Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 05.djvu/81

 HAMPTON

HAMPTON

returned to his home in South Carolina, where lie engaged in planiing and land speculations. His son Wade Hampton, fattier of Lieut. -Gen. Wade Hampton, C.S.A., was born April 21, 1791. He was inspector -general and aid to General Jackson at New Orleans, succeeded to his father's estates in 1835, and died on one of his plantations in Mississippi, Feb. 10, 1858. Major-General Hampton owned upwards of 3000 slaves at the time of iiis deatli, in Columbia, S.C, Feb. 4, 1835. HAMPTON, Wade, soldier, was born in the Ehett house, Charleston, S.C, March 28, 1818; son of Col. Wade Hampton (1791-1858), and grandson of Gen. Wade Hampton (1754-1835). He was graduated at South Carolina college in 1837, and was a member of the state legislature. He was a member of Capt. A. R. Taylor's Congaree mounted rifles during the attack on Fort Sumter in 1861, and he tlien organized the "Hampton Legion" made up of cavalry, infantry and artil- lery of which he was colonel, and with the organization took part in tlie battle of Mana.ssas, July 21, 1861, where he held the War- renton Pike against the brigade of General Keyes and when pressed back, he formed on the right of Jackson's brigade which turned the tide of battle in favor of the Confederates. In this engage- ment he had a horse shot under him and was severely wounded in the head by a rifle ball. He took part in the Peninsula campaign having been promoted brigadier-general, and in the battle of Seven Pines (Fair Oaks), May 30-31, he com- manded a brigade in Whiting's division. Smith's wing of Johnston's army, composed of the 14th and 19th Georgia and the 16tli North Carolina regiments and Hampton legion. Colonel Gary. Previous to this battle he had dislodged the Fed- eral division below West Point and driven them to the protection of their gunboats on the York river when he took position at New Bridge on the Chickahcminy north of Fair 0?ks, where his brigade was repulsed after he had been severely wounded. He was then assigned to a brigade in J. E. B. Stuart's cavalry division serving in north- ern Virginia and Maryland. He commanded the rear guard of the Confederate army in the evac- uation of Frederick, Md., Sept. 12, 1862, and at Fox's Gap on the 14th carried the crest of the hill early in the forenoon and in the battle of

Antietam, September 16-17, he commanded the right of Stuart's cavalry division. He took part in the battle of Chancellorsville, May 1-5, 1863, and in June was in the several engagements near* Brandy station and Culpeper Court-house, where he commanded both the Confederate cavalry and mounted artillery. At Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863, he was tiiree times wounded and out of twenty-three field officers of his brigade twenty- one were either killed or woimded. For his action at Gettysburg he was pro- ' moted ma jor - general ; and com manded the ! first of the three divi sions of I

Stuart'scav airy corps - and was ac- tive in op- posing the «HETT HOUSE, <HARLESTO/\. S.C. repeated raids of the Federal cavalry in the direction of Richmond, Va., during the Wil- derness campaign, notably at Spottsylvania, May 8 and at Hawes's Shop, May 28, 1864. Upon the death of Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, May 12, 1864, General Hampton was made chief of the cavalry branch of the army of Northern Virginia and subsequently was commissioned lieutenant-general. He successfully opposed Gen. P. H. Sheridan at Trevilian Station, June 12 and 13, 1864, as he did at White House, June 21, and at Samaria Church during the succeeding fif- teen days. He fought Gen. J. H. Wilson at Sap- pony Church, broke his main line of battle and pursued him to Reams's Station where he was intercepted by the Confederate forces and routed. In a period of twenty-three days he marched 400 miles, fought six days and one entire night, cap- tured 2000 prisoners besides guns, small arms, wagons, horses and materials of war, and de- feated the purpose of two formidable and well conceived expeditions of the Federal army. In this exploit he lost 719 in killed, wounded and missing. In January. 1865, he was ordered to South Carolina where he reported to General Beauregard and he fought General Kilpatrick who commanded the cavalry of Sherman's victo- rious array in their march from Savannah to Wasliington and had his last engagement at Ben- tonville near Raleigh, N.C., March 19, 1865, after the evacuation of that city by the Confederates. After the war he returned to his home in South Carolina. He accepted the issues of the war, and sought to build up his fortune ruined through