Wade Hampton I

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Wade Hampton (1752-February 4, 1835) served in the American Revolution and was a member of Congress from 1795-1797 and from 1803-1805, and a presidential elector in 1801. He was a colonel in the United States army in 1808, and was promoted to brigadier-general in 1809. On April 6, 1814 he resigned his commission and returned to South Carolina after leading thousands of US soldiers to defeat at the hands of a few hundred Quebec militia, then getting his army lost in the woods. Thereafter, he acquired a large fortune land speculating. At his death it was told that he was the wealthiest planter in the United States, owning over 3,000 slaves.