Seven Generations of the Drayton Family
From the Colonial Period to Modern Day
Fifth Generation: 1852-1915
When Charles III died in 1852, he left Drayton Hall to his oldest son, Charles Henry Drayton (1847-1915), who was just five years old. Until Charles Henry could
assume full ownership of the property, his uncle John (Charles III's youngest brother) acted as steward.
John's other brothers — James and Thomas — left Charleston and moved to Texas by 1860. When news of secession reached Texas, Thomas wrote John in Charleston explaining that he and James were expecting to join up and fight for the cause, though he hoped to get in another harvest before joining the army.
He went on to write,
"You say that you are expected to be under orders to march in a week. Well, it's what we all expect to do. I don't know at what time I may be called on to do my part
in the struggle for our liberties. If you go, go with a bold heart and do what you can. Fight like the devil and if you are to be shot, let it be in front and not in
the back. It's no disgrace to die on the battlefield and if it so pleases God that you are to be in the number of those whose blood is to be asked for their country,
you shed it in a Glorious Cause, but kill every Devil of a Yankee you can. If things get to the worst in Carolina I will leave the property here in safe hands and
come on myself. I would prefer to die on her soil and in her cause than any other. We may never meet in this world again, but if it's God's will, I trust we will meet in better."
Both Thomas and James eventually joined the Confederate Army. Thomas enlisted in Terry's Mounted Company, a Texas cavalry unit that served as a home guard. James returned to South Carolina in order to fight with Company B of the 3rd Artillery Battalion, known as the Palmetto Battalion.
John Drayton, who was trained as a doctor, held many posts during the war, and at one point he was listed as an acting assistant surgeon on the military staff in Charleston. By 1863, John Drayton was listed as the doctor in attendance on the enslaved people who were detailed to construct Charleston's defenses. Several documents survive from this period showing John's frustration with the Confederate government and their treatment of those conscripted slaves. Eventually he resigned that post, and, as things became more desperate for the South, John was employed as a chemist by the Bureau of Nitre and Mining, supervising enslaved people tasked with manufacturing gun powder. The Confederate government paid Dr. Drayton for his work, and he was stationed at many locations around Charleston throughout the war, including James Island, Bee's Ferry, and Charleston proper.
In 1865 after the end of the Civil War, John moved to Texas where his two other brothers lived. Before he left, however, he set up the first contracts with several companies to mine phosphate at Drayton Hall. His nephew, Charles Henry, took over these contracts when he came of age. In 1872, Charles Henry married Eliza Meritt Gantt; they had four children: Mary Middleton, Eliza Gantt, Charlotta, and Charles.
In 1881, Charles Henry formed Charles H. Drayton & Co. to continue phosphate mining operations, and the company operated into the early 1900s. During that time, Charles Henry built a narrow gauge railroad, fifteen houses, and two stores at Drayton Hall to support the mining operation; one of those houses is the caretaker's cottage that serves as our Museum Shop today. (In 1978, the National Trust moved the house to its present location; visitors today know it as the Drayton Hall Museum Shop). Charles Henry also converted the existing brick privy into an office and installed a fireplace. While Charles H. Drayton & Co. was in business, strip mining took place as close as 1,000 feet from the main house. Profits generated by the phosphate mining operations allowed the Draytons to recover from the war.
