Edmund Ruffin
| Edmund Ruffin | |
|---|---|
ca. 1861
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| Born |
January 5, 1794 Prince George County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | June 18, 1865 (aged 71) Amelia County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Suicide by gunshot |
| Resting place | Edmund Ruffin Plantation |
| Education | College of William and Mary |
| Occupation | , agronomist, author, soldier |
| Known for | Revolutionizing Southern agriculture, his claim to have fired the first shot of the Civil War |
| Spouse(s) | Susan Hutchings Travis |
| Children |
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| Parent(s) | George Ruffin, Jane Lucas Ruffin |
| Relatives | |
Edmund Ruffin (January 5, 1794 – June 18, 1865) was a wealthy Virginia planter and slaveholder, who in the 1850s was a political activist with the so-called Fire-Eaters. He staunchly advocated states' rights and slavery, arguing for secession years before the American Civil War. Ruffin is often credited with "firing the first shot of the war" at the Battle of Fort Sumter in April 1861; he served as a Confederate soldier despite his advanced age. When the war ended in Southern defeat in 1865, he committed suicide rather than submit to "Yankee rule."
Ruffin's chief legacy is his pioneering work in methods to preserve and improve soil productivity; he recommended crop rotation and additions to restore soils exhausted from tobacco monoculture. Early in his career, he studied bogs and swamps to learn how to correct soil acidity. He published essays and, in 1832, a book on his findings for improving soils. He has since become known as "the father of soil science" in the United States.
Ruffin also wrote books on slavery and the economy of the South, as well as a comparison between conditions of slave labor and those of free labor in the North. In the last three decades before the Civil War, his pro-slavery writings received more attention than his agricultural work. Ruffin wrote in his diary in January 1859, "I have had more notice taken on my late pamphlet [on slavery] than on anything I ever wrote before." In 1989, at a time of increased scholarly attention to Southern intellectuals, his diary was edited and published posthumously by Louisiana State University Press. The Edmund Ruffin Plantation, also known as Marlbourne, has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
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Wikipedia