USA > South Carolina > History of the Presbyterian Church in South Carolina, Vol. I pt 2 > Part 14
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477
ISAAC HAYNE.
1780-1790.]
and added, " when the regular forces cannot defend the country without the aid of its inhabitants, it will be high time for the royal army to quit it."
Under these circumstances he was permitted to return to his family, hoping to watch over it and carry it safely through the prevailing pestilence. In this he was disappointed. His wife and a second child fell victims to the disease. He was called upon to bear arms in the royal cause, and finally was threatened with close confinement should he continue to resist; and this in direct contravention of the conditions on which he subscribed the oath of allegiance. Meanwhile Gen. Greene had forced the enemy from the upper country, and retaken all of Carolina east of the Santee and north of the Congaree. A de- tachment of Marion's force had also passed west of the Edisto for the protection of their own homes. Paul Hamilton, one of his friends, called on him for his co-operation, and requested at least that he should furnish horses for the public service. True to his engagement he refused both, though his country's cause was near his heart. Soon after this the British were driven below the Edisto, and nearly the whole country between that river and Stono came under the American arms. Every per- son within the recovered country felt himself released from allegiance to British rule. Under this impression he repaired to the American camp, and was honored by the command of a regiment, including the militia of his district. Taking the field, Hayne conducted an expedition into the territory of the enemy, and some of his mounted men captured General Williamson, near the quarter-house in the vicinity of Charles- ton. Williamson had first fought against the loyalists of the up-country and done his country some service, and afterwards had taken British protection. Lieut .- Col. Balfour sent out his cavalry to recapture Williamson. They fell upon the camp of Hayne and were handsomely repulsed by Col. Harden. Col. Hayne, attended by Lieut .- Col. McLachlin and a small guard, had unfortunately gone to breakfast with a friend about two miles distant. The house was on the Charleston road, and the negligent guard had left his post in search of fruit to re- gale his appetite. As soon as Hayne caught sight of the foe, he mounted his horse, dashed through their line, but attempt- ing to leap a fence his horse fell and he was taken by his pur- suers. McLachlin, not able to reach his horse, fell, sword in hand, bravely contending against the enemy.
Col. Hayne was conveyed to Charleston and lodged in the Provost prison, being the central portion of the cellar of the
478
ISAAC HAYNE.
[1780-1790.
Exchange. The purity of his character and his habitual kind- ness to those who had fallen under his power ought to have plead eloquently in his behalf. On July 26th he was informed by the town-major that a council of officers would meet on the next day for his trial. On the 27th he was informed that a council of four staff-officers and five captains would be assembled the next day for the purpose of determining under what point of view he ought to be considered, and that he would be allowed pen, ink, and paper, and the assistance of counsel. Before this tribunal he was brought, but no such formalities were used as is usual in a case of life and death, nor did he entertain the idea that he was on trial for his life ; but on the 29th of July he was informed that he would be executed on the 31st instant at six o'clock, on the authority of Lord Rawdon and Lieut .- Col. Balfour. To these gentlemen he addressed a letter protesting against the course pursued with him, demanding a fair trial, and if this is refused, that he have time to "take a last fare- well of his children, and prepare for the dreadful change."
To this he received as a reply that their resolves were " fixed and unchangeable." In vain did the ladies of Charleston petition in his behalf. In vain did Mrs. Peron- neau, his sister, accompanied by his children, all clad in the deepest mourning, and in an agony of grief, wait on Lord Rawdon, and on their knees entreat him to spare their bro- ther and fatlier. In vain did the royal Lieutenant-Governor Bull, and a great number of inhabitants, both loyalists and Americans, intercede for him. Lord Rawdon and Lieut .- Col. Balfour were inexorable. All he obtained was a respite of forty-eight hours. In a second letter he asks as a boon that he might die, not the death of a felon, but that of a soldier and an officer. On the last evening of his life, he told a friend " that he was no more alarmed at the thoughts of death than at any other occurrence that was necessary and unavoid- able." And on the morning of the fatal day, on receiving his summons to proceed to the place of execution, lie pre- sented to his son (a lad of thirteen years of age) a packet in which he had arranged all the papers relating to his execu- tion. "Present," said he, " these papers to Mrs. Edwards, with my request that she will forward them to her brother in Congress. Go then to the place of my execution,-receive my body, and see it decently interred with my forefathers." This done, he embraced him, imploring the blessing of Heaven upon his orphan children. Dressed with his accus- tomed neatness, accompanied by a few friends, he walked with
479
PURYSBURG .- SALT KETCHER.
