South Carolina Governors – Wade Hampton III, 1877-1879

Biographical Overview

• Born: March 28, 1818 in Charleston, South Carolina
  
• Died: April 11, 1902 in Columbia, South Carolina
  
• Buried: Trinity Episcopal Cathedral churchyard in Columbia, SC
  
• Religion: Episcopalian
  
• Political Party: Democrat
  

Education

• South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina) - graduated 1836
  

Occupations

• Planter
• Lieutenant General, Confederate States Army

Major Events and Accomplishments, 1st Term, 1877–1878

• 1876 – Although Daniel Henry Chamberlain was initially declared winner of the 1876 election, a second count of the votes including previously ignored ballots from Laurens and Edgefield counties revealed that Hampton had received the most votes
  
• 1876-1877 – Hampton and Chamberlain both claimed to be governor until Chamberlain left the state in the 1877 withdrawal of federal troops
  
• 1878 – The General Assembly passed a law ending public executions
  
• Governor Hampton was known as the "Saviour of South Carolina" for his efforts to help South Carolina recover from Reconstruction
  

Major Events and Accomplishments, 2nd Term, 1878–1879

• 1879 – Governor Hampton resigned to become a US Senator
  

Other Government Positions

• South Carolina House of Representatives, 1852-1858
  
• South Carolina Senate, 1858-1861
  
• US Senate, 1879-1891
  

Other Accomplishments, Honors, Distinctions

• Hampton was one of only two Southern cavalry officers to achieve the rank of Lieutenant General in the Confederate States Army
  
• Hampton was defeated in the 1865 gubernatorial election by James Lawrence Orr
  
• 1879 – Hampton was seriously injured in a hunting accident
  
• Hampton County was named for Hampton
  
• Statues of Governor Hampton have been erected at both the South Carolina Capitol and the US Capitol
  
• The Wade Hampton building at the University of South Carolina was named for Hampton
  

Web Resources

• Biographical information - US Congress
  
• Portrait - SC General Assembly
  
• Listing of records available at SC Archives and History Center
  
• Millwood Plantation - Hampton's home

Election Results