C.C. Pinckney and the Presidential Election of 1800

C.C. Pinckney (National Archives)

As the 2020 presidential election looms  - and the outcome appears too close to call among the pollsters and pundits - it is good to remember that electing a president is a process that only begins on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every four years beginning in 1800. Remember your high school Civics class. Though it is not obvious on many state ballots since most just show the party affiliations of the candidates thereon, our ballots are actually cast for electors who have pledged to cast their ballots for a particular candidate shown in the Presidential race. So many times, we forget that the United States is a republic, not a direct democracy. 

What matters the most is whether a presidential candidate can secure the required number of electoral ballots to be elected. In 2020, that number is 270 - which is why you hear the term "path to election" used on the news. It matters not who gets the most votes when all the ballots of all the registered voters in all the states are counted. What matters is how the states certify the results of the ballots cast under their jurisdiction and then how the states allocate their electoral votes: winner take all? distributed by percentage of popular tallies? winner of the popular vote from each Congressional district?

If no one presidential candidate is able to secure the requisite 270 electoral college votes, then the Constitution has a process for that circumstance as well. A recent blog post about "The National Archives and the Electoral College" explains the current process per the United States Constitution and the historical controversies that surrounded the Elections of 1800, 1824, 1876 and 2000 far better than I can. 

South Carolina played a key role in the outcome of the Election of 1800. It was hard fought between John Adams and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1746-1825)  representing the Federalist Party and Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, representing the Democrat-Republican Party. (Yes, that really was a political party.)  

Back then, the Constitution's process for electing the President and Vice-President of the United States was quite different than now.  Jefferson and Burr tied with 74 electoral votes each; Adams received 65 electoral votes; while C.C. Pinckney had 64 electoral votes. The election was sent to the House of Representatives where each state's delegation would have to agree to vote for one candidate. It took 36 ballots - and Alexander Hamilton convincing other Federalists to back Thomas Jefferson rather than Aaron Burr - for Thomas Jefferson to become the 3rd President of the United States.

A Beaufort plantation owner and vice-presidential candidate, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1746 - 1825), refused to change his support from John Adams to Thomas Jefferson.  It is claimed that Pinckney would have become the Vice-President of the United States under Thomas Jefferson if he had gone back on his word to support John Adams. In 1801 John Adams wrote Christopher Gadsden (a Patriot of Charleston) that: "Pinckney's 'frank, candid and honorable' behavior during the election was consistent with 'the whole tenor of his conduct of life.'" (Griffith, "He Gave His Word, 2012, p. 16.)

Read about the ins-and-outs of C.C. Pinckney's role in the Election of 1800 in these Library resources:

 "He Gave His Word: Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and the Presidential Election of 1800," by Steve C. Griffith, Jr.  Carologue Magazine (Fall 2012) vol. 28, no. 2: pp. 10 - 16.

"Eleanor Park Lewis to Mrs. C.C. Pinckney," South Carolina Historical Magazine, vol. 63, no. 1: pp. 12 - 17.  

"Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth, 1746 - 1825" in the South Carolina Encyclopedia, University of South Carolina Press, 2006, pp. 727 - 728. 

Charleston in the Age of the Pinckneys by George C. Rogers, University of South Carolina Press, 1980. 

 
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Founding Father by Marvin R. Zahniser, Published for the Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Va., by the University of North Carolina Press, 1967. 

 
 A Founding Family: The Pinckneys of South Carolina by Frances Leigh Williams, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1978.

 
Biography of an Island: General C.C. Pinckney's Sea Island Plantation by Merrill G. Christophersen, Westburg Associates Publishers, 1976.

Reminder: All units of the Library are closed to customers on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Those libraries that serve as polling stations will be open for voting administered by the Board of Elections but Library staff will not be providing any of our usual and customary customer services. 

Regular hours resume on Wednesday, November 4, 2020. 

Election Problems in 1996

1996 was a memorable election. I was not living in Beaufort back in 1996, but I remember standing in a long line in a Jasper County precinct for that election day.

