Thomas Sumter was born in this region on 14 Aug. 1734. A member of the Virginia militia during the French and Indian War, he moved to South Carolina in 1765. He served as a lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army from 1776 to 1778, then came out of retirement in June 1780. In Oct. 1780 he became a Brigadier General and was instrumental in defeating the British in the Carolinas. He later served in Congress from 1789 to 1793 and from 1797 to 1801, and as a U.S. senator from 1801 to 1810. He died on 1 June 1832. His name is also associated with the Civil War because Fort Sumter is named for him.