Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Rutledge, Edward

RUTLEDGE, EDWARD, an American statesman; born in Charleston, S. C., Nov. 23, 1749; was admitted to the bar in 1773; began practice in his native town; was a member of the Continental Congress in 1774-1777; took a conspicuous part in the discussions preceding the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, of which he was a signer; was on a commission with John Adams and Benjamin Franklin which met Lord Howe, Sept. 11, 1776, on Staten Island, but refused to enter into any treaty with him except on the basis of American independence. He was lieutenant-colonel of the Charleston Artillery which aided in expelling the British from the island of Port Royal in 1779; and was captured in 1780 and imprisoned for a year in St. Augustine. At the conclusion of hostilities, he resumed the practice of law in Charleston; and was elected governor of South Carolina in 1798. He died in Charleston, S. C., Jan. 23, 1800.