Captain Thomas Pinckney (August 13, 1828 – November 14, 1915) was a Southern rice planter and Confederate veteran of the American Civil War.

[2] Pinckney helped form and then lead the St James Mounted Riflemen whose purpose was to defend the various plantations on the Santee River delta from Northern raids.

He further used his land at Echaw Plantation to build Battery Warren to protect a Confederate railroad bridge over the Santee.

Over time he and his men were re-organized under the command of then-Major Arthur Middleton Manigualt in McClellanville and then, later, under General M. C. Butler they were sent to Virginia.

After months of negotiations, many agreed to contracts under which they would provide labor in return for living on the land and receiving a share of whatever crops were harvested.