The history of South Carolina, from its first European discovery to its erection into a republic: with a supplementary chronicle of events to the present time, Part 6

Author: Simms, William Gilmore, 1806-1870. cn
Publication date: 1840
Publisher: Charleston, S. Babcock & co.
Number of Pages: 372


USA > South Carolina > The history of South Carolina, from its first European discovery to its erection into a republic: with a supplementary chronicle of events to the present time > Part 6


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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 | Part 22 | Part 23


The proprietors adopted the suggestion of Smith, and he was succeeded by John Archdale, a Quaker, and one of their number. The fundamental constitutions were surrendered to the dislike of the people, and were for- mally abolished after an experiment of twenty-three years had shown them to be utterly impracticable in the condition of the colony. The government of the people was now severed from the powers conferred by the char-


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ter. Archdale entered upon his work, therefore, with a judgment entirely untrammeled. His administration seems to have been a wise one. It was not distinguish- ed by any incident of importance ; it was peaceable, and received, as it merited, at its termination, the thanks of the colony, for the first time given to any of its gover- nors. He improved the militia system, opened friendly communications with the Indians and Spaniards, dis- couraged the inhumanities of the former so effectually, as to induce them utterly to renounce the inhuman prac- tice of plundering shipwrecked vessels, and murdering their crews; and combined, with singular felicity, the firm requisites of the governor, with the gentle and sim- ple benevolence of the Quaker. " Yet," says the histo- rian Grahame, "how inferior the worldly renown of Archdale, the instrument of so much good, to the more cherished fame of his less efficient and far less disinter- ested contemporary and fellow sectary, William Penn !"


It may be added that, for the first time, during his ad- ministration a regular administration of the ordinances of religion was introduced among the English of the colo- ny. The Huguenots brought with them their holy men ; and hence, perhaps, the more gentle habits, and the wise forbearance, which distinguished their conduct towards their opponents, in the long strifes and bitter enmities which encountered their claims to an equal participation of the few pleasant fruits of exile.


CHAPTER IX.


Among other extraordinary privileges, the power had been granted to Archdale of appointing his successor in office. He chose Joseph Blake, a nephew of the cele- brated British admiral, a man of great prudence and popu- larity. Blake governed the colony wisely and happily. Shortly after his elevation to office, a new code of funda- mental constitutions was transmitted to Carolina, from the proprietors ; but this code commanded far less considera- tion than the last. It does not seem to have been even recognized by the provincial assembly. Blake's admin- istration, which lasted from 1696 to his death, in 1700, was a season of political calm. Yet it was only in consequence of a succession of calamities, that the strifes of party were suspended. The pirates, whom a more severe application of the laws had driven from their old haunts in Carolina, now, in 1696, turned their arms against the settlement, and harassed its commerce .- Several ships belonging to Charlestown, were taken by them as they left the port ; the crews sent on shore, and the vessels kept as prizes. During the autumn of the same year, a dreadful hurricane inundated the town, and threatened its destruction. The swollen sea was driven in upon the shores with such impetuosity, that several per- sons were overtaken by the waves and drowned. Much property and many lives were swallowed up by the ocean. This inundation was followed by a fire, which nearly re-


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duced the town to ashes. The small pox succeeded this last disaster, and spread death and desolation through the colony. Professional ignorance proved no less fatal than the disease. Scarcely had the colonists begun to breathe from these evils, when a pestilence broke out among them, and swept off, among numerous other vic- tims, nearly all of the public officers, and one half of the legislature. Few families escaped a share in these calamities. Despair sat upon every countenance, and many among the survivors began to think of abandoning a colony which Providence had seemed to distinguish by every sort of calamity.


But even these afflictions did not quiet the turbulence of party. The Carolinians appeared to possess a stub- born energy of character, which soon prompted a for- getfulness of sorrow, and the causes of sorrow. The political strifes of the colony were soon renewed. The old conflicts between the people and the proprietors, on the subject of their respective rights, were revived with all the ancient acrimony ; and the acquisition of Nicholas Trott, a lawyer and an able man, by the party of the former, contributed to their audacity, in a degree corres- ponding to the addition which he had given to their strength. It is not necessary that we should dwell upon the thousand little causes of provocation on the one hand or the other, which helped hourly to widen the breach between the parties. There was a native inco- herency in the union of their fortunes-a mutual dis- trust, arising from a real or supposed difference of inter- ests ; and the proprietary lords were soon taught a les- son, which was afterwards bestowed in like manner


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upon their monarch, that a people, removed three thou- sand miles from the presence of their rulers, can neither be protected by their care, nor enfeebled by their exac- tions.


