Representative Richard Winn

Richard Winn (1750 – December 19, 1818) was an American politician, surveyor, merchant, military officer, and slave owner who became a prominent figure in the early political and military life of South Carolina. He was closely associated with the town of Winnsboro, South Carolina, which bears the name of his family, and his later life and activities were centered in that community, including at the property known as 204 North Zion Street, Wynn Dee Plantation, in Winnsboro, S.C.

Born in 1750, likely in what was then the backcountry of South Carolina, Winn came of age in a frontier environment marked by land speculation, surveying, and the gradual expansion of plantation agriculture based on enslaved labor. Before the American Revolution he worked as a surveyor and merchant, occupations that helped establish his local prominence and landholdings. As a slave owner, he participated in and benefited from the plantation economy that underpinned much of South Carolina’s social and political structure in the late eighteenth century.

With the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, Winn entered military service on the patriot side and became an officer in the 3rd South Carolina Regiment of the Continental Army. This regiment was part of South Carolina’s main line forces and saw active service in the Southern theater. Winn’s early wartime experience was shaped by the shifting fortunes of the Continental cause in the South, culminating in the British campaign against Charleston. When Charleston fell to British forces in May 1780, the 3rd South Carolina Regiment was captured, effectively ending its service as a Continental unit and forcing many of its officers and men, including Winn, to seek other means of continuing the struggle.

Following the capture of his regiment at Charleston, Winn continued the fight as part of the irregular resistance that emerged in the South Carolina backcountry. He served in a militia partisan unit under the command of General Thomas Sumter, one of the leading partisan commanders in the region. In this capacity, Winn took part in the kind of mobile, small-unit warfare that characterized the later stages of the Southern campaign, harassing British and Loyalist forces and contributing to the eventual reestablishment of American control in South Carolina. His service under Sumter enhanced his reputation as a capable officer and local leader.

After the Revolutionary War, Winn remained active in the military affairs of the state and rose to the rank of general in the South Carolina militia. In this role he helped organize and oversee the state’s defensive forces in the postwar period, when South Carolina faced ongoing concerns about frontier security, internal order, and the stability of its slave-based society. At the same time, he continued his pursuits as a landowner, merchant, and surveyor, consolidating his position among the planter and professional elite of the region around Winnsboro.

Winn’s prominence in local and state affairs led naturally into a career in national politics. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a representative from South Carolina, first serving from 1793 until 1797 in the early years of the federal government under the Constitution. After a period out of Congress, he returned to the House and served an extended second tenure from 1803 to 1813. During these years he participated in the legislative life of the young republic through the administrations of several presidents, representing the interests of his South Carolina constituents at a time when issues of territorial expansion, relations with European powers, and the evolving balance between federal and state authority were central concerns.

In his later years, Winn continued to reside in Winnsboro, where his name and family remained closely tied to the community’s identity and development. His activities as a planter and slave owner, along with his earlier service as a surveyor and merchant, helped shape the economic and social landscape of the region. Richard Winn died on December 19, 1818, in South Carolina, leaving a legacy as a Revolutionary War officer, militia general, and long-serving member of the United States House of Representatives whose life reflected both the opportunities and the inequities of the early American republic.