Edmund Ruffin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edmund Ruffin, III
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A standard photograph of Edmund Ruffin, displayed at Fort Sumter National Monument in Charleston, South Carolina
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| Born | January 5, 1794 |
| Died | June 18, 1865 (aged 71) Redmoor, Amelia County, Virginia, U.S.
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| Resting place | Edmund Ruffin Plantation |
| Education | College of William and Mary |
| Occupation | Planter, agronomist, author, soldier |
| Known for | Revolutionizing Southern agriculture; his claim to have fired the first shot of the Civil War |
| Spouse(s) | Susan Hutchings Travis |
| Children | 11 |
| Relatives |
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Edmund Ruffin, III (January 5, 1794 – June 18, 1865) was a wealthy Virginia planter and slaveholder who served in the Virginia Senate from 1823 to 1827. 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 he took his own life rather than submit to "Yankee rule."
Ruffin is also known his pioneering work in methods to preserve and improve soil productivity. He recommended crop rotation and additions to restore soils exhausted from tobacco monoculture. Early in his career, he studied bogs and swamps to learn how to correct soil acidity. He published essays and, in 1832, a book on his findings for improving soils. He has since become known as "the father of soil science" in the United States.
Images for kids
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Gravemarker, Hanover County, Virginia
