The Life of General Thomas "Gamecock" Sumter (1734 - 1832) -- The Longest Lived General of the American Revolutionary War

Brigadier General Thomas "Gamecock" Sumter
(August 14, 1734 – June 1, 1832).
Painting by American artist Rembrandt Peale, 1795.

Thomas Sumter was born on Wednesday, August 14, 1734 in Hanover County, Virginia.

His father, William Thomas Sumter, was a former indentured servant as a youth in England to order to immigrate to Virginia where he met and married widow Elizabeth Patience Iveson in 1728. William Sumter owned and operating his own gristmill in Albemarle County, Virginia near the modern-day Charlottesville. Thomas was the fourth of six children the couple would have. 

Most of young Thomas Sumter's early years were spent tending livestock and helping his father at the gristmill, not in school. After his father’s death in 1752, Sumter cared for his mother’s sheep and plowed his neighbor's fields. He was given a rudimentary education living on what was then the American frontier.

Thomas Sumter would spend much of his life as a soldier.

At the age of 20, Thomas Sumter served as a sergeant in the Virginia Militia during the French and Indian War (1754-1763) under the command of then Colonel George Washington. He was present during the disastrous expedition of British Major General Edward Braddock to capture Fort Duquesne (modern-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) and fought in the Battle of the Monongahela (Wednesday, July 9, 1755) where Braddock fell.

Later in the war, Sergeant Thomas Sumter would take part in the Anglo-Cherokee War of 1760-1761. The war with the Cherokee and the Colony of Virginia ended in early November of 1761 with the Treaty of Long-Island-on-the-Holston.

Following the end of the war with the Cherokee, Sumter took part in the Timberlake Expedition which he helped to finance. Sergeant Sumter accompanied Lieutenant Henry Timberlake, Mr. John McCormack (who served as their interpreter), and an unknown African-American servant, traveling into the Overhill settlements area to deliver a copy of the treaty with Virginia to the Cherokee. The expedition left Long-Island-on-the-Hulston on Saturday, November 28, 1761 and arrived in the Overhill village of Tomotley on Sunday, December 20th, where they were greeted by the Cherokee leader Ostenaco.

In May of 1762, Sergeant Sumter accompanied Lieutenant Timberlake and three Cherokee leaders (including Ostenaco) to London, where the chief had an audience with King George III, and has his portrait painted by British artist Sir Joshua Reynolds. The Cherokee returned to North America with Sergeant Sumter on Wednesday, August 25, 1762, arriving in Charleston, South Carolina weeks later.

Upon returning to the colonies, Sumter became stranded in South Carolina due to financial difficulties. He petitioned the Virginia Colony for reimbursement of his travel expenses, but was denied. He was subsequently imprisoned for debt in Staunton, Virginia. A friend and fellow Virginia militia soldier, Joseph Martin, visited and spend the night with Sumter in jail. He gave Sumter ten guineas and a tomahawk. Sumter used the money and the weapon to escape jail. When the two men were reunited some thirty years later, Sumter repaid Martin the money.

Around 1764 Sumter fled to South Carolina settled in St. John’s Berkeley Parish near the Santee River (modern-day Orangeburg County, South Carolina) and opened a country store. The mercantile venture prospered and Sumter soon owned considerable property. He earned such respect from the local community he was made a justice of the peace in 1766.

In 1767 he married Mary Cantey Jameson, a wealthy, crippled widow eleven years his senior. Sumter and his wife moved into her plantation, Great Savannah, across the Santee in St. Mark’s Parish (Orangeburg County) and became successful planters. The couple had one child, Thomas Sumter Jr., who was born on Tuesday, August 30, 1768, a year after their marriage.

Sumter was a man of many interests including tobacco and cotton farming and silk worms. He also bred and raised racing horses. As a prominent plantation owner, Sumter was believed to have owned just under 100 African-Americas throughout his lifetime.

Because he was a prominent property owner, Thomas Sumter was elected a delegate from the district eastward of the Wateree to the First and Second South Carolina Provisional Congresses that met in Charleston in 1775 and 1776, and was made a member of the Council of Safety. He would be present and took part in the adoption of the new State Constitution on Tuesday, March 26, 1776 which made South Carolina an independent sovereignty.

