Isaac Huger (March 19, 1743 – October 17, 1797) was a planter and Continental Army general during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

Life and work

Isaac Huger was born at Limerick plantation on the Cooper River, the second son of

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bez ...

merchant and planter Daniel and Mary Cordes Huger. The wealth of his family afforded young Isaac an education in Europe, along with his brothers. Huger began his military career by serving as an officer in Colonel

Thomas Middleton Thomas Middleton (baptised 18 April 1580 – July 1627; also spelt ''Midleton'') was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. He, with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson, was among the most successful and prolific of playwrights at work in the Jac ...

's Provincial South Carolina Regiment during the expedition against the Cherokees in 1761. While serving as a representative for the parishes of St. Philip and St. Michael in the First Provincial Congress of South Carolina, Huger was appointed a lieutenant colonel in the South Carolina militia and later commissioned a lieutenant colonel in the

1st South Carolina Regiment The 1st South Carolina Regiment (Infantry) was authorized on June 6, 1775, at Charleston, South Carolina, for service with the South Carolina State Troops. On November 4, 1775, the unit was adopted into the Continental Army and on February 27, 17 ...

on June 17, 1775. He was promoted to colonel on September 16, 1776, and appointed commander of the

5th South Carolina Regiment The 5th South Carolina Regiment (1st Rifle Regiment) was raised on February 22, 1776, at Charleston, South Carolina, for service with the South Carolina Troops and later assigned to the Continental Army. The regiment saw action at the Siege of Sav ...

. On January 9, 1779, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in the Continental Army. It was at his home, near Beaufort, that Lafayette, in 1777, at age 19, landed in America to help against the British. Lafayette would become lifelong friend with Huger and Huger's son, who would repay that friendship by trying to rescue Lafayette from Austrian prison twenty years later. Brigadier General Huger fought and was wounded at the

Battle of Stono Ferry The Battle of Stono Ferry was an American Revolutionary War battle, fought on June 20, 1779, near Charleston, South Carolina. The rear guard from a British expedition retreating from an aborted attempt to take Charleston held off an assault by ...

on June 20, 1779, and commanded the South Carolina and Georgia militia during the

Siege of Savannah The siege of Savannah or the Second Battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutena ...

on October 9, 1779. 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 Britis ...

in the spring of 1780, he was placed in command of the light horse and militia outside the city. A

surprise attack Military deception (MILDEC) is an attempt by a military unit to gain an advantage during warfare by misleading adversary decision makers into taking action or inaction that creates favorable conditions for the deceiving force. This is usually a ...

by Lieutenant Colonel

Banastre Tarleton Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet, GCB (21 August 175415 January 1833) was a British general and politician. He is best known as the lieutenant colonel leading the British Legion at the end of the American Revolution. He later served in Por ...

's forces routed and dispersed Huger's troops at Monck's Corner on the morning of April 14, 1780. Illness kept Huger from capture with the surrender of Charleston, and he later rejoined the Southern army under Major General

Horatio Gates Horatio Lloyd Gates (July 26, 1727April 10, 1806) was a British-born American army officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the early years of the Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory in the Battles ...

in North Carolina. He was present when Major General

Nathanael Greene Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependa ...

took command of the Southern Department in Charlotte later in December. Greene detached his light forces to the western parts of South Carolina and moved his regulars to a camp in the Cheraws, with Huger as his second-in-command. After the brilliant American victory at Cowpens, Huger was entrusted by Greene to lead the command posted in the Cheraws to rejoin the detached light forces in North Carolina. At the

Battle of Guilford Courthouse The Battle of Guilford Court House was on March 15, 1781, during the American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a m ...

on March 15, 1781, he commanded a brigade of Virginia Continental regiments and was slightly wounded in action. Commanding the same brigade at the

Battle of Hobkirk's Hill The Battle of Hobkirk's Hill (sometimes referred to as the Second Battle of Camden) was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on April 25, 1781, near Camden, South Carolina. A small American force under Nathanael Greene occupying Hobkir ...

on April 25, Huger initially stood his ground after the unanticipated withdrawal of the right wing of the American line. With the retreat of the British from the interior to Charleston, General Huger was reunited with his family and returned to his home, ending his combative service. Isaac Huger represented St. George Dorchester in the Jacksonborough Assembly in January 1782 and served in the legislature until his election as Sheriff of Charleston District in 1785. Familial ties led to his appointment as the first

federal marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforce ...

for South Carolina in 1789, a position which he held for five years. Isaac Huger married Elizabeth Chalmers on March 23, 1762, and was the father of eight children. He died in Charleston.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Huger, Isaac 1743 births 1797 deaths People from Berkeley County, South Carolina Continental Army generals Continental Army officers from South Carolina Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives People of South Carolina in the French and Indian War United States Marshals American Revolutionary War casualties American planters South Carolina sheriffs 18th-century American politicians