USA > South Carolina > Orangeburg County > The history of Orangeburg County, South Carolina : from its first settlement to the close of the Revolutionary War > Part 24
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"Charlestown, S o'clock, June Sth. "Sir,
"As we have received information that a body of the enemy have landed, and are lodging themselves on Long-Island, and as the nature of the country is represented to me as favorable to riflemen, I must re- quest that you immediately detach Thomson's and Sumpter's regiments: Capts. Alston's, Mayham's, and Coutirier's companies to that Island, with orders to at- tack, and if possible, dislodge this corps of the enemy; but you must above all, take care, that their re- treat across the breach from Long-Island to Sullivan's Island, is secured to them in case of necessity. For which purpose, you are desired to move down to the point, commanding the breach, two field-pieces; . . . the sooner it is done the better: ... you are there- fore to exert yourself in such a manner that the attack may be made at break of day.
"To Col. Moultrie.
"I am, sir, yours. "Charles Lee. "Major General."
In another letter to Col. Moultrie of the same date, Gen. Lee wrote: "I have ordered a considerable rein- forcement of riflemen to join Colonel Thomson, which, with the advantages of ground ought to make you to- tally secure."
The following is Col. Moultrie's reply to Gen. Lee:
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"Sullivan's Island, June 10th, 1776. "Sir.
"I just now received your orders for detaching Thompson and Sumpter's regiments, Allston, Maybam and Coutirier's companies. By the date of your letter it seems as if you intended this business to have been done this morning, but your letter came too late to hand for that purpose. I shall send the detachment to our advance guard, there to remain with their boats for crossing them, hid till night, then shall em- bark them for Long-Island, where they may be re- connoitreing till day-light." * ×
"I am, sir, your most obedient, "William Moultrie, "Col. 2d. regiment."
But before night Col. Moultrie received the follow- ing letter:
"June the 10th, 6 o'clock, P. M. "Sir
"I am just returned from an excursion into the country . . As the large ships are now over the bar, and as your bridge must be finished; I would wish you would lay asside all thoughts of an expedition against Long-Island, unless your scouts bring such intelligence as almost to insure a successful stroke.
"I am, sir. yours, "Charles Lee. "To Col. Moultrie, "Sullivan's Island."
In a letter to Col. Moultrie, dated the 11th, Gen. Lee wrote: "I hope the point of your Island, oppo- site to Long-Island is secure against the enemy lodg- ing there." The task of guarding that point had been entrusted to Col. Thomson.
On June 16th Col. Moultrie wrote to Gen. Arn-
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strong. who commanded at Haddrell's Point, on the mainland: "Col. Thompson is now with me, and in- forms me that he has taken particular notice of the movement of the enemy. he observed about 10 o'clock, 200 grenadiers, and a small battalion, (which he imagines came from Dewee to cover the landing of the rest) where they posted themselves, about one mile from our advanced guard, and waited until about seventeen hundred men were landed. They then marched off to Dewees' Island, be observed every six mnen carried something like a tent; they are still landing as fast as the boats can bring them. Col. Thompson begs that he may have at least his own men which are over with you (one hundred) without whom he cannot undertake to prevent their landing on this island, should they attempt it. We are all in high spirits, and will keep a good look out to prevent a sur- prise. Col. Thompson requests as a favor, if you have time, that you would come over and take a ride on the island to observe what a length of ground we have to defend." To this Gen. Armstrong replied, on the same day: "I shall do my utmost to comply with yours and Col. Thompson's request, respecting the resi- due of his regiment, no passage over, unless you can send boats in the morning." "I see no reason why you may not also reinforce Col. Thom- son; nay, if they appear indeed to land on Sullivan's it must be done, and the point at the island where they may best land. prudently and vigorously defend- ed at all events. Let the Col. know this."
On the 21st, Gen. Lee wrote to Col. Moultrie: "Those two field pieces at the very end of the point. are so exposed that I desire you will draw them off to a more secure distance from the enemy . . . in their present situation it appears to me, they may be carried off when ever the enemy think proper."
