Andrew Pickens (congressman)
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- This article is about the American Revolutionary War hero and Representative. For other people named Andrew Pickens, see Andrew Pickens.
| Andrew Pickens | |
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| In office March 4, 1793-March 3, 1795 |
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| Succeeded by | Samuel Earle |
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| Born | September 13, 1739 Bucks County, Pennsylvania |
| Died | August 11, 1817 Tamassee, South Carolina |
| Political party | Anti-Administration |
| Spouse | Rebecca Colhoun |
| Profession | Major general in militia Surveyor |
Andrew Pickens (September 13, 1739 – August 11, 1817) was a militia leader in the American Revolution and a member of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina.
Pickens was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the son of Scots-Irish immigrants, Andrew Pickens, Sr. and Anne (nee Davis). His great-grandmother however was Esther-Jeanne Bonneau of South Carolina and La Rochelle, France [1].
In 1752 his family moved to the Waxhaws on the South Carolina frontier. He sold his farm there in 1764 and bought land in Abbeville County, South Carolina near the Georgia border.
He established the Hopewell Plantation on the Seneca River, at which several treaties with Native Americans were held, each called the Treaty of Hopewell. Just across the river was the Cherokee town of Isunigu ("Seneca").
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He married Rebecca Calhoun (a sister of John C. Calhoun) in 1765. They had 12 children, including Andrew Pickens who later became governor of South Carolina.
Andrew Pickens died near Tamassee, South Carolina on August 11, 1817. He is buried at Old Stone Church Cemetery in Clemson, South Carolina.
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[edit] Andrew Pickens
Pickens and his actions served as one of the sources for the fictional character of Benjamin Martin in The Patriot, a motion picture released in 2000
[edit] Military career
He served in the Anglo-Cherokee War in 1760–1761. When the Revolutionary War started, he sided with the rebel militia, and was made a captain. He rose to the rank of Brigadier General during the war.
On February 14, 1779, he was part of the militia victory at the Battle of Kettle Creek in Georgia.
Pickens was captured at the Siege of Charleston on 1780. When the British returned to militia service. He saw action at the Battle of Cowpens, Siege of Augusta, Siege of Ninety-Six, and the Battle of Eutaw Springs.
Pickens also led a campaign in north Georgia against the Cherokee Indians late in the war. His victorious campaign led to the Cherokees ceding significant portions of land between the Savannah and Chattachoochee rivers in the Long Swamp Treaty signed in what is currently Pickens County, Georgia. Pickens was well regarded by Native Americans that he dealt with and was given the name Skyagusta, "The Wizard Owl."
[edit] Political career
- South Carolina House of Representatives (1781-1794 and 1800-1812)
- Georgia-South Carolina Boundary Commission (1787)
- State Constitutional Convention (1790)
- Third U.S. Congress (1793-1795)
- Unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senate (1797)
[edit] Monuments and memorials
Fort Pickens in Florida is named in his honor as is Pickens County, Alabama, Pickens County, Georgia, and Pickens and Pickens County in his adopted home state of South Carolina.
Pickens was a 7th great grandfather of former Senator and 2008 presidential candidate John Edwards.
[edit] Further reading
- The Fighting Elder: Andrew Pickens, 1739-1817; by Alice Waring; 1962; University of South Carolina Press.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Pickens, Andrew |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Revolutionary War militia general in South Carolina |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 13, 1739 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bucks County, Pennsylvania |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 11, 1817 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Tamassee, South Carolina |
