Wade Hampton III ( 1818-1902) was an American politician from South Carolina. He was a prominent member of one of the richest families in the antebellum Southern United States, owning thousands of acres of cotton land in South Carolina and Mississippi, as well as thousands of slaves. He became a senior general in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War. At the Battle of Seven Pines on May 31, 1862, he was severely wounded in the foot, but while still under fire, he remained on his horse while the foot was treated. At the Battle of Brandy Station, the war's largest predominantly cavalry battle, Hampton was slightly wounded, and his younger brother Frank was killed. On July 3, Hampton led the cavalry attack east of Gettysburg, attempting to disrupt the U.S. rear, but collided with U.S. cavalry. He received two more saber cuts to the front of his head but continued fighting until he was again wounded with shrapnel to the hip. In October 1864, near Petersburg, Virginia, Hampton sent his son, T. Preston Hampton, a lieutenant serving as one of his aides, to deliver a message. Shortly afterward, Hampton and his other son, Wade IV, rode in the same direction. Before traveling 200 yards, they came across Preston lying on the ground; he was fatally wounded and soon died. As young Wade dismounted, he was also shot but survived.Signed Card “Wade Hampton, So. Ca.â€