1st Lt. George Edward “Tuck” HAYNSWORTH, Sr.

1841 - 1887  (46 years)

• Name	George Edward “Tuck” HAYNSWORTH  [1, 2, 3, 4]
  Prefix	1st Lt.
  Suffix	Sr.
  Born	21 Mar 1841
  Gender	Male
  CAUS	Died, “From A Wound Received While In The Peaceable Discharge Of His Duty As An Officer Of The Peace By A Shot Aimed At Some Other Person.”
  Education	The Citadel
  HIST	After the war, he practiced law; and to supplement his income in those trying days, he served as magistrate. It was in his performance of duty in this office that he lost his life. “George Edward Haynsworth died December 30th, 1887, from a wound received while in the peaceable discharge of his duty as an officer of the peace by a shot aimed at some other person.” In 1887, a tragedy occurred in Sumter involving Daniel Ezra Keels. Under the headlines “Sumter’s Black Friday”, the “Watchman and Southern” called the following event the “blackest stigma that has befallen this country for generations.” • The tragic event revolved around an apparent feud between John R. Keels, son of Daniel Ezra Keels, and Peyton G. Bowman, a school teacher. A quarrel started between Keels and Bowman in a Bishopville saloon over the charges for some legal papers drown up by Keels, a Sumter lawyer, and Bowman. During the argument, Keels shot Bowman in the leg with his pistol. Not long after, Bowman’s brother-in-law, also a lawyer in Sumter, met Keels in Rosendorf’s saloon and another quarrel ensued but without shooting. Bad feelings, however, persisted and a few days later, the Keels clan, led by Daniel Ezra Keels, came from Lynchburg to Sumter “armed and looking for trouble.” The Keels went to John R. Keels’ office on Main Street and in the street the Bowman clan was waiting. To head off any further trouble, several citizens swore out warrants on both parties. Both clans were arrested and taken before George E. Haynsworth, trial justice, to be put under peace bonds. Haynsworth was very popular. He was credited with firing the first shot on Fort Sumter that started the Civil War. For some reason, neither clan was disarmed. While Mr. Haynsworth was writing the bonds, someone fired a shot and a fusillade broke loose and Haynsworth sprang to his feet “just in time to intercept a badly aimed bullet.” Daniel Ezra Keels was wounded along with a Bowman clan member. A jury acquitted the Bowmans and the charges against Keels was “nol prossed.” A member of the detachment of Citadel Cadets who, under Major P. F. Stevens, manned the “Star of the West” battery, and fired the first hostile shot of the war, it fell to him to pull the lanyard affixed to the opening gun. Thus it was Haynsworth’s lot to send off, at the word of command, against the Transport Steamer what turned out to be the fateful bolt of war - the precursor of a struggle that shook a continent. Nor is this all the invests his name with that kind of interest. It is claimed for him that, by a strange coincidence, his was, likely the last shot that was fired in a regular battle during the conflict - he having been heard to say, on more than one occasion, that his was the last shot he heard at Bentonville and that he believe it was the last one fired on that day - a day that ended the general engagements of the Confederate war.  [5, 6, 7]
  MILI	1st Lt., 1st SC Artillery, C.S.A. (Confederate States of America) Civil War He fired the first shot of the Civil War (9 Jan 1861), in the effort to keep the Star of the West from bringing aid to Fort Sumter, which had been seized by the Federal Government, from Morris Island. In 1939 a plaque was placed at The Citadel, memorializing the event. Also, “it is claimed for him that, by a strange coincidence, his was, likely the last shot that was fired in a regular battle during the conflict - he having been heard to say, on more than one occasion, that his was the last shot he heard at Bentonville and that he believed it was the last one fired on that day - a day that ended the general engagements of the Confederate War.”  [3, 8, 9, 10, 11]
  _UID	5EF4ED1F322D4BFD9C3994667AA6C2D78DE9
  Died	30 Dec 1887	Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina
  Buried	Sumter Cemetery, 700 W. Oakland Avenue, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina   [3]
  Person ID	I3462	Singleton and other families
  Last Modified	31 Oct 2023

  
  

  Father	William HAYNSWORTH,   b. 22 Mar 1792, Stateburg, Sumter County, South Carolina ,   d. 10 Sep 1865/2, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina  (Age 80 years)
  Mother	Sarah Elizabeth MORSE,   b. 18 Aug 1800, Connecticut ,   d. 28 Jul 1877  (Age 76 years)
  Married	16 Nov 1823
  _UID	C7998CB643204D17AC98DBAE65F1EDBD36B0
  Family ID	F1183	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Hortense “Tenny” MILLER,   b. 13 Apr 1844,   d. 10/15 Sep 1878  (Age 34 years)
  Married	17 May 1875	First Baptist Church, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina   [12]
  	by C. C. Brown
  _UID	B37CB07EED7F40D0A99D404F97051E2E964E
  Children	1. Joseph Herbert HAYNSWORTH, Sr.,   b. 18 Jul 1878,   d. 5 Nov 1939, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina  (Age 61 years)   2. George Edward HAYNSWORTH, Jr.,   b. 16 Feb 1876,   d. 12 Nov 1936  (Age 60 years)
  Last Modified	2 Sep 2001
  Family ID	F639	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Sources

  [S11] Hugh Charles Haynsworth, (Osteen Publishing Company, Sumter, SC). [S316] Judith Reesor Hutchinson, Page 105. [S8000] Ken Schmidt, Bobby Thigpen & Bobby Hallpage, (Quality Printers, Inc. of Manning, South Carolina 4 West Keitt Street Manning, South Carolina 29102), page 427. [S9184] John Peyre Thomas, (Walker, Evan & Cogswell Company, Nos 3 and 5 Broad and 117 East Broad Streets, Charleston, South Carolina), page 270, 442-443, 446. [S9] Cassie Nichols, page 286. [S2810] Rett Floyd PO Box 14, Turbeville, South Carolina 29162, page 3-4. [S9184] John Peyre Thomas, (Walker, Evan & Cogswell Company, Nos 3 and 5 Broad and 117 East Broad Streets, Charleston, South Carolina), pages 442-443. [S9] Cassie Nichols, page 291. [S11] Hugh Charles Haynsworth, (Osteen Publishing Company, Sumter, SC), page 60. [S9] Cassie Nichols, page 285. [S2810] Rett Floyd PO Box 14, Turbeville, South Carolina 29162, page 4. [S698] page 55.