Biographical Sidebar:
Robert B. Elliott

One of the South's most brilliant political organizers during Reconstruction, Robert B. Elliott (1842-1884) appears to have been born in Liverpool, England, of West Indian parents and was educated in England, graduating from Eton College in 1859. He came to Boston on an English naval vessel shortly after the Civil War.

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After moving to South Carolina in 1867, Elliott established a law practice and helped to organize the Republican party. He "knew the political condition of every nook and corner throughout the state," said one political ally.

Elliott served in the constitutional convention of 1868 and the state legislature, and was twice elected to Congress.

He resigned in 1874 to fight political corruption in South Carolina, where he became Speaker of the House.