Swanson Lunsford, a Captain in the Revolutionary War who served in Lee's Legion under Col. "Lighthorse Harry" Lee, was buried in 1799 on land near his home that was acquisitioned by the state of South Carolina as part of the South Carolina State House grounds. Whether or not Lunsford originally owned this land has been a subject for debate through generations.
The inscription on the original monument reads:
"Capt. Swanson Lunsford
a native of Virginia
And for many years a
resident of Columbia
died Aug. 7, 1799
Aged four and forty years
He was a member of Lee's Legion
in the eventful period of '76.
This humble tribute to his memory
has been erected by his only child
Mrs. M. L. & her husband,
Dr. Jno. Douglass of Chester, S.C."
The original monument placed by Swanson Lunsford's daughter Mary and her husband Dr. John Douglass is the small rectangle at the base. Dr. Douglass obtained permission to erect this monument from the South Carolina Legislature in about 1836. The monument surrounding it was placed in April 1953 by Swanson Lunsford's great-great-granddaughter Mary Craig Lorick Baker. The original text said that Captain Lunsford was aged "four and forty years." The newer text says simply "about forty years."
A seal of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution is at the base of the original monument.
Captain Lunsford was a merchant and community leader in Columbia. On a business trip to Charleston, he contracted yellow fever. He is said to be the only person in Columbia to have died from Charleston's yellow fever epidemic.
The inscription on the original monument reads:
"Capt. Swanson Lunsford
a native of Virginia
And for many years a
resident of Columbia
died Aug. 7, 1799
Aged four and forty years
He was a member of Lee's Legion
in the eventful period of '76.
This humble tribute to his memory
has been erected by his only child
Mrs. M. L. & her husband,
Dr. Jno. Douglass of Chester, S.C."
The original monument placed by Swanson Lunsford's daughter Mary and her husband Dr. John Douglass is the small rectangle at the base. Dr. Douglass obtained permission to erect this monument from the South Carolina Legislature in about 1836. The monument surrounding it was placed in April 1953 by Swanson Lunsford's great-great-granddaughter Mary Craig Lorick Baker. The original text said that Captain Lunsford was aged "four and forty years." The newer text says simply "about forty years."
A seal of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution is at the base of the original monument.
Captain Lunsford was a merchant and community leader in Columbia. On a business trip to Charleston, he contracted yellow fever. He is said to be the only person in Columbia to have died from Charleston's yellow fever epidemic.
Swanson Lunsford, a Captain in the Revolutionary War who served in Lee's Legion under Col. "Lighthorse Harry" Lee, was buried in 1799 on land near his home that was acquisitioned by the state of South Carolina as part of the South Carolina State House grounds. Whether or not Lunsford originally owned this land has been a subject for debate through generations.
The inscription on the original monument reads:
"Capt. Swanson Lunsford
a native of Virginia
And for many years a
resident of Columbia
died Aug. 7, 1799
Aged four and forty years
He was a member of Lee's Legion
in the eventful period of '76.
This humble tribute to his memory
has been erected by his only child
Mrs. M. L. & her husband,
Dr. Jno. Douglass of Chester, S.C."
The original monument placed by Swanson Lunsford's daughter Mary and her husband Dr. John Douglass is the small rectangle at the base. Dr. Douglass obtained permission to erect this monument from the South Carolina Legislature in about 1836. The monument surrounding it was placed in April 1953 by Swanson Lunsford's great-great-granddaughter Mary Craig Lorick Baker. The original text said that Captain Lunsford was aged "four and forty years." The newer text says simply "about forty years."
A seal of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution is at the base of the original monument.
Captain Lunsford was a merchant and community leader in Columbia. On a business trip to Charleston, he contracted yellow fever. He is said to be the only person in Columbia to have died from Charleston's yellow fever epidemic.
The inscription on the original monument reads:
"Capt. Swanson Lunsford
a native of Virginia
And for many years a
resident of Columbia
died Aug. 7, 1799
Aged four and forty years
He was a member of Lee's Legion
in the eventful period of '76.
This humble tribute to his memory
has been erected by his only child
Mrs. M. L. & her husband,
Dr. Jno. Douglass of Chester, S.C."
The original monument placed by Swanson Lunsford's daughter Mary and her husband Dr. John Douglass is the small rectangle at the base. Dr. Douglass obtained permission to erect this monument from the South Carolina Legislature in about 1836. The monument surrounding it was placed in April 1953 by Swanson Lunsford's great-great-granddaughter Mary Craig Lorick Baker. The original text said that Captain Lunsford was aged "four and forty years." The newer text says simply "about forty years."
A seal of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution is at the base of the original monument.
Captain Lunsford was a merchant and community leader in Columbia. On a business trip to Charleston, he contracted yellow fever. He is said to be the only person in Columbia to have died from Charleston's yellow fever epidemic.
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