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 Rutledge,
JOHN, jurist; born in Charleston,
South Carolina, in
1739; studied law in London; returned to Charleston in 1761; and
soon afterwards rose to eminence in his profession. In 1765 he was a
member of the Stamp
Act Congress that met in New York City; in 1774 of the South
Carolina convention of patriots; and of the first
Continental Congress,
at Philadelphia, the same year. He was also in Congress in 1775, and
was chairman of the convention that framed the State constitution of
South Carolina in 1776. By his vigilance and activity he saved
Fort Moultrie from the
effects of an order by General Lee to evacuate it when attacked by
the British; and he was elected president of the State under the new
constitution. In 1779 he was chosen governor, and the legislature
made him a temporary dictator when Charleston was threatened with
siege. In the fall of Charleston (May, 1780), Rutledge went to
North Carolina, and
accompanied the Southern army until 1782, when he was elected to
Congress. He was chosen chancellor of South Carolina in 1784; was a
member of the convention that framed the national Constitution
(1787) ; appointed an associate-justice of the Supreme Court of the
United States (1789); elected chief-justice of South Carolina in
1791; and in 1795 was appointed chief-justice of the United States,
but the Senate did not confirm him. He died in Charleston, South
Carolina, July 23, 1800. |
