Thomas Sumter, one of South Carolina's most distinguished citizens and one of the founders of the Republic, was born in Virginia on August 14, 1734, and died on June 1, 1832. He came to South Carolina about 1760 and served on the frontier in the Indian Service for several years before settling as a planter in this vicinity. During the Revolutionary era, he was Commandant of the 6th Regiment, South Carolina Line, Continental Establishment, from 1776 to 1778, and Brigadier General of South Carolina Militia from 1780 to 1782. He later served as a member of the Continental Congress from 1783 to 1784, a member of the U.S. Congress from 1789 to 1793 and from 1797 to 1801, and a U.S. Senator from 1801 to 1810. He was honored in remembrance of his two grandsons, Charles and Etienne DeFontenay, who fought for the liberty of France and died in 1916.