USA > South Carolina > School history of South Carolina > Part 15
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21
blockaded. There was no actual invasion upon the soil of the state, though such an invasion was feared from the same force which penetrated to Washington and burned the capitol. 6. Fortifications were erected about Charleston and at such other places along the coast as were most easy of access to the enemy. A number of private armed vessels. equipped for war and commissioned as privateers, sailed from Charles- ton. These did great damage to the commerce of the enemy and sent home many prizes. This species of warfare is a kind of legalized piracy, as these privateers are intended solely to prey upon the commerce of the enemy. It is some- times very effective.
7. One or two sea-tights occurred near the Carolina coast, which were particularly brilliant, and were not surpassed by any exploits of the war. In one of these the schooner Alli- gutor was engaged. in January, 1514. This vessel was com- manded by Sailing-Master Bassett, then lying off Cole's Island. Observing two of the enemy's vessels just outside the breakers, and suspecting that he would be attacked during the night, he made ready for it. About S o'clock in the evening, six boats with muffled oars were discovered ap- proaching. under cover of the marsh, to make the attack. He hailed, then fired upon them, and a general discharge of musketry ensued. The fight lasted about half an hour, when the attacking party retired with considerable loss. The Alli- gator lost two killed and two wounded. Her force was to men, but the enemy had considerable more. Afterwards a large cutter was picked up on North Edisto, supposed to have been one of the boats used by the enemy on this occa- sion. The dead bodies of an officer and seaman were found near it. The officer had been wounded in several places and had lost an arm. The Alligator was afterwards lost in a squall in Port Royal Sound; 19 men perished when the vessel sank, two of whom were officers.
1S4
HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
S. Another hard contested sea fight occurred in Angust. 1813. Captain Diron, in command of a privateer mounting seven guns. while on a cruise discovered a ship and schooner and went after them. Captain Diron with his ship spot came abreast of the schooner, which hoisted British color and fired a shot which dil not take effect. After soul. mandenvering and firing. the vessels came into close action .and fought like tigers for awhile. Captain Diron boardel the enemy and transferred the fight to the British vessel. The fight was desperate. Muskets bovame useless, and they took to their knives and swords. The British captain and principal officers were killed: the decks were slippery with blood and covered with dead and wounded. Finally the colors were torn down by the Americans and the fight wa- over. .
9. The British ship engaged was the Dominica, with 15 guns and so men: 13 were killed, including the commander: 47 were wounded. The Americans had four killed and It wounded. The other .British vessel. the Princess Charlott: had remained an ile spectator of the fight, but as soon as it was over, made sail for the southward. The Decatur. which was the name of the American vessel, was too much crippled to pursue. But shortly afterwards she captured wol brought into Charleston a British ship, The London Trader. with several gnus and a valuable cargo of sugar. coffee. cotton, rum, and. molasses.
10. On August 18, in the same year, the British made a descent upon Dewee's Island. burned some small craft and laid waste several plantations. From Caper's Island they carried off live stock and supplies generally. On the 22nd they landed at Hilton Head. On August 27 and 29 of this year, there was a dreadful gale on the coast, in which Charleston, Sulli- van's Island, Beaufort, Georgetown, Edisto, and Goose Creek suffered very greatly in the loss of life and property. The
155
THE WAR OF 1812.
British sloop of war. Moselle, was wrecked and went to pieces in Broad river. Ou October 27, the enemy blockaded the city of Charleston and made several prisoners ..
11. From 1\14 to 1516 Davidl R. Williams was governor. In January. 1515. Captain Dent, commanding at Charleston. while at North Edisto obtained information that a party of mon, belonging to the British ship Hebrus, was getting water from a neighboring island. He at once directed an officer, Mr. Laurence Kearney, to proceed outside with three barges to cut off the'r retreat, while a detachment advanced upon them by laud. The ship. Hebrus, was at anchor out of gun shot, but. seeing what the Americans were up to, recall guns where fired. when the boats were pulled towards her. and a tender, that contained a strong party, attempted to run cut also. The wind shitted at this time and brought the Hebras to windward of the American barges, but the tender to leeward of them. Kearney directed his aim at the tender to save which the Hebrus male the greatest exertions, even firing at her own cutters to drive them back to the assistance of the tender. A third loat was also sent to her help. The fire of the Hebrus was also opened upon the Americans and with such effect as to take off the head of a man by Mr. Kear- hey's side. Notwithstanding this serious loss. Mr. Kearney pressed on until be captured the tender and also a launch of the Hebrus. The tender had a cannon and six brass swivels besides other arms. Forty prisoners were taken and brought into South Ed .- to.
