Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1745-1825), American statesman, was a patriot leader and an emissary to France. He was twice the Federalist nominee for president.

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was born on Feb. 14, 1745, in Charleston, S.C. He was taken to England in 1753 and educated at Westminster School and Oxford. Destined for a legal career, he attended Middle Temple (1764-1769) and was admitted to practice. Despite his English residence, Pinckney regarded America as home, and he returned full of patriotic ardor. He served as attorney general for three South Carolina districts. His marriage to Sally Middleton strengthened his ties with the colony's leading families.

Following the rupture with England, Pinckney was active on his colony's Committee of Intelligence. He became a militia captain and was chairman of the committee that drafted South Carolina's 1776 constitution. In July 1777 he tried to join George Washington's northern command, but no battlefield opportunities came his way...