USA > South Carolina > Biographical sketches of the bench and bar of South Carolina, vol. II > Part 10
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" Don't neglect to learn surveying, that is the principal branch of mathematics which you will have occasion for, and I would be thoroughly acquainted with it; not only to work a problem upon paper, but with the practical part also. Con- sult Corbet upon every matter, with regard to your studies, in which you are in any doubt. And now, with regard to particu- lar law books-Coke's Institutes seem to be almost the foun- dation of our law. These you must read over and over, with the greatest attention, and not quit him till you understand him thoroughly, and have made your own everything in him, which is worth taking out. A good deal of his law is now obsolete, and, altered by Acts of Parliament; however, it is
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necessary to know what the law was before so altered. Black- stone, I think, useful. The reports are too tedious to be all read through ; at least, whilst you are in England, I would give the preference to the most modern, as there you will find doctrines in the old books often corrected or exploded, and it will be of no use to stock your common-place book (which I hope to find very copious and well stored) with what is not law, and, perhaps, never was. I look upon it, that if you go
through all the cases reported since the Revolution, when the Constitution seems to have been re-established upon its true and proper principles, and, since which time, by the al- teration of the Judges' commissions, and their increasing independence to what it is at this day, the law has been in its greatest perfection, and not encroaching either upon the people's liberties, or the prerogative; I say if you do this, you will have a collection of the very best cases. The old ones, which either agree with the modern, or are contradic- tory to these, you will see confirmed or exploded ; and, by always turning to examining, and marking them when read- ing your new cases, you will, by this occasional reading them, have read them as effectually, and, indeed, much more so, than if you had set out with them at first, but I would read every case reported from that time to the present. Distin- guish between your readings of law and equity, and don't confound the two matters-they are kept very distinct in the Courts in England, though here blended together very often, and very ridiculously. And the same method of reading cases should be followed, also, with regard to the equity books. I would have you, also, read the Statute Laws throughout, to know when a thing is allowed to be law-whether it be by common or statute law, which we are often very ignorant of. The recitals of these laws should be particularly noticed, which are the best authority to know what the law was be- fore making the Act. Vast numbers of them you will find of no manner of use, except, indeed, as matter of history, in which light they will afford you some assistance; but this thing, I think, in the main, will be of vast service to you. When I say you should read such a book, I do not mean
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just to run cursorily through it, as you would a newspaper but to read it carefully and deliberately, and transcribe what you find useful in it. If this method was taken, one would seldom read any book without reaping some advantage from it. Stock yourself with a good collection of law maxims, both Latin and English-they are of great use. Don't omit any that you come across, and the authorities for them, which may often be of service in the application of them. Make yourself thoroughly acquainted with all the terms of the law, which you easily may, now when they are so polished and modernized as they are at present, and free from the old Frenchified, uncouth words, in which they were formerly couched. However, you must understand the terms, to un- derstand the authors that use them. The little book called Termes de le Ley or terms of the law, will help you. 'Doc- tor and Student' is a good book, though a little one, and good authority. Bacon, you know, is my favorite, and where au- thors seem to differ, I think he will best reconcile them. Be well acquainted with the Crown Law, Hale's Hankins, and Judge Foster; and what other Crown Law books there are, read carefully.
" You should not confine yourself to the securing men's properties, without regard to their liberties and lives, which are the most preferable. Don't confound these branches of study, for they are distinct. 1. The Common Law, which regards civil affairs, and the Statute Law on the same sub- ject. 2. The Crown Law and Statute Law on that head. 3. Matters of Equity. The Ecclesiastical, and Marine, or Admiralty Law, are soon known, so far, at least, as will be of use here. But you should go now and then to Doctor's Commons, where these Courts are held, and get a little insight into the precedents and manner of proceeding there. I be- lieve you will think I have cut out work enough for you while in England, and, indeed, though it is a long time to look for- ward, if you mind your business, you will have not too much time to spare. However, I hope you will not fail to do this ; your own reputation is at stake. You must either establish it when young, or it will be very difficult to acquire it. I am
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persuaded you need no argument to urge you to it, and should be most heartily vexed, and disappointed, if you do not answer my expectations when you return. One word with regard to your deportment : Let your dress be plain always, in the city, and elsewhere, except where it is necesssary it should be otherwise, and your behaviour rather grave. Re- member the old man's advice to his son; think twice before you speak once. I have written much more than I thought of doing when I first sat down, and, with great freedom. I have no other motive but your welfare, which I sincerely wish; and, therefore, I would not omit anything, which there is a chance of being any way useful to you. Farewell, my dear brother; let me hear from you by every opportunity, and believe me yours, affectionately,
"J. RUTLEDGE.
