Thomas Sumter

Thomas Sumter was born in Hanover County in the Colony of Virginia.{{Biographical Directory of Congress|S001073|inline=yes}} His father, William Sumpter, was a miller and former indentured servant, while his mother, Elizabeth, was a midwife. His father was born in England, and Sumter was of English and Welsh descent.{{cite book |title=Selected Readings in American Military History |publisher=Infantry School |date=1953 |page=70 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bJBMAAAAMAAJ&q=Selected+Readings+in+American+Military+History |access-date=2022-10-04 |via=Google Books}} Most of Thomas Sumter's early years were spent tending livestock and helping his father at the mill, not in school.{{cite encyclopedia |entry-url=https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/sumter-thomas/ |publisher=University of South Carolina |encyclopedia=South Carolina Encyclopedia |entry=Sumter, Thomas |year=2016 |first=Matthew A. |last=Lockhart }} Given just a rudimentary education on the frontier, the young Sumter served in the Virginia militia, where he was present for Edward Braddock's defeat.{{Cite EB1911 | wstitle=Sumter, Thomas| volume=26| page=85}}

{{Main|Timberlake Expedition}}

File:Thomas Sumter (commemorative plaque at the South Carolina statehouse).jpg

At the end of the Anglo-Cherokee War, in 1761, Sumter was invited to join what was to become known as the "Timberlake Expedition", organized by Colonel Adam Stephen and led by Henry Timberlake, who had volunteered for the assignment.{{cite book | last=Timberlake |first=Henry |title=Memoirs, 1756–1765 |editor-last=Williams |editor-first=Samuel |location=Marietta, Georgia |publisher=Continental Book Co. |year=1948 }}{{rp|38–39}} The purpose of the expedition was to visit the Overhill Cherokee towns and renew alliances with the Cherokee following the war.{{cite book | first=Robert |last=Bass |title=Gamecock: The Life and Campaigns of General Thomas Sumter | url= https://archive.org/details/gamecocklifecamp00bass |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Holt, Rinehart, and Winston |year=1961 |page=[https://archive.org/details/gamecocklifecamp00bass/page/9 9] }} The small expeditionary party consisted of Sumter (who was partially financing the venture with borrowed money), Timberlake, an interpreter named John McCormack, and a servant.{{rp|38}}

According to Timberlake's journal, at one point early in the nearly year and a half long journey, Sumter swam nearly a half-mile in the icy waters to retrieve their canoe, which had drifted away while they were exploring a cave.{{rp|41–48}} The party arrived in the Overhill town of Tomotley on December 20, where they were greeted by the town's head man, Ostenaco (or "Mankiller"){{rp|57–58}} and soon found themselves participants in a peace pipe ceremony. In the following weeks, Sumter and the group attended peace ceremonies in several Overhill towns, such as Chota, Citico, and Chilhowee.{{rp|63–65}}

The party returned to Williamsburg, Virginia, accompanied by several Beloved Men of the Cherokee, arriving on the James River in early April 1762.{{rp|118–129}}

While in Williamsburg, Ostenaco professed a desire to meet the king of England,{{rp|130–133}} and in May 1762, Sumter traveled to England with Timberlake and three distinguished Cherokee leaders, including Ostenaco. Arriving in London in early June, the Indians were an immediate attraction, drawing crowds all over the city.St James Chronicle, July 3, 1762.{{rp|130–136}} The three Cherokee then accompanied Sumter back to America, landing in South Carolina on or about August 25, 1762.{{rp|143–147}}

Sumter became stranded in South Carolina due to financial difficulties. He petitioned the Virginia Colony for reimbursement of his travel expenses, but was denied. Subsequently, Sumter was imprisoned for debt in Virginia. When his friend and fellow soldier, Joseph Martin, arrived in Staunton, Martin asked to spend the night with Sumter in jail. Martin gave Sumter ten guineas and a tomahawk. Sumter used the money to buy his way out of jail in 1766.{{cite book | first=Henry |last=Timberlake |editor-first=Duane |editor-last=King |title=The Memoirs of Lt. Henry Timberlake: The Story of a Soldier, Adventurer, and Emissary to the Cherokees, 1756–1765 |publisher=UNC Press }}{{rp|xxvii}} When Martin and Sumter were reunited some thirty years later, Sumter repaid the money.

Sumter settled in Stateburg, South Carolina, in the Claremont District (later the Sumter District) in the High Hills of Santee. He married Mary Jameson in 1767. Together, they opened several small businesses and eventually became members of the planter class, acquiring ownership over slave plantations.

Sumter raised a local militia group in Stateburg. In February 1776, Sumter was elected lieutenant colonel of the Second Regiment of the South Carolina Line of which he was later appointed colonel. in 1780 he was appointed brigadier general, a post he held until the end of the war. He participated in several battles in the early months of the war, including the campaign to prevent an invasion of Georgia. Perhaps his greatest military achievement was his partisan campaigning, which contributed to Lord Cornwallis' decision to abandon the Carolinas for Virginia.

