Governor of the State of South Carolina




Wade Hampton, III
47th Governor of the State of South Carolina 1877 to 1879

Date Born: March 28, 1818				Date Died: April 11, 1902
Place Born: Charleston, SC				Place Buried: Trinity Episcopal Churchyard, Columbia, SC
Residence: Unknown				Occupation: Planter, Lt. General in Confederate Army

South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina) - graduated 1836 South Carolina House of Representatives, 1852-1858 South Carolina Senate, 1858-1861 US Senate, 1879-1891 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 1879 – Governor Hampton resigned to become a US Senator Governor Hampton was known as the "Saviour of South Carolina" for his efforts to help South Carolina recover from Reconstruction 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 Hampton, Wade III, (grandson of Wade Hampton [1752-1835]), a Senator from South Carolina; born in Charleston, S.C., March 28, 1818; received private instruction, graduated from the South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina) at Columbia in 1836; studied law but never practiced; planter; member, State house of representatives 1852-1856; member, State senate 1858-1861; served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, raising and commanding “Hampton’s Legion”; three times wounded; made brigadier general in 1862, major general in 1863, and lieutenant general in 1865; Governor of South Carolina 1876-1879; elected in 1878 as a Democrat to the United States Senate; reelected in 1884 and served from March 4, 1879, until March 3, 1891; unsuccessful candidate for reelection; United States railroad commissioner 1893-1897; died in Columbia, S.C., April 11, 1902; interment in Trinity Cathedral Churchyard.

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