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In a letter to Col. Isaac Hayne, dated June 24th, Hon. Richard Hutson relates the following incidents concerning the 3rd regiment:
"On their sending their first reconnoitering party upon Long Island, one of their men was shot by one of our Riflemen. He was dressed in red, faced with black, and had a cockade and feather in his hat and a sword by his side. By which it appears that he was an officer; but that is all we know about him. Some time after there happened an affair of a very tragi- comical nature; when they began to effect a landing on Long Island our President offered a premium of thirty guineas to any of the Riflemen who should first take one of the King's troops prisoner. Accordingly three of them went over one night for that purpose. Two of them agreed to keep together, the other deter- mined to go by himself. In the morning by twilight the one that was alone descried the two others at a distance, and imagining that they were the King's troops, took up his gun to fire at them, thinking, I suppose, to kill one and then take the other alive; one of the others seeing his piece presented, was quicker than he was and shot him through the thigh, upon which he fell. They immediately ran up, dragged him to the boat, threw him in and pushed off, all thinking that he was one of the King's troops. They had got a considerable distance from the shore before the poor man was sufficiently recovered from his fright to speak. As soon as he spoke they discovered their mistake. He is likely to recover." X
"There was a sham 'battle the other day between our men on Sullivan's Island, and the troops on Long Island. Some of our Riflemen had been over in order to endeavor to obtain the President's premium, and on Friday morning last, the King's troops tracked them down to the Breach between the two islands,'
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which at low water is fordable. As soon as our guard upon Sullivan's Island discovered them, they fired upon them with a field piece, which they returned by Platoons of Musketry. They continued firing at each other in this manner across the Breach for several hours. One of our men had one of his hands blown off by our own Field-Piece, which went off while he was loading it, owing to its not having been sponged. Two others were wounded by the enemy. We have not learnt what loss they have sustained."
It was doubtless this same "sham battle" that in- duced Gen. Lee, on June 22nd. to write the following to Col. Moultrie:
"Sir,
"Inclosed is a letter for Col. Thompson; I send it open that you may read it: for allowing for the differ- ence of his circumstances as a rifle officer, the spirit of the order is to extend to the whole: no vague un- certain firing either of rifles, muskets, or cannon is to be permitted." And Gen. Lee was probably referring to the three adventurers, referred to by Mr. Hutson. when he continued, in the same letter: "Soldiers run- ning at random wherever their folly directs, is an ab- solute abomination not to be tolerated."
But it appears that a few days later there was an- other exchange of shots between Thomson's men and the enemy, for on June 27th, Mr. Hutson wrote again : "The firing yesterday was between the troops on Long Island and our advanced Guard on Sullivan's Island. across the Breach. They fired with Field Pieces. and threw several shells. The President and General Lee were down there at the time. One of the shells burst- ed within a few yards of the President, and he brought a piece of it up to Town with him. They did not do any execution and General Lee would suffer only two
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shots to be returned from an eighteen pounder which has been carried down there."
On the 27th, Gen. Lee, in a letter to Col. Moultrie, wrote: "I have ordered Gen. Armstrong to send an hundred volunteers to ease Col. Thompson's regiment of their heavy duty, for I find, that a part of Col. Hor- ry's regiment* had most magnanimously refused to take this duty on them: We shall live I hope to thank them."
On the 28th of June the British fleet, having crossed the bar, bore down on the little fort that Colonel Moultrie occupied at the western extremity of Sulli- van's Island,-but the result of the British admiral's temerity on that occasion, in bearing down upon that fort, is too well known. The battle of Fort Sullivan is American history. We have only to deal with the part taken by our own Thomson at the other end of the Island.
About the same time that the British fleet moved to attack Col. Moultrie's fort, the British army of two thousand regulars, under General Sir Henry Clinton, marched down to the western extremity of Long Island, and attempted to cross the inlet, where it is fordable at low water, over to Sullivan's Island. Clin- ton's army was flanked by an armed schooner and a sloop, and by a strong flotilla of armed boats from the fleet, with orders to co-operate with the army. But Col. Thomson's sharpshooters and artillerists not only drove Clinton's regulars back from the ford as often as they attempted to cross it, but swept the decks of the flotilla as often as it approached to aid the army. And after a short and decisive fight the army was defeated and driven off, and the flotilla dis-
*Militia.
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persed. Clinton's forces, including the marines, num- bered nearly two thousand more than Thomson's, and yet Col. Thomson had not a man killed and only one wounded.
While the fight was going on Gen. Lee sent the fol- lowing letter to Col. Moultrie:
"Dear Col.