12. A short time after this success Mr. Kearney, with a crew of 25 men, went out in the captured launch of the Hebrus and captured a trader, belonging to the Severn. in which were 40 men. These last mentioned encounters occurred. as also the great victory at New Orleans, after the treaty of prace between the two countries had been made and signed, which was done at Ghent on December 24, 1814. After the
IS6
HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
close of this war there was no other in which South Carolina took part until the war with the Seminole Indians in Florida in 1535 and 1536. There was peace abroad and prosperity at home.
QUESTIONS. -- I. Who preceded Alston as governer ? Tell what you can of Alston's administration.
2. What were the feelings of the people of the United States towards Great Britain after the close of the Revolution ? What were the causes of this ?
3. Why did the Americans sympathize strongly with the French at this time ?
4. Give an account of the attack on the Chesapeake? Describe the engagement between the United States ship President and the British vessel Little Belt.
5. What led Congress to declare war against England ? What effect had this war on South Carolina ?
6. What preparations did the state make to guard against invasion ? Tell what you can of the privateers sent out from Charleston.
7. Describe the fight between the schooner Alligator and some British: boats. What was the subsequent fate of the Alligator ?
S. Describe Captain Diron's capture of the British ship Dominica.
9. Give the losses on both sides? What other capture did the Decatur shortly afterwards make ?
Io. What damage was done by the British in their descent upon Dewee and Caper's Islauds ? What destruction was wrought by the gale which occurred on August 27 and 2S of this year.
11. Describe Captain Dent's effort to capture the crew of the British ship Hebrus.
12. Describe Kearney's exploit in the captured launch of the Hebrus.
CHAPTER XL.
ATTEMPTED NEGRO INSURRECTION. THE VISIT OF LAFAYETTE.
1. From 1816 to 1820, during the administration of Andrew Pickens and John Geddes, there was profound peace and prosperity, with no drawbacks, except the prevalence of yellow
187
NEGRO INSURRECTION.
fever in Charleston during the summer of 1817. While Pick- ens was governor the legislature made liberal appropriations of money for internal improvements. Agricultural industries continued to flourish. and cotton was fast growing to be a staple of prime importance ..
2. In the year 1522, while Thomas Bennett was governor. there was an attempt at insurrection by a portion of the slave population in Charleston. It was. of course, unsuccessful and resulted in the hanging of Vesoy. the ringleader, and 34 of his associates. A great number was sent out of the state and 70 or SO, who had been arrested. were acquited. Four white men were indicted as being participants in the con- spiracy-were found guilty and sentenced to fine and imprison- ment. These white men were foreigners. The attempted insurrection itself was the work of a foreign mulatto from Saint Domingo, who had passed through the insurrection on that island and wanted a little taste of the horrors he had witnessed there. The plot was discovered and all the intended evil was frustrated by the fidelity of some native slaves. This is the only attempt at servile insurrection that has been known in this country since the Revolutionary war. though about the voar 1S32 there was considerable excitement in some parts of the state from an apprehendel rising of the negroes. Only one insurrection has ever occurred in the state, and that was in the colonial period during the administration of Lieutenant- Governor Bull. Some account of it has already been given.
3. While John L. Wilson was governor. 1$22 to 1524, the low country was visited by another vory destructive hurricane. The accounts of that day state that many lives were lost and much property was destroyed. It is likely that our era of cyclones and storms is not exceptional. for our state has been occasionally visited by terrible tornadoes from the earliest times. And also by the fatal epidemic, yellow fever. The Medical Society of South Carolina was incorporated in 1823.
HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
4. The administration of Richard J. Manning was distin. guished by the visit of General Marquis De LaFayette to the state after an absence from the country of 47 years. When he first came to this country, during the Revolutionary war. : offer his services be landed at Charleston, April 19, 1777. LaFayette, whose name row first appears in the history of this state, was an enthusiastic young Frenchman, who had given his services to the United States in their arduous stru_ gle for independence. ant had distinguished himself on many well tought fields. His arrival in the state was hailed with great enthusiasm and he became the recipient of many honor -. He had a long private interview with Colonel Huger. who had distinguished himself while a young man in an effort to set LaFayette free from the dungeons of Olmutz. in which for four years he had been imprisoned by the emperor of Austria. A brief. condensel account of that affair is given here as it was very romantic and also very honorable to Colonel Huger and others who were engaged in it.
5. After the overthrow of the newly adopted constitution in France and the execution of the king, LaFayette, although ardently devoted to popular and to free institutions. yet so0: fell under the suspicion of the extreme party, and the assen; bly passed a decree of accusation against him. Finding they he had also lost the confidence of the army. of which he wa- then in command. he determined to leave France for a tiny and seek an asylum in a foreign land.
6. With a few friends he left the camp on August 20. 1792, accompanied by an escort as if to reconnoitre. After proceeding a few miles, eight or ten, he stoppel at an 'on. and, placing sentinels to guard against surprise from the enemy, he then told his friends the news from the capital: that he hal been drelarel a traitor and an enemy to his country, and that a pried had been set upon his head. He then told them that he was leaving the country, but
150
VISIT OF LAFAYETTE.
he would consider any man his enemy who took up arms against her. The young officers were astonished and insisted upon going with him. but he represented to them the danger of so doing, to themselves, to their country, and to their families. and prevailed upon them to return to the camp which they hall so recently left. But he finally consented that the two brothers, Latour and Lewis Maubourg. Bureau de Puzy, Alex- andre Lameth. Auguste Masson, Rene Pillet. and Cardigan might go with him. The others all .returned to camp.
7. About 11 o'clock they arrived in the neighborhood of the Austrians' advance guard. They were at once arrested, sent to headquarters, and at length to Luxembourg. Here they were recognized by other French refugees and were treated by them with great insolence and contempt. They were placed by the Austrians in close continement and treated as common criminals. After awhile they were delivered to the king of Prussia and transferred in a common cart to Wesel. where they were put in irons and placed in separate cells. They were transferred to Magdeburg, and from Magdeburg to Silesia and then confined in a dungeon at Neisse. Alexandre Lameth was not conveyed to this place. Soon after this the king of Prussia made peace with France, and. fearing that he might be required to give up his prisoners, had them carried into Austria, in which country they were confined more than four years in the dungeons of Olmutz, about 150 miles north of Vienna.
8. It was while LaFayette was in this prison, that the young American. Francis Huger, son of Colonel Huger. of Charleston, in conjunction with Henry Bollm'in. a young physician of Gottingen, attempted his rescue. How to open communication with him was the great difficulty; but through the influence of all-powerful money this was done. They bribed the chief surgeon of the garrison, and through him they sent a letter to LaFayette. The plan adopted by La-
190
HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
Fayette's friends, and suggested to him by the physician. was for him to feign sickness-which he did. In a few weeks or a month the physician induced the governor of the prison to get permission from Vienna for the prisoner to take daily rides for the benefit of his health. The permission was granted on condition that the governor always went with him.
9. On one of these rides, Huger and Bollman met the gen- pral at a place which had been previously designated, where they endeavored to liberate him, but failed. LaFayette did. irxleed, mount behind Bollman and travel in this way for several miles: but they mistook their road. The alarm balls were soon ringing, and they were arrested in a short timo Bollman. after telling the mayor of Brauseifer who they were. attempted to bribe him, but in this ho. failed. They were carriedl back to Ohmutz and both thrown into prison. Huger had been immediately arrested and put into prison. He and Bollman were brought to trial and were both seu teneed to imprisonment for life. This was afterwards con! muted to a term of years; and finally they were set at liberty on the payment of a large sum of money.
