Wade Hampton I

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Wade Hampton (1752-February 4, 1835) served in the American Revolution and was a member of Congress for South Carolina from 1795-1797 and from 1803-1805, and a presidential elector in 1801. He was a colonel in the United States Army in 1808, and was promoted to brigadier-general in 1809. He led the American forces in the Battle of Chateauguay in 1813. On April 6, 1814 he resigned his commission and returned to South Carolina after leading thousands of US soldiers to defeat at the hands of a few hundred Quebec militia, then getting his army lost in the woods. Thereafter, he acquired a large fortune land speculating. At his death it was told that he was the wealthiest planter in the United States, owning over 3,000 slaves.