" P. S .- I have not so high an opinion of logic, as to think no man can speak well without being a good logician; yet I think it will be of great service. It will enable you to reason closely, and with propriety, to establsh your principles and deduce the consequences much better than many, who, being unacquainted with it, say many good things which are not to the purpose, and frequently fall off from the point, which occasions tiresome repetitions, and is painful to the hearers. I would, therefore, recommend to you to get yourself well instructed in logic by a private tutor. Since writing the above, I have got from H. R. the directions which I gave him when going to England, some of which are of little use What others there are in it, which do not contradict the gen- eral scheme above laid down, you will take proper notice of."
[City Gazette and Daily Advertiser.] " CHARLESTON, Saturday, January 25th, 1800.
"We announce to the public, with infinite concern, the de- cease of our valuable fellow-citizen, His Excellency Edward Rutledge, Esq., Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the State, who closed, on Thursday night, a life of 50 years, de- voted to the cause of philanthropy and the interests of his
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country. Amongst the patriots of 1776, this excellent char- acter held a distinguished situation; and his integrity, his zeal and his exertions in our Revolutionary war, aided by un- common talent, ranked him amongst those great political pil- lars, by which the fabric of American Independence might be said to be supported. His eloquence, which shone forth in the Senate, and at the Bar, was brilliant and impressive; it pleased the ear and went home to the heart. Rich in ideas, and happy in his manner of expressing them, he was accus- tomed to command attention, to delight as well as to persuade his audience. The many important services rendered by this virtuous man to the United States, and particularly to this, his native land, are faithfully recorded in the pages of his- tory. They are engraven on the hearts of his countrymen, and the recollection of them shall not die.
" If we view his conduct in the walks of private life, there is an abundant scope for the most heartfelt eulogium. As the husband, the parent and the relative, he may sometimes be equalled, but he will never be surpassed. Mild and en- dearing in his deportment, with the accomplished manners of the gentleman, he diffused on all around him the rays of his own good humor and urbanity. He delighted to do good, and to relieve the widow, or to wipe away the tear of the orphan, was to his mind of sensibility a feast indeed. In the midst of the exercise of every virtue which makes man amiable, he is taken from us. Carolinians, ye have just wept for the loss of your Washington, and ye will not be sparing of your tears over the urn of your Rutledge."
" MONDAY, January 27th, 1800.
" On Saturday last, the inhabitants of this city paid the last honors they had in their power to show, to the remains of their late most worthy and beloved Chief Magistrate, Gov. Rutledge. The regiment of horse, the regiment of artillery, and the uniform companies of the 28th and 29th Regiments of Militia, formed in procession, and preceded the corpse from the house of the deceased, with their colors in mourning, their arms reversed, and the music playing a dead march.
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After the military came the clergy, then the body, which was followed by the horse of the deceased in military mourning : Major Rutledge attended as chief mourner, then other relatives, friends and domestics. The procession was closed by citi- zens, all of whom evinced the grief they felt, and the loss they, and the State at large, had sustained in being deprived of this excellent man. His body was deposited, with military honors, in the family burying-ground, in St. Philip's Church- yard. During the procession minute guns were fired by a detachment of artillery, and the vessels in the harbor dis- played their colors at half-mast during the day.
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CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY.
General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was the eldest son of Chief Justice Charles Pinckney and Eliza Lucas. He is to be regarded as one of the founders of the Republic, and was alike renowned for his civic, as for his military virtues. Never having had the opportunity of seeing the great Caro- linian, increases ten-fold the difficulty of perfectly sketching his life. Difficult as is the task, still it must be performed.