1780-1790.]
firmness, composure, and dignity, through a weeping crowd to the place of execution. He had hoped that his last request would be granted, but the sight of the gibbet, when he had passed the city barrier, dispelled this hope. For a moment he paused, but resuming his wonted firmness he moved for- ward. A faithful friend at his side said to him, "You will now exhibit an example of the manner in which an American can die." He answered with the utmost tranquillity, " I will endeavor to do so." He ascended the cart with a firm step and serene aspect. Finding the executioner attempting to get up to draw the cap over his eyes, he said to him, "I will save you that trouble," and pulled it over himself. He was asked if he wished to say anything. To which he answered, " I will only take leave of my friends." He then affection- ately shook hands with three gentlemen, recommending his children to their care, and gave the signal for the cart to move.
Thus died, in the prime of life, one of Carolina's noblest sons and most upright citizens, a victim to the malignant revenge of British officers, without even the forms of justice.
Another Presbyterian church appears at the close of this decade at PURYSBURG, which obtained an incorporation from the legislature, and was the revival of an older organization. The act dates the 17th of March, 1789, and commences as fol- lows : " Whereas, Hezekiah Roberts, Jacob Winkler, and Daniel Giroud, with sundry other members of the Presby- terian congregation in the town of Purysburg, in Saint Peter's parish, in the State of South Carolina, did, by their petition to the General Assembly, set forth that the church in the said town and parish was most wantonly destroyed by the British in the late war, whereby the petitioners have been since deprived of attending divine service, and from procur- ing a minister to perform public worship therein, according to the rites and ceremonies of their said church ; and thereby praying to be incorporated under the name of the Presby- terian congregation in the town of Purysburg, in St. Peter's parish, in the said State. 1. Be it therefore enacted," &c. Then follows the ordinary form of incorporation. This is all the information we can give concerning this church. We do not know by whom its pulpit was occupied or how long it con- tinued .- (Statutes at Large, viii., 155.)
The CHURCH OF SALT KETCHER, founded by Rev. Mr. Simp- son, must have shared in the interruptions the war occasioned. Rev. Mr. Gourlay of Stoney Creek was sufficiently near to have ministered to it either occasionally or regularly ; but the
480
WILLIAMSBURG.
[1780-1790.
testimony of Mr. Simpson would lead us to suppose that the congregation was nearly or wholly disorganized. In his diary, written in Charleston in the fall of 1783, he says, " The settlement on the Salt Ketcher and in that neighborhood is almost wholly broke up."
CHAPTER III.
The PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF WILLIAMSBURG continued vacant through the remaining period of the Revolution. Its history during this time of trial is well told in the discourse of the Rev. James A. Wallace, its pastor, on July 4th, 1856, being the one hundred and twentieth anniversary of the Wil- liamsburg church :
"It was not," says he, "until after the fall of Charleston that the full cup of bitterness was poured out to the people of Williamsburg, which, on ac- count of their patriotism, they were doomed to drink to the dregs. Many of them marched down to the defence of the city, and at its surrender were made prisoners of war, and suffered to return home on parole. Major James had been ordered back by Governor Rutledge, to embody and train the mili- tia of the district, and thus escaped the catastrophe.
" Following the first proclamation, offering security to all who would re- frain from further opposition to the royal government, and full pardon of all past offences, there was promulgated another, calling on all 'prisoners not taken by capitulation, and who were not in confinement at the surrender of Charleston,' to take up arms in favor of the king. By this suicidal policy the British lost more than they gained by their arms.
