Text of the grave capstone:
Beneath this stone are deposited the remains of His Excellency
Edward Rutledge Esq.
Late Governor of this State whom it pleased the Almighty to take from this life January 23, 1800 at the age of fifty years and two months.
The virtues of this Eminent Citizen required not the aid of an inscription here to recall them to our recollection it is believed that they are engraved on the hearts and will long live in the remembrance of his countrymen.
SACRED
to the memory of
Mary Rutledge
widow of Edward Rutledge
who departed this life on 22 October 1837 in the eighty-fifth year of her age.
She was most loved where best known
May her piety and her virtue be remembered
through her example can be no longer enjoyed
those mourn the dead who live as they don't.
Bronze Plaque (added later)
Edward Rutledge
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
placed by descendents of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, Inc.
From Wikipedia:
(
visit link)
"Edward Rutledge (November 23, 1749 - January 23, 1800) was an American politician and youngest signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. He later served as the 39th Governor of South Carolina.
Like his eldest brother John Rutledge, Edward was born in Charleston. He was the youngest of seven children (5 sons and 2 daughters) born to Dr. John Rutledge and Sarah Hext. His father was a physician and immigrant of Scots-Irish descent; his mother was born in South Carolina and was of English descent. He studied law at Oxford University and was admitted to the English bar (Middle Temple), and returned to Charleston to practice. He was married on 1 March 1774 to Henrietta Middleton (17 November 1750 – 22 April 1792), daughter of Henry Middleton. The couple had three children;
Maj. Henry Middleton Rutledge (5 April 1775 – 20 January 1844)
Edward Rutledge (20 March 1778 – 1780)
Sarah Rutledge (1782–1855)
Rutledge had a successful law practice with his partner, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. He became a leading citizen of Charleston, and owned more than 50 slaves.
Along with his brother John, Rutledge represented South Carolina in the Continental Congress. He worked to have African Americans expelled from the Continental Army. Although a firm supporter of colonial rights, he (as a delegate) was instructed initially to oppose Lee's Resolution of independence; South Carolina's leaders were unsure that the time was "ripe." By early July, 1776, he was instructed to vote in favor. Contrary to popular opinion, there is no evidence that he opposed the anti-slavery clause in the Declaration. At age 26 he was the youngest to sign the Declaration of Independence.
He returned home in November 1776 to take a seat in the South Carolina Assembly. He served as a captain of artillery in the South Carolina militia, and fought at the Battle of Beaufort in 1779. The next year he was captured by the British in the fall of Charleston, and held prisoner until July 1781.
After his release he returned to the state assembly, where he served until 1796. He was known as an active member and an advocate for the confiscation of Loyalist property. He served in the state senate for two years, then was elected governor in 1798. He had to go to an important meeting in Columbia. While there he had to be sent home because of his gout. He died in Charleston before the end of his term. Some said at the time that he died from apoplexy resulting from hearing the news of George Washington's death."