Customer Reviews

William Henry Drayton: South Carolina Revolutionary Patriot (Southern Biography Series)

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The low country plantation, Drayton Hall, is one of my favorite historic sites. On my last visit there, I picked up William Henry Drayton: South Carolina Revolutionary Patriot by Keith Krawczynski. Unfortunately, this book is interesting in some parts and tedious in others.

William Henry Drayton was the son of John Drayton and was born at Drayton Hall. John Drayton was prosperous, but lacked the prominence of other rich plantation owners because of a lack of education. Determined that his son would not suffer the same fate, he shipped William to school in England when he was nine, and he didn't return to the states until he was 21.

Soon after her returned to South Carolina, he married the well-to-do Dorothy Golightly, who brought a dowry worth 40,000 pounds. Unfortunately, self-indulgent behavior (especially gambling) caused him to quickly lose much of his fortune, his assembly seat and the esteem of family and friends. Dorothy even had to sue him to preserve some of her dowry. He also took the side of the crown in the non-importation boycott and made many enemies.

Somehow, Drayton was able to turn his fortunes around and for a number of reasons, ended up becoming a staunch patriot. He filled a number of important roles for South Carolina including president of the provincial congress, chief justice, and a delegate to the Continental Congress. He became the "most aggressive and contentious of patriots," tackling the Whig cause with the passion of a reformed smoker. He used "his broad powers and enormous energy, intellect and guile" to advance the cause of American independence. Yet, he was also accused of being an "ambitious and unscrupulous politician" with a craving for fame. His controversial stands in the Continental Congress, his battles with his colleagues and his early death did much to overshadow his contributions.

William Henry Drayton is interesting in parts--especially the events leading up to the revolution. For instance, I did not know that South Carolina tried to annex Georgia before the revolution. But Krawczynski goes into such great detail about Drayton's political intrigues that it often made my eyes glaze over. The many footnotes at the bottom of each page became tedious. Also, there is very little about his personal life and virtually nothing about his wife, his marriage, his homes and his children. Unfortunately, this gives a very one-dimensional picture of Drayton. We needed to see much more of the private Drayton to discover the complexities of this conflicted but often great man.

I suppose being from South Carolina, I've always had an interest in the great men who helped form my state. William Henry Drayton has, ever since high school, fascinated me endlessly, and now, finally, is an accessible, well-written biography of this great man.

William Henry Drayton was one of the few firebrands produced by South Carolina during the American Revolution. The colony's elite were so entrenched in the British system of trade and finance that they were quiet afraid to make a break from the Empire. William Henry felt this way as well, in the beginning, but he turned out to be one of the most active supporters of independence in South Carolina. His tragic death in 1779 prevented him from taking any role in the formation of the new government, but his accomplishments during his brief life (he died in his thirties) certainly should earn him a place among all the other great patriots.

Now, finally, William Henry Drayton has a biography fitting his accomplishments. I highly reccommend this book to anyone interested in the Revolution, in the history of South Carolina, or in the men responsible for the independence of our nation.

Five stars, most definitely!