Thomas Fenwick Drayton was born on August 24, 1809, in Charleston, South Carolina, to William Drayton and Maria Heyward. His father was a congressman and lawyer who supported the Union Party during the nullification crisis. Drayton graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1828 and received a commission as a 2^nd lieutenant in the 5^th United States Infantry. He married Catherine Pope in 1832, and they had at least five children: John, born around 1839; Anna, born around 1842; William, born around 1844; Mary, born around 1846; and Emma, born around 1850.

 

In 1833, in the aftermath of the nullification crisis, his parents and siblings moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drayton, however, chose to remain in the South. He resigned from the army and spent several years as a civil engineer. He eventually secured a seat in the state legislature, where he championed slavery and states rights. He eventually owned more than one hundred enslaved laborers.

Although his brother Percival served in the Union naval during the Civil War, Drayton sided with the Confederacy. He was appointed brigadier general in September 1861 and placed in command of Port Royal, South Carolina. After losing the Battle of Port Royal in November 1861, the Confederate army assigned him to command an infantry brigade as part of the Army of Northern Virginia. He took part in the Second Battle of Bull Run and the Maryland Campaign. Displeased with Drayton’s performance, the army eventually reassigned his regiments and transferred him to the Western Theatre, where he performed administrative duties.

 

After the war, Drayton moved to Dooly County, Georgia, and then Charlotte, North Carolina. Union forces had confiscated his plantation during the war, and he was unable to reclaim it. Short on money, he eventually became an insurance agent. He died in Florence, South Carolina, on February 18, 1891.

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