USA > Maryland > Biographical sketches of distinguished Marylanders > Part 11
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General Gist returned in good time to aid in the final expulsion of the British from the Southern country.
Gist's brigade was composed of the cavalry of the Legion and that of the Third and Fourth Virginia regiments, which were "under Colonel Baylor; the
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infantry of the Legion, the dismounted dragoons of the third regiment, the Delawares, and one hundred men from the line under Major Beal. The whole of the infantry was placed under command of Colonel Lau- rens." With this force Gist protected the country lying south and west of the main army. The ravages of the British in the interior were beginning to be des- perately felt, and were carried on by armed vessels as well as by their land forces. General Gist in command of the Light Corps took position near the banks of the Stono river. It was in this neighborhood, on the north side of the Combahee, that Colonel Laurens, so noted for his bravery, was posted. With a small body of men he sallied forth to attack the enemy. Falling into an ambuscade he refused to surrender or retreat. His little band was fired upon by the British, and at the first fire the brave commander fell mortally wounded.
When Charleston was surrendered by the British to the brave men whose rightful possession it was, Gist in the proud beauty of his manhood, rode into the city by the side of Moultrie, that flower of Carolina's chivalry.
Not very long after this time, Peace was proclaimed, and the army disbanded for the while, sent happiness into the homes of our land. When the day of parting drew near, the gallant General Knox proposed the establishment of .a society among the officers of the American Army, which would bind them by ties of brotherhood as well as those of patriotism. The first. meeting for the organization of the society took place at the head-quarters of Baron Steuben. Thus was established the beginning of the Society of the Cinein- nati. The first meeting of the Maryland branch took place at the city of Annapolis, on the 21st day of November, 1783. General Gist was selected for Vice-
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President of the Society of which he remained a mem- ber for the period of seven years and ten months. Each member contributed one month's salary to establish a pension fund for indigent soldiers of the Revolution. This fund is still in existence, and the pensions there- from, though small, have done some good work. This department of the Order resembles in some respects that of "The Poor Knights" in England, about which there is a certain degree of pathos which lingers always around the good and the beautiful. The membership was to be hereditary, descending to the eldest male-heir in line. Much dissatisfaction was expressed on every side, at what the people regarded as a revival of Old World doctrine. General Washington, who desired peace in more than words, proposed to the Cincinnati the withdrawal of entailnients in that Society.
The American Republicans of that day did not ac- knowledge hereditary rights in practice. The Republi- cans of the present time do not recognize hereditary rights in theory. The advice of the Commander-in-Chief was not taken upon this occasion, and the hereditary features were retained as they exist at the present day. Among the many distinguished members of that body was General La Fayette. During the time of his visit to Baltimore, in 1824, he was entertained by the Mary- land members of the Cincinnati, at a supper given in his honor. The entertainment took place at the resi- dence of Mr. Buchanan, who gave his house for the purpose. Most of the decorations and preparations for this feast were made by a venerable and patriotic lady of Maryland, Miss Sallie Merryman.
General Gist is said to have possessed a frank and genial manner, adorned by that polish which perfects a n tive grace. . Hle was six feet in height, finely propor- tioned, and well developed. Ilis face was handsome;
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his eyes were brilliant. His whole countenance re- flected the power of his majestic soul. General Gist married & M.s. Carman, of Baltimore county, in his native State. She died shortly after her marriage. His second wife was Miss Sterrett, of Baltimore city. This lady died in giving birth to a son.
General Gist then proved his loyalty to the fairer por- tion of creation, by marrying Mrs. Cattell, of South Carolina. She also bore him a son. One of his boys was named Independent, the other, States.
A picture of Mrs. Gist, the daughter of Mr. James Sterrett, of Baltimore, was lately on exhibition at the Art Gallery in "the City of Monuments."
This lady, the mother of Independent Gist, was a noted beauty in her day. The portrait alluded to was painted by Charles Wilson Peale, of Maryland, whose faithful pictures of the past serve as strengthening links in the chain of reminiscences, that might, otherwise, have remained broken forever.
Upon the declaration and establishment of peace, General Gist retired to his plantation near Charleston, in South Carolina. Here he led the life of a country gentleman. He died in the city of Charleston, August the 2nd, in the year 1792.
MY OWN NATIVE LAND.
0! TALK not to me of fair Italy's sky, Of the soft perfumed gales that through Araby sigh ; I know there is not on this wide-spreading earth . A land bright and free, as this land of my birth ; We have our mild zephyrs and bright sunny beams, Our fruits and our flowers, fair valleys and streams ; Thy rocks and thy mountains are lofty and grand, And brave are thy children, my own native land !
If cowards and tyrants e'er seek to enchain, And bring to the dust our proud spirits again, Thy sous, still united, will rally for thee, And die, as they've lived, the exalted and free ! Oh! had I the strength of my heart in my hand, I'd fight for thy freedom, my own native land ; Amid thy oppressors undaunted I'd fly, And fling forth our banner in triumph on high. AMELIA B. WELBY.
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OTHO HOLLAND WILLIAMS.
"I hold not first, though peerless else on earth, That knightly valor, born of gentle blood, And war's long tutelage, which hath made their name Blaze like a baleful planet o'er these lands "-JOHN HAY.
HE greatest soldiers are most frequently the offspring of progenitors whose minds and principles are of a noble cast. From the good, good must come in some shape. Green, the biographer, writes of our soldier-hero: "In character, he was warm-hearted and expansive; but upon moral questions, firm to a degree, which savored somewhat of sternness. As a soldier, he was rigid in discipline, re- quiring from his subordinate the prompt obedience which he always paid to his superiors." Otho Holland Williams was descended of Welch ancestry of gentle blood. His father was Joseph Williams, his mother, Prudence Holland. They had eight children, namely : Mercy, born July 28th, 1746; Otho Holland, March 1st, 1749; Elie, February 1st, 1750; Cassandra, December 27th, 1753; Priscilla, December 27th, 1255; Theresa, May 26th, 1758; Cynthia, June 2nd, 1762.
The subject of this sketch was born in the hospitable county of Prince George's, Maryland. The year follow- ing his birth his father, Mr. Joseph Williams, removed
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with his family to Frederick county, near the mouth of Conococheague cre -. Their new home was made in the valley bearing t. same name as the creek, near to the bounds of Washington county. At the age of thir- teen, Otho was left fatherless, and through the instru- mentality of Mr. Ross, the husband of Mercy Williams, he was appointed to a position in the clerk's office of Frederick county. He was retained in this office for several years, and it was finally given into his full charge. He afterward occupied a similar position in the city of Baltimore. After the death of Mr. Ross, his widow married Colonel Stull, of Maryland, who proved as faith- ful in his friendship to the young Otho as his predeces- sor had done. At the age of eighteen he is thus de- scribed by General Samuel Smith: "He was about six feet high, elegantly formed ; his whole appearance and conduct much beyond his years; his manner such as made friends of all who knew him." He was doubtless in the words of the immortal "Will :" "With all good grace to grace a gentleman."
From Baltimore we follow him to Frederick town once more, where he entered into commercial trade. Its golden chains, however, did not prove sufficiently strong to hamper the spirit that sprang quickly in answer to the call "to arms!" A rifle company was formed in Frederick town, under the command of Captain Thomas l'rice ; in this company Otho H. Williams was first lieu- tenant, while the place of second lieutenant was held by John Ross Key, the father of the nation's poet.
What may not be hoped for, from a young man who thus expresses the sentiments of his heart: " We should not hope to be wealthy, or fear to be poor; we never shall want; and whoever considers the true source of his happiness, will find it in a great degree arising from a delicate concern for those dependent upon him, and
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the approbation of his friends." He showed at this early age the ambition of the truly great, which led him to accomplish, by the best means in his power, the work allotted to him by the Supreme Task-Master. Hence, may be understood by all save the envious, his words here inscribed: "It would give me pain if the world should believe any person with the same advantages may do more than I may. Fortune does a great deal in all military adventures, and therefore I am not to say whether this reproach will come upon me or not. But you may rely upon it, my good friend, discretion and fortitude shall govern my conduct ; and in the interim, I commit myself to that Power whose eye is over all His works, and by whose goodness I have been preserved in numerous perils." This bold reliance upon the right, in all things, taught him to scorn the mean subserviency of spirit which recognizes or admits of abuses in high places ; this independence he expressed at the beginning of his career, as at its more successful points. On the march from Frederick to Boston, or in the aid extended to the north, nothing of especial note is recorded in re- lation to this young soldier.
In 1776, at the age of twenty-seven, he was promoted to the rank of major in a regiment of riflemen, com- posed of Maryland and Virginia troops. He was one of those valiant men who made so stern a resistance to the Hessians at Fort Washington, on the Hudson river.' Hle was one of the 2,600 Americans who were made captive on that day. Just previous to the surrender, which was compelled through the continued assaults of the powerful foe, Otho Williams was dangerously wounded. During fifteen months, he was held a pris- oner. Although deprived of his full liberty, he was, for a time, allowed thé privilege of his parole on Long Island. The friendly relations existing between Williams
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and Major Ackland, of the British army, and the anec- dote connected therewith, are, of course, familiar to many readers. It will bear repetition, however, in the pleasant telling of the Reverend Osmond Tiffany: "On one occasion, after Williams had been dining with Lady Ackland, his good friend, the Major, and he, sallied forth for a ball, and, although the company was much struck with the elegant figures and demeanor of the two friends, and although the Briton made all efforts to introduce the captive, the gentlemen of the party could not forget the enemy, to welcome the stranger, and the ladies treated him with extreme coldness. Ackland, finding that all his efforts were in vain, took Williams by the arm, and led him from the room, saying : "Come, this company is too exclusive for us." Major Ackland, upon his return to England after the termination of the Revolution, was killed in a duel, resulting from a dis- pute regarding the bravery of Americans, in which Major Ackland took the part of the patriots. Williams was accused, during his captivity, of holding a secret correspondence with General Washington; and, without trial or defence, he was seized and thrown into the jail at New York. The narrow and comfortless cell was shared with the well-known Ethen Allen. The suffer- ings of these war-prisoners were, perhaps, attributable to the low revenge of their jailors-the fate, alas! of full mauy a captive who has risked his freedom for bis cause !
Bad food, bad air, and deprivations of every sort, made sad havoc on the robust constitution of Williams, from the effects of which he never wholly recovered. Upon the surrender of General Burgoyne, General Gates succeeded in obtaining the exchange of Williams, for his friend, Major Ackland, of the British army. Before the Battle of Monmouth, he was appointed to the Sixth
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Regiment of the Maryland Line. He was promoted while in prison.
Upon receiving the appointment of colonel, he wrote the following letter, addressed to Governor Johnson, of Maryland, and which is extracted from Scharf's Chron- icles of Baltimore :
"FREDERICKTOWN, March 6th, 1778.
SIR :- The very honorable appointment which the Assembly of the State of Maryland hath been pleased to make me, adds an obligation to my natural duty and inclination to serve my country with my best abilities. I have not been able to obtain a state of the regiment which I expect the honor to command, but, from the best information, learn there is not above one hundred effective men with Lieutenant-Colonel Ford, and those' very indifferently clothed. The laws for recruiting and equip- ping men in this State (of themselves deficient), I find very badly executed, and I could wish it in my power to afford some assistance, which I cannot possibly do until I am instructed where to get cash, and how to subsist the recruits till they are equipped and fit for duty. It would give me great pleasure to be advised on this subject. I heartily desire to join the army as soon as possible, but certainly it had better be reinforced by a regiment without a colonel, than by a colonel without a regi- ment.
"I am your Excellency's most obedient, humble servant,
OTHO H. WILLIAMS."
" HIS EXCELLENCY, THOMAS JOHNSON, EsQ., Governor of Maryland."
In this battle, the Maryland Line added anew to its glory, by its deeds of heroism, in telling of which one of its soldiers, of the sixth regiment, said: "We had the pleasure of driving the enemy off the field at Mon- mouth." The Americans, following up their advantage, continued to drive the British before them. Before the close of the day the enemy took up a strong position on the ground where they had met with their first re- verse from the Maryland troops. Whilst the Americans
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slept upon their arms, dreaming of the morrow's battle, Sir Henry Clinton and his red-coat army
" Folded their tents like the Arabs,"
and with their recorded stealthiness, deserted the field, shielded by the darkness of the night. From "Camp New Brunswick," July 6th, 1778, General Williams wrote the following letter :
"On the 4th inst., the anniversary of American In- dependence was celebrated in the following manner : At three o'clock in the afternoon a cannon was dis- charged as a signal for the troops to get under arms ; half an hour afterward, the second fire was a signal for the troops to begin their march, and at four, the third signal was given for the troops to draw up in two lines, on the west side of the Raritan, which they did in beau- tiful order. A flag was then hoisted for the feu de joie to begin. Thirteen pieces of artillery were then dis- charged, and a running fire of small arms went through the lines, beginning at the right of the front line, catch- ing the left, and ending at the right of the second line. The field-pieces, in the intervals of brigades, were dis- charged in the running fire, thus affording a harmonious and uniform display of music and fire, which was thrice well executed. After the feu de joie, the general officers, and officers commanding brigades, dined with his Ex- cellency. Yesterday, a number of field-officers shared the same fate, and I had the satisfaction of seeing the old warrior in very fine spirits."
Although General Williams had few opportunities in the northern country of proving his prowess on the battle-field, he was noted throughout the army as a disciplinarian. In reporting an officer to General Greene for disobedience of orders, he once wrote:
"When orders are received with contempt, and re-
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jected with insolence, examples are requisite to re-estab- lish subordination, the basis of discipline."
The South was to hold the field wherefrom his brightest laurels should be culled, and thither he marched with these brave men who seemed to bear on the point of sabre and bayonet the jeweled touch-stone of victory. Persecution, wrong, hatred, fled before the glittering wall of steel that flashed beneath the southern sun.
Brave soldiers of a noble cause, Staunch winners in a loyal fight, We yield thee now, our hearts' applause, Our homage to the Right in Might !
Ah, olden heroes ! passed away Beyond those heights where ever stands
The Goddess who through night and day Holds ciustering laurels in her hands,
For those whose brows are pure and strong, And fitted to the victor's crown,
Whose valor makes the poets' song, Whose deeds are rung by fair renown.
With silver trumpet forth she flies, The Herald to the ranks of Fame,
And as the battling soldier dies She flings abroad the hero's name.
Brave soldiers of a noble cause, Staunch winners in a royal fight, We yield thee now, our hearts' applause, Our homage to the Night in Right !
The cruelty and depredations of the British in the South are well-known to all intelligent readers. The rule of Sir Henry Clinton, who had gone thither from the North, was heavily felt; and when from the blood- red train of war Tarleton and his minions burst forth,
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the hearts of the South were stricken with terror. The name of Tarleton is even now uttered by Southerners with a degree of scorn little lessened by time, that is said to work such marvels. The paths that he followed, the headquarters he occupied, each and all are pointed to and told of with their romantic traditions.
General Williams, writing to his brother, leaves the following note of that mournful period: "There are a few virtuous good men in this State, and in Georgia; but a great majority of the people are composed of the most unprincipled, abandoned, vicious vagrants that ever inhabited the earth. The daily deliberate murders committed by pretended Whigs, and reputed Tories (men who are actually neither one thing nor another in principle), are too numerous and too shocking to relate. The licentiousness of various classes and denominations of villains desolate this country, impoverish all who attempt to live by other means, and destroy the strength and resources of the country, which ought to be col- lected and united against a common enemy. You may rely on it, my dear brother, that the enemy have had such footing and influence in this country that their success in putting the inhabitants together by the ears, has exceeded even their own expectations. The distrac- tion that prevails surpasses anything I ever before wit- nessed, and equals any idea which your imagination can conceive of a desperate and inveterate civil war."
The words of Mr. Tiffinay, from whose interesting pamphlet is gathered much of the material of this sketch, describe well the enduring love and bravery of the southern women: "They would, with the courage of Joan of Arc, have grasped the sword, and perished at the stake. They would not give their hand in the light dance to a Briton; they gave their heart with their hand to the meanest of their countrymen. They threw
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the gold bracelet into the scale to lighten the iron fetter. They feared not the contagion of the prison ships, nor the damp of the dungeon. They instilled into their drooping relatives new hopes, and urged them once more to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard."
