SUMTER, S.C. — The Sumter community is honoring their namesake on General Thomas Sumter’s 289th birthday.
“It's vital that as South Carolinians, as Americans, that we remember…” Thomas Blackmon with the Sons of the American Revolution’s PeeDee Chapter says about why honoring historical figures like General Sumter is important.
“He was a fallen patriot, but he served his country during the American Revolution in a way that showed his bravery, it showed his commitment,” the Sumter County Museum’s Michael Bowman says.
Bowman works to carry on Sumter’s legacy as the community is honoring his 289th birthday.
“This being his homeplace gave us an opportunity to kind of reflect on him and his contributions,” Bowman explains. “Before, during and after the American Revolution had such a colorful impact on everything going on in both colonial and early America that it makes sense to want to honor him and remember his legacy.”
Bowman says General Sumter was raised in Virginia, and traveled to Great Britain. This was before Bowman says Sumter was inspired by the Patriot’s fight for liberty. Sumter fought as a general in the Revolutionary War, where he earned a moniker that has been passed on to the Gamecock City.
“When Sumter rode up on his horse, they said his appearance reminded them, of course, of that fighting gamecock,” Bowman details.
Sumter then served in the United States Congress and as a US Senator.
He’s buried at Thomas Sumter Memorial Park where people like Diana Roof can visit and reflect.
“When people come together to celebrate someone from the past, because they know that we won't have a future if it weren’t for them, it just makes me feel really great,” Roof shares.
“We have to understand that all the freedoms we enjoy today were because of the sacrifices of yesterday. And while we're standing amongst history, you have to be able to recognize that and preserve it,” Blackmon adds. “These folks have sacrificed their time, their efforts, fortunes, their prospects so that they could press our rights and the principles of liberty on the battlefield in mutual combat.”
It’s a message that General Sumter’s ninth generation grandson, John Loney, echoes.
“I think it's very important that we remember those that forged the way for us,” Loney shares. “Just like when they passed it on to me, you have to pass it on to someone else. So that they’ll know, lest we forget it.”
The Sumter County America 250th Committee is working to host events to honor historical figures like Sumter as the United States works toward its 250th anniversary in July 2026.