D. Wyatt Aiken
| David Wyatt Aiken | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 3rd district |
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In office March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1887 |
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| Preceded by | Solomon L. Hoge |
| Succeeded by | James S. Cothran |
| Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from Abbeville District | |
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In office November 28, 1864 – December 21, 1866 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
March 17, 1828 Winnsboro, South Carolina |
| Died | April 6, 1887 (aged 59) Cokesbury, South Carolina |
| Resting place | Magnolia Cemetery, Greenwood, South Carolina |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Profession | journalist, farmer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Confederate States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 Confederate States Army
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| Years of service | 1861–64 |
| Rank |
 Colonel
|
| Commands |
 7th South Carolina Infantry |
| Battles/wars |
American Civil War - Peninsula Campaign - Northern Virginia Campaign - Battle of Antietam - Gettysburg Campaign |
David Wyatt Aiken (March 17, 1828 – April 6, 1887) was a Confederate army officer during the American Civil War and a postbellum five-term United States Congressman from South Carolina.
Aiken was born in Winnsboro, South Carolina, and received his early education under private tutors. He attended the Mount Zion Institute in Winnsboro and graduated from South Carolina College in Columbia in 1849. He taught college for two years before marrying Mattie Gaillard in 1852 and engaging in agricultural pursuits, owning a plantation and travelling extensively in Europe and throughout the United States. He became the editor of the Winnsboro News and Herald, and was married a second time to Miss Smith of Abbeville, where Aiken settled and continued to farm. In 1855, Aiken became a founding member of the State Agricultural Society.
In 1858 Aiken attended a political convention in Mobile, Alabama, and began speaking publicly in favor of secession. With South Carolina's secession and the advent of the Civil War, Aiken enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private in the 7th South Carolina Infantry. He was later appointed adjutant of the regiment and in 1862 was elected its colonel. He led it in the Peninsula and Northern Virginia Campaigns. He was severely wounded by a shot through his lungs at the Battle of Antietam in September 1862. After his lengthy recovery, he commanded his regiment in the Gettysburg Campaign in Joseph B. Kershaw's brigade, seeing action near the Peach Orchard in the Battle of Gettysburg. However, lingering effects of his wound soon forced Aiken to administrative duty in Macon, Georgia for a year, before he resigned from the Confederate army in mid-1864 and returned home.
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