Williams Middleton was the son of the second Henry Middleton. When his father was appointed Ambassador to Russia in the 1820s, Williams Middleton served as secretary for the American legation. On his return home, he carried out agricultural and scientific experiments in rice culture and introduced azaleas (Azalea indica) into the garden. He was also active in the politics of his day. He supported the idea of "states rights" and signed the Ordinance of Secession separating South Carolina from the Union. Later he supplied the Confederate cause with laborers and materials for the defense of Charleston and Fort Sumter but his efforts resulted in the destruction of his property.

From Middleton House Museum website:

"In 1865 a detachment of the 56th New York regiment occupied Middleton Place. On February 22nd, the main house and flanker buildings were ransacked and burned, the ground strewn with books, paintings and other family treasures. At the close of the war, with financial help from his sister, Eliza Middleton Fisher of Philadelphia, and with a small income from phosphate mining, Williams managed to hold on to the family plantation. The south flanker was the least damaged and Williams eventually was able to make it the family home."

Williams Middleton was the son of the second Henry Middleton. When his father was appointed Ambassador to Russia in the 1820s, Williams Middleton served as secretary for the American legation. On his return home, he carried out agricultural and scientific experiments in rice culture and introduced azaleas (Azalea indica) into the garden. He was also active in the politics of his day. He supported the idea of "states rights" and signed the Ordinance of Secession separating South Carolina from the Union. Later he supplied the Confederate cause with laborers and materials for the defense of Charleston and Fort Sumter but his efforts resulted in the destruction of his property.

From Middleton House Museum website:

"In 1865 a detachment of the 56th New York regiment occupied Middleton Place. On February 22nd, the main house and flanker buildings were ransacked and burned, the ground strewn with books, paintings and other family treasures. At the close of the war, with financial help from his sister, Eliza Middleton Fisher of Philadelphia, and with a small income from phosphate mining, Williams managed to hold on to the family plantation. The south flanker was the least damaged and Williams eventually was able to make it the family home."