Left For Dead Teenager Turned US Congressman - Robert Gibbes Barnwell
Robert Gibbes Barnwell suffered tremendously during the Revolutionary War, only to later receive election to the House of Representatives.
Robert Gibbes Barnwell
Robert Gibbes Barnwell joined the South Carolina Militia when he was just 16-years-old.
In June of 1779, he was involved in the Battle of Mathews’ Plantation.
This action was less a battle and more of a surprise nighttime raid by the British.
During the engagement, Robert was wounded more than a dozen times. His valuables were taken and he was left for dead.
On The Pack Horse
Barnwell was found and returned to his family who nursed him back to health for the better part of a year.
When he was finally healthy, though still a teenager, Robert returned to the militia.
Unfortunately, he arrived just in time for the Siege of Charleston and was quickly taken captive with the rest of the army.
Barnwell spent more than a year on the prison ship Pack Horse before finally being exchanged and rejoining the army.
Congressman
After the war, Robert was elected to the South Carolina Assembly.
The Assembly, in turn, sent him to the Continental Congress in New York where he would sit as one of its final members.
Barnwell spent most of the next decade in the State Assembly, including three years as Speaker of the House.
His time was interrupted when he became a member of the US House of Representatives for Congress’ second session.
Barnwell’s political career peaked when he spent a year in South Carolina’s Senate, spending his last two weeks there as acting President of that body.
Did you know that two future Presidents were wounded as teenagers in the Revolutionary War?
Read about them here:
7 Important Events in James Monroe’s Life
Andrew Jackson’s Revolutionary War
Teenagers were a surprisingly important part of the Revolutionary War.
‘I was a Teenager in the American Revolution’ is an interesting book that relates first-hand accounts of the teenage experience through the war.
Pick up a copy through the Amazon affiliate link below (you’ll support this site, but don’t worry, Amazon pays me while your price stays the same).
Want to get fun American Revolution articles straight to your inbox every morning?
Subscribe to my email list here.
You can also support this site on Patreon by clicking here.
