Edward Rutledge (November 23, 1749 – January 23, 1800) was an American

Founding Father The following is a list of national founders of sovereign states who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e., political system ...

and politician who signed the

Continental Association The Continental Association, also known as the Articles of Association or simply the Association, was an agreement among the Thirteen Colonies, American colonies, adopted by the First Continental Congress, which met inside Carpenters' Hall in Phi ...

and was the youngest signatory of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

. He later served as the 39th governor of South Carolina.

Early life and education

Rutledge was born in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. He was the youngest of seven children (5 sons and 2 daughters) born to Dr. John Rutledge and Sarah Hext, who was 15 when her first child (John) was born. His father was a physician and colonist of Scots-Irish descent; his mother was born in South Carolina and was of English descent. Following his elder brothers,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and Hugh, he studied law in London at the

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court: Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have s ...

. In 1772 he was admitted to the English bar (

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

) and returned to Charleston to practice. He was married on March 1, 1774, to Henrietta Middleton (17 November 1750 – 22 April 1792), daughter of Henry Middleton. The couple had three children: * Major Henry Middleton Rutledge (5 April 1775 – 20 January 1844) * Edward Rutledge (20 March 1778 – 1780) * Sarah Rutledge (1782–1855) Rutledge had a successful law practice with his partner, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. He became a leading citizen of Charleston. He owned more than 50 enslaved people.Williams, ''American National Biography''.

Career

American Revolution

During the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, Rutledge served along with his brother John representing South Carolina in the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

(1774–1776). He worked to have

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

expelled from the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

. Although a firm supporter of colonial rights, he (as a delegate) was instructed initially to oppose Richard Henry Lee's Resolution of independence; South Carolina's leaders were unsure that the time was "ripe". At age 26 he was the youngest delegate to sign the Declaration of Independence. He returned home in November 1776 to take a seat in the General Assembly. He served as a captain of artillery in the South Carolina militia, and fought at the Battle of Beaufort in 1779. In May 1780, Rutledge was captured along with his co-signers of the Declaration of Independence, Arthur Middleton and Thomas Heyward during the

siege of Charleston The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the environs of Charles Town (today Charleston), the capital of South Carolina, between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The British ...

and were taken to

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located 40 miles (64 km) south of downtown Jacksonville, the city is on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spani ...

. They were released during a prisoner exchange in July 1781.

Later life and death

After his release he returned to the General Assembly, where he served until 1796. He was known as an active legislator and an advocate for the confiscation of

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

property. Like John Rutledge, Edward Rutledge opposed the

Jay Treaty The Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, commonly known as the Jay Treaty, and also as Jay's Treaty, was a 1794 treaty between the United States and Great Britain that averted ...

and the Anglophilic stance he perceived in the

Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a conservativeMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * and nationalist American political party and the first political party in the United States. It dominated the national government under Alexander Hamilton from 17 ...

. As an elector in the 1796 presidential election, Rutledge voted for the two Southern candidates, Republican

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

and Federalist Thomas Pinckney. Rutledge had not been close with the victor

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

dating back to their days in the Continental Congress, but he approved of Adams's defense policies towards France during the

Quasi-War The Quasi-War was an undeclared war from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic. It was fought almost entirely at sea, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States, with minor actions in ...

. The opposition afforded Adams's measures by Vice President Jefferson, and the Congressional Republicans angered Rutledge because he now saw the Republicans as more partial to France than to American interests, a situation similar to the pro-British feelings he sensed in the Federalists during the Jay Treaty debates.James Haw, ''John and Edward Rutledge of South Carolina'' (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1997), p. 267. Rutledge thereafter ceased communication with Jefferson. Rutledge served in the state senate for two years, then was elected governor in 1798. Governor Rutledge, while attending an important meeting in Columbia, had to be sent home because of his

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...

. He died in Charleston before the end of his term. Some said at the time that he died from

apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...

resulting from hearing the news of

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

's death. Since 1971, his home in Charleston is now a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

, and is privately owned and operated as a bed & breakfast, the Governor's House Inn.

References

External links

Biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1856

NGA Biography of Edward Rutledge
* {{commons category 1749 births 1800 deaths 18th-century American lawyers American people of English descent American people of Scotch-Irish descent American proslavery activists American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain U.S. state legislators who owned slaves Continental Congressmen from South Carolina Federalist Party state governors of the United States Governors of South Carolina High Hills of Santee Lawyers from Charleston, South Carolina Members of the Middle Temple Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina Rutledge family Signers of the Continental Association Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence South Carolina Federalists South Carolina lawyers South Carolina militiamen in the American Revolution South Carolina state senators Founding Fathers of the United States 18th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly