 The end of the Reconstruction Era and the removal of federal troops from South Carolina following the 1876 election signified the restoration of essentially one-party rule in the South, and Gleaves was the last Republican Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina until Bob Peeler was elected in the 1994 election.Democratic Governor Wade Hampton appointed Gleaves to the position of trial justice in Beaufort but he declined and moved out of state.He had been indicted for fraudulent issuance of legislative pay certificates.