"Mr. Byrd makes reports of your conduct which does you infinite honor; they are indeed such as I expected. I have sent for more ammunition for you, and ordered a large corps of riflemen to reinforce Col. Thompson." Whether Col. Thomson received these reinforcements before, during. or after his fight, the records do not state: but Gen. Moultrie in his "Me- moirs." p. 142, says that Col. Thomson's force consist- ed of his own regiment of 300 men, Col. Clarke with 200 North Carolina regulars, Col. Horry with 200 South Carolina troops, and the Racoon Company of 50 militia riflemen. He further says: "Col. Thomp- son had orders that if they could not stand the enemy they were to throw themselves into the fort"-an or- der which, it appears, he was not put to the necessity of obeying.
On the day after the battles. Gen. Lee wrote Col. Moultrie a letter of thanks, to which his secretary added the following postscript: "The General desires that Col. Thompson will send as soon as he can, a re- turn of all occurrences in his part of the Island."
"On July 1st, Gen. Lee addressed a letter to Col. Moultrie to which he added the following postscript : "I must request that your garrison may be kept more vigilant than ever, and that Col. Thompson and his corps do not relax: for it is almost proverbial in war, that we are never in so great danger as when success makes us confident." But the British were satisfied
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with the drubbings they had received, and soon sailed away from our coast.
For his splendid victory over Clinton, the Continen- tal Congress included Colonel Thomson's name in the general resolution of thanks to the victorious forces on this occasion.
The following is a copy of the resolution :*
"Philadelphia, July 20th, 1776. "In Congress.
"Resolved, That the thanks of the United States of America, be given to Maj. Gen. Lee, Col. William Moultrie, Col. William Thompson, and the officers and soldiers under their commands; who, on the 28th of June last, repulsed, with so much valor, the attack which was made on the State of South-Carolina, by the fleet and army of his Britannic majesty.
"That Mr. President transmit the foregoing resolu- tion to Maj. Gen. Lee, Col. Moultrie, and Col. Thomp- son.
"By order of the Congress. "John Hancock, President."+
The six South Carolina regular regiments were now, by resolutions of the Continental Congress, passed June 18th, and July 24th, 1776, put regularly upon the Conti- nental Establishment, and the South Carolina officers came into the Continental line as the youngest officers of their respective ranks, as will appear by the follow- ing resolution of the General Assembly of South Caro- lina, passed September 20th. 1776: "Resolved, that this house do acquiesce in the resolution of the conti- nental Congress of the 18th of June, and the 24th of July last, relative to the putting the two regiments of
*Moultrie's Memoirs, Vol. I, page 183.
+For Col. Thomson's answer to this letter see his order book for Aug. 14, 1776.
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infantry, the regiment of rangers,* the regiment of ar- tillery, and the two regiments of riflemen, in the ser- vice of this state, upon the continental establish- ment."
Hildreth says, History United States, Vol. III., Chap- ter XXXII., p. 109, that "Congress had already+ taken into Colonial pay the three regiments of South Caro- lina, presently increased to five".
In the month of July following his victory over Clinton, Col. Thomson was called upon to furnish a de- tachment for an expedition against the Cherokee In- dians in the upper part of South Carolina.
Upon the breaking out of hostilities, the British agents in the South instigated the Cherokee Indians to take up arms against the colonists. An Indian war commenced, and was carried on with its usual barbari- ty.§ The speedy departure, however, of the British fleet from the sea coast, after their unsuccessful attack on Fort Sullivan, gave an opportunity to concentrate a large force for the chastisement of the savages.
Col. Andrew Williamson, | of Ninety Six District, commanded the forces in this expedition. With a small force of militia he began his march on the third of July. His force being small, his progress was ne-
* "There are some of my officers, I am informed, who will not take Continental Commissions" .- Col. Thomson to Major Morgan Conner, January 2nd, 1777.
+Toward the close of 1775.
¿It was "Colonial pay" in name only, for General Moultrie says that up to April, 1778, "the state had paid and clothed the troops, and furnished every article that was necessary for military operations from their own stores, the continent having nothing here at the time" .- Memoirs, Vol. II, page 364.
¿Mr. Francis Salvador stated in a letter to Mr. Drayton, dated July 18, 1776, that some of the inhabitants of the up-county were so panic stricken that they fled as low down as Orangeburgh .- Drayton's Memoirs Vol. II, page 363.
||He was promoted colonel while on this expedition.