" There remained a portion of that district,' says Ramsay, 'stretching from the Santee to the Pedee, containing the whole of the present Williams- burg and part of Marion, to which the British arms had not penetrated. And it was in consequence of this second proclamation, put forth by the invaders, that Major James was deputed by the citizens of Williamsburg to inquire of the commanding officer in Georgetown the precise terms of the requisition. The story of his encounter with Ardesoif is too well known to be repeated. Different versions of it liave been given; 'all of which, includ- ing that of his sons who fought by his side, differ from that of Weems, who has attaelied both romance and immortality to it, by making him knock the Briton down. Another phase of the story was recently furnished us by a venerable elder, who remembers distinctly to have heard James himself re- late it to his father, one of his neighbors. Major James rode up to the house where Ardesoif was lodged, with some apprehensions lest lie should be detained as a prisoner when his unwelcome message was told; and as a wise precaution, liitched his horse near the door. As the discussion grew warm Ardesoif and James both rose to their feet, the latter unarmed, holding his chair between them, and keeping himself next the door where his horse was tied. Ardesoif slowly followed him, as he retired, still holding the chair, until he sprang from the door and mounted his horse. He did not strike Ardesoif, as Weems has stated; but held the chair in readiness to do so if necessary. And had the supercilious Briton approached near enough, though wearing
481
FIRST INVASION.
1780-1790.]
his sword, the stalwart arm of the fearless patriot would have made him re- pent his temerity by crushing him at a blow.
"' Unconditional submission' was a term too abhorrent to those who had been nurtured in the lap of freedom, to allow them for a moment to think of accepting. If forced to take up arms they would fight for their country. ' Liberty or death' now became the motto of every man; and it was the im- mutable sentiment of every heart. Four military companies were called into service, under as many captains : Henry Mouzon, William McCottry, John Jamcs (of the Lake), and John Macauley. This was the origin of that far- famed band that bore so conspicuous a part in the contest for liberty during the rest of the war, known as 'Marion's brigade.' Whether the honorable fame of that body was due morc to their distinguished general than to the men who composed it, might admit of discussion. No reasonable doubt can exist, that if they were honored in serving under the great Marion, they were worthy of such a commander. Whether all these companies had a previous existence, and were then merely called into active service, cannot now be ascertained. That, however, which was commanded by Capt. Mouzon (the Kingstrce company) was organized before. It consisted of seventy-five men previous to the fall of Charleston; and to the lionor of the company and the community, there was but one man that bore the epithet of Tory. This was John Hamilton, a petty merchant of Kingstree, who was more distinguished for his profanity and plundering propensities than for courage to assault the enemies of his royal master. And we have good authority for saying that lie was the only decided royalist in the township of Williamsburg during the war. Others we know there were in different parts of the present district, but among the descendants of the Irish Presbyterian colonists of the town- ship, the name of Tory was unknown."
"Some of the men composing this celebrated corps were remarkable for their daring courage, not less than for great bodily strength and agility. This was the character of Major James and several others of the same name. One of them, Gavin James, was a veritable Horatius Cocles. At the passage of the Wiboo swamp he held in check and faced the volleys of the whole advance of the British army. The foremost dragoon fell by the fire of his musket, the second that assailed him was struck dead by his bayonet, the third shared the same fate ; but laying hold of the weapon, he was dragged by James, at the heels of his noble steed, a distance of thirty or forty yards along the causeway.
" There seem to have been three distinct invasions of Wil- liamsburg, all of which redounded neither to the profit nor military glory of the enemy."
" The first was that of Tarleton. So soon as the rising of the Whigs in Williamsburg was reported, this celebrated cavalry officer was dispatched to quell it. Passing the Santee at Lenud's ferry, Tarleton, with one hundred British dragoons and a large number of Tories under Col. Elias Ball, encamped at the plantation of Gavin Witherspoon, south of the lower bridge on Black river, early in August, 1780. Hearing of his advance, Major James, who was then at Witherspoon's ferry, on Lynch's Creek, pushed McCottry's company forward with a view to surprise him at or near Kingstrec. Henry Durant was dispatched to watch the movements of Tarleton, reconnoitre, etc., and report; but before reaching the lower bridge, at a sudden turn in the road
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482
TARLETON.
[1780-1790.
he met the enemy's advance, and immediately wheeling round, he fled as fast as his steed could carry him. Being closely pursued by about twenty of Tarleton's fleetest cavalry, he effeeted his escape by throwing himself from his horse, leaping a high fence in sight of Robert Witherspoon's house (now Mr. Shaw's), and running across the field, rustling with corn and matted with pea-vines, to the swamp of Black river. That evening Tarleton eneamped at Kingstree, and was saved from surprise by being advised of McCottry's ad- vanee, with a reported foree of five hundred men. At the reception of this intelligence he decamped early in the night, and McCottry arrived a few hours after.
