James Henry Hammond
November 15, 1807 - November 13, 1864
In 1855 Hammond purchased the residence of Dr. Milledge Galpin near Beech Island and renamed it Redcliffe. He built the house and outbuildings and designed the Plantation as his ideal "showcase." It was used primarily for agricultural experimentation of vineyards, orchards, and special crops like indigo and sugar cane.
Hammond is best remembered for his fiery speeches and his support of States Rights. When the war broke out in April 1861, he gave his full financial support for the Confederate cause. By 1864 half of his estate was composed of Confederate bonds. Paul and Harry Hammond fought in the Confederacy. His son Spann served briefly in the Confederate army. He thought the war was going to end six months after the fall of Atlanta on September 1, 1864. The day before his death he told his son Spann that he wanted to be buried in the woods on the highest ground, where there would be a view of Augusta and the Sand Hills. He died on November 13, 1864, just two days before his fifty-seventh birthday.
REF: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Henry _Hammond
The Hammonds of Redcliffe by Carol Bleser. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1981.
http://cghs.dadeschools.net/slavery/defense_of_slavery/hammond.htm
Selections from the letters and speeches of the Hon. James H. Hammond, of South Carolina by James Henry Hammond
