Overview
Thomas Heyward Jr. was a South Carolina lawyer, planter, soldier, and signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was trained in the law in London before returning home to enter politics and support the Patriot Cause. He served in the South Carolina Provincial Congress, helped draft South Carolina’s 1776 Constitution, and represented the colony in the Second Continental Congress. He also fought the British during the American Revolutionary War, endured captivity, and spent his later years as a judge, legislator, and agricultural leader.
Personal Facts
- Born: July 28, 1746, in present-day Jasper County, South Carolina.
- Parents: Daniel Heyward (father), Mary Miles (mother).
- Spouse: Elizabeth Mathewes (1775), Susanna Savage (1786).
- Died: March 6, 1809, in Old House, South Carolina. He was 62.
- Buried: Heyward Family Cemetery, Old House, South Carolina.
- Part of: Signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Significance
Thomas Heyward Jr. is important to American History for his role in the Patriot Cause in South Carolina, the American Revolution, and the American Revolutionary War. As a Signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation, he is one of the nation’s Founding Fathers.
Biography
Early Life
Thomas Heyward Jr. was born on July 28, 1746, on his father’s plantation in St. Helena Parish in what later became St. Luke’s Parish, South Carolina. He was the eldest son of Colonel Daniel Heyward, a wealthy planter, and Mary Miles Heyward.
AHC Notes
- St. Luke Parish is present-day Jasper County, South Carolina.
After studying in South Carolina, he continued his legal education at the Middle Temple in London, where he was admitted on January 10, 1765. He entered the South Carolina bar on January 22, 1771, and voters from St. Helena’s Parish elected him to the Commons House of Assembly in 1772.
Patriot Cause
Heyward was a delegate to the General Meeting that was held in Charleston, South Carolina, on July 6, 1774, when news arrived that British forces had blocked the port of Boston. This meeting elected delegates to attend the First Continental Congress.
Heyward also served as a delegate to the First South Carolina Provincial Congress that met on January 11, 1775. A few months later, the Congress selected him as one of 13 members of the Council of Safety, which assumed the main duties of government.
Declaration of Independence
Voters elected him to the Second South Carolina Provincial Congress, which met on November 1, 1775, and he later served on an 11-member committee that drafted a state constitution, which was adopted on March 26, 1776. The Provincial Congress chose him as one of five delegates from South Carolina to the Second Continental Congress, where he signed the Declaration of Independence. He signed the Articles of Confederation on July 16, 1778, and remained in Congress until the end of 1778. Afterward, he returned home and became a circuit judge.
Military Service
Heyward served in the South Carolina Militia and held the rank of Captain in a Charleston artillery battalion. He fought with his unit on February 4, 1779, when General William Moultrie defeated British forces on Port Royal Island, and he was wounded in the battle. He later joined in the defense of Charleston and became a prisoner of war when the city fell on May 12, 1780. Although he was initially paroled, British authorities soon revoked the parole and sent him to St. Augustine, Florida, where he remained until his exchange in July 1781.
AHC Notes
- Battle of Beaufort (February 3, 1779) — General William Moultrie led the South Carolina Militia, a small group of Continentals, and several artillery pieces to defend Beaufort against a British force under Major James Gardiner. The Americans formed along the road and opened fire, disabling a British howitzer early in the fight. After about 45 minutes, the British retreated. Although it was a small battle, the victory lifted American morale and discouraged further British attempts in that region.
- Siege of Charleston (April 1–May 12, 1780) — After American and French forces failed to capture Savannah, Georgia, in October 1779, the Americans retreated to Charleston, South Carolina. Under the command of General Benjamin Lincoln, they fortified the city and prepared for a British attack. British forces under the command of General Henry Clinton landed in South Carolina and conducted a six-week siege. Lincoln was forced to submit to harsh terms of surrender, and more than 5,000 American troops were taken as prisoners. It was the most significant defeat suffered by American forces during the American Revolutionary War and a major turning point in the conflict.
Post-War Career
When Heyward returned to South Carolina, he represented Charleston in the state legislature from 1782 to 1784. He also resumed his position as a circuit judge and served until 1789, when he resigned to focus on farming.
- Heyward helped establish the Agricultural Society of South Carolina in 1785 and became its first president.
- His plantation, White Hall, was located in St. Luke’s Parish.
- Heyward participated in the South Carolina Convention that approved the United States Constitution in 1790, and
- The city of Charleston rented his home and offered it to President George Washington during his visit to South Carolina in May 1791.
Later Years
Heyward died in 1809 and was buried in the family cemetery on his father’s plantation in St. Luke’s Parish. In 1920, the General Assembly of South Carolina approved $2,500 for a monument placed over his grave to honor his service as a “patriot, statesman, soldier, jurist.”
AHC Notes
- Heyward was married twice.
- He married Elizabeth Mathewes, the daughter of John Mathewes and sister of Governor John Mathews, on April 20, 1775.
- He married Susanna Savage, the daughter of Thomas Savage, on May 4, 1786.