Beaufort County had some issues, too, as a document transferred into the BDC, "1996 - Report on General Election of November 5, 1996," explains. Unlike most local government documents, the purpose was clearly stated on the cover: "The purpose of this report is to provide the general public with a better understanding of the duties of the Board of Elections and Voter Registration, a more accurate knowledge of the causes of problems in the General Election of November 5, 1996, and a statement of the Board's plans to provide more trouble-free elections in the future."  Members of the Board of Elections at that time were: James W. Richardson, Chairman; Martha K. Baumberger; Gregory D. Shorey; Jennie S. Green; Teresa A. Steen; Artie A. Heape; Lawrence Washington, Sr., and Barbara J. Lippard. Agnes M. Garvin was the Executive Director of the Board. 

In 1996, there were approximately 50,000 registered voters in Beaufort County. (In 2020, the numbers for Beaufort County are 95 precincts and 138,180 registered voters).  Interest was high due to the presidential contest. There were a lot of amendments proposed to the 1895 South Carolina Constitution that remains the fundamental document of state government -  and given that most state legislators tend to also be lawyers, those amendments were about as clear as mud.

That year was a three-way presidential race. POTUS #42, Bill Clinton, was running for re-election against Bob Dole, the Republican presidential candidate and Reform Party candidate Ross Perot. President Clinton was re-elected with 379 Electoral College votes and 49.2% of the popular vote. Bob Dole and his running mate Jack Kemp carried 19 states, North Carolina to Mississippi, and the mountain west along with Indiana for a total of 159 electoral college votes and 40.7% of the popular vote. Although Ross Perot received more than 8 million popular votes, he did not earn any electoral college votes. 

A number of "Election Day Problems" were cited: Long lines at precincts; Insufficient number of voting machines at precincts; Unequal distribution of registered voters per precinct; Incorrect voter registration cards; Family members voting in different precincts; Inadequate polling sites;  Inadequate Poll Manager training; Issues with absentee voting; and Disenfranchisement of voters. The biggest issues for the Board of Elections were that the ballot on the day was very long due to the number and complexity of the amendments to the South Carolina Constitution and the large number of write-in votes.

According to the report, a number of the issues arose from inadequate voter preparation. As a result of reading the document, I learned that in 1996 - and still - by South Carolina law 7-13-740, a voter is allotted 5 minutes to vote once s/he is left alone in the private ballot booth. Voters who refused to follow that law in 1996 cried "foul" and "voter disenfranchisement" at the poll managers who were doing their best to enforce the rules. 

It is important to remember, I think, that the number of people residing in Beaufort County had grown substantially during the 1990s which meant that precincts changes - enacted by state legislation and approved by the US Justice Department - had occurred. Many voters had not verified the location of their 1996 polling place.

The Board of Elections acknowledged that the poll managers could have been better trained - and promised that in future a poll manager would have to be certified every three years rather than five years in hopes of guaranteeing a more efficient and up-to-date corps of trained managers.

There were parking and size of polling places issues as well. Then as now, the Board of Elections relies on donated premises for the day as polling places. Many are in public buildings such as libraries, schools, or fire stations but sometimes there are other places utilized, such as sport arenas in 2020. [Which by the way, I think was a fabulous idea where possible].    

Given that I am writing this in the midst of the 2020 pandemic when 100 million American voters cast ballots before election day, the absentee turnout in Beaufort County of 3.7% in 1996 seems minuscule. 

There were even more issues in the conduct of the election that political nerds will enjoy reading. The document is in our Research Room under call # SC 324.97579 REP 1997. You can make an appointment (gracec@bcgov.net or 843-255-6446) to come read it for yourself.

Reminder: All units of the Beaufort County Library, including the Beaufort District Collection, will be closed on Wednesday, November 11th to observe Veterans Day. Regular hours resume Thursday, November 12th. Because the BDC continues providing access by advance appointment only, please contact me on or before Tuesday, November 10th if you'd like to come do research on Thursday, November 12th or Friday, November 13th. 

If you'd like to delve deeper into history of election problems in Beaufort District, the rough-and-tumble times of the Reconstruction Era and the Counterrevolution of 1876 aptly described in Rebellion, Reconstruction and Redemption by Stephen R. Wise and Lawrence S. Rowland (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2015). I encourage you to read Chapters 19 and 22 carefully. 