10. LaFayette's estate in France was confiscated, and his wife and danghter were imprisoned for twenty months: they were then released. They went to Vienna to see the em peror, who granted them permission to visit LaFayette in prison. where they shared his captivity. LaFayette, his wife and daughter and his two friends were set at liberty on August 25, 1797. in obedience to the peremptory demand of General Bonaparte, who refused to make peace with Austria until he knew that they were free. After their release the treaty of Campo Formio was immediately concluded.
11. You may be sure that the interview between LaFayette and Colonel Huger was one of the deepest interest to them both. The one had devoted several years of his early mau-
191
NULLIFICATION.
hood to aid in securing the freedom and independence of the United States: the other had risked liberty and life in the effort to deliver from & cruel imprisonment that early friend of his country.
12. General C. C. Pinckney, one of the great and illustrious mer of the state, died August 10, IS25.
QUESTIONS .- I. Tell what you can of Pickens and Geddes' administra- tions.
2. What can you say of the attempted insurrection of the slaves in 1822? Have any insurrections ever occurred in the state ?
3. What were the two most noteworthy events of Wilson's administr ?- tion ?
4. What is said of LaFayette's visit to the State ?
5. What can you tell of the accusation brought against him by his own governinient ?
6. Give an account of his departure from the French camp.
7. What is all of the arrest of LaFayette and his companions by the Austrians? Tell of his transfer to the king of Prussia. Why was he soon afterwards sent back to Austria ?
S. Describe the efforts of Francis Huger to rescue him.
9. What was the result of his efforts ?
10. How was the liberation of LaFayette finally brought about ?
II. What do you suppose were the feelings of Huger and LaFayette during this interview ?
12. What distinguishe I South Carolinian died about this time ?
CHAPTER XLI.
NULLIFICATION. FREE SCHOOLS.
1. John Taylor was governor from 1826 to 1828, and it was during his administration that the first resolutions were passed by the legislature of South Carolina expressive of dis satisfaction with the tariff laws of the United States. The people of South Carolina, as well as the people of all the other southern states, being engaged almost exclusively in agricultural pursuits, to the neglect of manufactures, felt the
192
HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
burden of the tariff, as they were all consumers of manufac- tured goods. In this situation they very naturally came to think that tariffs laid upon imports should be intended For revenue only, and not for protection: by protection meaning a tariff laid upon any given article imported into the country for the special purpose of encouraging its manufacture here. On December 12, 1827, they passed resolutions condemning these laws. Similar resolutions were passed at the following session. December 15, 1525, and a protest was entered De- cember 19. It has, however, of late years become the fixed policy of the country to have protective tariffs.
2. The commissioners of free schools, reported the estal- lishment of 592 schools in the state, in which S.S34 scholar- were taught. at an annual cost of $36.550. From 1529 to 1830, Stephen D. Miller was governor. The free selol report for 1529 reduced the number of schools to $40. But raised the number of pupils taught to 0.086, the cost of which was increased to $30.715, being at the rate of St .: \ per scholar. It must be remembered that the free :chool system of that day was not the public school system that we have now, and the funds appropriated were expende l on'y for the use of the poor. Now there is a general free scho,1 system.
3. From 1830 to 1532. James Hamilton was governor. During his administration the medical college of South Caro- lina was incorporated. It went into operation in 1833. It was also during his administration that the opposition to the protective tariff laws of the United States culminated in a declaration of State Right. by the state, and the enactment of an ordinance to nullify the operation of the tariff laws of congress, December 17, 1830. The ordinance of nullification was passed by the state in convention assembled.
4. In the January preceding had occurred the great debate in congress between Hayne, of South Carolina, and Webster.
193
NULLIFICATION.
of Massachusetts, on the subject of State Rights and federal relations. Mr. Webster, by his admirers, has been called the great exponnder of the constitution. But it is probable that Jefferson, Calhoun, and Hayne understood it as well Webster.
5. During the next administration, when Robert Y. Hayne was governor, from 1x32 to 1834, Andrew Jackson, then pres- ident of the United States, issned a proclamation denouncing the nullification proceedings of South Carolina. This was answered by Governor Havne's proclamation asserting the sovereignty of the state, and all the rights pertaining to and incident to that sovereignty.
