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H. 3856
STATUS INFORMATION
Concurrent Resolution
Sponsors: Rep. D.C. Smith
Document Path: l:\council\bills\bbm\9696djc03.doc
Introduced in the House on March 26, 2003
Introduced in the Senate on March 27, 2003
Adopted by the General Assembly on March 27, 2003
Summary: Sergeant Berry G. Benson Camp No. 1672, Sons of Confederate Veterans of North Augusta
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3/26/2003 House Introduced, adopted, sent to Senate HJ-71 3/27/2003 Senate Introduced, adopted, returned with concurrence SJ-33
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VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
TO COMMEMORATE THE LIFE, PUBLIC SERVICE, AND SACRIFICE OF WADE HAMPTON III, OF SOUTH CAROLINA, GOVERNOR, SENATOR, AND SOLDIER, AND TO COMMEND THE SERGEANT BERRY G. BENSON CAMP NO. 1672, SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS, OF NORTH AUGUSTA, FOR THEIR FAITHFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THIS DISTINGUISHED PUBLIC SERVANT AND LEADER, IN PEACE AND WAR, ON THE ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS BIRTH.
Whereas, Wade Hampton III was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on March 28, 1818. He was graduated from South Carolina College in 1836, and later, from 1851 to 1862, served in both houses of the South Carolina legislature. In 1861, he was reputed to be the largest landowner in the South; and
Whereas, on the questions of Southern policy his position was conservative. Having come to doubt the economic soundness of slavery, he vigorously opposed the movement in 1857 to remove the restrictions upon the importation of African slaves. He supported the view that secession from the Union was correct constitutionally, but held that action in this direction in 1860 was inexpedient and without sufficient provocation; and
Whereas, though he had not favored secession, Hampton gave himself and his resources to the support of the Confederacy from the onset. He offered his cotton to be exchanged in Europe for arms and secured permission to raise, partly at his own expense, a legion to consist of infantry, cavalry, and artillery; and
Whereas, having organized the Hampton Legion, of which he became colonel, and equipping it at his own expense, he took it to Virginia in time to participate in the Battle of First Manassas, where he was wounded. He commanded an infantry brigade in the Peninsular Campaign, and was appointed Brigadier General on May 23, 1862. A week later at Seven Pines he was again wounded. His service as a cavalry officer began on July 28 following, when he was assigned to the 1st Brigade of Cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia; and
Whereas, after assuming command of a brigade of cavalry, General Hampton participated valiantly and with distinction in practically all the major movements of Gen. J. E. B. Stuart: the Maryland campaign, the Chambersburg raid, the march around the flank of the Federal army before Gettysburg, the battle of Gettysburg itself where he was a third time wounded, and the defensive maneuvers of the Wilderness; and
Whereas, during the winter of 1862-63, he led on his own account a series of successful raids from Martinsburg in the upper Shenandoah Valley. These, together with other successes, brought him on Aug. 3, 1863, a commission as Major General and after Stuart's death on May 12, 1864, the command of the Cavalry Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. Although food, supplies, and resources for his troops were substantially diminished, General Hampton performed brilliantly in keeping the Federal cavalry around Richmond and Petersburg at bay until the winter of 1865; and
Whereas, the operations of the cavalry under Hampton were controlled by two factors. After he assumed command, the Confederate army in Virginia was never again on the offensive, and the supply of horses at his disposal was near the point of exhaustion. Accordingly, his tactics, with the exception of the Coggin's Point raid of September 14, 1864, when he captured some 2,400 beef cattle from the Federal quartermaster's department, were those of defense; and
Whereas, at Hawes' Shop on May 28, 1864, and Burgess Mill on October 27, 1864, General Hampton endeavored, in the main successfully, to stay the Federal advance. Trevilian Station on June 11 and 12, 1864, Sappony Church on June 27, 1864, Reams' Station on August 25, 1864, and many unnamed skirmishes were fought with even greater success to keep open the lines of communication from Richmond to the west and south; and
Whereas, later in 1864, to offset the lack of sufficient remounts, Hampton resorted more and more to the practice of fighting his men dismounted, but in January 1865, it was necessary for him to take a part of his command out of Virginia in search of fresh horses. He did not return to the Army of Northern Virginia, but instead was ordered to cover the retreat of Johnston's army then moving through South Carolina; and
Whereas, in January 1865, General Hampton was ordered, with part of his force, to join the forces of General Joseph E. Johnston in the Carolinas. He was promoted to Lieutenant General on February 15, to rank from February 14, 1865. Three days later the city of Columbia was burned. An effort was made by General Sherman to place the blame upon General Hampton, but on this score he has been exonerated; and
Whereas, when General Johnston surrendered to General Sherman, Hampton at first considered crossing the Mississippi, and continue resistance in Texas. He returned to South Carolina, however, and as in the cases of the majority of his class, found his home in ashes and that the war had taken the greater part of his fortune; and
Whereas, after the war Hampton gave his support to the plan of reconstruction prescribed by President Johnson. However, when Congress substituted its more drastic reconstruction policy for that of the President, Hampton joined in the general protest and entered vigorously into both the presidential and state campaigns of 1868 with the object of defeating the party which was responsible for this program; and
Whereas, while the Republicans controlled the government of South Carolina for the next eight years, Hampton devoted his attention to private affairs, spending much of his time on his Mississippi plantations. Nevertheless, he was instrumental in reclaiming his State from the Reconstruction regime, and was elected Governor in 1876 over the carpetbagger D. H. Chamberlain who then held the office of Governor; and
Whereas, Hampton was reelected Governor in 1878, and later served as United States Senator from 1879 to 1891. Subsequently, from 1893 to 1899, he was commissioner of Pacific Railways. His last home was located at the corner of Senate and Barnwell Streets in Columbia, a gift from the people of South Carolina after his home at Millwood was burned during the war. Wade Hampton died in Columbia on April 11, 1902, and is buried there; and
Whereas, to their great credit the members of the Sergeant Berry G. Benson Camp No. 1672, Sons of Confederate Veterans, of North Augusta, are to be commended for their faithful remembrance of Wade Hampton III, governor, senator, soldier, distinguished public servant and leader, in peace and war, on the one hundred eighty-fifth anniversary of his birth. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
That the members of the General Assembly, by this resolution, commemorate the life, public service, and sacrifice of Wade Hampton III, of South Carolina, governor, senator, and soldier, and commend the Sergeant Berry G. Benson Camp No. 1672, Sons of Confederate Veterans, of North Augusta, for their faithful remembrance of this distinguished public servant and leader, in peace and war, on the one hundred eighty-fifth anniversary of his birth.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the Sergeant Berry G. Benson Camp No. 1672, Sons of Confederate Veterans, of North Augusta.
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