C. C. Pinckney and the Presidential Election of 1800

C.C. Pinckney (National Archives)

As the 2012 presidential election nears - and the outcome appears too close to call among the pollsters and pundits - it is good to remember that this is not a unique situation.  The controversies surrounding the Elections of 1800, 1876, and 2000 loom large in historic memory.

A Beaufort plantation owner, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1746 - 1825), played a key role in how the 1800 election turned out.  C.C. Pinckney refused to change his electoral college vote from John Adams.  It is claimed that Pinckney  would have become the 3rd Vice-President of the United States instead of Thomas Jefferson if he had gone back on his word to support John Adams.  

Read about the ins-and-outs of C.C. Pinckney's role in the Election of 1800 in these resources:

BDC Research Room "He Gave His Word: Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and the Presidential Election of 1800," by Steve C. Griffith, Jr.  Carologue Magazine (Fall 2012) vol. 28, no. 2: pp. 10 - 16.  (BDC)

REF 975.73 SOU "Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth, 1746 - 1825" in the South Carolina Encyclopedia, University of South Carolina Press, 2006, pp. 727 - 728. (ALL)

975.791 ROG Charleston in the Age of the Pinckneys by George C. Rogers, University of South Carolina Press, 1980.  (BDC, BEA, BLU, HHI)

SC B PINCKNEY Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Founding Father by Marvin R. Zahniser, Published for the Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Va., by the University of North Carolina Press, 1967.  (BDC, HHI)

SC 920 WIL/ 929.9 WIL (Bluffton Branch) A Founding Family: The Pinckneys of South Carolina by Frances Leigh Williams, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1978. (BDC, BLU)

975.799 CHR Biography of an Island: General C.C. Pinckney's Sea Island Plantation by Merrill G. Christophersen, Westburg Associates Publishers, 1976. (BDC, BLU, HHI)

SC 975.5 SOU 1962 "Eleanor Park Lewis to Mrs. C.C. Pinckney," South Carolina Historical Magazine, vol. 63, no. 1: pp. 12 - 17.  (BDC, HHI)

Note:  The Beaufort County Library system will be closed on Monday, Nov. 12th to observe Veteran's Day. 

Federal Records in the BDC and on the Web

Last Sunday, I introduced the concept of government records. As promised, today's topic is Federal Records in the Research Room and the major portals to United States documents on the internet. Please refer to that post for the schedule and topics for the rest of this series.

The main portal to Federal Information and Services is the USA.gov website. There you can find out about the structure of the Federal government, how to find benefits, grants, and loans, or even a job. There's an A-Z Index of U.S. Government Agencies covering a gamut of agencies from Alhurra TV with a mission is to provide objective, accurate, and relevant news and information to the people of the Middle East about the region, the world, and the United States to the Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor charged to safeguard the interests of working women, advocate for equality, and promote quality work environments. In the course of daily business, these U.S. Government Agencies create records, piles and piles of records, which become the responsibility of the National Archives and Record Administration to manage and from which to select appropriate records to preserve for their importance to the workings of Government, for their long-term research worth, or because the records provide information of value to citizens.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) preserves U.S. government records, manages the Presidential Libraries system, and publishes laws, regulations, Presidential, and other public documents.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt established the National Archives in 1934 to become the  steward of United States government records from 1775 forward. Earlier this year, the NARA estimated its holdings to be 10,061,700,000 text, image, video and sound recordings plus 133 terabytes of electronic records.

According to the National Archives, "Records include all books, papers, maps, photographs, machine-readable materials, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by an agency of the United States Government under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business  ... as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the Government." Even so, the National Archives retains approximately 2 - 5% of Federal government records made each year for their long-term research value. The guidelines for retaining Federal records are found in 44 U.S.C. 3301. (Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute has this code posted online at https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/44/chapter-33).

The place to start getting acquainted with what's in the National Archives is the 
Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives. This guide provides a general overview of NARA's holdings of federal records at the record group level, and is intended to assist researchers in identifying which record groups may have material relevant to their research topics. Many records only briefly identified in the Guide are more fully described in the National Archives Catalog and researchers are encouraged to consult these online resources in tandem. 

NARA arranges its holdings according to the archival principle of provenance. This principle provides that records be

• attributed to the agency that created or maintained them and
• arranged thereunder as they were filed when in active use.

