Midtown - Downtown in Columbia in Richland County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Wade Hampton
Photographed By Mike Stroud, 2010
1. Wade Hampton Marker
[East Face]
of
The Hampton Legion
Lieutenant General
C.S.A.
[Lower Plaques]:
[North Face]
Wade Hampton
Born
March 28
1818
Died April 11
1902
[West Face]:
1876 - 1879
United States Senator
1879 - 1891
[Lower Plaques]:
[South Face]:
by the State of
South Carolina
and
its citizens
Erected 1906 by State of South Carolina and Its Citizens.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1775.
Location. 33° 59.975′ N, 81° 1.97′ W. Marker is in Columbia, South Carolina, in Richland County. It is in Midtown - Downtown. Marker can be reached from Near Senate Street. South grounds of the State House Located between Assembly Street North Sumter Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Columbia SC 29201, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 10 other markers are within walking distance
this page online
Regarding Wade Hampton. Sculpture: approx. 15 x 17 x 5 ft.; Base: approx. 10 ft. 9 in. x 17 ft. 5 in. x 7 ft. 10 in. (53 tons).
Wade Hampton (1818-1902) was a Confederate general known as one of the world's greatest cavalry leaders. In his later years he served as governor of South Carolina (1876-1879) and United States senator (1879-1891). When Hampton died in 1902, officials of the State of South Carolina moved quickly to erect a statue in his honor. The cost of the sculpture was $30,000, for which the state appropriated $20,000; the remaining $10,000 was raised through voluntary subscriptions by citizens of the state. The base was designed by M. J. L. Fougerousse,
Photographed By Mike Stroud, February 28, 2010
2. Wade Hampton east side
Also see . . .
1. Wade Hampton III. Hampton first saw combat in July 1861, at the First Battle of Bull Run, where he deployed his Legion at a decisive moment, giving the brigade of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson time to reach the field. Hampton was wounded for the first of five times during the war when he led a charge against a federal artillery position, and a bullet creased his forehead. (Submitted on March 19, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)
2. Wade Hampton 1818-1902. Wade Hampton III was born in Charleston SC on March 28, 1818, on Hasel Street, the eldest son of a wealthy and prominent cotton plantation owner. (Submitted on August 27, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)
3. Hampton's Legion. Hampton's Legion was an American Civil War military unit
Photographed By Mike Stroud, February 28, 2010
3. Wade Hampton eastside lower plaques
[Trevilian ] [Seven Pines] [Burgess Mill] [First Manassas] [Gettysburg]
4. Frederick Ruckstull. Frederick Wellington Ruckstull (May 22, 1853 - May 26, 1942) was a French-born American sculptor and art critic. (Submitted on August 27, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)
Additional commentary.
1. Hampton Statue Unveiling Ceremony
The ceremonies surrounding the memorial statue dedicated to Hampton near the statehouse give the first indication of the loosening interpretations regarding the general. Commissioned in 1904 by Governor Heyward, the statue depicts Hampton in a gallant post riding an impressive mount. Old conservatives Gen. Matthew C. Butler and Theodore G. Baker served as the keynote speaker and chief marshal respectively. On November 20, 1906, three Hampton granddaughters and one-great-granddaughter unveiled the statue to the roar of the crowd. (Source: The Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil War History by Gary W. Gallagher and Alan T. Nolan (2000) pg 77.)
— Submitted August 27, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. 
Photographed By Mike Stroud, February 28, 2010
4. Wade Hampton north face
2. Frederick Wellington Ruckstull and the Hampton Monument
With the State House substantially complete, attention turned to the condition of the grounds. The Wade Hampton monument was the first major project and it fore-shadowed things to come. Frederick Wellington Ruckstull (1853-1942), the sculptor who made the Hampton monument, would later make both the Women of the Confederacy statue and the columnar memorial to the Revolutionary Partisan Generals. All would be in the American Renaissance Style; all were related to specific works of art elsewhere, and all expressed specifically local sentiments.
A legislative Commission to Provide for a Monument to the Memory of Wade Hampton was created in 1903. The commission was directed to select a sculptor and authorized to spend up to $20,000 after having raised $10,000 from private sources. John Quitman Marshall served as the commission's treasurer and then as its chairman. The commission sought recommendations, interviewed Ruckstull, and made a contract with him for a total price of $28,000. Ruckstull then went to Paris where he designed the statue and supervised its casting by A. Durenne.
Hampton is presented mounted and reviewing his troops. Both horse and river are virtually identical in posture and detail to Ruckstull's earlier (1897) equestrian bronze of Major General
Photographed By Mike Stroud, February 28, 2010
5. Wade Hampton north face
— Submitted August 27, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.
3. Wade Hampton (1818-1902)
Wade Hampton, (grandson of Wade Hampton [1752-1835]), a Senator from South Carolina; born in Charleston, S.C., March 28, 1818; received private instruction, graduated from the South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina) at Columbia in 1836; studied law but never practiced; planter; member, State house of representatives 1852-1856; member, State senate 1858-1861; served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, raising and commanding “Hampton’s Legion”; three times wounded; made brigadier general in 1862,
Photographed By Mike Stroud, February 28, 2010
6. Wade Hampton west side
— Submitted August 27, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.
Photographed By Mike Stroud, February 28, 2010
7. Wade Hampton west face
Photographed By Mike Stroud, February 28, 2010
8. Wade Hampton west face lower plaques
[Bentonville] [Brandy Station] [Sappon Church] [Cold Harbor] [Hawes Shop]
Photographed By Mike Stroud, February 28, 2010
9. Wade Hampton south face
Photographed By Mike Stroud, February 28, 2010
10. Wade Hampton south face
Photographed By Mike Stroud, February 28, 2010
11. Wade Hampton F.W. Ruckstull
Commissioned 1903 •
Artist: Ruckstull, Frederic Wellington, 1853-1942, sculptor. •
Fougerousse, M. J. L., designer. •
A. Durenne, founder. •
Columbia Stone Company, contractor. •
Photographed By Brian Scott, July 25, 2011
12. Wade Hampton Statue
State Budget & Control Board
Office of Executive Director
State Budget & Control Board
Office of Executive Director
Photographed By Brian Scott, July 25, 2011
13. Wade Hampton Statue
State Budget & Control Board
Office of Executive Director
State Budget & Control Board
Office of Executive Director
Photographed By Brian Scott, July 25, 2011
14. Wade Hampton Statue
S.C. Statehouse (Southwest Corner)
In Background
S.C. Statehouse (Southwest Corner)
In Background
The Photographic History of The Civil War in Ten Volumes: Volume IV, The Cavalry (1911)
15. Cavalry Lieutenant General Wade Hampton (C.S.A.)
Postcard by the Rawls Bros., circa 1906
16. Hampton's Monument -- Unveiled November 20, 1906, at Columbia, S.C.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 19, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 3,193 times since then and 118 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. submitted on March 19, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. 12, 13, 14, 15. submitted on August 27, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. 16. submitted on October 4, 2015. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
