US Senator from South Carolina. As a teenager during the Civil War he served with the Confederate Army in Charles' Battery, Kemper's Artillery, Johnson's Army, rising to the rank of Sergeant. At war's end he chose to desert rather than surrender with his company to the Union Army, and a similar stubborn spirit marked his ensuing public life, as he became known for fighting, feuding, and harassing the Carpetbagger element. In 1867 he was forced to leave South Carolina's Furman University for being unable to pay his tuition; instead he taught school for two years, studied law on his own, and was admitted to the bar in 1870. He practiced law in Sumter from 1875 to 1892, during which time he was a member of the State House of Representatives (1878 to 1882), the State Senate (1882 to 1886), and Attorney General of South Carolina (1886 to 1890). Earle declined the Democratic Party's nomination for Governor in 1888 and ran unsuccessfully for the office in 1890. Two years later he returned to his hometown of Greenville and was elected a circuit court judge (1894). In 1896 he was elected to the United States Senate but served for only two months, from March 4, 1897 until his sudden death at 50.
US Senator from South Carolina. As a teenager during the Civil War he served with the Confederate Army in Charles' Battery, Kemper's Artillery, Johnson's Army, rising to the rank of Sergeant. At war's end he chose to desert rather than surrender with his company to the Union Army, and a similar stubborn spirit marked his ensuing public life, as he became known for fighting, feuding, and harassing the Carpetbagger element. In 1867 he was forced to leave South Carolina's Furman University for being unable to pay his tuition; instead he taught school for two years, studied law on his own, and was admitted to the bar in 1870. He practiced law in Sumter from 1875 to 1892, during which time he was a member of the State House of Representatives (1878 to 1882), the State Senate (1882 to 1886), and Attorney General of South Carolina (1886 to 1890). Earle declined the Democratic Party's nomination for Governor in 1888 and ran unsuccessfully for the office in 1890. Two years later he returned to his hometown of Greenville and was elected a circuit court judge (1894). In 1896 he was elected to the United States Senate but served for only two months, from March 4, 1897 until his sudden death at 50.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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