At this time of need the French soldier, La Fayette, and other foreigners, had come to the assistance of the struggling colonists ; their names gaining new praises as they went on their way, uttered with enthusiasm by the patriots. Braced by hope they renewed the contest with an ardor that had of late commenced to lose force, for misfortune seemed to hang lowering above them.
Sickness and hunger added to their sufferings in the fatiguing march; yet with unshaken resolve they en- dured to the death. On the battle-field of Camden Williams, with his brave followers, swept through the thickest of the fight. When he besought the Sixth Maryland to stand firm, the valiant Ford replied : "They have done all that can be expected of them, we are out- numbered and outflanked. Sce, the enemy charge with bayonets !"
The tried soldier, John Eager Howard, served in this battle, as lieutenant under Williams.
Here fell the dauntless DeKalb, pierced to death by the bullets of the enemy; this was on the 16th of August, 1780.
In Johnson's " Life of Greene," the author says, in allusion to Williams' narrative of Gates' defeat: " It is an invaluable historical fragment, and would, perhaps, never have appeared in print had it not been inserted here. I publish it as a tribute of respect to the memory of a man too little known to the American people."
The wants of the army at this time increasing, Gene- ral Greene, on his way to the south, writes from Annap- olis: "General Gist is at this place, and says, 'it is idle
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to expect service from the southern army unless they receive supplies from the northward, to put them in a condition to act, and that it is equally idle to expect anything south of this, especially clothing; nor will there be anything of consequence to be had in this State.'"
The next, battle of importance after Camden, was that of King's Mountain, where, through rugged way and fastness, Victory led on for the Americans, and planted upon its topmost peak her standard. In this engage- ment with the enemy Williams, of Maryland, had no part ; yet one of that name, belonging to South Carolina, won much fame by his heroism.
General Nathaniel Greene, when he succeeded General Gates in the south, perceived, with keen appreciativeness, the merits of Otho Holland Williams, whom he made deputy adjutant general. From that time forth he went conquering on his way, adding each day new honors to his unsullied name.
One week had elapsed before the glad news of the vic- torious termination of the battle of the Cowpens was received by that portion of the army encamped upon the banks of the Pedee. To the brave mountaineer, Morgan, Otho Williams wrote: "We have had a feu de joie, drank all your healths, swore you were the finest fellows on earth, and love you, if possible, more than ever. The General has, I think, made his compliments in very handsome terms. Inclosed is a copy of his orders. It was written immediately after we received the news, and during the operation of some cherry-bounce."
When we contrast with the immense armies of to-day the little bodies of cavalry or infantry that marched over rocky ways, and through marshy forests to gain liberty for us, the picture would seem ludicrous were it not so full of sorrow. Truly were they "the finest fellows on
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earth," who hungry, bare-footed, and nearly naked, strove against winter's wind and rain; gaining new honors for themselves and a free-hold to their successors in the land. All of that portion of the story is unutter- ably sad. The ludicrous only belongs to the descend- ants of those patriots, who, boasting of their ancestry, depend upon strangers for the record of those deeds which should be familiar to them from their earliest childhood. Satisfied with having been told that their "blood is good," and that their fore-fathers did some- thing which entitled them to distinction, they are una- ble to tell of the nature of the deeds of which they boast.
There is also another class of people who insist that, as Republicans, they have no right to be proud of ances- tors of great name or noble lineage; and so they scorn the graciousness of remembering that alone of which they have any reason to be proud. If, with the same degree of determination with which they refuse to fol- low upward their greatness, they would abstain also from imitating the follies and the vices of their progeni- tors, we might look to see a grander Republic, free of stain or reproach.
After the defeat of the unfortunate Gates, Williams was in command of the rear-guard of the army in its retreat through North Carolina. His reputation as a disciplinarian was, if possible, more firmly established, after this perfectly conducted march. General Greene, in writing to him at this time, says: "You have the flower of the army; do not expose the men too much, lest our situation should grow more critical." Fording the swollen rivers and narrow streams, they left the enemy behind to gaze across the muddy waters as hope- lessly, almost, as the army of Pharaoh is said to have. looked after the children of Israel in their passage through the Red Sea.
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