The Republic of South Carolina

Before the US was a nation, South Carolina was a republic — with its own president

By Mike Hebb Special to The Post and Courier

Published Sun Mar 29, 2026 5:00 AM EDT

CHARLESTON — In the months prior to open war in the American Revolution, South Carolina was already constructing a new political order. Before independence was formally declared by the colonies, Patriot leaders created institutions capable of replacing royal authority.

Between January 1775 and March 1776, South Carolina quietly transformed from a British colony into a functioning republic. The first decisive step came with the creation of the South Carolina Provincial Congress, which convened on Jan. 11, 1775, in Charleston's Old Exchange Building . The body formed after the First Continental Congress of 1774 but months before the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in May 1775.

At the time, the crisis had not yet escalated into open warfare. Even the British Parliament had not formally declared Massachusetts to be in rebellion. Yet South Carolina’s Patriot leadership prepared for the possibility. The Provincial Congress quickly became the colony’s parallel government. Delegates elected Col. Charles Pinckney as its first president. Prominent members included leading Patriots such as Henry Laurens, its second president; Christopher Gadsden; and William Henry Drayton.

Although the royal government technically still existed, the Congress increasingly handled political coordination, defense planning and communication with other colonies.

Events in the spring of 1775 demonstrated how far Patriot leaders were willing to go to secure control of the South Carolina colony. On April 19, 1775, Charleston Patriots intercepted the Royal Mail at the Royal Post Office on East Bay Street. The seizure provided intelligence about British intentions and colonial communications. Using the information gained, Patriots acted quickly. On April 21, they secured weapons and ammunition from around Charleston — most notably from the State House and an arsenal located near Broad and Meeting streets. These operations were carried out independently of the fighting that occurred around the same time in Massachusetts at the Battles of Lexington and Concord — also remembered as the “Shot Heard 'Round the World.” News of those clashes did not reach Charleston until May 8 , meaning South Carolina’s actions were the result of local initiative rather than reaction to events in New England.

South Carolina sets its own course

Royal authority in the colony was rapidly deteriorating. South Carolina had been without a royal governor since 1773. The new royal governor, Lord William Campbell, arrived in Charleston in June 1775 hoping to restore order. He had married a South Carolina girl, Lady Sarah Izard Campbell, in 1763. Instead, he found that the Provincial Congress and local committees of safety already held much of the real power. Patriot militias were organizing, and the Congress was increasingly directing the colony’s affairs. Tensions continued to rise throughout the summer. By September 1775, Campbell feared for his safety amid the growing strength of armed Patriot groups. He fled his residence in Charleston and sought refuge aboard a British warship in the harbor.

Although he remained nominally governor 

for a time, his departure marked the effective collapse of royal authority within the colony. When Campbell finally left South Carolina altogether in January 1776, the political vacuum was complete. During this period, the Provincial Congress evolved from a coordinating body into a functioning government. It supervised militia forces, managed finances and administered civil authority throughout much of the colony.

Remarkably, this shadow government operated almost openly. British officials underestimated both the depth of colonial resistance and the speed with which local Patriot leaders could organize an alternative system of governance. By early 1776, South Carolina was effectively governing itself. The Provincial Congress moved to formalize this reality by drafting a new constitution.

In March 1776, the colony established what is often called the Republic of South Carolina, adopting a constitutional government independent of royal authority. John Rutledge was selected as the republic’s first president. South Carolina’s transformation was swift but carefully organized. Within little more than a year, Patriot leaders had moved from political protest to building a functioning state. By the time independence spread across the colonies in 1776, South Carolina already possessed the institutions and leadership needed to govern itself.