With the administration of Blake, who died in the year 1700, ended the short term of tranquility which had originated with Archdale's government. He was succeeded by James Moore, a man of considerable talent and military enterprise, ambitious in a high degree, and an industrious seeker after popularity. He renewed the traffic in Indians, begun in the time of West, and pre- pared to avenge upon the Spaniards at St. Augustine, the frequent attacks which they had made upon the Car- olinians. A rupture between England and Spain at this time, made that a legitimate enterprise, which, a few years before, had been arrested by the proprietors as wholly unjustifiable. Moore checked the domestic quar- rels of the Carolinians, by the suggestion of this favorite expedition. Florida, he assured the people, would be an easy conquest. Her treasures of gold and silver were proposed as the rewards of valor. The wrongs which they had sustained from the Spaniards, were such as, when dwelt upon, were sufficient to warm them to the desire of vengeance. His eloquence was successful, as well in the assembly as among the people. His proposition was adopted by a great majority and in spite of the ear- nest opposition of a prudent few, who could not be de- ceived by the brilliant picture of success which had been held up to the imaginations of all. Two thousand pounds sterling were voted for the service ; six hundred provincial militia raised, out of a population of about


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seven thousand persons ; an equal number of Indians were incorporated with the Carolinians ; schooners and merchant vessels were impressed as transports to carry the forces ; and, in the month of September, 1702, gov- ernor Moore sailed from Port Royal, the place appointed for the rendezvous, upon an enterprise conceived in rash- ness and conducted without caution. The Spaniards were suffered to know all that was going on, and were preparing for defence with quite as much industry as their foes were preparing for attack. They had laid up four months provisions in the castle, which was also strongly fortified, and had sent timely despatches to the West India islands for the succor of the Spanish fleets. Colonel Daniel, a Carolinian officer of great spirit, with a party of militia and Indians, made a de- scent upon the town of St. Augustine by land, while the commander-in-chief pursued his way by sea. His ar- rangements were made with equal secrecy and prompti- tude ; and he attacked, took the town and plundered it, before the fleet of Moore appeared in sight. Upon Moore's arrival, the castle was closely invested, but without success. The cannon of the invaders made no impression, and colonel Daniel was despatched in a sloop to Jamaica, for supplies of bombs and mortars of the necessary calibre. But, during his absence, the Spanish fleet appeared at the mouth of the harbor, and governor Moore was compelled to raise the siege. Aban- doning his ships, he retreated by land to Charlestown, having, according to the historians, fled with a rapidity as unbecoming as his rashness had been unwise and im- provident. Daniel, on his return, to his great surprise


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found the siege raised, and narrowly escaped being made captive by the enemy. This fruitless expedition entailed a debt of six thousand pounds upon the colony.


Notwithstanding the unhappy result of his first milita- ry enterprise, Moore, fond of warlike exploits, soon re- solved upon another. The Apalachian Indians, who had been stimulated by the Spaniards to hostilities against the colony, now commanded his attention. Determined to chastise them, he raised a force of Carolinians and Indians, and penetrated into the very heart of their set- tlements. Wherever he went he carried fire and sword, and struck a salutary terror into the hearts of the sava- ges. The Apalachian towns between the Savannah and Altamaha, were laid in ashes, the country ravaged, the people made captives, eight hundred of them slain, and the most hidden settlements of the enemy laid open to the devastation which followed at his heels. This exhi- bition of power was productive of immense moral good to the Carolinians in that quarter. It taught the sava- ges a new lesson of respect for their arms, and prepared the way for the English settlements that were afterwards planted along those rivers. The benefit was almost equally great to the commander of the expedition. His courage and conduct removed the discredit which his pre- vious rashness had incurred, and he received the thanks of the proprietors and the people, for the important con- quests which he had made. Apalachia, the country thus won by the arms of Carolina, became afterwards, succes- sively, the colony and state of Georgia.


