South Carolina 250 Historical Figures

SC 250 Highlights

Historical Figures

As the site of some of the Patriots’ most pivotal victories, South Carolina has a rich Revolutionary history full of significant people, major landmarks, exciting events and unforgettable stories you haven’t heard yet.

The Hammonds

Members of the Hammond family who came to Ninety-Six District in South Carolina in the 18th century were children of John Hammond (1685-1764) and Katherine Dobyns (1688-1746) of Farnham Parish, Virginia. These Hammond immigrants included LeRoy Hammond (1729-1790) who first came to Augusta in 1765 but who established a home across the Savannah River in South Carolina about 1770; John Hammond (1722-1781) who settled at Cherokee Ponds near the present intersection of U.S. Highway 25 and Interstate 20 about 1772; and Charles Hammond (1716-1794) and his family, including sons John Hammond (1745-1800) and Samuel Hammond (1757-1842) who settled in and around the present city of North Augusta.

Several members of the Hammond family played significant roles in the Revolution. John Hammond served on the Continental Line as Quartermaster of South Carolina.

LeRoy Hammond

  • Younger brother of Charles Hammond, born in 1728
  • Married Mary Ann Tyler while in Virginia
  • Moved to South Carolina around 1765
  • Purchased land and received a grant from King George II
  • Built plantation homes New Richmond and Snow Hill on the Savannah River
  • Pioneer, Farmer, Merchant, Indian Merchant, Patriot, Revolutionary Soldier, Judge, and Legislator
  • Colonel in the South Carolina Militia during the Revolution
  • Died at Snow Hill on May 13, 1790

Samuel Hammond

  • Son of Charles Hammond and younger brother of John Hammond, born in 1757 in Richmond County, Virginia
  • At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, he raised a company of Minute Men in Virginia
  • Moved to South Carolina in 1779 with his father’s family
  • In service in the Revolution from beginning to end
  • After the war, Colonel Hammond resided in Savannah and was elected to the State Legislature and made State Surveyor General
  • In 1802, was elected to serve the United States Congress
  • Appointed as Colonel Commandant for the District of Louisiana by President Thomas Jefferson
  • Returned to South Carolina in 1824 where he was elected Surveyor General and later Secretary of State
  • Colonel Hammond died at his country estate, Varello, on the Savannah River on September 11, 1842 in his 85th year. His funeral procession, which extended for several miles and ended at the family burial grounds near Campbelltown, included the Militia of Hamburg, the Augusta Clinch Riflemen, Artillery Guard and members of the Masonic Lodge.
  • In 1991, the grave of Colonel Samuel Hammond was relocated to the Hammond Family Cemetery on the property of the Charles Hammond house in North Augusta, SC from it’s original location 1.6 miles away in New Richmond, SC because of the development of the Riverview Park Complex.

More than 100 years ago, in 1913, a monument was placed in Augusta, Georgia in memory of Colonel Samuel Hammond. He was a patriot, a soldier, and a statesman who “gave 60 years of public service to the cause of America.” It was the hope of Col. Hammond’s grandson, Hugh Vernon Washington, that the monument be sculpted and located in Augusta. Unfortunately, he did not live to see it come to fruition. When the monument was presented to the city, it was by Ellen Washington Bellamy, Hugh’s sister, on his behalf. The bust resides on the 600 block of Greene Street in Augusta, GA.

The Martins

The Martin family of Ireland owned estates near Galway. Lawfully unable to inherit land, many of the younger sons sought homes elsewhere. Among these was Abraham Martin (1644-1711) who immigrated to Virginia and married Rebecca Bell. Their eldest son, John (1685-1756), married Elizabeth Lewis and had eight sons and five daughters. All their sons served in the American Revolution. Their youngest, Abram (1716-1773), was a Captain in the colonial militia, serving under Colonel George Washington during the French and Indian War. Abram was later killed by Indians while surveying in Wilkes County, Georgia. His widow, Betty, lived with the other wives in their house on the Martintown road to Augusta, a thoroughfare often traveled by British soldiers.

In May 1781, the Martin women learned that a courier would be passing with important dispatches. Grace Martin, widow of Captain William Martin, and Rachel Martin, wife of Barkley Martin, took action. Dressed in their husbands’ clothes and armed, they hid themselves at a bend in the road and waited for the escort to pass. As darkness fell, they heard the approaching horsemen and sprang from their hidden position brandishing their firearms. Grace Martin demanded the dispatches. Taken by surprise, the soldiers complied. The wives then set them free and disappeared into the woods, returning to the house. Sally Martin, wife of Matthew, volunteered to deliver the dispatches to General Greene. Riding alone on an old blind pony, she arrived at Ninety-Six at midnight. Meanwhile, Grace and Rachel changed into their regular clothing before the soldiers and courier arrived at the homestead seeking food and shelter. The elder Mrs. Martin asked them why they were returning so soon after having recently passed by. They told her of the two “rebel lads” who had accosted them. The men stayed that night and left in next morning, never suspecting who had waylaid them.

George Galphin

George Galphin (1708–1780) was an American businessman specializing in Indian Trade, an Indian Commissioner, and plantation owner who lived and conducted business in the colonies of Georgia and South Carolina around the Augusta area. Galphin was born in County Antrim, Ireland in the early 18th century and came to America in 1737, arriving at the port of Charleston, South Carolina. In the 1740s, Galphin found work with Brown, Rae, and Company, a trading firm based out of Augusta, and became a highly respected trader among the Lower Creek tribes in the Georgia and South Carolina region. Such was his respect among those tribes that he convinced the Creek to stay neutral during the French and Indian Wars (1760–1761).

Galphin established the Silver Bluff trading post on the Savannah River where he developed a thriving trade with the Indians as well as local farmers and traders. During the American Revolution, Galphin sided with the Continental Congress, being appointed as its Indian Commissioner for the South. On May 1, 1776, the Creek Nation sent representatives to meet with Galphin, who convinced the Creeks to remain neutral in the burgeoning conflict between the British and the revolutionaries.

Galphin owed his influence to his Creek wife, Metawney, who introduced Galphin into the Creek world and facilitated his relationships with her clansmen. He was instrumental in frustrating the British efforts to enlist Native Americans throughout the South to overpower the colonist population. Galphin was credited with helping to secure both Georgia and South Carolina for the Revolution.