Skip to main content

From the Life of General Thomas Pinckney

Since my visit to Charleston, South Carolina and St. Philip's Church Cemetery, I have learned a little more about Major General Thomas Pinckney. What a fascinating life he led. Want to know more about him? Read on!

General Thomas Pinckney's grandfather (Thomas Pinckney) came to South Carolina and made it his home in 1692. His wife was Mary Cotesworth. Thomas built a house at the corner of East Bay and Tradd Street in Charleston. He had full view of the harbor. He died in this home of yellow fever.


General Thomas Pinckney's father, Charles Pinckney, was educated in England and became a successful lawyer upon returning to Carolina. He accumulated a large fortune and was Speaker of the House of Assembly from 1736-1740. Charles married Elizabeth Lucas in 1744. This marriage produced our subject in 1750.

Thomas Pinckney was educated for 19 years in England at Westminster, Oxford. He read Greek fluently to the end of his life. In 1774, Thomas was admitted to the Charleston bar.

Pinckney's law career was interrupted, however, by South Carolina's preparation for the American Revolution. A volunteer company of rangers was formed in April 1775 in which Thomas was appointed a lieutenant. Soon after Lexington, two regiments were formed to defend the colony. Thomas Pinckney was named a captain. His company, part of the 1st regiment, was assigned to duty at Fort Johnson, on the southern shore of Charleston's harbor.

After the first attempt by the British to fire on Fort Sullivan, and the fort being successfully defended, Pinckney and the 1st regiment were moved there in August 1776. This would remain his headquarters for three years.

The following is taken from The Life of General Thomas Pinckney by Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, his grandson:
Captain Pinckney's reputation for handling troops was such that he was often detailed for special duty as instructor in military science. During the first three years of the war he was thus employed along the coast, as far south as Pocotaligo and Purisburg. On one of these tours an incident occurred which marked his firmness and decision of character. It was known to the military authorities that British emissaries from Georgia had visited certain posts, and tampered with the men. During his visit to one of these stations a mutiny broke out among the troops. The company on parade refused to obey orders, threw down their arms, and defied their officers. Persuasion, upbraiding, threats, proved alike unavailing, and the officers seemed about to give up the contest. Captain Pinckney, watching the situation from an adjoining house, saw that the time for parley had passed. Taking his sabre in his hand he entered the angry group, approached the ringleader, and cut him down at a blow. Ordering the company to resume their arms, and fall into ranks, he carried them through the interrupted drill, and turned them over to their officers in a far more submissive spirit than they had manifested. No man could be more averse to assume authority than one of Thomas Pinckney's temperament; he could exercise it promptly when duty required.
In 1778, the now Major Thomas Pinckney, with the joined forces of South Carolina and Georgia, went to help protect those frontiers from the English stationed in Florida.

In 1779, Major Pinckney took part in the battle of Stono Ferry. He was 2nd in command of the light artillery. "Major Pinckney gained great applause for his gallant conduct on this day. The battalion to which he was attached charged two companies of the 71st British regiment, and so completely routed them at the point of the bayonet, that only nine men were able to take shelter within their lines."

During the Siege of Charleston, Pinckney was stationed at the Horn redoubt, a mason fortification built along King Street. A piece of it still remains today.



After Charleston fell, Pinckney went north and offered his services to Washington. Congress took active measures to recover South Carolina from British rule and ordered troops to be raised for this purpose. Pinckney was aide to the commander of these troops. Major Pinckney was severely wounded in the Camden battle. An old schoolfellow found him and had him removed with the wounded British soldiers. Mrs. Pinckney was summoned to care for her husband after the British retreated. When his wound was somewhat healed, Major Pinckney was a prisoner of war for more than a year, after which he was exchanged.

As soon as peace was restored, Major Pinckney resumed the practice of law in Charleston. In 1787 he was elected Governor of the state.

In 1791, Major Pinckney was given the position of minister to London. In 1795, he achieved a treaty with Spain that gave the United States free navigation of the Mississippi River. Later, Pinckney served two terms in Congress, ending in 1801. For the next decade, Thomas Pinckney had the life he loved, that of a Carolina planter.