He was born in the City of Charleston, 25th February 1746. At the early age of seven years, his father, Charles Pinck- ney, the late Chief Justice of South Carolina, carried him to England, where he was subsequently educated. He studied law in the Temple, and returned to Charleston a barrister, in 1769. The dispute between the mother country and the colo- nies had then begun, and afterwards progressed, so that the first general Congress met in Philadelphia on the first Monday in September, 1774. Delegates were appointed from South Car- olina, by a meeting held in Charleston, at a Tavern, N. E. corner of Broad and Church streets, called the Corner. The first Pro- vincial Congress, (as it was called,) of South Carolina, met 11th January, 1775. Of this body, Charles C. Pinckney was a member from St. John's Colleton.
The Declaration of the Bill of Rights, and the association adopted by the General Congress at Philadelphia, were con- sidered by the Provincial Congress of South Carolina, and adopted. Sundry other measures were adopted, both of sym- pathy and relief, for Boston, Massachusetts, and for general protection and domestic relief, as will be seen by referring to 1st Moul. from p. 19 to 56. The Congress appointed the 17th of February, as a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer. The scene as described on that day, by Gen. Moultrie, is worth preserving : " Every place of worship in Charleston was crowded with the inhabitants ; and Congress went in a body to St. Phillip's, from the State-House, agreeably to their
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resolve, and most of them in their military array. On their entering the church, the organ began a solemn piece of mu- sic, and continued playing until they were seated. It was an affecting scene ; as every one knew the occasion, and all join- ed in fervent prayer to the Lord to support and defend us in our great struggle in the cause of Liberty and our Country, and the Rev. Dr. Smith, (at the request of the Provincial Congress,) delivered an excellent and suitable discouse on the occasion, which very much animated the men ; whilst the female part of the congregation were affected in quite a dif- ferent manner : floods of tears rolled down their cheeks, from the sad reflection of their nearest and dearest friends and re- lations entering into a dreadful civil war-the worst of wars, and what was most to be lamented, it could not be avoided."
On the 2d June, 1775, the Provincial Congress which had been called to meet, in consequence of the battle of Lexing- ton, directed two Regiments of Infantry and one of Rangers to be raised. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was appointed a captain.
These regiments were rappidly filled. On the 14th Septem- ber, 1775, three companies of the 2d Regiment,(Col. Moultrie's,) were detailed under the command of Col. Mott, to capture the British fort on James' Island. The companies were comman- ded by Capts. Pinckney, Elliott and Marion. The garrison, on learning the intended attack, fled to their shipping, and the South Carolina troops took possession without firing a gun. Before the 9th December, 1775, Capt. Pinckney became a ma- jor, and in that capacity was detailed with four companies to " ford over from Haddrell's Point to Sullivan's Island, and there surprise, seize and apprehend a number of negroes who were supposed to have gone over to the enemy." Major Pinckney, on reaching Haddrell's Point, found that there was no ford where a body of men could be passed. This being reported to Col. Moultrie by the major, he and his command were recalled. On the 19th, he was detailed with four com- panies to throw up, at Haddrell's Point, a battery, to command the Cove at the back of Sullivan's Island, and thus to drive off
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the British ships, the Cherokee and Tower, which were block- ing up the harbor. Capt. Bakeman, of the Artillery, was also detailed for the service, and ordered to provide stores and am- unition for four 18-pounders. Col. Moultrie and a great many gentlemen volunteers accompanied the expedition, on a very dark and cold night, and by daylight were carried in, and in a few hours more laid their platforms and mounted some guns, and opened their embrazures. The ships moved their stations-a few long shot paid them a morning salutation. This battery gave free access to Sullivan's Island. On the 10th of January, '76, a detail of two companies from the 2d Regiment was ordered to Sullivan's Island, to protect the men who were employed in building a fascine battery. This move- ment drove the British ships entirely off.
