The Waxhaw Giant
James Blair was born in the Waxhaw Settlement to a family of Irish-Scots immigrants. Blair became pretty famous in the new country of America for his size and strength. So much so that a champion wrestler come to the Waxhaws in search of Blair. The "Waxhaw Giant" was found in the fields plowing. The man, eager for a match, proposed a set-to on the spot. Blair unhitched his mule and took on the stranger. The man was soon tossed over the fence in such bad condition that he had to stay in the Blair home several days in order to recover enough to travel.
He became Sheriff of the Lancaster District while in his early 20's and in 1818 was elected General of the State Militia's 8th Brigade. From roughly 1820 he operated a successful plantation along the Lynches River in the Kershaw District. Blair won his first term in the US House as a Republican only to resign after 14 months, citing "personal concerns", and for a time he seemed content with life as a gentleman planter. But the rise of the Nullifier Party - whose members claimed that individual states had the right to overrule federal laws - was abhorrent to his Unionist beliefs. He won reelection to Congress as a dedicated Jacksonian.
Blair was one of Washington's more colorful figures of his era, both loved and feared by his colleagues. At 6'6" and 350 pounds, he was renowned for his physical strength and tales of his incendiary temper, drinking and fighting were legion. Future South Carolina Governor and US Senator James Henry Hammond was one of several men he challenged to duels, though in this case a peaceful settlement was reached.
James Blair was born in the Waxhaw Settlement to a family of Irish-Scots immigrants. Blair became pretty famous in the new country of America for his size and strength. So much so that a champion wrestler come to the Waxhaws in search of Blair. The "Waxhaw Giant" was found in the fields plowing. The man, eager for a match, proposed a set-to on the spot. Blair unhitched his mule and took on the stranger. The man was soon tossed over the fence in such bad condition that he had to stay in the Blair home several days in order to recover enough to travel.
He became Sheriff of the Lancaster District while in his early 20's and in 1818 was elected General of the State Militia's 8th Brigade. From roughly 1820 he operated a successful plantation along the Lynches River in the Kershaw District. Blair won his first term in the US House as a Republican only to resign after 14 months, citing "personal concerns", and for a time he seemed content with life as a gentleman planter. But the rise of the Nullifier Party - whose members claimed that individual states had the right to overrule federal laws - was abhorrent to his Unionist beliefs. He won reelection to Congress as a dedicated Jacksonian.
Blair was one of Washington's more colorful figures of his era, both loved and feared by his colleagues. At 6'6" and 350 pounds, he was renowned for his physical strength and tales of his incendiary temper, drinking and fighting were legion. Future South Carolina Governor and US Senator James Henry Hammond was one of several men he challenged to duels, though in this case a peaceful settlement was reached.
The Waxhaw Giant
James Blair was born in the Waxhaw Settlement to a family of Irish-Scots immigrants. Blair became pretty famous in the new country of America for his size and strength. So much so that a champion wrestler come to the Waxhaws in search of Blair. The "Waxhaw Giant" was found in the fields plowing. The man, eager for a match, proposed a set-to on the spot. Blair unhitched his mule and took on the stranger. The man was soon tossed over the fence in such bad condition that he had to stay in the Blair home several days in order to recover enough to travel.
He became Sheriff of the Lancaster District while in his early 20's and in 1818 was elected General of the State Militia's 8th Brigade. From roughly 1820 he operated a successful plantation along the Lynches River in the Kershaw District. Blair won his first term in the US House as a Republican only to resign after 14 months, citing "personal concerns", and for a time he seemed content with life as a gentleman planter. But the rise of the Nullifier Party - whose members claimed that individual states had the right to overrule federal laws - was abhorrent to his Unionist beliefs. He won reelection to Congress as a dedicated Jacksonian.
Blair was one of Washington's more colorful figures of his era, both loved and feared by his colleagues. At 6'6" and 350 pounds, he was renowned for his physical strength and tales of his incendiary temper, drinking and fighting were legion. Future South Carolina Governor and US Senator James Henry Hammond was one of several men he challenged to duels, though in this case a peaceful settlement was reached.
James Blair was born in the Waxhaw Settlement to a family of Irish-Scots immigrants. Blair became pretty famous in the new country of America for his size and strength. So much so that a champion wrestler come to the Waxhaws in search of Blair. The "Waxhaw Giant" was found in the fields plowing. The man, eager for a match, proposed a set-to on the spot. Blair unhitched his mule and took on the stranger. The man was soon tossed over the fence in such bad condition that he had to stay in the Blair home several days in order to recover enough to travel.
He became Sheriff of the Lancaster District while in his early 20's and in 1818 was elected General of the State Militia's 8th Brigade. From roughly 1820 he operated a successful plantation along the Lynches River in the Kershaw District. Blair won his first term in the US House as a Republican only to resign after 14 months, citing "personal concerns", and for a time he seemed content with life as a gentleman planter. But the rise of the Nullifier Party - whose members claimed that individual states had the right to overrule federal laws - was abhorrent to his Unionist beliefs. He won reelection to Congress as a dedicated Jacksonian.
Blair was one of Washington's more colorful figures of his era, both loved and feared by his colleagues. At 6'6" and 350 pounds, he was renowned for his physical strength and tales of his incendiary temper, drinking and fighting were legion. Future South Carolina Governor and US Senator James Henry Hammond was one of several men he challenged to duels, though in this case a peaceful settlement was reached.
Inscription
[In Memoriam stone] General, 5th Brigade, S.C. Militia; Representative from South Carolina in U.S. Congress
Gravesite Details
s/o *William Blair* and *Sarah Douglass*; interred in Congressional Cemetery
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