For the War of 1812, Thomas Pinckney was appointed Major General of the southern half of the United States. His command extended from the southern borders of Virginia to the Mississippi, including North and South Carolina, Georgia, and the Indian Territory (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana).

Following the war, Pinckney spent the remainder of his days in agriculture.

Proudly serving your country was a trait Pinckney passed down to his three sons. The three swords which General Pinckney used in the American Revolution and War of 1812 were bequeathed to them with the requirement that "they never be drawn in any private quarrel, and never remain in their scabbards when their country demanded their service." Fourteen of Pinckney's descendants served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

Thomas Pinckney died 2 November 1828. A large military and citizen group followed his body in the procession from his house on Legare Street to St. Philip's Church and cemetery.



In addition to the above-mentioned The Life of General Thomas Pinckney, another book is available for the study of Thomas and the rest of the Pinckney family. It is Charleston in the Age of the Pinckneys by George C. Rogers. It is "a look at the rise and decline of the Pinckney family whose members were present at every major point in Charleston's history."


Comments

Anonymous said…
This is the best bio I have read online about pinckney. Gained an interest in his story while reading up on the presidential election of 1800 and his role in it. Thanks for the photos as well, nicely done.

Popular posts from this blog

Rocks, Rocks, and More Rocks

Why do people put rocks on grave stones? Some time ago, I learned that the rocks signified a visitor. That is true enough, but I decided to learn a little more about the custom and share my findings with you. Putting rocks on tombstones is most often described as a Jewish custom. There are many "Ask a Rabbi" columns out there, but I did not find one that knew for sure where the custom originated. They all agreed, however, that a rock symbolized a visitor and when put on a tombstone said, "I remember you." I also read that some people pick up a rock wherever they are when they think of a person that has passed. Then, the next time they visit the grave, they place the rock to say, "I wish you were here." Rabbi Shraga Simmons offers a deeper meaning: "We are taught that it is an act of ultimate kindness and respect to bury someone and place a marker at the site. After a person is buried, of course, we can no longer participate in burying them. H

Southern Cross of Honor

I'm late to this discussion, but it's one I'd like to join. :-) Terry Thornton at The Graveyard Rabbit of the Hill Country started with Grave Marker Symbols: The Southern Cross of Honor and UCV (link no longer available). Judith Shubert at The Graveyard Rabbit of the Covered Bridges continued with Hood County Texas: C.S.A. Veterans & Southern Cross of Honor Symbol . [UPDATE, 1 June 2009: Judith has moved this post to the blog, Cemeteries with Texas Ties . The link has been corrected to reflect this move. You may also link to her article via her nice comment on this post.] Wikipedia states: The Southern Cross of Honor was a military decoration meant to honor the officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates for their valor in the armed forces of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. It was formally approved by the Congress of the Confederate States on October 13, 1862, and was originally intended to be on par with the Union Arm

Thursday Link Love: EyeWitness To History

Yesterday, a link was added to the Genealogy Research Resources Group at Diigo. The link was to the website titled EyeWitness to History.com: History through the eyes of those who lived it . It's a great site, and I encourage all to visit it. Here are several items I found while snooping around. - Inside a Nazi Death Camp, 1944 : "Hitler established the first concentration camp soon after he came to power in 1933. The system grew to include about 100 camps divided into two types: concentration camps for slave labor in nearby factories and death camps for the systematic extermination of "undesirables" including Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, the mentally retarded and others." - Crash of the Hindenburg, 1937 : "Radio reporter Herbert Morrison, sent to cover the airship's arrival, watched in horror. His eye witness description of the disaster was the first coast-to-coast radio broadcast and has become a classic piece of audio history." [You ca





SouthernGraves.blogspot.com

The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"

So I answered, "O Lord God, You know."

Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!' Thus says the Lord God to these bones: 'Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live...'" (Ezekiel 37:1-5, NKJV)