Richard Richardson (1704-1780) was an American planter and military officer from Clarendon County, South Carolina who served as a brigadier general in the American Revolutionary War.

Career

Richardson was born in

Jamestown, Virginia The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James (Powhatan) River about southwest of the center of modern Williamsburg. It was ...

in the early 1700s. Both of his parents were from Northamptonshire, England. Richardson was a delegate to The First Provincial Congress in 1775, and The Second Provincial Congress in 1776. Richardson served in the South Carolina Militia during the American Revolution and also in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

. He was the leader of the American forces in the Snow Campaign, and also fought in the Battle of Sullivan's Island, and the Battle of Savannah. In 1776, he commanded American forces and defeated the British in the Battle of Charleston. He commanded The South Carolina State Militia at Purrysburg in 1778. He was captured by the British when they took Charleston in 1780, was imprisoned by the British. With his health failing he was sent home and soon died. Richardson has previously served as a colonel during the Anglo-Cherokee War of 1760 and 1761.

Personal life

Richardson married first to Mary Cantey, and then to Dorothy Sinkler, and had five children. Richard's son, James Burchill Richardson was the 41st governor of South Carolina, and his grandson John Peter Richardson II (1801–1864) was the 59th governor. His grandson

John Lawrence Manning John Lawrence Manning (sometimes spelled John Laurence Manning) (January 29, 1816October 24, 1889) was the 65th Governor of South Carolina, from 1852 to 1854. He was born in Clarendon County. He attended South Carolina College, where he was a ...

was the 65th governor of South Carolina (1852-1854) as well as a signer of the

Ordinance of Secession An Ordinance of Secession was the name given to multiple resolutions drafted and ratified in 1860 and 1861, at or near the beginning of the Civil War, by which each seceding Southern state or territory formally declared secession from the United ...

. His great-great grandson Richard Irvine Manning III served as a state legislator and as the 92nd governor from 1915 to 1919. Richardson is a cousin of poet

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings ...

. Richardson's great-great grandmother was Mary Browning (sister of the poet's ancestor).

Death and burial

Richardson died in 1780 and was buried at the Richardson Cemetery in Rimini, Clarendon County, South Carolina. His body was later dug up and his plantation burned down on the orders of British commander Banastre Tarleton, who was in the process of pillaging Richardson's home in an attempt to discover the location of Patriot militia commander

Francis Marion Brigadier-General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the Swamp Fox, was an American military officer, planter and politician who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. During the Ameri ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Richard Continental Army soldiers People from Clarendon County, South Carolina 1704 births 1780 deaths American slave owners South Carolina colonial people South Carolina militiamen in the American Revolution Burials in South Carolina American planters