Wade Hampton American cavalryman Date of Birth: 28.03.1818 Country: USA

1. Wade Hampton: A Life of Success and Leadership
2. Civil War and Military Leadership
3. Post-War Career and Legacy

Wade Hampton: A Life of Success and Leadership

Wade Hampton III was an American cavalryman who achieved success in all aspects of his life, whether as a soldier, planter, businessman, governor, or senator. He gained national recognition in the United States for his prominent post-war governorship and leadership in the Southern movement to end Reconstruction, although his name first resonated across the continent during the Civil War. Wade Hampton III was born on March 28, 1818, in Charleston, South Carolina, into the family of a prosperous planter and the son of a Revolutionary War hero. He grew up combining the carefree life of a boy from an aristocratic southern family with a superb classical education (his father owned the largest private library in the state). Wade developed a passion for reading from an early age, although he also loved horse riding and hunting. In 1836, Hampton graduated from the South Carolina College and took charge of a vast family agricultural empire, becoming the wealthiest man in America on the eve of the war and establishing himself politically as a member of the South Carolina Senate.

Civil War and Military Leadership

On December 10, 1859, Hampton successfully prevented the re-establishment of the slave trade in the state, not only to end what he considered an immoral practice but also to delay the then-real secession of South Carolina. When the war began, Wade Hampton offered his services to the Confederate Army as a private, but Governor Pickens insisted on granting Hampton the rank of colonel, and he began forming the military unit that soon gained fame as "Hampton's Legion." Hampton personally purchased six Blakeley guns and four hundred Enfield cap-lock rifles for the legion from England, and by the end of the war, his vast personal fortune had been exhausted by the needs of the Confederacy. The war deprived this remarkable man not only of his wealth - his brother and younger son were killed by Northerners, his eldest son, Wade Hampton IV, became crippled, his ancestral estate in Millwood was burned down by Sherman, and he himself suffered five wounds. According to Hampton's biographer Manly Wade Wellman, he was, with the possible exception of Nathan Bedford Forrest, "the most successful field commander of all the generals in American history." He was considered a true warrior, and often Hampton's personal involvement in hand-to-hand combat tipped the scales in favor of the South. He was very tall and had an impressive build, and in battle, he used not a regular officer's saber but a custom-made double-edged sword forty-five inches long. In the first battle of Manassas, six hundred soldiers from Hampton's Legion appeared on the battlefield at the most crucial moment, buying time for Jackson's forces to arrive. Surrounded on three sides, Hampton's men stood their ground, and his horse was killed right under him. When the legion went on the attack, they managed to capture two federal cannons, but Hampton was wounded in the head. On May 23, 1862, Wade Hampton was promoted to brigadier general and given command of an infantry brigade. He was a capable infantry officer, but when Lee reorganized the army, he offered Hampton command of a brigade in Jeb Stuart's cavalry division, and Hampton gladly transferred to the cavalry. In the cavalry, he acquired a reputation as a tactical genius, consistently defeating the enemy despite being significantly outnumbered. From the famous flanking maneuver against McClellan's army to the battle at Brandy Station, Hampton was always at the forefront of the attack, while also caring for his soldiers and minimizing losses to the maximum. Hampton's conduct during the Battle of Gettysburg became part of history - suffering from a saber wound received the day before, on the third day of the battle, he led his men in another attack. He personally killed one Yankee in sword combat and shot three others with his revolver. Suddenly, Hampton saw that several Federal soldiers had surrounded one of his young cavalrymen. The general rushed to his aid, although he could only wield a weapon with one hand, and saved the private, knocking down the Yankee who had already aimed his weapon. He was hit with a saber strike to the head, but despite blood pouring into his eyes, Hampton continued the fight and shot two more Northern soldiers. As the battle drew to a close, Hampton was wounded again by shrapnel. On September 3, 1863, Wade Hampton became a major general. After Stuart's death in May 1864, General Lee sought a replacement for Jeb as commander of the cavalry, and his choice fell on Hampton. He lived up to Lee's expectations on June 11-12 in the cavalry battle at Trevilian Station. Hampton's tactical talent allowed the Confederates to defeat a twice as large enemy force armed with the latest magazine rifles.

Post-War Career and Legacy

On September 16, 1864, Hampton embarked on a raid into enemy territory (later known as "Hampton's Beefsteak Raid"). The cavalrymen captured 2,468 head of cattle and over three hundred prisoners from the enemy, losing only ten men in battle. For the starving Confederacy, two million pounds of beef became a literal salvation from death. On March 10, 1865, already a lieutenant general, Hampton, accompanied by five southern cavalrymen, attacked a group of seventy Union horsemen. In the battle, he personally killed three Federal soldiers, while his men killed ten Yankees. Hampton captured twelve Federals, and the rest fled in panic. The Southern losses consisted of only one horse. Wade Hampton was a strong opponent of surrender, but when the war finally ended, he decided to continue his political career and became the first Southern governor to openly oppose Reconstruction policies on December 14, 1876. On February 24, 1879, Hampton resigned as governor of South Carolina to take a seat in the U.S Senate, where he remained until March 1891. He died on April 11, 1902, at the age of eighty-four. His last words were, "God bless you all," and more than twenty thousand people who loved him attended Wade Hampton III's funeral.