Following the Battles at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts on Wednesday, April 19, 1775 which began the American Revolutionary War, Sumter was appointed a Captain of Rangers and took part in Colonel Richard Richardson's Snow Campaign against American Loyalists, which ended with a Patriot victory at the Battle of Great Cane Brake (in modern-day Greenville County, South Carolina) on Friday, December 22, 1775 .

In 1776, Sumter was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the Second Regiment of the South Carolina Line of which he was later appointed full Colonel. He and the 2nd Regiment were present in Charleston during the decisive American victory at the Battle of Sullivan’s Island (Friday, June 28, 1776) but did not participate in the action.

Colonel Sumter later took part in the Cherokee campaign (July-October 1776), and engagement with Loyalist militia forces in Georgia between 1777 and 1778. In 1778 Sumter joined with General Robert Howe in planning the aborted invasion of Florida, but contracted malaria. On Saturday, September 19, 1778, Sumter formally left the army still at the rank of Colonel and returned to private life.

He was still in retirement with his young son and crippled wife when the City of Charleston fell to British forces under General Sir Henry Clinton following a six-week siege on Friday, May 12, 1780.

Two weeks later, on Sunday, May 28th, 1780, a detachment of Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton's British Legion Cavalry made their way through the High Hills of the Santee River. Commanded by Captain Charles Campbell of the Legion, the Loyalist provincials had orders by Tarleton to bring in Sumter -- a noted Continental officer despite having been retired for almost two years by that point.

Sometime about 10 AM on Sunday, May 28th, then 11-year-old Thomas Sumter Jr., the young son of Colonel Sumter, was riding his horse when a neighbor rode past in full gallop, crying that British cavalry was on its way. Tom rode his horse home to inform his father what he had heard. His wife, Mary, pleaded for her husband to run. Sumter called to Soldier Tom, his African-American manservant, and ordered him to saddle their horses. After donning his old uniform of the 2nd South Carolina Regiment, Sumter bid farewell to Tom and Mary, and headed to North Carolina with Soldier Tom only an hour, or so, ahead of the British Legion.

Campbell's detachment arrived at Sumter's plantation home to find Sumter had already alluded them. The British Legion soldiers then plundered the home and put it to the torch, leaving the Sumter's family homeless and Colonel Thomas Sumter vengeful against the British invaders and their Loyalist allies.

It would be during this stage of the war, with Patriot fortunes in South Carolina at their lowest, that Thomas Sumter would made his greatest contribution and secure his legacy as an American soldier.

Over the course of the summer and fall of 1780, Colonel Thomas Sumter's name would be the rally cry for upcountry South Carolina Patriots in their struggle against their occupiers. He organized a brigade of partisan militia to harass the British and their Loyalist allies. Along with other Patriot leaders like Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion who operated in the South Carolina lowcountry, these Patriots militiamen would conduct hit-and-run tactics on British outposts, disrupting lines of communication and badly needed British supplies.

Colonel Sumter was informally elected by his men as Brigadier General on Thursday, June 15, 1780. Afterwards, Sumter's Brigade would serve as the only organized Patriot force in South Carolina during the summer of 1780 conducting various raids on British and Loyalist targets in the upstate Piedmont in modern-day York, Union, Chester, and Lancaster Counties.

York and Chester County Patriot militia that made up the core of Sumter's Brigade were instrumental in the first defeat of Loyalist militia and a detachment of Tarleton's Legion at Williamson's Plantation (known locally as Huck's Defeat) in York County on July 12, 1780 -- although Sumter himself was not at the battle himself. This victory was instrumental in encouraging upstate Patriots to join the fight.

A month later, Sumter himself led an unsuccessful assault on the Loyalist stronghold at Rocky Mount (Tuesday, August 1, 1780) on the Catawba River in Chester County, but this was followed by a victory over Loyalist forces at nearby Hanging Rock (Sunday, August 6, 1780) in Lancaster County less than a week later. 

When Major General Horatio Gates' Southern Continental Army arrived in South Carolina that same month, Sumter's Brigade was tasked with harassing British supply lines in the central Piedmont area and his men would capture two supply convoys and dozens of prisoners. Because of this Sumter would not be present for Gates' defeat at the Battle of Camden on Wednesday, August 16, 1780.