Moore was succeeded in the government by Sir Na- thaniel Johnson. This gentleman had been a soldier from


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his youth. He had also been a member of the House of Commons in England. He was therefore esteemed to be well qualified for his trust. So, in some respects, he was; but he was at the same time strongly opposed to the dissenting party, and a docile agent of lord Granville, then the lord palatine of Carolina, whose hostility to the same class of religionists was equally bitter and invet- erate. Under the instructions of this nobleman, gov- ernor Johnson, by a variety of measures, succeeded in establishing ecclesiastical worship and government in the colony. He enacted two laws, by one of which the dissenters were deprived of all civil rights. By the other, he erected an arbitrary court of high com- mission, for the trial of ecclesiastical causes, and the preservation of religious uniformity in Carolina. These laws drove the dissenters to desperation. They sent a special messenger to London, and their petition for re- dress was laid before the House of Lords, who were filled with surprise and indignation at the high handed despotism of the proprietors. The queen, (Anne,) by recommendation of the lords, issued an order, declaring the laws complained of to be null and void ; and promised to institute a process of quo warranto against the provin- cial charter; but this promise was never fulfilled. An idea of the impolitic assumptions of the bigoted pala- tine may be formed, by a reference to the opinion which the House of Lords expressed, in their address to the queen. The law for enforcing conformity to the church of England, in the colony, they describe " an en- couragement to atheism and irreligion, destructive to trade, and tending to the ruin and depopulation of the province."


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It was in the year 1706, that the intolerant policy of lord Granville received this check; and from that period the dissenters were permitted to enjoy, not, in- deed, the equality which they had been encouraged to expect, but simple toleration. In the year following, an act of assembly was passed in South Carolina, for estab- lishing religious worship according to the forms of the church of England. The province was divided into ten parishes, and provision made for building a church in each, and for the endowment of its minister. Before this period, neither the proprietors nor the people seem to have done much, if any thing, worthy of notice, in behalf either of education or religion among themselves. On behalf of the Indians, the moral and religious improve- ment of whom was the pious pretext for the establishment of the colony at first, nothing was attempted. The only European instructions that the savages received, were communicated by a French dancing master, who ac- quired a large estate by teaching them to dance and play on the flute. .


The minds of the Carolinians were somewhat diverted from their domestic, by the approach of foreign troubles. A war, at this time waging between the great European powers of England, France, and Spain, necessarily in- volved the fortunes and interests of their separate colo- nies. A plan was set on foot, by the joint forces of France and Spain, to invade Charlestown, and the Caro- linians were summoned to their arms. Governor John- son was a military man, and the several expeditions of a warlike character in which the Carolinians had been en- gaged, had infused into them a very martial spirit. For-


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tifications were pushed forward with rapidity, ammuni- tion procured, provisions stored ; and industry, stimulated by zeal and valor, soon put the settlements at Ashley riv- er in a tolerable state of defence. Fort Johnson was erected on James island, to meet this exigency ; redoubts raised at White Point, now the site of a promenade-the


battery-no less beautiful than appropriately named; and, having completed their preparations, the Carolinians calmly awaited the appearance of the foe. A French fleet, under Monsieur Le Feboure, having procured succor from Cuba and St. Augustine, appeared before Charlestown. Five separate smokes, which were raised by a corps of observation at Sullivan's island, announced the number of vessels in the invading armament.


The inhabitants of the town were at once put under arms by William Rhett, the colonel in command; des- patches were sent to the captains of militia in the coun- try, and governor Johnson, arriving from his plantation, proclaimed martial law at the head of the militia. His presence, as a military man of known capacity and valor, inspired the citizens with confidence. His measures were calculated to confirm it. He summoned the friend- ly Indians, stationed his troops judiciously, gave his commands with calmness and resolve, and as the troops came in from the country, assigned them their places and duties with the composure of one who had long be- fore adjusted his plan of resistance. The neighboring troops came to the defence of the city in numbers, and with alacrity. That same evening a troop of horse, under captain George Logan, and two companies of foot, commanded by major Broughton, reached the capital.