On the 2d March, 1776, Col. Moultrie was ordered to take command of the fort which was erecting on Sullivan's Island. It is probable that the whole of the 2d Regiment accompanied him. Major Pinckney, however, did not take part in the gal- lant defence of Fort Moultrie, on the 28th June, '76. He was on some other service.
On the 20th of September, '76, the State assented to the reso- lution of Congress, placing their regiments on the Continen- tal establishment. On the promotion of Col. Moultrie to Brigadier General, Major Pinckney became Colonel of the 2d Regiment. This was before January, '77. In April '78, Gen. Howe, who had command after Lee, was recalled from Charleston, owing to the embodying of the Schopelites, and their passage into Georgia below Augusta. This, with some movements of the enemy in Florida, indicating an attack on Georgia, he ordered 200 men to be in readiness to move, and soon after directed their march to be expedited. This was, F suppose, the beginning of the invasion of Florida, for on the 24th of May, Col. Pinckney writes from Fort Howe, on the Altamaha, in which he describes the route to St. Mary's and the attack of Fort Tonga, St. Augustine. The division of the enemy's forces, at Fort Tonga, on the St. Mary's River, at St. John's, St. Augustine, and southwards of that post, was poin- ted out as very fortunate for the invading force. From Fort
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Tonga, owing to sickness and the assertion of the right to command their respective contingents, by Gov. Houston of Georgia, Col. Williamson of South Carolina, and Commodore Bouler of the Navy, the expedition was abandoned in July, '78. In January, '79, Col. Pinckney was President of the Senate of South Carolina, which was then in session in Charleston. Gen. Moultrie, who was, at that time, under the orders of Gen. Lincoln, opened a correspondence with him. Their several letters from the 10th January, '79, to the 1st February, '79, shows the unfortunate lethargy which pervaded South Caro- lina, and the sad want of discipline in the militia .- 1st Moul. 258-276. Notwithstanding this, Gen. Moultrie managed to defeat the British at Beaufort.
What part Col. Pinckney bore in repelling the invasion of Prevost, or in the subsequent battle of Stono, or the siege of Savannah, do not appear. Whether he was, in that time, en- gaged as the aid of Washington, does not appear. It seems from Lieber's American Encyclopedia, he belonged to the military family of the Commander-in-Chief. He must have returned to South Carolina in 1779 or 1780; for it seems that Col. C. C. Pinckney, before 22d March 1780, had the com- mand of Fort Moultrie. He was withdrawn from that com- mand after the ships had passed Sullivan's Island, and his successor, on the 6th May, surrendered without firing a gun. On the 28th March, 1780, the enemy crossed the Ashley Riv- er, above the ferry, and soon invested the city, which, on the 12th of May, was surrendered. It is stated in Lieber's Amer- ican Encyclopedia, that Col. Pinckney was for continuing hostilities to the last extremity-not that he thought they could repel the enemy, "but because," said he, " we shall so cripple the army before us, that, although we may not live to enjoy the benefits ourselves, yet to the United States they will prove incalculably great." This noble, self-sacrificing senti- ment, was exactly in character with the noble, chivalric South Carolinian. It was, however, fortunately not acted on. He became a prisoner of war, and so remained with his gallant friend Gen. Moultrie, till 9th February, 1782, when they, with many others, were exchanged for Gen. Burgoyne. In the
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meantime, however, after remaining for nearly a year in Christ's Church Parish prisoners, they had been permitted to go to Philadelphia on parole. Gen. Moultrie says, " early in April he left Philadelphia, and arrived in Waccamaw in June, where he remained till September, when he paid a visit to Gen. Greene." He says : " It was the most dull, melancholy, dreary ride, that any one could possibly take, of about one hundred miles, through the woods of that country which I had been accustomed to see abound with live stock and wild fowl of every kind, was now destitute of all. It had been so completely chequered by the different parties, that not one part of it had been left unexplored ; consequently, not the vestige of horses, cattle, hogs or deer, &c., was to be found. The squirrels and birds of every kind were totally destroyed. The dragoons told me that, on their scouts, no living creature was to be seen, except now and then a few camp scavengers, (tur- key-buzzards,) picking the bones of some unfortunate fellows who had been shot or cut down, and left in the woods above ground."
