A Biography of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, and of Washington and Patrick Henry. L. Carroll Judson
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the lofty dignity that pervaded that august body. Revolution is a tornado where prudence seldom enters to neutralize its baneful effects; but when such men as those who constituted the first American congress in Philadelphia combine, men who could command the whirlwind of passion, and conduct the lightning of revenge by the silken cords of reason, and the steel rods of unbending patriotism to a desired and useful destination, revolution is stripped of its bane and is crowned with unfading glory. Such were the signers of the declaration—such was the American revolution. We find Mr. Rutledge associated with several important committees of the continental congress, and among them he was appointed with John Adams and Benjamin Franklin to meet Lord Howe, when he came clothed with authority to offer humiliating terms of peace. No three men could have been selected whose combined talents were better calculated to inspire awe and respect. They were received and treated with marked attention by his lordship, who became convinced, that under the direction of such spirits as these, the rebels would conquer or die. They detested his offers of pardon, for who had they injured? They disclaimed all right of the crown to their allegiance; it had been sacrificed at the shrine of an ambitious ministry. Freedom was their motto—Liberty their watchword, and their terms Independence or death. They had resolved “to do or die.”
As a sound, judicious and able statesman, Mr. Rutledge stood high; his brow was also decked by laurels in the field. He had long commanded a company in the ancient battalion of artillery. When the British landed at Port Royal in 1779, he led his company to the attack with the skill and courage of a veteran. At no battle during the revolution was more personal bravery displayed than at this, nor was the enemy, at any time, more chagrined at a total defeat by raw militia. It was a mystery to them to find in the same man, the statesman, the soldier and the hero. He was at a subsequent period elected colonel. During the investment of Charleston by the enemy in 1780, he was again in the field, but was unfortunately taken prisoner, sent to St. Augustine, and not exchanged for nearly a year. Before his return the dark clouds began to recede, and the horizon of liberty was slowly illuminated by the rays of hope.
He returned to his native state and aided in restoring the civil government that had been paralyzed by the cruel conquering arm of the crown. He was a member of the enraged assembly who met at Jacksonborough in 1782, and with his recent injuries and those of his friends bleeding fresh before him, he sanctioned the bill of pains and penalties, that, under other circumstances, would not have received his approval, and which, during the time it remained in force, he used every exertion to meliorate.
Among those who had been tortured by persecution was his venerable mother, who had been taken from her peaceful home in the country and confined in Charleston, then occupied by the British; a high compliment to her talents and patriotism, placing her on the list of fame with the matrons of Greece and Rome.
During the whole of the doubtful and protracted struggle of the revolution, Mr. Rutledge remained its steady and zealous advocate, and gave his best exertions in its behalf. After its termination, he again returned to the bosom of his friends and the labours of his profession. His private worth took deep root in the affections of the community, and he had the confidence and esteem of a large circle of acquaintances.
In organizing the new government of his native state, he acted a useful and consistent part. Many difficulties were to be overcome, many clashing local interests to be reconciled, and many measures and laws adopted, to restore an equilibrium in private and public concerns. A great commotion existed between debtors and creditors; specie was out of the question; the paper currency was nearly annihilated, and many who felt that they had shaken off the British yoke, were about to fall into the hands of relentless creditors, who, when prompted by avarice, are as destitute of mercy as the pirate is of compassion. Instances are on record in our own country, (I blush as I write,) where some of those very veterans who bled for our boasted freedom, have been incarcerated in a prison by the cold inquisitorial creditor, for sums so trifling that shame would hide its face to name them.
In this dilemma, Mr. Rutledge was among those who proposed and passed a law, making property a lawful tender for debts; a law purely republican, but so obnoxious to avarice, that most men, who are aristocrats just in proportion to the amount of wealth they acquire above the wants of life, oppose it.
He also favoured the instalment law, and used his best exertions to meliorate the condition of the poor as well as the rich, by the enactment of laws based upon humanity and justice. He took an active part in most of the legislation of the state, and when the federal constitution was presented for consideration, he was, taking it as a whole, its warm and zealous advocate. Purely republican in principle, he was always opposed to slavery, deeming it a national curse. He was untiring in his labour—emphatically a working man. Dr. Ramsay remarks of him, “For the good obtained and the evil prevented, his memory will be long respected by his countrymen.”
As I have before remarked, he was a friend to order and law, and when any measure was consummated by legislative action, or by any public functionary duly authorized to act, he delighted in seeing it fulfilled to the letter. Although he was in feeling with the French when difficulties arose between them and England, he reprobated strongly the conduct of M. Genet and the French Directory. He was not a party man, but was always actuated by a sense of duty, and a pure desire for the prosperity of his country. His was the stern, unflinching moderation, calculated to awe a mob, paralyze a faction, and preserve, pure and undefiled, that lofty patriotism which commands esteem and respect.
In 1798 he was elected governor of his native state. Soon after, disease fastened its relentless hands upon him, and handed him over to the king of terrors in the mid career of his term. During the legislative session of 1800, his illness increased so rapidly that he felt an assurance that his dissolution was rapidly approaching, and was desirous of returning to Charleston, that he might yield up his breath where he first inhaled the atmosphere. The constitution required the presence of the governor during the sitting of the legislature, and so scrupulous was he to fulfil its letter, that he determined to remain unless both branches passed a resolution sanctioning his absence. The subject was submitted, but on some debate arising from the partisan feeling then prevalent, the application was immediately withdrawn, and he remained until the legislature adjourned. He was barely able to reach his home, when he laid down upon the bed of death and yielded to the only tyrant that could conquer his patriotic spirit, on the 23d of January, 1800. The same fortitude that had characterized his whole life, was strongly exhibited during his last illness, and did not forsake him in his dying hours. His loss was severely felt and deeply lamented by his mourning fellow-citizens. In the death of this good man, his native state lost one of its brightest ornaments, one of its noblest sons.
Governor Rutledge stood high as an orator. He appears to have understood well the machinery of human nature, and knew well when to address the judgment and when the passions of his audience. In exciting the sympathy of a jury, he had no equal at the Charleston bar. He also knew how, where, and when to be logical; and, what is all-important in every man, either in the public or private walks of life, he knew how, when, and where to speak, and what to say. His private worth and public services were highly honourable to himself, consoling to his friends and beneficial to his country. His usefulness only ended with his life; his fame is untarnished with error; his examples are worthy of imitation, and his life without a blank.
By his first wife, Harriet, daughter of Henry Middleton, one of his colleagues in congress, he had a son and daughter, the latter of whom remained in Charleston, the former, Major Henry M. Rutledge, became one of the pioneers of Tennessee. God grant that he may imitate the virtues of his venerable father, and fill the blank our country experienced in the death of the wise, the judicious, the benevolent, the philanthropic, the patriotic, and the high minded Edward Rutledge.
THOMAS M’KEAN.
But few men have contributed more to fill the measure of the glory and prosperity of their country, than the subject of this brief sketch. He was a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania, and born on the 19th day of March, 1734. He was the son of William M’Kean, who immigrated from Ireland when quite young. He placed Thomas, at an early age,