I went to Gaffney, SC, in late March when Robert O. Sams’ descendants extended an invitation to the Dataw Historic Foundation. They shared a collection of family archives with my wife and me. Even though previous generations donated many items to Charleston’s Citadel Museum, what they had in Gaffney was exciting. Robert is a famous graduate of the Citadel. He is unique for two reasons (at least.) First, he graduated from the Citadel in 1861 and was involved in the entire Civil War, from beginning to end. Second, most of his career was as an educator, so he wrote a fair amount about his life experiences. The compilation of records I’ve included at the end of this article provides a unique insight into a military man who served through the entire Civil War for the Confederate States of America and lived to tell about it. He was too young to own slaves but not too young to fight for his southern beliefs.
Robert Oswald Sams (1841 – 1930) – Through The Years
From the fan chart below, you can see that Robert was the grandson of Lewis Reeve Sams of Datha Island fame. His father, Miles Brewton Sams (1811 – 1894), appears to have been the patriarch of the Sams in Gaffney, settling there sometime after 1880.
Robert, in his own words
I’ve consolidated the most interesting documents about Robert Oswald Sams into a single PDF available below. Here’s a synopsis of what is included.
- The First Shot was written by RO Sams in December 1926. He is reporting on events that happened 66 years earlier, on 9 January 1861. This is his most eloquent piece. South Carolina, one of the original 13 states of the United States, was the first state to succeed from the United States of America in December 1860. Just months short of graduation, Robert and selected classmates were called onto active duty (as we would say today) and ordered to build a fort across the harbor from Fort Sumter. Their mission was to prevent Fort Sumter from being resupplied by the Federal (i.e., Union) forces. I find this very personal recollection moving for two reasons. Robert is only nineteen years old, and no one yet knows the breadth and depth of the war that lies ahead. The Dataw Historic Foundation has several versions of this article, including a copy of the original in Robert O. Sams’ handwriting. While that is exciting, it’s largely illegible. I’ve included here the official transcript from the Citadel Museum.
- The Last Shot, also written by Robert, provides another genuinely unique perspective on the Civil War. In this article, he is recounting those days of confusion that happen in every war. The Confederate General in Chief, Robert E Lee, surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant on 9 April 1865 effectively ending the Civil War. However, communications do not travel fast in those days. It took a while for word to spread through trusted military chains of command on both sides. Robert O. Sams reflects on these immediate weeks of confusion, after the surrender but before everyone believed it.
- Robert wrote his autobiography over many months about the same time as the previous two papers – 1926. When read as a set and looking at other newspaper articles about him, I believe his First Shot and Last Shot papers were his attempt to fully document those events after being interviewed many times over the years. It was his chance to tell the whole story and not be dependent on what one newspaper or other had reported. As for his autobiography, several pages are missing, but it’s still a fascinating read. The uncertainty described in The Last Shot continues as he struggles for years after the war to support his family.
- Reunion of the Sams Clan, Mars Hill, NC on August 10 or 11, 1929. This is probably the last paper penned by Robert. He died seven months after giving this speech at the Sams family reunion. It is a great summary of his life. I transcribed it from the poor copy we found and added footnotes to help fill in the question marks.
This compilation ends with two newspaper articles, one before his death and the other his obituary. In totality, this compilation is 64 pages.
Oakland Cemetery, Gaffney, South Carolina
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