Sixth Plate Daguerreotype Portrait Identified by Descendants as Captain Robert Adams, Charleston Light Dragoons 

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Jun 12, 2015 - Jun 13, 2015

Set Reminder 2015-06-12 10:00:00 2015-06-13 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : American History Live Salesroom Auction https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/cowans/american-history-live-salesroom-auction-663
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• Lot Description
  Anonymous, sixth plate daguerreotype of a young, uniformed gentleman identified by Adams Family descendants as Robert Adams, the first cousin (once removed) of Lt. Colonel Warren Adams. Housed in full thermoplastic Union case with Holmes, Booth & Haydens' studio imprint in case behind image, although it cannot be confirmed that the case is original to the daguerreotype.
   
  Robert Adams was born December 24, 1832, in the Lower Richland District of South Carolina. He was the son of Robert Adams and Charlotte Belton Pickett Adams (grandson of Joel Adams and first cousin to James H. Adams). Robert was married to Eveline McCord of Philadelphia, who was a great grandniece of Betsy Ross. He worked as a cotton planter prior to the Civil War.
  
  Adams served in the Charleston Light Dragoons, of the 4th Regiment South Carolina Cavalry. He enlisted on April 10, 1861, and served in many engagements, finally being wounded and captured at the Battle of Old Church, VA, on May 30, 1864. Subsequently, he was held as a POW at Elmira, NY. Adams died May 12, 1882, at the age of 49 in Richland County, SC.
  
  The Fourth Regiment was active primarily in the Eastern Theater of the War, serving in the Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, under General P.G.T. Beauregard until it was transferred to the Army of Northern Virginia in March 1864. In January 1865, the 4th SC Cavalry was transferred to the Department of Tennessee and Georgia.
  
  Robert Adams was the subject of the 2007 movie The Last Confederate, with descendants Julian Adams and Ambassador Weston Adams in starring roles. 
  
  The Adams Family of South Carolina:
  
  A collection of photographs and manuscripts concerning one of South Carolina’s oldest and most prominent families. Lots 31-37, 103
  
  The Adams family came to the area near present day Columbia, SC, in the mid-18th century, acquired major land holdings, and became prosperous plantation owners. They were strongly involved in political and military affairs of their state, region, and country, playing major roles in state government as well as the Mexican American and Civil Wars.
  
  James Adams, son of Henry Coker Adams, emigrated from England to Virginia in the early seventeenth century seeking a new life in colonial America. There, he married Agnes Walker and fathered two children before Agnes’ death in 1755. One of the children died early, the other, Joel, survived into adulthood.
  
  Joel Adams was born February 4, 1750, in Culpepper, VA. He was the first of the family to settle in lower Richland County, SC, at Wavering Place in 1768. He married Grace Weston in 1773 and together they bore seven children. Before the American Revolution, Joel began acquiring land along the Congaree River in lower Richland County, accumulating 25,000 acres of plantations in the area. In the Revolutionary War, he was a leader of South Carolina militia forces and served in the Continental Army. He strongly believed in education, and political and military service to one’s state and country. Two of his children were educated at Yale. He died July 8, 1830, in Richland, SC, where he is buried.
  
  One of Joel’s sons, Henry Walker Adams, had the unfortunate situation of losing his wife (Mary Goodwyn) and then dying himself at the early age of 25, leaving behind a son, James Hopkins Adams. Joel raised his grandson until his own death.
  
  James Hopkins Adams was born March 15, 1812, in the Richland District in South Carolina, and died there July 13, 1861. He graduated from Yale in 1831, married Jane Margaret Scott in April 1832, and they had eleven children. He was Brigadier General of Cavalry for the South Carolina Militia and served several terms as a State Representative and State Senator. In 1854, he was elected to be the 66th Governor of South Carolina, serving through 1856. As a member of the “Convention of the People” in 1860-1861, he was a signatory to the South Carolina Ordinance of Secession. Subsequently, Adams served as a Commissioner of South Carolina to the US government to negotiate the transfer of United States property in South Carolina to the state government. He died at Live Oak, his country residence, and is buried in St. John's Episcopal Churchyard in Congaree, SC.
  
  This collection principally concerns one of J. H. Adams children, Warren Adams, (1838–1884) who was a Lieutenant Colonel in the CSA. He was in command of the First South Carolina Infantry Regiment at Battery Wagner, Charleston, SC (Lots 32-35, 37).
  
  Images and documents related to extended family members, such as 2nd Lieutenant David Adams, KIA in the Mexican American War (Lot 31), and Captain Robert Adams, Charleston Light Dragoons (Lot  36) are also included in the collection, as well as an archive of material regarding the Sinkler & Darby Families, relatives through marriage (Lot 103).
  
  Provenance:Descended in the Family of Confederate Lt. Colonel Warren Adams

  Condition

  Spotting on plate, solarization along perimeter where plate meets mat, daguerreotype is unsealed, housed in thermoplastic case with some cracks, area of loss near clasps.
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