William Campbell (governor)
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William Campbell was the last Royal Governor of South Carolina. He was sent to South Carolina from the British Parliament in June of 1775 in an attempt to quell the boiling waters of revolution. He fled Charleston on a British warship in September of that same year and returned to England. His departure marked the beginning of revolution in South Carolina and the end of British imperial rule over the colony.
Charged with bringing in the reins on the colony's revolutionaries, Campbell first decided to ignore the newly established Provincial Congress. The Provincial Congress was created in January of 1775 in Charleston by former members of the South Carolina House of Commons as a separate ruling government independent of British authority and influence. Knowing the great rift between the aristocratic low-country and the backwoodsmen commoners of the backcountry, Campbell distributed pamphlets in mass numbers to backcountry citizens. The pamphlets stated that Charleston citizens were full of lies and the Provincial Congress could not be trusted. They were so effective, it is noted by different accounts as a "gospel" to the backcountry citizens.[citation needed]
Governor Campbell soon realized he could no longer reside and govern in safety in Charleston. Intimidation from patriots resulted in public hangings, assaults, and business/home raids of suspected Tories. One home raided included that of Henry Laurens, who would go on to become the third President of the Second Continental Congress. Patriots were not afraid to intimidate or attack British officials, and in fact several officials fled the city to escape further persecution. Governor Campbell decided to leave the city in September on board a British warship.
Many scholars wonder what would have been the outcome if Governor Campbell had fled to the backcountry instead of a British warship.[citation needed] The backcountry was a haven for Tories prior to 1777 when Colonel Richard Richardson would lead a successful campaign to quell the Tory resistance. The population of backcountry citizens was nearly dounle that of the low-country citizens. Had Governor Campbell fled to the Tory filled backcountry, it is conceivable that he could have successfully led a Tory assault on the patriots in the low-country and retained his office for at least a shortly extended period of time. A united Tory front was all that was needed to delay revolution in South Carolina.[citation needed]
