Martin Witherspoon Gary

Gary, Martin Witherspoon (Mar. 25, 1831 - Apr. 9, 1881), Confederate soldier, was born at Cokesbury, Abbeville County, S. C. He was the third son of Dr. Thomas Reeder and Mary Anne (Porter) Gary. His mother was a descendant of John Witherspoon [q.v.]. He attended Cokesbury Academy where he was a popular student and captain of the Fencibles, a military company in the school. In 1850 he entered South Carolina College but was forced to leave in 1852, "in consequence of an unsuccessful attempt to induce the Faculty to do away with the Commons Hall" (Charleston News and Courier, Apr. 11, 1881). This was the so-called "biscuit rebellion." Gary then entered Harvard, graduating in 1854. He returned to South Carolina and studied law under Chancellor J. P. Carroll at Edgefield, was admitted to the bar in 1855, and was soon a very successful criminal lawyer.

Gary was a member of the South Carolina legislature in 1860 and a leader of the secession movement. After the ordinance was enacted he went into the military service as captain of the Watson Guards, which became Company B of the Hampton Legion. He commanded the legion at first Manassas after Col. Hampton was wounded and Lieut.-Col. Johnson was killed. When the legion was reorganized he was made lieutenant-colonel of infantry, a battalion of eight companies, and when it was filled he became colonel of the regiment. He participated in the battles around Richmond, at second Manassas, Boonsboro, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Suffolk, Chickamauga, Bean's Station, Campbell's Station, and Knoxville. The legion was then ordered mounted and served as cavalry. Gary commanded the contingent on the north side of the James River. After the fight at Riddle's Shop in June 1864 he was made brigadier-general, his brigade including the Hampton Legion, 7th South Carolina, 7th Georgia, and 24th Virginia regiments. He led his men in all the fighting on the north side of the James during the siege and was the last to leave Richmond. After the surrender of Lee, he cut his way through the Federal lines and joined President Davis at Greensboro. Taking command of about two hundred men of his brigade he escorted Davis and his cabinet to Cokesbury, S. C., where one of the last meetings of the Confederate cabinet was held at the home of Gary's mother.

After the war Gary resumed the practice of law at Edgefield, and also prospered as a planter. In 1876 he and Gen. M. C. Butler were the foremost defenders of the "straightout policy" and the nomination of Gen. Wade Hampton for governor. They advocated white supremacy and no compromise with the negroes. In the same year Gary was elected state senator from Edgefield County and served four years, declining reëlection. He was a candidate for the United States Senate, but was defeated by Gen. Butler in 1877 and by Gov. Hampton in 1879. His friends urged his candidacy for governor in 1880, but his break with Hampton in 1878 had destroyed his availability. He was of a hasty and violent disposition, used bold and sometimes profane language, had opposed the payment of the Reconstruction debts, and championed a usury law. He was a stump speaker of the most effective type. Thin, erect, and bald-headed, he was often called the "bald eagle." He was never married.