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cessarily slow. On the 16th he reached Dewett's Cor- ner near the Cherokee boundary line. Here he was joined by Capt. Felix Warley, of Thomson's regiment, with a detachment of a hundred rangers, and a con- voy of wagons with ammunition, arms, and stores .*
The Carolinians had several sharp engagements with the Indians. but they finally defeated them; traversed their whole country; and laid waste their fields of corn; and about five hundred of the Chero- kees were forced to take refuge in West Florida, where they were fed at the expense of the British government. Of this expedition Ramsay says:
"None of all the expeditions before undertaken against the savages had been so successful as this first effort of the new-born commonwealth. In less than three months, viz. from the 15th of July to the 11th of October 1776 the business was completed, and the na- tion of the Cherokees so far subdued as to be incapa- ble of annoying the settlements. The whole loss of the Americans in the expedition did not exceed fifty men, but in this number was that worthy citizen Mr. Francis Salvador."+
In August, 1776, Gen. Charles Lee, commanding the troops in South Carolina, undertook an expedition against the British province of East Florida. Presi- dent Rutledge gave orders to Col. Thomson to send 130 men of his regiment with Gen. Lee. In conse- quence of this order Col. Thomson, on August 7th, is- sued an order to Major Mayson to take command of this detachment at Savannah. Gen. Lee's expedition
*"Captain Warley with this loaded convoy, marched from Charles- town to Dewett's Corner, by the road along the Congaree and Hard- Labour Creek, in fourteen days."-Drayton's Memoirs, Vol. II, page 343, foot note.
+For a sketch of this gentleman see Drayton's Memoirs, Vol. II, pages 347, 348.
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left Savannah in September and marched toward St. Augustine; but two days thereafter Gen. Lee received an express from Congress ordering him to the north- ward with the Virginia and North Carolina troops. This put an end to the expedition, and Major Mayson returned to the Congarees with his detachment, in Oc- tober, and at once gave his men furloughs for thirty days, for recuperating.
On October the 6th we find, by his own order book, that Col. Thomson was in camp at the Congarees with 161 officers and privates, with the detachment that had been sent to East Florida not yet returned, though it did return a few days later.
Scarcely had the detachment under Major Mayson returned from Georgia, when Col. Thomson was or- dered to send off another detachment to assist the Georgians. This detachment, consisting of two cap- tains, three lieutenants, three sergeants and ninety- three privates, marched from the camp at Congarees on October 14th, 1776, under the command of Capt. John Caldwell, with orders from Col. Thomson to cross the Savannah just below Augusta and proceed to Fort Barrington on the Altamaha. A second detachment. of seven privates and a sergeant, under command of Lieut. Beames, marched, on October 1Sth, to join Capt. Caldwell, and took orders to Capt. Caldwell instruct- ing him to execute his orders, and then to join the regiment wherever it should then be.
On the 2Sth of December, a detachment under Capt. Richard Winn was ordered to Georgia to relieve Capt. Caldwell and his detachment.
The next service required of the 3rd regiment was to go to Georgia, in 1777, under General Robert Howe, who then commanded the troops in South Carolina and Georgia. Gen. Howe, in February, 1777, received
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intelligence from Georgia that a body of regular troops, under Col. Fuser, were marching to invade Georgia, and he immediately left Charlestown for Sa- vannah; but the enemy soon retreated, and in March following, Generals Gadsden and Moultrie, command- ing at Charlestown, requested Gen. Howe to return to that city, which he did in June following. In the meantime he wrote a letter to Gen. Moultrie, from Savannah, on March 16th, in which he said: "Thomp- son's are at Purisburgh, and will be ordered to march to-morrow." They were probably marched back to their homes, for we find in Col. Thomson's order book a letter, dated at "Charles Town 25th April 1777", di- rected to Maj. Wise, in "Camp near Nelson's Ferry", ordering him to send a detachment to Charlestown.
During the remainder of the year 1777, Col. Thomson's regiment was divided up into detachments, which per- formed various duties in different parts of South Caro- lina. One detachment, for some time, guarded the jail at Ninety-Six, another, under Capt. Lyles, was, on August 16th, ordered to capture several Tory leaders in Ninety-Six district and convey them to Charles- town jail, while other detachments were given other similar duties to perform. The regiment was en- camped part of the time at Amelia and part of the time at Nelson's Ferry.