"On his retreat towards Camden, Tarleton took the two Messrs. Samuel MeGill and carried them along as prisoners of war. The same day, the 7th of August, he burnt down the dwelling and out-houses of Capt. Henry Mouzon, fourteen buildings in all, with all their valuable contents. A little further on he destroyed, in like manner, the houses of William and Edward Plowden. In Salem he went to the house of Mr. James Bradley, disguised as an Amer ican officer, and passed himself off as Colonel Washington."
"The inquiry naturally arises here, what the British expected to effect by these atrocities, and from what diabolical motive they perpetrated them. A principal one, doubtless, was dis- appointed ambition. These men looked upon the southern country as conquered, and regarded themselves as entitled to all the glory of the achievement. Dukedoms, marquisates, and baronies, into which this vast domain was to be divided, were already grasped in imagination by them. And when they found themselves disappointed by the rising of the people- and among the first to resist their demands of 'unconditional submission' were those of Williamsburg-their wrath knew no bounds, and they felt themselves justified in going to the most dire extremities in wreaking their vengeance on men whom they viewed in the light of rebels and insurgents, rather than enemies in war.
"The cruelties exercised on Mr. Bradley, by Rawdon and Tarleton, have been accounted for in this way :- "
" A little before this, Thomas and Mathew Bradley and John Roberts were basely murdered by the Tories under one of the Harrisons, and the graves of the two former may be seen near the town of Lynchburg .* One of the mur- derers, named Holt, was afterwards apprehended by Samuel Bradley, a son of Moses Gordon, and others, and hung near the residence of the late William Bradley of Saleni.
" In the attack on the Tory camp, near Black Mingo Bridge, Capt. Henry Mouzon and Lieut. Joseph Seott were both wounded, and were carried to White Marsh, in North Carolina, where they remained till their recovery. They were both lame for life. Lieut. Roger Gordon having been sent out to patrol on Lyneh's Creek, was attacked by a large party of Tories under Captain Butler, and after capitulating, was basely murdered with all his men. '
* Judge James states erroneously that these men had joined neither party. They had been out on service and had just returned home on a visit.
483
SECOND INVASION.
1780-1790.]
The second invasion of Williamsburg was conducted by Major Wemyss, and was marked by atrocities unsurpassed, if not unequalled in the annals of civilized warfare.
" Major James was despatched with a party of select men to reconnoitre and ascertain his forees. Placing himself near the road, James, by the light of the moon, not only ascertained pretty accurately the forces of Wemyss as they passed, but dashing from his hiding-place, like a lion from his lair, he burst in thunder on his rear guard, and bore many of them away captives before their friends could render them the least assistance. The force of Wemyss was re- ported to Marion before the morning dawned, and a council was held by the officers near to James's plantation, as to what course should be pursued. The British force alone was double that of Marion's, beside five hundred Tories under Major Harrison. The result of the conferenee was announced in an order to retreat into North Carolina, which was responded to by a groan of anguish from the whole line-men who, for the first time, were to leave their wives and children, and their homes and property, to the tender mercies of a ruthi- less and exasperated enemy. On the 28th of August they took up their line of march, which ended at White Marsh, in North Carolina.
"Major Wemyss crossed Black river from the west side, at Benbow's Ferry. Above Kingstree he burned the houses of Major Jolin Gamble, Capt. James Conyers, James Davis, Capt. John Nelson, Robert Frierson, John Frierson, Robert Gamble, and William Gamble. An immense tract of country along Black river, Lynch's Creek, and Pedee, seventy miles in length, and, in places fifteen miles wide, he left a complete picture of desolation and suffer- ing. At the command of this officer the church of Indiantown was burnt, because he regarded all Presbyterian churches as 'sedition shops.' The Holy Bible, too, with 'Rouse's Psalms,' indicated the presence of the hated, rebellious seet, and was uniformly eonsigned to the flames. The house of Major James was burned, and his property swept away and destroyed, which was the common lot of Presbyterian patriots. As an evidence of the fiendish character of Wemyss, he exhibited a particular antipathy to loom-houses and sheep, for the important reason that these constituted a principal element in the support of the inhabitants, both in food and clothing. The first were uniformly reduced to ashes; and where the latter were not needed for the support of his men, they were bayoneted or shot, and left to putrefy on the ground.