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The next morning, a company from James island, under captain Drake, another from Wando, under captain Fen- wicke, and five more, commanded by captains Cantey, Lynch, Hearne, Longbois, and Seabrook, from other parts of the province, made their appearance in the city, and with the resident militia, comprised at that time the chief military force of Carolina. Some great guns were put on board such ships as happened to be in the harbor, and the sailors were thus employed, in their own way, to as- sist in the defence of the city. The command of this little fleet was given to colonel William Rhett, a man of resolution and address.


Meanwhile, the enemy having passed the bar, came to anchor a little above Sullivan's island, and sent up a flag to the governor, demanding his surrender. The messenger was received blindfold, and conducted into the forts, where Johnson had drawn up his forces so as to display them to the best advantage. By transferring his troops from fort to fort, by short routes, the Frenchman was led to quadruple the real numbers of the defenders. Having demanded the surrender of the town and country to the arms of France, the messenger concluded by de- claring, that his orders allowed him but a single hour in which to receive an answer. Johnson answered prompt- ly, that it did not need a minute. "I hold this country for the queen of England :" said he. "I am ready to die, but not to deliver up my trust. My men will shed the last drop of their blood, to defend the country from the invader."


This answer, with the report of his messenger, seems to have lessened the spirit of Le Feboure. His fleet re-


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mained stationary ; and, instead of attacking the city, he contented himself with setting on foot some predatory in- cursions into the contiguous islands. The day following this interview, a party went ashore at James island, from which the militia had been withdrawn for the defence of the city. They committed some petty trespasses, and burnt the houses upon one or more plantations, but were soon driven to their boats by a detachment under captain Drake, who had been sent over to encounter them. Another party of near two hundred men, landed on Wando neck and commenced similar depredations .- While in a state of fancied security, they were surprised before the break of day, by a detachment of one hundred men, under captain Cantey. A sharp fire from several quarters aroused them, in the same moment, to equal con- sciousness and confusion. Many were killed, some drowned, and more wounded. Those who escaped the attack became prisoners of war.


Meanwhile, colonel Rhett, having got his little fleet in readiness, weighed his anchors, and moved down the river to where the enemy lay. But the French did not wait his assault. They escaped by superior sailing, and put to sea without suffering an exchange of shots .- After they had disappeared from the coast, a ship of force, with two hundred men, arrived to their assistance, and was seen in Sewee bay, where she landed a number of troops. This intelligence induced the governor to send captain Fenwicke against them by land, while Rhett, with two vessels, sailed round by sea, with the view to prevent their escape by that quarter. Fenwicke, though he found the enemy well posted, charged them


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gallantly, and drove them, after a spirited conflict, to their vessels. They fled from one foe only to encounter an- other. The movements of Rhett and Fenwicke had been so well concerted, that the ships of the former encountered the enemy in the bay, where she struck without firing a shot. Thus ended this expedition of Monsieur Le Feboure, against Carolina, as much to his own discredit as to the honor of the Carolinians. Of eight hundred men who came against the colony, nearly three hundred were killed and taken prisoners. Among the latter, were their chief land officer, Monsieur Arbuset, and several other officers.


Governor Johnson was a man of courage and spirit ; the militia were men hardened to danger by frequent en- counters with the Spaniards, the pirates, and the Indians. They executed their commands with the promptitude and valor of men who fought for, and in sight of, their homes, their wives, and children; and realized those results which seldom fail to reward the warrior who bares his sword under the same sacred auspices.


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CHAPTER X.


