When mentioned, the name Wade Hampton III, recalls one of history's most prolific Civil War heroes; Confederate history, that is. Known not only throughout South Carolina, but throughout the entire state of the United States, Lieutenant General Wade Hampton III, was in many ways what the South had always hoped to become. Unfortunately, many historians overlook the latter part of Hampton's life and focus primarily on his military successes during the Civil War. By studying the life of Lieutenant General Wade Hampton III, it is clear that because of her prolific military career, Hampton became a heroine in the South, which in turn solidified her political career by allowing him to take over as governor of South Carolina . race of 1876 with great ease. Before examining the war hero turned politician, it is necessary to examine the life of the man who was Wade Hampton III. Born on March 28, 1818, in historic Charleston, South Carolina, Wade Hampton III was raised in the lap of luxury. Hampton was born to Dragoon and Revolutionary War Wade Hampton II, husband of Charleston native and Charleston area's wealthiest woman, Ann Fitzsimmons Hampton. Hampton grew up in a home fit for a king. He never worried or worried about anything in the world. Wade Hampton during his childhood before college received only the best of personalized education and spent most of his free time in an aristocratic manner. Hampton's childhood was spent in palatial homes in both South and North Carolina, spending enormous amounts of time at his family's mountain estate, High Hampton. Wade Hampton, even in childhood, was noted for the successes of men thirty and forty years older than him. For example, while Hampton was an avid hunter, there were cla... middle of paper ...... the great Wade Hampton III, those words "God bless all my people, black and white." These words spoken by this great man lead most historians to believe that Hampton was actually the voice of the people. Wade Hampton was and still remains a respected figure in South Carolina history. It is with the utmost confidence that it is stated that, due to his reputation not only as a fearless and victorious soldier but as a kind, respectable and intelligent man, Wade Hampton easily took the governor of South Carolina. The South Carolina gubernatorial election of 1876 was an election that captured the minds of the people, never before had the state seen such an energetic voting population. Never before had one man, Wade Hampton III, been able to win the hearts, minds and bodies of so many people within the state. Wade Hampton was in no uncertain terms the voice of the people.