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Daniel Huger February 20, 1742 – July 6, 1799
 South
Carolina Genealogy Trails Transcribed from many sources by
Dena Whitesell |

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Daniel Huger (February 20, 1742 – July 6, 1799) a Delegate
and a Representative from South Carolina; born on Limerick plantation in
St. John’s parish, Berkeley County, S.C., February 20, 1742; educated at
home and in the schools of Charleston, S.C.; also studied in England;
member of colonial assembly, 1773-1775; justice of the peace in 1775;
member of the State house of representatives 1778-1780; member of the
Governor’s council in 1780; Member of the Continental Congress 1786-1788;
elected as a Pro-Administration candidate to the First and Second
Congresses (March 4, 1789-March 3, 1793); on retiring from Congress
resided in Charleston and on his Wateree plantation; engaged in the
management of his extensive estates; died in Charleston, S.C., July 6,
1799; interment in the western churchyard of St. Philip’s Church,
Charleston, S.C., with a memorial tablet in the Huguenot church there.
(Dictionary of American Biography)
His son, Daniel
Elliott Huger, would later served in the United States Senate for
South Carolina and married a daugther of Arthur Middleton; a granddaugther
of Daniel Elliot Huger {Mary Procter Huger} was the wife of Confederate
General [Arthur Middleton Manigault]; likewise a newphew of Daniel Elliot
Huger was Confederate General Benjamin Huger.
Daniel Elliott Huger, (son of Daniel Huger), a
Senator from South Carolina; born on Limerick plantation, near Charleston,
S.C., June 28, 1779; pursued classical studies in Charleston; graduated
from the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University) in 1798;
studied law; admitted to the bar in 1799 and began practice in Charleston,
S.C.; member, State house of representatives 1804-1819; brigadier general
of State troops in 1814; judge of the circuit court 1819-1830; member,
State senate 1830-1832, 1838-1842; opposition member of the State
nullification convention in 1832; elected as a State Rights Democrat to
the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of
John C. Calhoun and served from March 4, 1843 to March 3, 1845, when he
resigned; delegate to the state-rights convention in 1852, where he urged
moderation; died on Sullivans Island, S.C., August 21, 1854; interment in
Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, S.C. (Dictionary of American
Biography)
Benjamin
Huger (November 22, 1805 – December 7, 1877) was a career United
States Army ordnance officer and a Confederate general in the American
Civil War.
Huger was born in Charleston, South
Carolina. His grandfather, also named Benjamin Huger, was a patriot in the
American Revolution, killed at Charleston during the British occupation.
His maternal grandfather was Thomas Pinckney. Huger graduated from the
U.S. Military Academy in 1825 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in
the 3rd U.S. Artillery. He served as a topographical engineer until 1828,
then took a leave of absence to visit Europe. Upon his return, he became
an ordnance officer and spent the majority of his career at that
occupation. He commanded Fortress Monroe arsenal for twelve years, and was
a member of the U.S. Army Ordnance Board for seven
years.
In the Mexican-American War, Huger was
chief of ordnance on the staff of Winfield Scott, and received brevets to
major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel, for gallant and meritorious
conduct at Vera Cruz, Molino del Rey, and Chapultepec. In 1852 he was
presented a sword by South Carolina in recognition of the honor his career
had cast upon his native state. After this war he served on the board that
prepared a system of artillery instruction for the army, and was in
command of the armories at Harpers Ferry, Charleston, and Pikesville,
Maryland.
At the start of the Civil War, he was
commissioned colonel of artillery in the Confederate States Army. On May
23, 1861, he was assigned to command the Department of Norfolk, with
defensive responsibilities for North Carolina and southern Virginia. By
October 7, 1861, he achieved the rank of major general. In May of 1862,
when Union troops were approaching, Huger ordered the destruction of the
Norfolk works and naval yard at Portsmouth. He dismantled the CSS Virginia
ironclad and evacuated the area. While in command of Roanoke Island, he
failed to reinforce his position, and his command had to surrender to the
Union expeditionary force. Although the Confederate Congress investigated
Huger's part in this defeat, Confederate President Jefferson Davis
assigned him to division command under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston in the Army
of Northern Virginia.
Huger led his division at
Seven Pines and in several of the Seven Days Battles (now under the
command of Robert E. Lee). He was criticized for his lackluster leadership
in battles such as White Oak Swamp and Malvern Hill. Lee relieved of him
duty on July 12, 1862, part of his wider purge of generals who did not
meet Lee's expectations for aggressive tendencies in battle.
Following combat service on the Virginia
Peninsula, Huger was assigned to be Assistant Inspector General of
artillery and ordnance for the Confederate Army, and in 1863 was appointed
Chief of Ordnance for the Trans-Mississippi Department. After the war, he
was a farmer in North Carolina and Virginia, finally returning in poor
health to his home in South Carolina.
Huger
died in Charleston and is buried in Greenmount Cemetery, Baltimore,
Maryland. He was memorialized when the U.S. Army constructed "Battery
Huger" inside the historic walls of Fort Sumter for the Spanish-American
War. His first cousin once removed Mary Procter Huger was married to
another cousin-Confederate General Arthur Middleton
Manigault
Sources: The Nationmaster & Dictionary of
American Biography - online
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