6. About this time. also, the congress of the United States passed an act to enforce the laws in regard to the collection of the tariffs imposed by Congress. This act is commonly called the Force Bill. The excitement ran very high in South Carolina. There were many persons who did not favor the m asures of the nullifiers. These were called submissionists: and in some places where the nullification feeling was high it was somewhat risky to be an avowel submissionist. The present writer was a child at that time, but be has qu'te a vivid recollection of the great excitement that prevailel in the county of Edgefield, which is his native county.
7. To illustrate the feeling which existel at the time, the following incident is inserted: At this time there lived in Edgefield county a young Irishman or Scotchman. Archibald Armstrong, who was as ardent & nullitier as any native of Edgefield. On one occasion. during court week. he was at the Court House, where. as is usual on such occasions, a large crowd bad assembled. Nullification fighting fever was high in the crowd. Armstrong was a comparative stranger there, and as his political opinions were unknown to the Prowd, it was asanned by several who were anxions for a fight that he was a submissionist. He was as brave as a I 3
194
HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
lion and feared to man, and disdained to avow himself a nullifier: so when a fight was pressed upon him. he thrashed his first opponent, and a second and third. one after the other, to the great delight of a friend of his who stood by in order to seo fair play. After Armstrong had well thrashed his opponents, his friend informed them that he was as good a nullifier as any of them, a fact Armstrong had proved ri et armis.
S. For a time very serious apprehensions were felt by many of a collision between the United States and South Carolina. But Mr. Clay, of Kentucky -- the great Henry Clay-introduced a bill in Congress, known as the Compromise Act, which became a law, and by which it was enacted that there should be a regular reduction of the protective tariffs for ten year -. when the rates should become uniform-un calorem-and for revenue only. The threatened collision was averted: the storm blew over; the revenues wore collected as usual, andl peace reigned once more for awhile over the whole country.
9. But in a few years the slavery question loomed up, dark and heavy on the horizon. like a tremendous storm cloud. threatening destruction to all the land. In less than thirty years after the passage of Mr. Clay's compromise measures, South Carolina seceded from the Union and the storm burst.
10. The railroad. 137 miles in length, from Charleston to Hamburg. was completed in the year 1533. At that time this was the longest railway in the United States, and per- haps in the world.
11. On the night of November IS. 1533, occurred a natural phenomenon of a most wonderful character. This is known as the meteorie shower, or the falling of the stars. It was witnessed with wouder and very great astonishment through- out the United States. Since that time astronomical observers tell us that meteorje showers are of periodical occurrence. The earth in its orbit passes through immense fields, or belts.
195
FREE SCHOOLS.
of cosme or star dust: and the burning of that dust, or rather. m .Il cosmic balls, causes the appearanes of stars flashing an I going out.
QUESTIONS -- 1. What resolutions in regard to the tariff lows were passed by the legislature during Taylor's administration ? What is a protective tarif? Why were the people of this state opposed to a pro- tective tariff?
2. What was the condition of the free schools at this time? How did the free schools of that day differ from the free schools of the present time ?
3. What were the most important events of Hamilton's administration?
4. What great debate occurred in Congress at this time ?
5. What two proclamations were issued during Hayne's administra- tion ?
6. What was the Force Bill? What can you say of the excitement produced by its passage ?
7. Relate the anecdote of Armstrong. What does this anecdote illus- trate ?
S. What was Clay's Compromise Act?
9. What other great question now began to threaten the peace of the country ?
ro. What railroad was completed at this time ?
fr. What wonderful natural phenomenon occurred at this time ?
CHAPTER XLII.
COLD WINTER OF 1835. FREE SCHOOLS. SEMINOLE WAR. WAR WITH MEXICO.
1. From 1SB4 to 1836 George MeDuffie was governor MeDattie was a native of Georgia, & poor boy but of great. abilities and very remarkable for a natural eloquence. In Congress and on the hustings he took a prominent and active part in the political discussions of the day. He was an ardont nullitier and his fiery eloquence gave him great indu- race in the state. Nor was his intresse confined to his own -tate -- it was national.
196
HISTORY. OF SOUTH CAROLINA
2. The report of the commissioner of free schools for 1835 made the number of schools 709, in which - 8,475 scholars were taught. at a cost of 833,031. A falling off from the number of children of a few years before, and also from the amount paid for each child.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.