The Society of American Archivists thesaurus defines a record group as  "n. ~ A collection of records that share the same provenance and are of a convenient size for administration." In the National Archives, application of the principle of provenance takes the form of numbered record groups, with each record group comprising the records of a major government entity, usually a bureau or an independent agency. For example, National Archives Record Group 29 is Records of the Bureau of the Census. NARA has posted guides to many of its Record Groups and its topical holdings.

Most record groups include records of any predecessors of the organization named in the title of the record group. A few record groups combine the records of several small or short-lived agencies having an administrative or functional relationship with each other. An example of this type of record group is Record Group 76, Records of Boundary and Claims Commissions and Arbitrations.
The number assigned to a record group reflects the order in which it was established by the National Archives.

Within a record group, the records of a government agency are organized into series. Each series is a set of documents arranged according to the creating office's filing system or otherwise kept together by the creating office because they

• relate to a particular subject or function,
• result from the same activity,
• document a specific kind of transaction,
• take a particular physical form, or
• have some other relationship arising out of their creation, receipt, or use.

With the “Know Your Records” lecture series, you can learn more about the National Archives Catalog, how to use U.S. Federal Government records for historical and genealogical research, and dive deeper into a topic that interests you.

The South Carolina State Library is a member of the Federal Depository Library Program, also known as the FDLP.

South Carolina State Library's Sheila Dorsey, Collection Librarian, writes a column for the More newsletter. She has often explained that libraries within the FDLP serve to connect the public with Federal Government information and tends to feature a specific Federal agency every other column or so. The State Library is a selective depository, which means it chooses materials in subject areas which we determine will be of the most interest or help to South Carolinians. The State Library is required to provide access to both the Federal Register, the official daily publication for Presidential documents and executive orders, rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, and the Code of Federal Regulations comprised of 50 titles representing broad areas which are subject to Federal regulation. It is completely revised at least once a year on a quarterly basis. 

From the South Carolina State Library website:

The South Carolina State Library is a congressionally designated depository for U.S. Government documents. Public access to the government documents collection is guaranteed by public law (Title 44 United States Code). The Federal Documents can be searched in our online catalog, SCLENDS.
A selection of digitized materials from the Federal Documents can be accessed through the South Carolina Federal Documents. Further information can be found in the Federal Documents Guide.

The State Library goes one step further and in addition to displaying the availability of physical items, it provides a link to a digital copy of many Federal publications, or to the Federal Government web page where current and past issues of the title may be found. 

Federal Records in the Beaufort District Collection

Some of the federal records held in the Research Room are listed in the SCLENDS catalog. The non-current Flood Maps created by the Federal Emergency Management Administration, charts produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and maps made by United States Geological Survey are all cataloged. We have some Environmental Protection Agency documents relating to Superfund sites in Beaufort County; we have some Federal documents relating to the operation of the Marine Corps and Naval bases in Beaufort County; and we have some Federal documents relating to former Congressmen such as Robert Barnwell Rhett, Robert Smalls and William Elliott:

SC 975.799 ROB  Robert Smalls vs. William Elliot, United States House of Representatives. Washington, D.C.:  House of Representatives, 1888. 50th Congress, 2nd session, H.R. 3536.

SC B SMALLS  Arrest and Imprisonment of Hon. Robert Smalls: January 25, 1878 [pamphlet] by  Mr. Knott. Washington, D.C.: House of Representatives, 1878. 45th Congress, 1st session, no. 100.

We have all our microfilm listed in the SCLENDS catalog including Federal Census records for the Beaufort District area, 1790 - 1880, 1900 - 1930; the statewide Union Veterans and Widows Census for 1890; Naturalization Records and Registers of Aliens, 1908-1941; Record of Admissions to Citizenship, District of South Carolina, 1790-1906;  and the Civil War and Reconstruction era record series Index to and Heads of Family Land Certificates, 1863-1872; Tax Sale Certificates, 1864; Land Sale Certificates, 1869-1870; 1875-1876; and Abstract of Voter Registrations reported to the Military Government, 1868. Some of these series are available through our subscription to Ancestry Library Edition. 

