Edmund Ruffin (January 5, 1794 – June 18, 1865) was a wealthy Virginia planter and slaveholder. In the last three decades before the American Civil War, his pro-slavery writings received more attention than his agricultural work. Ruffin staunchly advocated states' rights and slavery, arguing for secession years before the Civil War, and became a political activist with the so-called Fire-Eaters. Ruffin is given credit for "firing the first shot of the war" at the Battle of Fort Sumter in April 1861 and fought as a Confederate soldier despite his advanced age. When the war ended in Southern defeat in 1865, he committed suicide rather than submit to "Yankee rule."
Born |
5 January 1794 Prince George County, Virginia
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Died |
17 June 1865 (aged 71) Redmoor, Amelia County, Virginia, U.S.
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Zodiac | Capricorn |
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