To obtain an escort, Gen. Moultrie went a circuitous route to Gen. Marion's camp on Santee. On his way from Marion's to Greene's camp, he says : " My plantation was in the direct road, where I called and stayed a night. On my entering the place, as soon as the negroes discovered that I was of the par- ty, there was immediately a general alarm and outcry through the plantation, that ' Massa was come, Massa was come !' and they were running from every part to see me. I stood in the piazza to receive them ; they gazed at me with astonish- ment, and every one came and took me by the hand, saying : ' God bless you Massa! we glad for see you, Massa !' and every now and then some one would come out with 'a Ky,' and the old Africans joined in a war-song in their own language, ' welcome the war home.'" The good old General remarks : " it was an affecting meeting between the slaves and the mas- ter. The tears stole from my eyes and ran down my cheeks." He says : " I then possessed about two hundred slaves, and not one of them left me during the war, although they had had great offers ; nay, some were carried down to work on the
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British lines, yet they always contrived to make their escape and return home. My plantation I found to be a desolate place-stock of every kind taken off, the productions carried away, and my estate had been under sequestration .- 2d Moul., 354, '5, '6. I have cited these passages with a two-fold pur- pose : first, to show the desolation produced by the Revolution- ary war, and second, the fidelity and devotion of slaves to their masters. I intend the last more for the contemplation of Abolitionists, than any one else; and I would say to them, read and at last know the sacred tie which binds the slave to his master.
After the evacuation of Charleston, on the 14th of December, 1782, Col. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney returned and devoted himself to his profession and his private affairs. From that time to 1788, he was actively employed in retrieving his affairs and in following out the business of a lawyer. In that respect he earned a great reputation, and realized large profits.
He was a member of the Convention which, in'S8, framed the Constitution of the United States, and of that which rati- fied it on the part of South Carolina, and of the Convention which, in 1790, gave us the Constitution of the State.
On the 24th May 1791, he was offered, with Edward Rut- ledge, the place of an Associate Judge of the United States, when John Rutledge declined that office. Both declined the acceptance, saying, amongst other reasons, that they could be of more service to the United States in the State Legislature. On 22d January, 1784, the contemplated resignation of Gen. Knox, the first Secretary of War, being made known to the Presi- dent, Col. Pinckney was offered, by Gen. Washington, that post; and, again, on 24th August, 1795, on the resignation of Ed- ward Randolph as Secretary of State, he was tendered that appointment by the President; he declined both, on the ground that his private affairs required his constant attention. At the reorganization of the Militia, he was appointed Major General. He was offered, by Gen. Washington, on the 8th day of July, 1796, the office of Minister to France. He ac- cepted this great trust, resigned his commission as a military officer, and soon after sailed for France. The French Direc-
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tory were very hostile to the United States, and assumed a most dictatorial authority. In reply to some of their high preten- sions, he uttered the sentiment which has made his name immortal : " Millions for defence, but not a cent for tribute." All the conciliatory propositions from the United States were rejected with scorn and insult, and the Minister ordered out of the territories of France. Gen. Pinckney communicated to his Government the indignities offered to him, and retired to Holland. He was joined by Gen. Marshall, afterwards Chief Justice Marshall, and Mr. Gerry, with fresh instructions of pacification, but all was vain ; the French Directory were mad with success. Gen. Pinckney returned home, and found that he had been appointed 2d Major General of the Army of the United States, in the contemplated war with France. Gen. Hamilton, his superior in rank in the war of the Revolution, had been, at the instance of Gen. Washington, appointed 1st Major General. Gen. Pinckney did not imitate Knox, and refuse to serve in consequence of such preference. He said that he was satisfied that Gen. Washington had sufficient rea- sons for it. " Let us," he continued, " first dispose of our en- emies, we shall then have leisure to settle the question of rank." Indeed, before he knew of Knox's refusal to serve as 3d Major General, he was willing, if that would satisfy him, to let him rank as second.
Fortunately, however, the rulers of France listened at last to the propositions of peace on the part of the United States, and the sword which had been partially drawn, was returned to its scabbard.
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