Because of remodeling in Beaufort Branch last year, the BDC received plenty of GoDocs to review. Amanda has created a spreadsheet of what came upstairs to the BDC to be evaluated for permanent retention or discard. The timeline for completion of this project is December 2018.

Presidential Visits to Beaufort District

Please note: Last updated 3 December 2025. - gmc

There have been plenty of distinguished visitors in Beaufort District throughout its long and storied history. A number of politicians and candidates for the nation's highest government office have visited Beaufort District in the past, though most of the visits have occurred before the man became President of these United States (POTUS). Among the presidential hopefuls visiting in the very late 20th century and early 21st century were John McCain, John Edwards, Donald Trump, and Pete Buttigieg. In November 2019, Vice President Mike Pence made a surprise visit to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort to serve Thanksgiving dinner to service members.

  
In honor of the Presidents Day national, state, and Beaufort County holiday:

Q: Who was the first President to visit Beaufort District? 

A. Ulysses S. Grant
B. George Washington
C. Bill Clinton
D. Herbert Hoover
E. Jefferson Davis
F. James Monroe

Let's see: [and here you can follow my thinking and learn a little history at the same time]:

James Monroe was the 5th POTUS, serving from 1817 - 1825. He spent several days in early May of 1819 in the town of Beaufort on his way to Florida. (You'll see this theme repeated in the 19th and 20th century history of this area: Tourists may drop by see a bit of the area's charms on their way to Florida though by the late 19th century, some of those travelers have purchased former plantations for timbering or hunting purposes.) But back in 1819, Monroe was on his way to inspect the land the United States got via the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819.  He's a real contender.
 
By process of elimination, Jefferson Davis is out. He was a President, just not a POTUS. He was the one and only president of the Confederate States of America, serving from 18 February 1861 to his capture by Union forces in Irwinville, GA on 10 May 1865. And though there are always rumors circulating that Davis sent the missing Confederate gold treasure to Beaufort (What's safer than storing such a treasure behind enemy lines?), there are no verifiable documents to substantiate that talk. (And, yes, from time to time treasure hunters show up in the Research Room to ask about old maps that would indicate where the treasure might be. Trust me, if I had access to such a map, I would have had that gold already in my possession and be a retired lady of leisure!)

Also I did not include any of the eight presidents under the Articles of Confederation, 1781-1789 for two reasons: Who remembers them - or that document? Besides none of them appear to have ever visited Beaufort District. 

POTUS #31 Herbert Hoover was a great humanitarian with a number of highly successful business and charitable ventures. However, his reputation has been permanently tarnished by his failure to recognize the extreme danger inflicted on the nation's and world's economy by the New York Stock Exchange Crash of 1929. Hoover never visited Beaufort to my knowledge but his wife did. Lou Henry Hoover arrived on the Presidential yacht "Sequoia" on March 3, 1932 on her way to Florida.  She was met by Mrs. B.E. deTreville and Mrs. W.J. Thomas of the local chapter of the  Daughters of the American Revolution and Mrs. R. Maynard Marshall representing the City of Beaufort. Mrs. Hoover attended a reception hosted on the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, saw a few historic sites, and shook hands with many area residents before departing the next day. 

Beaufort Gazette, 3 March 1932, p. 1

Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton were frequent guests at Hilton Head's Renaissance Weekend founded by Phil and Linda Lader in 1981. Renaissance Weekend was a by-invitation-only conference of civic, business and political leaders and their families to share ideas and discuss big issues off-the-record in a relaxing environment. But it wasn't until 1993 that Clinton attended as the sitting POTUS #42. Renaissance Weekend has now moved from Hilton Head Island though it is still being held each year at a different location. (Monroe is still in the lead - and his visit would have obviously preceded any made by Ulysses S. Grant who was born in 1822, three years after Monroe's brief visit.)

