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US Signer of Constitution, Brigadier General. Born into a South
Carolina aristocratic family with strong Loyalist ties he forsook those
allegiances and risked lost much of his wealth to side with the
American colonists that were seeking independence from Britain.
Although educated in England, he returned to South Carolina as a young
adult where his success as a lawyer and planter led to him being
elected to the legislature. After the war began in 1775 he held a seat
in the provincial Congress where he led the way in developing a strong
militia for his native South Carolina. His zeal for freedom though led
him to become a full time soldier in the Continental Army. He acquired
the rank of Colonel and saw action at the defense of Charleston before
heading north to participate in battles at Brandywine and Germantown.
In 1778 he returned to the south to help thwart the advances of the
British forces and Loyalists left to occupy captured territories. He
led a brigade on brave but unsuccessful military operations in Savannah
Georgia (1779) and Charleston, South Carolina (1780). In Charleston he
was captured as a prisoner of war. Two years later he was set free and
was brevetted to brigadier general because of his faithful service to
America's fight for independence. After the war he returned to his
state's legislature. Afraid of the threat of another invasion, Pinckney
became an early vocal crusader for a strong national government. In
1787 South Carolina sent him to Philadelphia as a delegate to the
Constitutional Convention. There he continued his campaign for a
central government but also was a leader in the fight for a strong
system of checks and balances to protect the new nation from the threat
of tyranny. He returned to South Carolina to seek ratification for the
nation's new constitution before attempting to retire from politics.
However, in 1796 he agreed to return to public service when asked to be
the American ambassador to France. His trip to France sparked an
international incident (known as the XYZ Affair) when the French
government refused to accept his credentials and leaders of the French
Revolution attempted to bribe him before agreeing to open up
negotiations about French interference with US ships. Pinckney was
abhorred by the bribe offer and in protest broke off all discussions
and returned home where he was placed in charge of the southern half of
the Provisional Army in preparation for war with France. However, in
1800, a peaceful solution was reached and with his military career
again ended, he returned to South Carolina hoping to once again retire.
His popularity, though, would not allow him to leave the public scene
quietly. He served two terms in the state senate and ran unsuccessfully
as a Federalist for Vice –President in 1800 and for President in the
elections of 1804 and 1808. After his last presidential run he once
again retired returning to Charleston to live out his days with the
respect and admiration of his state and country for his sacrifice and
service.
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