In December, 1777, the State of Georgia being much disturbed by British and Tory inroads from Florida, Gen. Howe returned to Georgia.
On April 6th, 1778, President Lowndes wrote the following letter to Gen. Moultrie:
"Sir,
"I have received letters and information from the Congarees, which give good grounds to suspect that some design is formed to disturb the tranquility
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of the interior parts of this state. Several of the in- habitants have suddenly and secretly withdrawn themselves from their habitations. and have manifest- ed, by other parts of their behavior, that some enter- prise is in agitation, that may, if not timely attended to, surprise us at a disadvantage. I have ordered Colonel Beard to keep a good look out, and to raise a proper number of his militia, so as to be in readiness to oppose any sudden attempt that may be undertaken by those people called Tories. I have taken the liber- ty to direct him in case the matter should wear a seri- ous aspect and require a greater force than he can readily draw from his regiment, to apply for aid and succor to Colonel Thomson, who, I believe has a de- tachment of his regiment near those parts, as I in- tended to apply to you to give the required assistance. I wish the present appearances which have given this alarm may blow over* without producing any ill con- sequences. Perhaps the late incursions of the Florida scouts in those parts, may have afforded an opportuni- ty of tampering with the ill-affected, and of exciting ill humours amongst them. However this may be, it is prudent to be prepared against the worst.
"I am, &c. "Rawlins Lowndes.
"The honorable General Moultrie."
On April 7th, Gen. Howe wrote, from Savannah, to Gen. Moultrie, wishing him "immediately to prepare, and have in readiness to march at a moment's warn- ing, 200 men"; and in answer to this Gen. Moultrie wrote, on April 10th: "I have, agreeably, to your or- ders sent 150 men from Thompson's, and 50 from Sumpter's regiments in readiness to go off at a mo-
*They seem to have done so.
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ment's warning: I hope. however, you will have no occasion for them."
Thomson's regiment seems to have been very much in demand about that time. On April 14th President Lowndes wrote to Gen. Moultrie as follows: "As it appears from the concurrent accounts of all the intel- ligence I have received, that the disaffected plan their hopes and expectations on being joined with a force from Florida: and that their aim is to form the junc- tion by crossing Savannah river, a condiderable party having already taken that route, I submit to you, whether it would not be necessary and proper to post Thompson with his regiment at some convenient place on Savannah river to interrupt or prevent such a de- sign, more especially as he would be enabled from thence, more expeditiously to remove to the immedi- ate assistance of Georgia. The militia in all parts of the back country being in arms, and on their guard, I think no great danger is to be apprehended, unless a combined force should be effected, which must be by crossing Savannah river, the guarding of which might baffle their scheme." To this Gen. Moultrie replied on the same day: "I just now received yours, and have considered with attention what you mention with re- gard to posting Thompson's regiment on Savannah river, I cannot at present think it proper by any means, and I will therefore give you my reasons. That regi- ment consists of about one third the number of conti- nental troops in this State (150 of them in town which we cannot do without, unless the militia will take off some of our guards) and the sending them so far from the capital would be running too great a risk, besides the barrassing the troops: should any sudden attack be made upon our sea coast, we have only the conti- mental troops to make head until the militia can be
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collected, which you know will take some little time; should any attack be made on our frontier it cannot be half the consequence, and should the enemy attempt to move with an army through the back country, they must drag themselves so slowly along that before they could penetrate far we should be collected to oppose them; and should they move in small parties I think our militia quite sufficient to check their progress. I flatter myself that this bustle is not so serious as was first imagined, or I certainly should have heard from Gen. Howe ere this, to move on the troops, he had or- dered to be in readiness."
But Gen. Moultrie had not long to wait on Gen. Howe for marching orders, for on the same date that he addressed his letter to President Lowndes, Gen. Howe wrote him, from Savannah. as follows: "The situation of affairs here, makes it necessary to desire that the men under marching orders, repair, with all possible expedition to Purisburgh, where they will re- ceive directions as to their further conduct. You will take care that they are provided with every military requisite, as this state cannot furnish them. You are, however, not to delay the march of the men, for any preparations of this sort, as I am exceedingly anxious for their arrival, and shall continue to be so, till they do arrive."
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