Thomas Sumter

Thomas Sumter 1734-1832, American Revolutionary officer, b. near Charlottesville, Va. He served with Edward Braddock (1755) and John Forbes (1758) in their expeditions against Fort Duquesne in the French and Indian War, and later he fought against the Cherokee. He settled (1765) in South Carolina. Like Francis Marion, he formed (1780) a guerrilla band in the Revolution and harassed the British in the Carolinas. He and the British leader, Banastre Tarleton, struck at each other through 1780. The "gamecock of the Revolution," as Sumter was called, was successful at Hanging Rock, barely escaped with his life at Fishing Creek, was repulsed in a raid on the British post at Rocky Mount, but won again at Blackstock. After the war, he was U.S. Representative (1789-93, 1797-1801), Senator (1801-10), and minister to Brazil (1810-11). Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor is named for him.

Bibliography: See biographies by A. K. Gregorie (1931) and R. D. Bass (1961).

Sumter, Thomas (1734–1832) Revolutionary War army officer, U.S. Representative and U.S. senator. A Virginian, Sumter fought the Cherokee early in his career; he later became a planter and merchant in South Carolina. He also participated in colonial politics and served in a colonial Ranger unit that, when the Revolution broke out, fought against the British and became part of the Continental army. Sumter resigned his commission because of illness but returned to active duty in 1780 when his estate was plundered by the British. From then on, using volunteer troops, he fought with a vengeance against British efforts to take South Carolina, winning promotion to brigadier general and command of the South Carolina militia. To spur enlistment, he promised each volunteer a slave, a horse, and the right to keep looted items; this policy was vacated by the state governor. In 1782 Sumter again retired from the army. After the war he served in the state Senate (1781–82) and the state House of Representatives (1784–86, 1788); he voted against the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1789–93, 1797–1801), he advocated a limited federal government. In 1801 he was appointed to the Senate to fill an unexpired term, and he won election in his own right in 1805.

Hanging Rock, Battle of (August 6, 1780) a battle at Hanging Rock in South Carolina. Hanging Rock was the British forces' primary defense of their base at Camden, and was normally strong enough to turn back American advances. Hanging Rock's defenses were weakened when forces were taken from it to defend its sister post at Rocky Mount. Thomas Sumter then planned an assault, and though the frontal attack went off course, the troops were fortunate to end up striking the vulnerable British flank. Battle ensued between the two forces, but upon the return of the British troops dispatched to Rocky Mount, the Americans retreated. Both sides suffered heavy losses, and the post was evacuated shortly after the battle due to the advance of Horatio Gates's army.