Two days later, on Friday, August 18, 1780, Tarleton's Legion surprised Sumter's men at camp near Fishing Creek along the Catawba River in Chester County, completely routing the Patriots and nearly capturing Sumter (having been asleep when the attack started), who escaped on a wagon horse barebacked leaving behind his hat, coat, and boots. He fled with most of his men back to Charlotte, North Carolina.

This would be Sumter's only major defeat of the war at the hands of Banastre Tarleton's provincials -- one the proud American officer would be determined to avenge. Despite this one setback, Sumter's Brigade had done its part in delaying the planned British invasion of North Carolina and preventing the British from firmly establishing their occupation of South Carolina's upstate.

Because of the actions of his Patriot brigade, the commander of British forces in South Carolina, General Lord Charles Cornwallis considered Sumter such an annoyance that he referred to him in correspondence as "daring and troublesome" and "our greatest plague in this country."

On Friday, October 6, 1780, exiled South Carolina Governor John Rutledge writing from his temporary headquarters in Hillsboro, North Carolina, officially commissioned Thomas Sumter as Brigadier General and commander of South Carolina militia.

A day later, on Saturday, October 7, 1780, the decisive Battle of Kings Mountain took place, ending any further plans for a British invasion into North Carolina. Sumter would once again return to the upstate and wreak havoc on the British and Loyalists through the fall of 1780.

On Thursday, November 9, 1780, British forces under the command of Major James Wemyss of the 63rd Regiment of Foot, attempted to surprise Sumter's Brigade camped along Fishdam Ford on the Broad River in Chester County. Sumter's men where prepared for such an attack and repulsed the British, capturing Wemyss who was wounded in the engagement.

Following the British defeat at Fishdam Ford, Tarleton Legion was sent in pursuit of Sumter's Brigade where the two forces engaged in battle at Blackstock's Farm on the Tyger River in southwestern Union County on Monday, November 20, 1780. 

It was at Blackstocks that General Sumter earned his greatest success of the war. The battle was a Patriot victory, the first major victory against "Bloody Ban" Tarleton's forces since Huck's Defeat months before. Sumter's Brigade aggressively beat back the arrogant young British officer's provincials and British infantry.

He not only avenged his defeat at Tarleton's hands three months before, but also earned the nickname he would be best remembered for due to his resolve and aggressive fighting style in the battle. Tarleton himself reportedly commented in his battle report (where he claimed victory despite his men retiring from the field) that Sumter had "fought like a gamecock" during the battle, in grudging admiration.

General Sumter himself would be wounded in the battle when a musket ball struck him under his left shoulder. He would spend three months recovering before returning to the field in February of 1781 where he would again led his militia brigade in battles in the central portion of the state. 

Sumter attempted an unsuccessful assault at Fort Granby (near present-day Columbia, South Carolina) on Monday, February 19, 1781. The next day Sumter tried again with a Quaker gun and was again unsuccessful. He was forced to abandon the siege two days later on Wednesday, February 21st, when British reinforcements arrived, but  was successfully able to ignite the magazine and destroy other provisions. Two days later on Friday, February 23, 1781, he defeated the British at Manigault's Ferry on the Congaree River and captured a supply train. On February 28th, he launched an unsuccessful attack against Fort Watson (in modern-day Clarendon County, South Carolina). 

Although known for being a good leader and a tenacious fighter, Sumter was also known for his personal pride who bristled at the idea of taking orders from others. When the Continental army returned to South Carolina in the spring of 1781, Sumter was less than cooperative with Major General Nathanael Greene, preferring to act independently with his command, preferring to fight his own little war.

In April of 1781, when Greene needed his support at Hobkirk's Hill near Camden, Sumter again struck at Fort Granby instead of assisting him. He broke off that attack to capture Orangeburg on May 11th -- during which time Colonel "Lighthorse" Henry Lee (the father of future Confederate General Robert E. Lee) of the Continental army successfully captured Fort Granby. This embarrassed the proud "Gamecock" who threatened to resign as a result. Greene refused to accept his resignation, largely because he needed Sumter's help with gathering new recruits for the army and South Carolina militia.

With spring planting season coming and militia recruits returning home after their enlistments expired, in an effort to gain new recruits, Sumter would also become infamous for his controversial "Sumter's law". This plan included a bounty to recruit a certain number of volunteers into the army who would receive captured Loyalist-owned slaves as a reward, as well as other booty from those still loyal to the Crown. It was a vile practice, but one that most of the Continental Army largely looked the other way on for the time being.

