union rear areas, but colliding with Union cavalry. He received two more saber cuts to the front of his head, but continued fighting until he was wounded again with a piece of shrapnel to the hip. He was carried back to Virginia in the same ambulance as General
John Bell Hood.
On
August 3,
1863, Hampton was promoted to
major general and received command of a cavalry division. His wounds from Gettysburg were slow in healing, so he did not actually return to duty until November. 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", where his troopers captured over 2400 head of cattle and over 300 prisoners behind enemy lines.
While Lee's army was bottled up in the
Siege of Petersburg, in January,
1865, Hampton returned to South Carolina to recruit additional soldiers. He was promoted to lieutenant general on
February 14,
1865, and surrendered to the Union along with
Joseph E. Johnston's army in
North Carolina. Hampton was reluctant to surrender. His home in South Carolina had been burned, much of his fortune had been depleted supplying his soldiers, and his many slaves had been freed. Understandably bitter, Hampton was one of the original proponents, alongside General
Jubal A. Early, of the
Lost Cause movement, attempting to explain away the Confederacy's loss of the war. Hampton was especially angry upon the arrival of
black Federal troops to occupy his home state.
Hampton was a leading fighter against radical
Republican Reconstruction policies in the South, and re-entered South Carolina politics in 1876 as the first southern gubernatorial candidate to run on a platform in opposition to reconstruction. Hampton, a
Democrat, ran against
Radical Republican incumbent governor
Daniel Henry Chamberlain. Supporters of Hampton were called
Red Shirts, and were very violent. However, supporters of Chamberlain, mostly black militia members, responded with violence. Therefore, the 1876 South Carolina gubernatorial election was the bloodiest in the entire history of the state. The vote was very close, and both parties claimed victory. For over six months, there were two legislatures in the state, both claiming to be authentic. Eventually, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Wade Hampton III the winner of the election. The election of the first Democrat in South Carolina since the end of the Civil War, as well as the national election of
Rutherford B. Hayes as
President, signified the end of the long period of Reconstruction in the South.
After the election, Hampton became known as the "Savior of South Carolina." He was reelected to a second term in
1878, but he resigned in
1879 when he was elected to the
United States Senate, where he served two terms, until
1891. His election victory was marred when he was thrown from a mule and fractured his right leg, requiring its amputation just before he left for Washington.
From
1893 to
1897, he served as United States Railroad Commissioner, appointed by
President Grover Cleveland. In
1899, his home in
Columbia, South Carolina, was destroyed by fire. An elderly man, he had limited funds and limited means to find a new home. Over his strong protests, a group of friends raised enough funds to build him one.
In
1890, Hampton's niece Caroline, an operating room nurse, married the father of American
surgery,
William Halsted. It was because of her skin reaction to surgical sterilization chemicals that Halsted invented the surgical glove the previous year.
Hampton died in Columbia and is buried there in Trinity Cathedral Churchyard. Statues of him were erected in the South Carolina Capitol building and the
United States Capitol. He is also memorialized in four geographic names:
*
Wade Hampton Boulevard, Greenville, South Carolina*
Hampton County, South Carolina*
Wade Hampton, South Carolina*
Wade Hampton Census Area, AlaskaDuring
World War II, the
SS Wade Hampton, a
Liberty ship named in honor of the general, was sunk off the coast of
Greenland by a
German U-boat.
* Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J.:
Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
* Tagg, Larry,
The Generals of Gettysburg, Savas Publishing, 1998, ISBN 1-882810-30-9.
* Wells, E. L.:
Hampton and Reconstruction (
Columbia, S. C., 1907.
*
Online biography
