“C” is for Chamberlain, Daniel Henry (1835-1907)

“C” is for Chamberlain, Daniel Henry (1835-1907). Governor. Born in Massachusetts, Chamberlain came to South Carolina in 1866 to attend the affairs of a deceased Yale classmate. He entered politics as a delegate from Berkeley County to the 1868 constitutional convention. From 1868 to 1872 he served as attorney general. In 1874 he became the Republican candidate for governor and won the general election that fall. Chamberlain opposed Republicans he regarded as corrupt and too radical and cultivated the support of moderate Democrats. However, after he condemned the Hamburg Massacre and called for more federal troops that support vanished. Both Democrats and Republicans claimed victory in the violent 1876 election with both Chamberlain and his Democratic opponent, Wade Hampton declaring that they were governor. When Washington withdrew federal troops in April 1877, Daniel Henry Chamberlain left South Carolina.