"Sumter's law" succeeded in assembling men who were all-too eager to revenge themselves upon the local Loyalists and plunder their property, but this also touched off a renewed wave of the vicious civil war between Patriots and Loyalists and earned the Patriot general a disreputable reputation as a result.

Finally, on Tuesday, July 17, 1781, General Sumter -- with Marion and Lee now under his direct command -- launched an ill-fated frontal attack at Quinby Bridge on a tributary of the Cooper River north of Charleston. On Wednesday, July 25th, Sumter sent a force to plunder Loyalists in Georgetown. The British retaliated by virtually destroying the town on Thursday, August 2, 1781.

These actions led many of his followers to abandon him and return home. Now perceiving Sumter's policies as counterproductive, Governor Rutledge issued a proclamation formally terminating "Sumter's law" by prohibiting plundering.

As the war was beginning to wind down, and his frustrations over militia reorganization and the aftermath of "Sumter's law" continued to plague him, Sumter finally resigned his military commission in February of 1782.

After a brief investigation into his use of "Sumter's law", General Sumter was exonerated, and the legislatures of North and South Carolina forbade state courts to entertain damage suits connected with this matter. He was given the thanks of the South Carolina Senate and a gold medal for his wartime contributions -- particularly his contributions in the summer and fall of 1780. 

In the years following the American Revolutionary War, the remainder of Sumter’s public life was spent in politics. He was elected to the State Senate in 1782 and attended the South Carolina General Assembly at Jacksonborough. 

Thomas Sumter would later be elected five times by the Camden District to represent the State of South Carolina in the United States House of Representatives, serving his first and second terms from Wednesday, March 4, 1789, to Sunday, March 3, 1793; and his third through fifth terms from Saturday, March 4, 1797, to Tuesday, December 15, 1801. He later served in the United States Senate, having been selected to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator Charles Pinckney who had been appointed by then U.S. President Thomas Jefferson to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Spain. Sumter resigned from his seat in the U.S. Senate on Sunday, December 16, 1810. Sumter was a dedicated Jeffersonian, who remained devoted to his backcountry republican values. He would serve under four U.S. Presidents.

Sumter also founded the town of Stateburg, South Carolina. In 1785, Stateburg became the county seat of what was then Claremont County and served as such until the county was dissolved in 1800 and became Sumter County, in honor of the general. When he retired from public service, Sumter returned to his rebuilt home at South Mount and lived out the rest of his days there.

General Thomas "Gamecock" Sumter died on Friday, June 1, 1832 at the age of 97, the longest lived general of the American Revolutionary War. He is buried in the High Hills of the Santee at the Thomas Sumter Memorial Park in Stateburg, Sumter County, South Carolina along with members of his family.

The South Carolina Revolutionary War Generals Memorial at the State Capitol in Columbia, dedicated on Tuesday, November 11, 1913 and commissioned by the South Carolina Daughters of the American Revolution, honors Generals Thomas Sumter, Andrew Pickens, and Francis Marion for their service.

The Sumter National Forest in the South Carolina upstate -- the scene of two of his greatest wartime exploits (Fishdam Ford and Blackstocks Plantation) -- was named in his honor in July of 1936 by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Sumter Counties in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina are also named in his honor.

Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, planned after the War of 1812 (1812 - 1815) was named in his honor. The shots initiating the War Between The States (American Civil War) were fired there on Friday, April 12, 1861.

To this day the sports teams of the University of South Carolina in Columbia are called the "Gamecocks" in General Sumter's honor.

The tomb of General Thomas "Gamecock" Sumter at Thomas Sumter Memorial Park
in Stateburg, Sumter County, South Carolina, USA.

This blogger would like to thanks the following sources for information in this article:

Bass, Robert D. Gamecock: The Life and Campaigns of General Thomas Sumter. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1961.
Gregorie, Anne King. History of Sumter County. Sumter, S.C.: Library Board of Sumter County, 1954.
Sumter, Thomas. Thomas Sumter papers. Madison: Wisconsin State Historical Society.
The University of South Carolina (USC) and the The South Carolina Department of Archives & History in Columbia, S.C.