File:Thomas sumter 1352.JPG, South Carolina ]]

During fighting in August 1780, he defeated a combined force of Loyalists and British Army regulars at Hanging Rock, and intercepted and defeated an enemy convoy. Later, however, his regiment was almost annihilated by forces led by Banastre Tarleton. He recruited a new force, defeated Major James Wemyss in November, and repulsed an attack by Tarleton, in which he was wounded. Sumter was carried into the Blackstock house, where his surgeon, Dr. Nathaniel Abney, probed for and extracted the ball from under his left shoulder.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

In 1781, in response to a low number of recruits, Sumter publicly implemented a bounty for Continental Army recruiters, which stipulated that anyone who managed to recruit a certain number of volunteers for the South Carolina Line would receive Loyalist-owned slaves as a reward.{{Cite book|first=John U.|last=Rees|title='They Were Good Soldiers': African-Americans Serving in the Continental Army, 1775-1783|publisher=Helion & Company|date=2019|isbn=978-1-9116-2854-5}} Sumter acquired the nickname "Carolina Gamecock" during the American Revolution, for his fierce fighting tactics. After the Battle of Blackstock's Farm, British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton commented that Sumter "fought like a gamecock", and Cornwallis described the Gamecock as his "greatest plague".{{cite book |last=Buchanan |first=John |title=The Road to Guilford Courthouse |page=393 }}

After the Revolutionary War, Sumter was elected to the United States House of Representatives, serving from March 4, 1789, to March 3, 1793, and from March 4, 1797, to December 15, 1801.

He later served in the United States Senate, having been selected by the legislature to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator Charles Pinckney. Sumter resigned from his seat in the Senate on December 16, 1810.

{{Anchor|Thomas Sumter Jr.}}

Thomas' son, Thomas Sumter Jr., served in Rio de Janeiro from 1810 to 1819 as the United States Ambassador to the Portuguese Court during its exile to Brazil. Thomas Jr.'s wife, Natalie De Lage Sumter ({{Nee}} Nathalie de Lage de Volude), was a daughter of French nobility, sent by her parents to America for her safety during the French Revolution.{{cite book | last=Tisdale |first=Thomas |title=A Lady of the High Hills: Natalie Delage Sumter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E9oJWbRFHgsC |year=2001 |publisher=Univ. of South Carolina Press |isbn=978-1-57003-415-2 }} She was raised in New York City from 1794 to 1801 by Vice President Aaron Burr as his ward, alongside his own daughter Theodosia.{{cite book | title=Aaron Burr: A Biography |year=1961 |first=Nathan |last=Schachner |url=https://www.fadedpage.com/books/20140826/html.php |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180117131332/http://www.fadedpage.com/books/20140826/html.php |archive-date=January 17, 2018 |publisher=A. S. Barnes |orig-year=1937 }}{{cite book | last=Burr |first=Aaron |title=Memoirs of Aaron Burr: With Miscellaneous Selections from His Correspondence |url=https://archive.org/details/memoirsaaronbur02davigoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/memoirsaaronbur02davigoog/page/n397 387] n.1 |year=1837 |editor-first=Matthew Livingston |editor-last=Davis |location=New York |publisher=Harper & Brothers }} His grandson, Colonel Thomas De Lage Sumter, served in the U.S. Army during the Second Seminole War, and later represented South Carolina in the United States House of Representatives.Gilbert, Oscar E. and Catherine R.; True for the Cause of Liberty: The Second Spartan Regiment in the American Revolution; p. 194; ISBN 978-1-61200-328-3

Sumter's older brother, William Sumter, was a captain in the Revolutionary War.{{Cite news | date=1907-08-21| title=General Thomas Sumter and Brother William Sumter| pages=2| work=The Watchman and Southron| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65663165/general-thomas-sumter-and-brother/| access-date=2020-12-20}}{{Cite web | title=The North Carolina Patriots – Capt. William Sumter| url=https://www.carolana.com/NC/Revolution/patriots_nc_capt_william_sumter.html| access-date=2020-12-20| website= www.carolana.com}}{{Cite journal | last=Sumter| first=Joel| date=1 August 1874| title=Thomas Sumter Papers, Draper Manuscripts, Statement from Joel Sumter to Lyman Draper| url= https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/| journal=Draper Manuscripts| volume=8VV344-349 [268-269]| pages=344–349| via=Wisconsin Historical Society}}{{Cite web |last=Kent |first=A.A. |date=27 Apr 1897 |title=General Thomas Sumter, A Brother and Other Members of the Family that Lived in Caldwell Co, NC |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116868386/general-thomas-sumter-and-family/ |access-date=20 Jan 2023 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Lenoir Topic, Lenoir, North Carolina |page=1}}

Sumter died on June 1, 1832, at his plantation "South Mount", which was located near Stateburg, South Carolina, at the age of 97. Sumter was the last surviving American general of the Revolutionary War.{{cite web | title=Thomas Sumter (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/people/thomas-sumter.htm#:~:text=Sumter%20was%20a%20dedicated%20Jeffersonian,the%20age%20of%20ninety%2Dseven. |website=www.nps.gov |access-date=21 December 2022 |language=en}} He is buried at the Thomas Sumter Memorial Park in Sumter County, South Carolina.

