Hugh Swinton Legaré held several important political posts in his native South Carolina, including that of attorney general of the state. On the national level he filled a diplomatic post in Brussels, was a member of the House of Representatives, and became attorney general and briefly secretary of state during the tenure of President John Tyler. But he is best remembered today by some as being a founder of the important periodical the Southern Review, published in Charleston. For several years he was its guiding force.

Legaré was born on Johns Island on the Ashley River near Charleston, South Carolina, of French Huguenot and Scottish Covenanter ancestry. The Legarés, who boasted in their background of goldsmiths, clockmakers, and members of the provincial assembly before the Revolution, became planters when the family purchased land on Johns Island. Hugh's father, Solomon, who had married Mary Splatt...