Beaufort District residents entertained President George Washington in May of 1791. Washington decided to visit each state to unite the country under its recently ratified Constitution. For many people, he personified the term "American." Washington left Philadelphia (then the capital city of the new nation) on March 21, 1791 and headed south through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. It was a long, bumpy, and dusty trip by horse-drawn coach. He reached Beaufort District on May 11 of his Southern Tour. From his journal:

Wednesday 11th. After an early breakfast at Mr. Smiths we road 20 Miles to a place called Pokitellico, [Pocotaligo, now in Jasper County] where a dinner was provided by the Parishioners of Prince William for my reception; and an Address from them was presented and answered. After dinner we proceeded 16 Miles farther to Judge Haywards [Thomas Heyward, Signer of the Declaration of Independence and veteran of the Battle of Port Royal Island, 1779 that I wrote about earlier this month] w[h]ere we lodged, &, as also at Mr. Smiths were kindly and hospitably entertained. The next day we traveled another 22 miles to Purisburgh (National Archives, Founders Online database,)

A: Thus George Washington was the first President of the United States under the Constitution and the first POTUS to visit Beaufort District.

Reminder: The Beaufort County Library system - and the Beaufort District Collection Research Room - will be closed on Monday, February 16, 2026 to observe Presidents Day. 

Celebrating Women of Character, Courage, and Commitment

For much of recorded history, recognition of distaff contributions to human endeavor were ignored.  In 1978 the Education Task Force of Sonoma County California initiated a Women's history week in the local schools.  The week was such a success that within two years President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the Week of March 8th 1980 as National Women's History Week. In 1987, Congress declared March as National Women's History Month in perpetuity. A special Presidential Proclamation is issued every year on March 1st which honors the extraordinary achievements of American women.

Although none of the official 2014 Honorees have direct connections to Beaufort District history, we have plenty "Women of Character, Courage and Commitment" to celebrate this month through this blog and our Facebook page. Stay tuned. 

President Grant Visits Beaufort

Latest update: 10 December 2025

New Year's Day 1880 brought an unexpected treat to local residents. Former President and Union General Ulysses S. Grant was coming to town - and on the anniversary of Emancipation Day no less! 

When he left the presidency, Grant embarked on a world wide tour with his wife Julia and son Jesse. They spent about 2 1/2 years visiting most of Europe, some of the Mediterranean countries, Scandinavia, East Asia, China and Japan. Along the way, he met a host of political leaders and royalty including Queen Victoria, Emperor Meiji, King Leopold II and Pope Leo XIII.  

Map by John Russell Young / artist: Kemp - Book: Young, 1879. Around the world with General Grant,  Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64169613

When Grant returned to the United States, he rested for only a short time before he embarked on a cross-country tour visiting Chicago, Kentucky, Ohio, and Philadelphia before heading southward. (1) He left Augusta, GA at 11 AM on New Year's Day 1880 via the Magnolia Route heading towards Savannah (2) with an eye towards catching a steamer in St. Augustine Florida to book passage for Cuba. 

Grant in 1879 (Library of Congress)

According to Wise and Rowland, Grant was the most famous passenger who ever rode the Port Royal Railroad. Accompanying him on the trip were his wife, their son and his aide, Col. Fred Grant, Gen. and Mrs. Philip Sheridan. (3)

Col. Grant sent a telegram from Augusta to Congressman Robert Smalls that the group would be arriving in Beaufort on the "Down Train" that very afternoon. Beaufortonians sprang into action. A committee was formed. (4) When the train arrived at 3:30 PM the town was festooned and ready to fete the presidential party. (5)

An arch with "Welcome" spelled out in evergreen boughs was near the Depot - as approximately 3000 enthusiastic residents cheered. Local militia and naval personnel lined Bay Street as the Presidential party toured the town in the best carriages that could be hastily assembled for their use.  Wise and Rowland wrote that the welcome reflected "Reconstruction Beaufort in that blacks and whites, Union and Confederate veterans, northern merchants and southern professionals came together for the good of the community." (6) 

At the Sea Island Hotel all the local notables were present: Congressman Smalls, William Elliott, James M. Verdier, J. W. Collins, P.E. Ezekiel, George Holmes, George Waterhouse, Moritz Pollitzer, George Gage, Joe Richardson, Dr. Henry A. J. Stuart, Commodore Thomas Pattison, Intendant (or Mayor) Alfred Williams and James Crofut, a Bay Street merchant, real estate investor, and auctioneer. (7)

                                    The Heyward House in 1864; It became the Sea Island Hotel                                                                    https://lcdl.library.cofc.edu/lcdl/catalog/lcdl:126658; (BDC Archives)

