Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-01-16
Misellaaeulls 8radina.
ONLY ONE LEFT.
Robert Thompson Last Survivor OF
Secession Ordinance.

Secession Ordinance.
In an unpretentious law office ir
Walhalla, S. c., Col. Robert Thomp.
son, sole survivor Of the 1853 men who
signed the secession ordinance ir
Charleston fifty-one years ago. daily
attends to his still growing law prac.
tice.
Col. Thompson is IS years old, but
one would not think 1t to look at him
He has the appearance Of a soldier
scarcely ripe for retirement. Had the
outcome of the war have been differ
ent his name might have been blazon-
ed in the memory of his countrymen as
gloriously as II he had signed the Dec
laration of independence. But Col
Thompson is glad that the outcome
was not different, and his eyes fill with
tears when he tells how glad he Is.
Yet he did his duty as he saw 1t, has
never regretted 1t, and remembers
with love the great men Of the Con-
federacy who fought by his side and
cast their lot with his.
Walhalla lies snuggled among the
mountains and Col. Thompson has as
simulated somewhat Of their rugged
ness In his idle moments which are
few. he swings his desk chair so as to
gaze at them through the window, and
he is always looking at them when he
is talking in a reminiscent strain.
"The great convention" he said not
long ago, "of which I had the honor to
be member. met at the call Of the
state legislature. in the Baptist church
in Columbia December 18th, 1860.
There were no restrictions barring any
citizen acting as a delegate. There
were more white headed men In that
convention than In any gathering /
have ever witnessed. Seriousness per-
vaded the very air. There was no dis
turbance, no violence, no haste. Ev-
cry man knew what was certain to
take place. Secession had practically
been agreed upon before the conven-
ton met.
Every profession was represented.
There were ministers, lawyers, MEM
bers of the legislature, members Of
congress. judges and chancellors. /
was commissioner of equity for Pick
ems district at the time, and made my
home at Walhalla.
when the convention was called
there was a rumor about Columbia
that smallpox was rampant, and 1t
was decided to hold the convention In
Charleston. We met there on the sec
ond day in st. Andrews hall. Dur
ing the first day of the convention In
Columbia we organized by electing
General d. F. Jamison Of Barnv ell,
president, and we elected B. F. Ar
thur of Columbia, clerk.
Upon his election, General Jamison
made a ringing speech urging seces-
sion. On Thursday, December 26.
1860, the great ordinance was read in
the convention. No speeches were
made pro or con. There was no cheer
and no debate. Articles were revised
and amended, but none objected to the
proposed action. At o'clock in the
evening the convention met in the In
stitute hall. The legislature was pres
ent as was Governor Pickens and his
staff. Hundreds crowded into the hall
and the streets for blocks were jam
med with those who could not gain ad-
"Silence brooded over all, silence
which meant more than fireworks or
shouting or professions. I felt as If I
must scream because of the strain.
Amidst an awful silence General
Pickens rose and merely called the
names Of the different parishes and
districts represented in alphabetical
order. AS each district was named. its
rose quietly. stepped to
a table in the centre of the room, and
affixed his signature to the ordinance.
which had been emblazoned on parch-
ment.
"When all had done so. silently
General Jamison rose and without
preamble said:
1.-The ordinance of secession has
been signed and ratified, and I pro-
claim the state Of South Carolina an
independent sovereignty"
Applause, stamping and shouting
shook the very building. Hats and
canes were waved and broken. Out
side, fireworks doomed and cracked.
Scores of bonfires were kindled, and
professions wound through the streets.
The pent enthusiasm Of a people had
burst the armor of dignity and reserve
which they had preserved until the
purposely.
"Soon after this history making
meeting, st. Andrews, in which the
first ordinance was signed, was de-
stroyed by a fire that swept a great
portion Of the city"
Col. Thompson's name appears d.
rectly in the middle of the group of
signers appended to the original
parchment Of the ordinance.
IT'S just the luck of the middle
man to be the last to plunk." he says
about it cheerfully.
The colonel was born near Pendle-
ton, s. c.. on Twelve Mile river. He
worked hard on his fathers farm dur
ing his boyhood. and a peculiar cir
cumstance is responsible for his aban-
doning the tilling of the soil. He was
plowing new ground when the plow-
share caught in the roots of a heavy
stump The mule was unable to draw
the plow through the tough roots. and
the boy could not drag it back. His Is
not the nature to skirt around trou-
BILE. He smashes through, and so he
did with the plow. After sufficient
urging the mule tugged so hard that
the roots snapped. the plow was jerk
ed through the air, and the share hit
the plowman so hard a rap that he
keeled over on the ground. II he had
been older 1t Is probable that he would
have continued his farm life taking