The Greenville enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1870-1873, 1871-11-08
REMINISCE CENCES
OF THE
COUNTY OF GRsEMVll Le
d, Ex, GOVERNOR D. F. PERRY.
TcoSTISUED FROM LAST WEEK l
wADDY THOMPSON.

General Waddy Thompson, was
for many yeas Representative
in the United States Congress from
this Congressional District, com.
posed OF Grccnvi'lc, Anderson and
Pickcns Counties. Afterwards he
became Minister to Mexico, under
the administration of President
Tyler. He was the son of Chan.
c.llor Thompson, of South Carroll.
la, great man by nature, and
one of the finest looking men |
ever saw. Had his great mind
been cultivated and improved as
it should have been, Chancellor
Thompson might have been one of
the great men of America. The
General was residing in Edgciicld
when / commenced reading law at
Grcenvillc. Ile attended our
courts, however, and soon after
wards returned to Greenville to
reside pcrmanen,ly. His kindness
and cordiality. Ills talents, wit and
humoY, a d grea, Conversational
powers, completely won my admir-
a'irn and affcctiunate regard. In
after years politics cstrspged as for
sometime. Hc became a warm
partisan OF Hulliiicaiion, and a bit.
ter opponent to. the, Union party
10 which | belonged. We were
opposing candidates for Co: gress
in 1898, aud ho was elected. He
lad not been in Congress but a
short time whena schism occurred
,on tho sub,Trcasury between him
aud Mr.. Calhoun, who was then
United States Senator, and resided
in this Congressional District. /
coinciGed in opinion with General
Thompson OIL ntlris subject, and open.
ly cspouscd his cause. / thought,
too, there was an ungencrous ef.
fort to put him down for daring to
differ with Mr.. Calhoun. Judge
Whitner was brought ont against
his wishes, as the opposing candi-
Late If General Thompson. Mr..
Calhoun took the stump, and can
vasscd the Congressional District
tir Judge Whitner. But with all
of his great talents, oversiadoying
rcput alton aud anrocratic power
in South Carolina, he proved une-
quail TO General Thompson nthe
stump. The masses were more
pleased with the wit, humor, and
anecdotes of The General, than with
tho, dry logic of Mr. Calhoun, -
The election resulted in the defeat
Of Judge Whitner by a very large
majority. Tho Judge, too, was
personally one of the most popu-
lar men in the Congressional Dis.
trjct. Ho was an intimate person.
al friend, and 1 was nnfriendly
with General Thompson at that
time. Ibid not, however, hesitate
to throw aside personal considera
tions. lhis removed the friendly
relations between General Thomp.
son and myself, and We continued
ever afterwards fast friends enter.
tanning the same political viewo.
Gene, al Thompson was a man
of rare talents, tact and energy of
character, As a political election.
eer he can scarcely be said to have
had SUPERIOR. fIo knew bnman
nature well, and understood how to
approach every one. In Congress
he was greatly distinguished rs q
ready debator and partisan leader.
On thostump he bad an inexhanst-
ible fund of anecdotes VIII ch he
applied most eifectualIy. He said
in one of his speeches, that Mr..
Calhoun could not tolerate any in.
dependence Of thought or action
with his political associates and
friends. That he was like an old
eccentric friend Of lis, (the Gener.
al's,) who, in drawing mp the agree.