Crofut's wife, Ellen Chapman Crofut (1837 -1905) begins her 1880 diary with this observation about Grant's visit to Beaufort: 

                                          Ellen Chapman Crofut Diary, 1880 (BDC Archives)

... We have had quite an exciting time for a little ^place like Beaufort today. This morning all the different companies turned out and this afternoon Gen. Grant with wife and son and friends came and stayed an hour rode around town and then came to the hotel and spoke to us all that is shook hands with us. Then made a speech to the Mayor which they say is one of the longest he has ever made They were quite pleased with Beaufort and the people. We went to the depot to see him off Geo. and I.         

Had several callers and then after supper went down and spent the evening with the Crofuts’ Every thing was about Grant. Mr. Wilson told us a good deal about him and if we had only known that he was coming sooner we should had the hotel and other places fixed all up – as it was he was very much pleased. I suppose he liked the quickness after such receptions he has been having. This is rather a bad beginning for the first page but it is hotel ink. (8)

That speech which Mayor Williams termed Grant's longest consisted of four or five sentences (sources vary on the actual sentence count.): 

                                                 Weekly Louisianian, 10 January 1880, p. 1

Grant stayed about an hour in Beaufort before heading off to Savannah. 

Mrs. Crofut wrote that Grant left town too soon. As she and her son, George, rode back from Garden's Corner in a horse drawn carriage on January 2nd: 

We met folks coming in town to see Massa Grant if he could have stayed a day he would have had nearly half of the people in the county here to see him. The larger cities feel rather hard against him for not stopping in there instead of coming to Beaufort. (9)

News of the former President's surprise visit to Beaufort was published in newspapers throughout the country. Far and wide, from Savannah to Washington, Chicago to Montana, the visit was noted in the press. Charleston was indeed envious. The Anderson (SC) Intelligencer gave the Grant's brief sojourn to Beaufort its top billing in the "Events of the Year. A Bird's Eye View of South Carolina in 1880" column in early January 1881. (10) For once, Beaufort trumped Charleston in the national news.

Sources:

1) Wikipedia contributors, "World tour of Ulysses S. Grant," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World_tour_of_Ulysses_S._Grant&oldid=985013252 (accessed December 10, 2020). 

2) The Weekly Louisianian. [volume] (New Orleans, La.), 10 Jan. 1880. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83016632/1880-01-10/ed-1/seq-1/> 

3) Stephen Wise and Lawrence S. Rowland, Rebellion, Reconstruction, and Redemption: The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina, 1861 - 1893, vol. 2: 490- 491. 

4) Stephen Wise and Lawrence S. Rowland, Rebellion, Reconstruction, and Redemption: The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina, 1861 - 1893, vol. 2: 490- 491. 

5) Chicago Daily Tribune. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.), 02 Jan. 1880. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84031492/1880-01-02/ed-1/seq-5/>

6) Stephen Wise and Lawrence S. Rowland, Rebellion, Reconstruction, and Redemption: The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina, 1861 - 1893, vol. 2: 490- 491. 

7) Stephen Wise and Lawrence S. Rowland, Rebellion, Reconstruction, and Redemption: The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina, 1861 - 1893, vol. 2: 490- 491. 

8) Ellen Chapman Crofut Diary, January 1, 1880. (BDC Archives)

9) Ellen Chapman Crofut Diary, January 2, 1880. (BDC Archives)

10) The Anderson Intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.), 13 Jan. 1881. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026965/1881-01-13/ed-1/seq-1/>

Sources of Images: 

Around the world with General Grant, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64169613

[Ulysses S. Grant] Chicago : [publisher not transcribed], c1879 Library of Congress. https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/ppmsca/46700/46704_150px.jpg  

"Heyward House now the headqtrs of Gen. Saxton Beaufort, SC Jany 1864." by Samuel A. Cooley from the L.A. Hall Collection, (BDC Archives)

 Ellen Chapman Crofut Diary, January 1, 1880. (BDC Archives)

The Weekly Louisianian. [volume] (New Orleans, La.), 10 Jan. 1880. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83016632/1880-01-10/ed-1/seq-1/>