S. L. Leaphart
S. L. Leaphart | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Photograph of Leaphart c. 1878 | |
| 2nd and 5th South Carolina Treasurer | |
| In office 1866–1868 | |
| Preceded by | William Hood |
| Succeeded by | Niles G. Parker |
| In office 1877–1881 | |
| Preceded by | Francis Lewis Cardozo |
| Succeeded by | J. P. Richardson |
| 16th South Carolina Comptroller General | |
| In office 1866–1868 | |
| Governor | Benjamin Franklin Perry James Lawrence Orr |
| Preceded by | James A. Black |
| Succeeded by | John L. Neagle |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Sherod Luther Leaphart December 23, 1830 |
| Died | June 27, 1886 (aged 55) Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Resting place | Saint Andrew's Lutheran Church Cemetery |
| Party | Independent (before 1866) Democratic (after 1866) |
| Spouse | Lucy E. Davis |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Confederate States of America |
| Branch/service | Confederate States Army |
Years of service | 1861–1865 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | 2nd South Carolina Infantry Regiment |
| Battles/wars | |
Sherod Luther "S. L." Leaphart (December 23, 1830 – June 27, 1886) was an American politician who served as the 2nd and 5th South Carolina Treasurer and the 16th South Carolina Comptroller General.
During the American Civil War, Leaphart served as a Confederate States Army officer, where he was severely wounded during the Battle of Gettysburg and held as a prisoner of war.
Early life and education
Leaphart was born on December 23, 1830, in Lexington County, South Carolina, one of the children of Michael Leaphart and Susan Leaphart. His siblings included Godfrey Leaphart, served as a major and a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. He was educated at Cokesbury, South Carolina, remaining there until 1854, after which he worked in mercantile trade until the outbreak of the Civil War.[1]
Military service
When South Carolina seceded from the Union and the Civil War began in 1861, Leaphart enlisted in Company A of the 2nd South Carolina Infantry Regiment in May 1861 (also known as the 2nd Palmetto Regiment), a unit recruited largely from the Columbia area and nicknamed the "Governor's Guards." He entered service as a sergeant and was subsequently promoted to lieutenant and then to captain, eventually commanding Company A.[2][3][4]
Leapheart's company was attached to Kershaw's Brigade and fought in numerous major engagements of the Army of Northern Virginia, including First Manassas, the Seven Days Battles, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville.[2]
Battle of Gettysburg
At the Battle of Gettysburg, Leaphart led Company A into action on July 2, 1863, during the fighting near the Wheatfield and Stony Hill. He was severely wounded in the right arm and captured by Union forces during the engagement. His arm was later amputated, and he was sent to the Union prisoner-of-war camp at Johnson's Island, Ohio, where Confederate officers captured at Gettysburg and elsewhere were held for the remainder of the war or until exchanged. He was released in early 1865, shortly before the Confederate surrender, and rejoined the army in Kennedy's brigade, part of Major General Joseph B. Kershaw's division within Lieutenant General James Longstreet's corps.[2][5]
Political career
Comptroller
After the war, during Benjamin Perry's tenure as provisional governor of South Carolina, Leaphart was elected by the South Carolina General Assembly to serve as Comptroller General by 77 votes, an office he held through two governorships.[5][6]
South Carolina Treasurer
In 1866, Leaphart became the second State Treasurer of South Carolina. Leaphart left elective office as the Republican-controlled state government of the Reconstruction era consolidated power under governors Robert Kingston Scott, Franklin J. Moses Jr., and Daniel H. Chamberlain, during which the treasurership was held successively by Niles G. Parker (1868–1872) and Francis Lewis Cardozo (1872–1877).[5][7]
During the period between his terms as treasurer, Leaphart served as president of the board of underwriters in Columbia.[8]
With the end of Reconstruction and the disputed election of 1876, Democratic governor Wade Hampton III took office in 1877 and moved to replace Republican officeholders across state government, including Cardozo, who left the treasurer's office on May 1, 1877.[9][10] Leaphart, by then aligned with the Democratic Party, ran on the statewide Democratic ticket headed by Hampton in the 1878 general election, appearing alongside candidates such as Johnson Hagood for comptroller general and Hugh S. Thompson for superintendent of education.[11][12] He was elected State Treasurer and served in that capacity until 1881, when he was succeeded by John Peter "J.P." Richardson III.[13]
After his time in public office, Leaphart served as a director of the Central National Bank of Columbia and as an agent for the Piedmont and Arlington Life Insurance Company.[5]
Death
Leaphart died in Columbia, South Carolina, on June 27, 1886, at the age of 55. He was buried at St. Andrew's Lutheran Church Cemetery.[1]
References
- 1 2 The Cemeteries of Northern Richland County, South Carolina. Heritage Books. 2002-01-01. ISBN 978-0-7884-2097-9.
- 1 2 3 Seigler, Robert S. (2008). South Carolina's Military Organizations During the War Between the States: The midlands. History Press. ISBN 978-1-59629-193-5.
- ↑ Dark Hours: South Carolina Soldiers, Sailors and Citizens who Were Held in Federal Prisons During the War for Southern Independence, 1861-1865. Univ of South Carolina Press. 2002. ISBN 978-0-9719784-0-9.
- ↑ South Carolina Troops in Confederate Service: Vol. 1-. R. L. Bryan Company. 1914.
- 1 2 3 4 Representative Men of the South. C. Robson & Company. 1880.
- ↑ Journal of the Senate of the State of South Carolina. South Carolina Senate. 1865.
- ↑ Dargan, John Julius (1906). School History of South Carolina. State Company.
- ↑ The Baltimore Underwriter: A Monthly Publication Devoted to the Interests of Insurance. Sherwood & Company. 1875.
- ↑ Snowden, Yates; Cutler, Harry Gardner (1920). History of South Carolina. Lewis Publishing Company.
- ↑ Taylor, Alrutheus Ambush (1924). The Negro in South Carolina During the Reconstruction. Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. ISBN 978-1-4047-6089-9.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - ↑ Reports of Cases Heard and Determined by the Supreme Court of South Carolina. R.L. Bryan Company. 1878.
- ↑ Spofford, Ainsworth Rand (1880). An American Almanac and Treasury of Facts, Statistical, Financial, and Political, for the Year ... American News Company.
- ↑ "Democratic State Ticket". The News and Herald. 1878-10-12.