USA > South Carolina > The history of South Carolina in the Revolution, 1775-1780 > Part 7
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1 Memoirs of the Revolution (Drayton), vol. I, 361, 372.
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Drayton, are utterly against him ; and there was much venom in Cuningham's countenance, but neither Robinson nor Cuningham said much. Browne was the spokesman, and his bitterness and violence were intolerable. Mr. Drayton complains much of his insolent conduct ; but one can scarcely suppress a smile when he reads in Mr. Drayton's account that Browne went so far in his efforts to provoke him to violence as to tell him he believed that Drayton and his party did not mean well to the King and that their professions were nothing but a cloak. At this provocation, says Drayton, "he almost lost his caution ; but thank God he did not even appear to do so, but in a very firm tone severely checked Browne whom the colonel bid to go to bed." Mr. Drayton might have been very earnest in his indignation that he, who until very recently had been a King's councillor, and held the King's commis- sion as Judge, should be charged with being hostile to his Majesty ; and yet in this very letter, he had just complained of Colonel Fletchall because he declared "he would never take up arms against his King." The nice distinction between the King's ministers and the King which pervaded all the revolutionary documents up to the Declaration of Independence was too nice for the frontiersmen, who could not regard this organization called the " Association," which these gentlemen were going through the country endeavoring to induce men to join, in any other light than hostile to the Royal govern- ment. Mr. Drayton wrote that it was his firm belief that Browne, Cuningham, and Robinson would do all in their power to bring things to extremities ; for they believed that they could beat the whole colony ; and that they managed Fletchall as they pleased.
After some further efforts to obtain a hearing, the com- missioners turned their backs on Colonel Fletchall and his
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party and proceeded to the Savannah River on their way to Ninety-Six Court House, and then passed on to the Ham- monds' residence, Snow Hill, nearly opposite to Augusta. The commissioners there addressed a numerous meeting ; and Mr. Tennent then went on a progress into the Long Cane Settlement, while Mr. Drayton turned his attention to the people of Augusta and that neighborhood. But he was soon checked in this move.1
Kirkland, after deserting Major Mayson, had gone to Charlestown to the Governor, and though the commis- sioners issued orders for his arrest on his return, and advised the Council of Safety of his approach that they might arrest him, he escaped both the Council and com- missioners and had now returned with his Excellency's commissions, and offers of encouragement to all the loyal- ists in the upper part of the colony. By various accounts which Mr. Drayton received on the 29th of August, it was ascertained that Kirkland had actually taken up arms for the purpose of attacking Fort Charlotte and Augusta, and that the King's men, as they were called, were to meet on the 29th at a place about twenty miles above Snow Hill. This put an end to the progress, and Mr. Drayton sent an express to Mr. Tennent causing him to retrace his steps down the Savannah.
In this situation of affairs, Mr. Drayton assumed dicta- torial powers. He ordered Major Williamson to march with three hundred men to Harden's Ford on the Savan- nah River, about thirty miles above Snow Hill; Colonel Thomson with his Rangers, and as near three hundred militia as he could get, to take post at the Ridge; and Colonel Richardson with three hundred men to take post near the mouth of the Enoree. He wrote informing the Council of Safety that if Kirkland's party should take the
1 Memoirs of the Revolution (Drayton), vol. I, 379.
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field he should feel himself authorized to proceed to every extremity to suppress all who opposed the authority of Congress. He then issued a proclamation or " Declara- tion," as he termed it, warning all persons against Kirk- land. This prompt action on the part of Mr. Drayton confounded Kirkland and paralyzed his exertions. He dispatched his brother to Mr. Drayton with offers of sur- render on promise of pardon ; but Mr. Drayton demanded his surrender at discretion. Kirkland's courage failing him, he lurked about for some days, after which, with two trusty friends, he fled in disguise to Charlestown, from whence he was privately sent on board the sloop of war Tamar, by the directions of the Governor.
But, notwithstanding Kirkland's flight, his principal coadjutors, Cuningham and Browne, proceeded in collect- ing men and were soon joined by Colonel Fletchall. Mr. Drayton thereupon with one hundred and twenty-four men marched from Ninety-Six Court House, where, being joined by others, he had a force in all of two hundred and twenty-four.
Upon consultation with Major Mayson, Major William- son, and Captain Hammond, Mr. Drayton determined to march at once upon Colonel Fletchall's force and surprise it on its march. Colonel Fletchall, however, did not appear, and Mr. Drayton being reënforced by a consider- able number of Major Williamson's regiment of militia, formed a camp about three-quarters of a mile in advance of Ninety-Six Court House. Fletchall moved his to within four miles of the Saluda River, so that the opposing par- ties were within ten miles of each other, with that river between them. At this time Fletchall's force amounted to upwards of twelve hundred, while Mr. Drayton's hardly reached a thousand. Mr. Drayton now had resort to another proclamation or declaration which, though not so
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effective as that against Kirkland, brought into the camp Colonel Fletchall and others of his leaders, who came, they claimed, with full power to treat and conclude terms of pacification.1
This embassy on the part of Colonel Fletchall and his followers was most opportune to Mr. Drayton, for great was the consternation on the part of the Council of Safety in Charlestown at the vigorous measures which he had adopted. It is true that upon the alarm from Georgia that Kirkland was going against Augusta the Council had written him on the 11th of August "that on such an occa- sion they were perfectly satisfied he would leave nothing undone, that should appear to be necessary." And it was partly on this implied authority and partly on his own responsibility that he had collected his force ; but now had come a letter of the 31st blowing hot and cold - or, rather, the reverse, cold and hot, clearly indicating the divided councils in the Board and upon what weak au- thority his own was based. This letter stated "that they viewed with horror the spectacle of a civil war, and were not ashamed to own that they could not hastily determine upon measures which at first sight may promise to avert the calamity, but which for aught they knew, might rush them upon the very danger they would wish to avoid. If," said they, "the removal of twelve active, mischievous men will really quash the growing opposition, that work may easily be accomplished ; but may not our enemy prove an hydra, and start twice as many heads to bring on them four thousand adherents with fury to rescue their first leaders or to revenge their cause ?" With the weakness of a body composed of men holding widely divergent views, without a master mind among them, the Council shrank alike from withholding the authority they feared
