Wade Hampton (1752 – February 4, 1835) was a South Carolina soldier, politician, two-term U.S. Congressman, and wealthy plantation owner. He was the scion of the politically important Hampton family, which was influential in state politics almost into the 20th century. His great-great-grandfather Thomas Hampton (1623–1690) was born in England and settled in the Virginia Colony. He was appointed a colonel in the United States Army in 1808, and was promoted to brigadier general in February 1809, replacing James Wilkinson as the general in charge of New Orleans.