Peter Horry

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Peter Horry
Born1743
Georgetown County, Province of South Carolina
DiedFebruary 28, 1815
Columbia, Richland County, South Carolina
Place of burial
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Cemetery, Columbia, South Carolina
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchSouth Carolina militia; State troops
Years of service1775-1802
RankGeneral
Unit2nd South Carolina Regiment, 5th South Carolina Regiment
Commands heldSouth Carolina 4th Regiment of State Dragoons, Col; Post-War: 6th Brigade (Georgetown), BG
Battles/warsSiege of Charleston, Battle of Sullivan's Island
Spouse(s)Margaret M. Guignard

Peter Horry (1743 – 28 February 1815) was a planter of Huguenot descent[1] and a South Carolina militia leader. On June 12, 1775, the Provincial Congress of South Carolina elected twenty captains to serve in the 1st and 2nd South Carolina Regiments, which on September 16, 1776, were taken on the Continental Establishment as the 1st and 2nd Regiments, South Carolina Line. Peter Horry was elected one of those captains, and receiving the fifth highest vote, was ranked fifth of the twenty and assigned to the 2nd Regiment.[2]

Early life[]

Horry was born and raised in the British colony of South Carolina, as were both of his parents and all four of his grandparents. All eight of his great grandparents were Huguenot refugees who were part of a two-wave migration, first moving from France to England and then moving from England to South Carolina. Horry's eight great grandparents fled France in the 1670s, all eight of them arrived in Charles Town, Carolina in the early 1680s.[3]

Military service[]

On September 16, 1776, he was promoted to major of the 2nd Regiment, and in 1779 was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and assigned to the 5th Regiment. When the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th Regiments were consolidated February 12, 1780, into three regiments he was placed upon the "supernumerary list" to await a vacancy in the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Continental Line of South Carolina.[2]

In July, 1780, all officers and men of the South Carolina Line not in the hands of the enemy or on parole were directed to report to General Gates' headquarters at Hillsboro, N. C. In accordance therewith Horry reported to Gates, but as he was without a command, Gates assigned him to duty with the militia of South Carolina. After the appointment of Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Marion, another officer of the South Carolina Line without a command—his regiment having been captured at the Fall of Charleston while he was on furlough—to be brigadier general of the lower brigade of the militia of South Carolina by Governor Rutledge, Horry became colonel of one of the militia regiments under Marion. Horry County, South Carolina, is named for him.[4]

Civilian service[]

Peter Horry represented Prince George Winyah Parish in the state House of Representatives in 1782 and from 1792 to 1794, and in the state Senate from 1785 to 1787.

Namesakes[]

Horry County, South Carolina is named in his honor. The Horry-Guignard House, where he lived, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ Salley, A.S., ed. (April 1, 1937). "South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Peter Horry". Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Lewis, J.D. "The American Revolution in South Carolina, Peter Horry". Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  3. ^ Salley, A.S., ed. (April 1, 1937). "South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Peter Horry"
  4. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 161.
  5. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
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