Colonel Edward Tynte succeeded Sir Nathaniel John- son in office, under commission from lord Craven, suc- cessor, as palatine, to lord Grenville. Craven's policy fa- vored the dissenters, as much as that of Grenville had discouraged them ; but Tynte had scarcely time to learn the real state of the country, and to establish proper regu- lations in it, before he died. At his death, a controversy arose in the provincial council about the succession, which had almost produced civil war, and did for a brief period array two strong parties in arms against each other. One of these declared for Robert Gibbs, the other for Thomas Broughton. Broughton drew together an armed force at his plantation, with which he marched upon the town. There he encountered a similar array, under the command of Gibbs, who manned the walls with the militia, and closed the gates against him. Aided by some of the in- inhabitants, who let down the drawbridge, Broughton, however, forced a passage and entered the city. After blows were exchanged and wounds given, the party of Broughton prevailed, and marched towards the watch- house in Broad street. There, two companies of militia were posted. The prudence of some of the leaders inter- posed to prevent the bloody consequences of an issue ; and after vainly endeavoring to make himself heard in the clamour of drum and trumpet, which prevailed, Broughton led his men off in another quarter. Some


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farther excesses were committed, but the results were less fatal than was to have been feared from such a con- flict. Broughton was persuaded to withdraw his party, and it was agreed between himself and Gibbs that their several claims should be left to the proprietors for arbitra- ment. Their determination was in favor of neither. The office of governor was conferred upon Charles Craven, a brother of the lord palatine, who was immediately pro- claimed in form, and took upon him the administration.


Craven was a man of great knowledge, courage and integrity ; and mutual esteem in council, and harmony in the colony, followed his appointment. He improved the defences of the colony, cultivated the friendship of the neighboring Indians and Spaniards, and took especial heed to the equitable and prompt administration of justice. Under his direction, the harbor of Port Royal was sounded and examined, and the spot selected for the future erec- tion of the town of Beaufort-so called in honor of Henry duke of Beaufort, afterwards lord palatine of the colony.


In the year 1712, the Indians of the northern province, the Corees, Tuscaroras and other tribes, rose in arms and united to destroy the colonists. They murdered John Lawson, surveyor general of the colony, and large num- bers of other settlers. Aid was implored from South Caro- lina, and Craven despatched six hundred men, under the command of colonel Barnwell, to their relief. Hideous and wild indeed, was the wilderness, at this time, through which Barnwell was compelled to march. Unbroken forests, unopened swamps, deep waters, and tangled thickets, lay in his path. Without roads, he could employ neither carriages nor horses, and yet the utmost despatch


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was necessary in order to save the North Carolinians from their bloody enemies. In spite of every difficulty, Barn- well rapidly made his way until he came up with the sav- ages. He attacked them with boldness and success, slew three and made captives of one hundred men. The Tus- caroras he found, to the number of six hundred more, in one of their towns on the Neuse river. They were shel- tered by a wooden breastwork. Having surrounded them, and slain a considerable number, he compelled the rest to sue for peace. This was granted; but the faithless savages, as soon as he had returned to South Carolina, renewed their massacres. A second demand was made upon governor Craven, and a second force, under the command of colonel Moore, the son of the former governor, was despatched to meet the enemy. Moore found the Indians on the Tau river, about fifty miles from its mouth, where they had thrown up entrenchments. They were well provided with small arms, but were soon taught the folly of standing a siege. Moore defeated them, entered their works, and made eight hundred prisoners. The military strength of the Tuscaroras was annihilated in these conflicts.


This Indian war was succeeded by another, which for a time threatened the very existence of the colony. The numerous and powerful tribe or nation of the Yamassees, possessing a large territory in the neighborhood of Port Royal, had long been friendly to the Carolinians. They had engaged as allies in most of the wars against the Spaniards, the French, and Indian tribes; had done good service, and always proved faithful. Instigated by the Spaniards at St. Augustine-the hereditary enemies


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of the Carolinians-who had united the Cherokees, the Muscoghees, and other Indian nations in a league for the destruction of the colony-the Yamasees suddenly ap- peared in arms. With so much secrecy had their pro- ceedings been conducted, that, at their onslaught, above ninety persons fell under their hatchets on the planta- tions near Pocotaligo. Joined with the Muscoghees and Apalachians, they advanced along the southern frontier, spreading desolation and slaughter where they came. Their numbers were increased by the Congarees, the Catawbas, and the Cherokees; and the Carolinians were soon taught to apprehend the very worst consequences from the presence of a foe no less numerous than savage. The Indians of the southern division mustered more than six thousand warriors ; those of the northern were near a thousand more. From Florida to Cape Fear they were banded together, and marching forward to the destruction of the colony at Ashley river.




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