Oliver Hillhouse Prince

David Rachels (Newberry College)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.2: American (US) Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth Century, 1783-1900.
Vol. editors: J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University)

Dates

Born 31 Jul 1782
Died 9 Oct 1837
Activity 1807-1837

Places

Born in United States
Active in United States

Activities

Primary

Humorist
Jurist
Lawyer/ Barrister/ Solicitor
Story-writer

Resources

Prince's Works

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For literary historians, the importance of Oliver Hillhouse Prince, an American jurist, rests on a single epistolary sketch. This untitled epistle, which begins with the salutation “Dear Fugey,” appeared in the Washington (Georgia)

Monitor

on June 6, 1807. The sketch describes an incompetent militia leader, Captain Clodpole, as he attempts to drill an incompetent lot of Georgia militiamen. Prince's work was widely reprinted during his lifetime, both in the United States and in Europe.

“Dear Fugey” stands as the first important example of antebellum Southern humour. It appears to have influenced Prince's friend Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, who published Georgia Scenes, Characters, Incidents, Etc. in the First Half Century of the Republic (1835), the genre's first major work.

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182 words

Citation: Rachels, David. "Oliver Hillhouse Prince". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 July 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3643, accessed 26 November 2024.]