Governor Pickens authorized the firing on Fort Sumter by SC militia, which is well known as the start of the Civil War, but he also authorized the first shot fired in the civil war when he sanctioned state militia artillery to fire on the Union vessel Star of the West 9 January, 1861 during its attempt to bring supplies to Major Anderson's blockaded garrison at Fort Sumter. His wife, Lucy Pickens witnessed the bombardment of Fort Sumter from atop a home in Charleston.
Governor Pickens was a life-long politician and diplomat. He was Minister to England, a state representative several times and later a state senator. Under President James Buchannan, he served as minister to Russia from 1858 to 1860 where they became close friends with Czar Alexander II, who was the godfather of their child. Finally he was Governor of South Carolina during secession and the early part of the Civil War.
His wife, Lucy Pickens was a master socialite of the 19th century, captivating everybody, even the Czar of Russia. She was so well known in South Carolina and through America, her face appears on the South Carolina Confederate $100 dollar bill as well as a CSA $1,000 bond. She was the consummate southern bell and captivated everybody with her intelligence and charm.
This letter was written by Governor Pickens, with an official State of South Carolina letterhead frank to his wife on 4 July 1861. The letter is short and terse, very unlike typical communications of Victorian couples. I can only expect that Gov Pickens was distraught and upset. Perhaps she was in an area of the coast that was threatened by Union invasion and he feared her capture.
We have this letter for view here at South Coast Antiques and Gallery.
Both Francis Pickens and Lucy Pickens are interred at
Willow Brook Cemetery
Edgefield
Edgefield County
South Carolina, USA
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