File:ThomasSumterGraveSite.jpg

The city of Sumter, South Carolina, originally incorporated as Sumterville in 1845, was named for Thomas Sumter.{{cite web |title=History & Heritage |url=https://www.sumtersc.gov/community/history |website=City of Sumter, SC |access-date=21 December 2022 |language=en |date=4 August 2018}} The city has erected a memorial to him, and has been dubbed "The Gamecock City" after his nickname.

Prior to being renamed Sumter County in 1868, Sumter District was commonly referred to as the "Old Gamecock District".{{cite news |title=Calhoun Monument Association |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/77710595/?terms=%22gamecocks%22&match=1 |access-date=21 December 2022 |work=The Sumter Banner |agency=Newspapers.com |date=8 March 1854}} The use of this nickname continued after the name change, with the county thereafter being called the "Old Gamecock County".{{cite news |title=The Atlanta Fair |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/668576573/?terms=%22gamecocks%22&match=1 |access-date=21 December 2022 |work=The Watchman and Southron |agency=Newspapers.com |date=23 August 1881}}

Counties in four states are named for Sumter. These are South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, and Georgia{{cite book | url=http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/s.pdf| title=Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins | publisher=Winship Press | author=Krakow, Kenneth K. | year=1975 | location=Macon, GA | pages=215 | isbn=0-915430-00-2}} The unincorporated community of Sumterville, Florida is the former seat of Sumter County, Florida. Both are named for Thomas Sumter.

File:SC Revolutionary War generals monument in Columbia IMG 4797.JPG with two other Revolutionary War generals: Francis Marion and Andrew Pickens ]]

Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, a fort planned after the War of 1812, was named in his honor. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.

Sumter's nickname, "Fighting Gamecock", has become one of several traditional nicknames for a native of South Carolina. For example, the University of South Carolina's official nickname is the "Gamecocks". Since 1903, the college's teams have been simply known as the "South Carolina Gamecocks". The costumed mascot of the University is referred to as Cocky, short for "Gamecock".

Other schools within South Carolina have been named after Sumter or utilize a Gamecock as their mascot.

• The mascot of Sumter High School is a "Gamecock" and the school's sports teams refer to themselves as the "Sumter High Gamecocks" in honor of Sumter.
• Thomas Sumter Academy, a private school within Sumter County, was founded in 1964.{{cite web |title=History |url=https://thomassumteracademy.org/history/ |website=Thomas Sumter Academy |access-date=21 December 2022}} Their mascot is known as "the General" but does not visually resemble Thomas Sumter and is typically depicted as wearing a Civil War era uniform.

Dr. Anne King Gregorie published the first biography of General Sumter in 1931.{{cite news |date=1931-11-15 |title=Gen. Thomas Sumter: Biography of "The Gamecock" Is by South Carolinian, Dr. Anne King Georgie |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/748490773/ |newspaper=The State |via=Newspapers.com |page=5 |url-access=limited}}

Thomas Sumter and his actions served as one of the models for the fictional character of Benjamin Martin in The Patriot, a motion picture released in 2000.{{cn|date=August 2024}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.scstatehouse.gov/studentpage/Explore/portraits/house/ThomasSumter.shtml Image: Thomas Sumter Portrait at the] South Carolina State House

{{NSRW poster|Sumter, Thomas|Thomas Sumter}}

{{s-start}}

{{s-par|us-hs}}

{{US House succession box

| state=South Carolina

| district=4

| district_ord=4th

| before=District created

| after= Richard Winn

| years=March 4, 1789{{snd}}March 3, 1793

}}

{{US House succession box

| state=South Carolina

| district=4

| district_ord=4th

| before=Richard Winn

| after= Richard Winn

| years=March 4, 1797{{snd}}December 15, 1801

}}

{{s-par|us-sen}}

{{US Senator succession box|class=2|state=South Carolina| before = Charles Pinckney| after = John Taylor | years =1801–1810| alongside=John C. Colhoun, Pierce Butler, John Gaillard }}

{{s-hon}}

{{succession box

| title=Oldest living U.S. senator

| before=William Johnson

| after=Charles Carroll

|years= November 14, 1819{{snd}}June 1, 1832}}

{{S-end}}

{{United States senators from South Carolina}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumter, Thomas}}

Category:1734 births

Category:1832 deaths

Category:People from Hanover County, Virginia

Category:People from colonial Virginia

Category:Anti-Administration Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina

Category:Democratic-Republican Party United States senators from South Carolina

Category:18th-century American planters

Category:American people of English descent

Category:American people of Welsh descent

Category:High Hills of Santee

Category:People from Stateburg, South Carolina

Category:People of Virginia in the French and Indian War

Category:Militia generals in the American Revolution

Category:People of South Carolina in the American Revolution

Category:United States senators who owned slaves

Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves

Category:19th-century United States senators

Category:19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Category:18th-century members of the United States House of Representatives