Christopher Gadsden
| Christopher Gadsden | |
|---|---|
Portrait by Charles Fraser
|
|
| Born |
February 16, 1724 Charleston, South Carolina, colonial U.S. |
| Died |
August 28, 1805 (aged 81) Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Occupation | American politician and general |
Christopher Gadsden (February 16, 1724 – August 28, 1805) was the principal leader of the South Carolina Patriot movement during the American Revolution and a soldier and politician from South Carolina. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, a merchant, and a slaveholder and slave trader. He was also the designer of the famous Gadsden flag.
Gadsden was born in 1724 in Charleston, South Carolina. He was the son of Thomas Gadsden, who had been in the Royal Navy before becoming customs collector for the port of Charleston. Christopher was sent to school near Bristol, England. He returned to America in 1740 and served as an apprentice at a counting house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He inherited a large fortune from his parents who died in 1741. From 1745 to 1746 he was a purser on a British warship during King George's War. He entered into mercantile ventures, and by 1747 had earned enough to return to South Carolina and buy back the land his father had sold because he needed the money to pay off debts. He built Beneventum Plantation House in about 1750.
Gadsden began his rise to prominence as a merchant and patriot in Charleston. He prospered as a merchant, and built the wharf in Charleston that still bears his name. He was captain of a militia company during a 1759 expedition against the Cherokee. He was first elected to the Commons House of Assembly in 1757, and began a long friction with autocratic royal governors.
...
Wikipedia