Wade Hampton III

Wade Hampton III
Wade Hampton during the Civil War
United States Senator
from South Carolina
In office
March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1891
Preceded byJohn J. Patterson
Succeeded byJohn L. M. Irby
77th Governor of South Carolina
In office
April 11,[a] 1877 – February 26, 1879
LieutenantWilliam Dunlap Simpson
Preceded byDaniel Henry Chamberlain
Succeeded byWilliam Dunlap Simpson
In office
December 14, 1876 – April 11, 1877
Disputed with Daniel Chamberlain[b]
Member of the South Carolina Senate
from Richland County
In office
November 22, 1858 – October 8, 1861
Preceded byJohn Smith Preston
Succeeded byEdward John Arthur
Member of the
South Carolina House of Representatives
from Richland County
In office
November 22, 1852 – November 22, 1858
Personal details
Born(1818-03-28)March 28, 1818
Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedApril 11, 1902(1902-04-11) (aged 84)
Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
Resting placeTrinity Cathedral Churchyard
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materSouth Carolina College
Professionplanter, soldier, politician
CommitteesUnited States railroad commissioner 1893–1897
Signature
Military service
Allegiance Confederate States of America
Branch/service Confederate States Army
Years of service1861–1865
Rank Lieutenant General
CommandsHampton's Legion
Cavalry Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Wade Hampton III (March 28, 1818 – April 11, 1902) was the scion of one of the richest families in the ante-bellum South, owning thousands of acres of cotton land in South Carolina and Mississippi, as well as thousands of enslaved workers. He became a senior general in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War. He also had a career as a leading Democratic politician in state and national affairs.

By 1877 at the end of the Reconstruction era, Hampton was a leader of the Redeemers, White Southerners who successfully fought to restore white supremacy in the state.[1] His campaign for governor was marked by extensive violence by the Red Shirts, a white supremacist paramilitary group that disrupted elections and suppressed Black voters in the state. Hampton was elected governor, serving from 1876 to 1879. After that, he served two terms as U.S. Senator from 1879 to 1891.


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