Robert Barnwell Rhett

Robert Barnwell Rhett (born Robert Barnwell Smith; December 21, 1800 – September 14, 1876) was an American politician who served as a deputy from South Carolina to the Provisional Confederate States Congress from 1861 to 1862, a member of the US House of Representatives from South Carolina from 1837 to 1849, and US Senator from South Carolina from 1850 to 1852. As a staunch supporter of slavery and an early advocate of secession, he was a “Fire-Eater”, nicknamed the “father of secession”.
Rhett published his views through his newspaper, the Charleston Mercury.
His son Alfred M. Rhett commanded a battery at Fort Moultrie at the time of the bombardment of Fort Sumter.