Lt. General Wade Hampton, Camp 2023 - Modesto

Wade Hampton was born in Charleston, South Carolina on March 28, 1818. As a member of one of the wealthiest families in antebellum South Carolina, Wade Hampton was reputed to be the largest landowner in the South. He owned several plantations in both South Carolina and Mississippi.

Wade Hampton was one of three citizens to attain the rank of Lt. General in the Confederate Army without benefit of formal military training – the other two being Nathan Bedford Forrest and Richard Taylor.

Prior to the War for Southern Independence, Wade Hampton served as both a State Representative and a State Senator for South Carolina. At the outbreak of the War, he resigned from the South Carolina Senate to accept a Colonel’s commission in the Confederate Army. Hampton formed Hampton’s Legion, which he equipped at his own expense. Taking his Legion to Virginia, Hampton’s force fought at First Manassas where Hampton was wounded. Hampton’s Legion was later broken up into separate units. Hampton also was wounded at Gettysburg. In 1865, he evacuated Columbia, South Carolina when General Sherman’s forces entered the city.

After the War, Wade Hampton was elected Governor of South Carolina and was instrumental in ridding the state of carpet baggers. He died in Columbia on April 11, 1902 and is buried at Trinity Episcopal Church in Columbia, South Carolina.