"A party of Wemyss's men came to the house of Mr. John Frierson, on the place now owned by Mr. John Kinder. Mr. F. had just time to escape and conceal himself in the top of a tree, in full view of his house. The officer in command threatened .Mrs. Frierson, in the most profane and insulting lan- guage, that unless she revealed the place of her husband's concealment he would BURN HIER UP in the house. She was accordingly forced in, leading hier little son, four years old, who yet lives to tell the tale of horror. The house was fired on the roof, and sentinels were placed at each door to prevent her exit. The roof was soon in flames, and flakes of fire fell fast and thick round the faithful wife, who sat still in view of death by faggot and fire; and it was not until the intense heat of the burning mansion drove the sentinels from the doors that she was suffered to escape. The bee-hives were knocked to pieces, and the honey poured on the ground in mere wantonness ; pigs, poultry, and every living thing that could be caught, were thrown into the flames and burned to death.
" But some men's sins go before them to judgment, and the retributions of heaven follow fast on their career of erime. It was so with Wemyss. A few months after his march of devastation through Williamsburg, he was wounded and taken prisoner by Sumter, near Fishdam Ford, on Broad
484
THIRD INVASION.
[1780-1790.
river, and a list of the houses he had burned was found on his person. No wonder that he trembled when forced to show the document, and begged the American commander to protect him from the vengeance of the militia !
" The cruelties inflicted during this expedition, too, roused the lion in his lair, and called Marion from his retreat. And on his return the injured citi- zens whose premises had been burned, and property stolen and wantonly de- stroyed, flocked to his standard in hundreds.
"It is a well attested fact that after the return of Marion, and the flight of Hamilton, the congregation of Williamsburg, owing to the entire unanimity of the people, afforded an asylum for refugee Whigs from other portions of the country which were more exposed to the incursions of the enemy. The God of battles seemed to watch over this cradle of liberty and Christian influence."
The third invasion of Williamsburg occurred about the time that General Greene was performing his renowned re- treat across North Carolina, which resulted in the battle of Guilford, in the spring of 1781.
"Sumter and Marion, then two hundred miles apart, commanded the only forces left in South Carolina. And Rawdon, who was directly between them, seized the opportunity to crush Marion in his retreat at Snow's Island. Col. Watson, with a British regiment and Harrison's Tories, was ordered to proceed down the Santee, and Col. Doyle along the east side of Lynch's Creek. But the vigilant scouts of Marion soon revealed the danger; and leaving Col. Erwin in command of his camp, the intrepid general, by a forced march, met Watson unexpectedly at Wiboo Swamp, about midway between Nelson's ferry and Murray's. It was at this pass that Gavin James performed the daring exploits already mentioned. Here Captain Conyers killed with his own hand a Tory officer, the Major Hamilton who had participated in the murder of the two Bradleys at Lynchburg.
" His direct route to Snow's Island lay through the heart of Williamsburg; and the struggle on the part of Marion now was to arrest his career. One of the two bridges on Black river was to be the Thermopyla; and while there were lacking the Persian multitudes to overwhelm it, there was a Spar- tan band to dispute the passage. Watson chose the lower bridge, perliaps fearing an ambuscade on the west side of the river opposite Kingstree if he attempted to pass that way. Making a feint of continuing down the Santee, lie fell below the Broomstraw road to deceive his enemy ; but soon after, wheeling his columns, he made a rapid push for the lower bridge. Marion, anticipating his movement, despatched Major James with seventy men, thirty of whom were McCottry's riflemen, by a nearer route, who crossed the bridge, threw off the planks, and fired the string-pieces at the north-eastern end, to prevent the British infantry walking over on them. The rifles were then posted advantageously at the end of the bridge, and the rest above and below, so as to command the ford and all the approaches on the other side. Marion soon after arrived with the rest of his army, and disposed them in the rear, so as to support James's men. Scarcely was there time for these preparations when Watson appeared on the plain beyond, and opened the thunder of his artillery. But the little band of patriots, fighting, as it were, in sight of their own wives and children, homes and hearth-stones, were not the men to quail before this formidable array. An attempt was now made to carry the ford by storm. But the officer in command of the advance, approaching the brow of the hill, waving his sword over his head, was seen to clap his hand to his breast and fall. He was pierced by a bullet from McCottry's rifle, a signal for his men; and the deadly precedent was so skilfully followed up, that the
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