1 Memoirs of the Revolution (Drayton), vol. I, 380-396.
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to give - and from giving it. They went on, therefore, to say that all things being considered, however, -
" From that confidence which they reposed in his wisdom and pru- dence as well as from their certainty of his zeal for the welfare of the colony - assuring themselves also that he would premeditate every important step and weigh probable consequences - they resolved not only to rest in him, as they thereby did, all the powers and authorities which were contained in their commissions to him and the Rev. Mr. Tennent jointly ; but also, to enlarge those powers, by authorizing him to put a stop to the proceedings of such evil-minded persons, be they who they may, as are or shall be known to be active in creating divisions among the people in order to disturb and destroy that har- mony and unanimity which is essential to the cause of liberty and America at this critical juncture; and for more effectually enabling him to accomplish that good and desirable end, he was thereby re- quired and empowered to take every decisive step and to use every vigorous measure which he may or shall deem proper to promote the public service. For which that should be his warrant."
But when the Council heard that Mr. Drayton had taken them at their word and, acting on their warrant, was embodying troops against Kirkland on the 5th of September, and that the crisis had arrived which required energy, they wrote to him "to discharge the militia as soon as he could possibly do it with safety; as such additional expense would be very heavy."1
Under these doubtful and contradictory instructions Mr. Drayton's position was embarrassing enough; but to add to the uncertainty of his authority, he had learned from his confidential friend, Mr. Arthur Middleton, the anxiety and divisions in the Council in regard to them. Mr. Middleton kept him informed of the debates which took place at the Board, and wrote that the power granted him on the 31st of August had only been carried in a Council having a bare quorum present, by a vote of but
1 Memoirs of the Revolution (Drayton), vol. I, 396, 399. VOL. III. - E
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four to three ; that the three in the minority expatiated upon the "danger of creating a civil war- young man - hot-rash -may raise the people and set them to cutting one another's throats - decisive steps and vigorous meas- ures meant too much." Moreover, Mr. Middleton in- formed Mr. Drayton that two of the affirmatives were on the point of retracting. From this it was clear that Mr. Drayton could rely for support really but upon one other member of the Council besides Mr. Middleton him- self. Well, therefore, did Mr. Middleton wish him to act with vigor for the public good ; but for his own sake with caution ; and advise him "to hurry down, as the Council were doing nothing but repairing two or three bastions to amuse the people."
Considering these things, considering that his powers, questionable as they were, had been given by but four out of a body of thirteen, and that by a bare majority of those present - two of whom had repented almost as soon as they had consented - considering that any check to his inferior force, who were strangers alike to him and to each other-a part of whom were but recently dis- affected - would be of the most dangerous consequences, and that any evil which might ensue would be attributed, as Mr. Middleton had suggested, to his " youth," "heat," and "rashness," Mr. Drayton hailed with satisfaction, on his own account, the overtures of Colonel Fletchall and his party; while, on the other hand, he perceived what great advantages there would be gained to the cause if he could obtain such terms of pacification as would create disunion among the chiefs of the opposition. Mr. Drayton, thus released from his embarrassing posi- tion, met Colonel Fletchall and the other leaders, and upon a conference they concluded a treaty between the parties, which was signed on the 16th of September, 1775,
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by Mr. Drayton of the one part ; and by Thomas Fletchall, John Ford, Thomas Green, Evan McLaurin, and Benjamin Wofford of the other, William Thomson, Ely Kershaw, and Francis Salvador witnessing the treaty.
By this treaty, Colonel Fletchall and his party claiming to be deputies on the part of the people living between the Broad and Saluda rivers and other adjacent parts, declared (1) that the declining of the part of the people aforesaid to accede to the Association did not proceed from any ill or even unfriendly principle or design against the principles or designs of the Congress of this colony or authorities derived from that body, but only from a desire to abide in their usual peace and tranquillity ; (2) that the said part of the people never did mean to assist or join the British troops, and they declared that they would not give, yield, or afford directly or indirectly any aid or assistance whatsoever to the British troops or hold any communication or correspondence with them ; (3) they agreed to deliver up to the authority of the Congress upon requisition any person who should reflect upon, censure, or condemn or oppose the proceedings of the Congress of the colony, to be questioned and tried according to the mode authorized by the Congress. (4) On the other hand the Council of Safety or the General Com- mittee agreed to punish any person who having signed the Association molested any of them who had not.
It was further agreed and declared that all persons not offending against this treaty should be allowed to con- tinue to dwell and remain at home as usual safe in their lives, persons, and properties ; but that all such as would not consider themselves bound by the treaty should abide by the consequences.1
If Colonel Fletchall and the others who joined in this 1 Memoirs of the Revolution (Drayton), vol. I, 399, 406.
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treaty on their side had had any authority to make it, Mr. Drayton would have gained the most material advantages to the party he represented ; but they had no such author- ity, and the treaty was instantly repudiated by Robert Cuningham and other principal men of that side. They disclaimed the pacification in great wrath, and Cuning- ham refused to disband his men. Mr. Drayton believed that the treaty would at least cause fresh discussion among their leaders and would also excite doubt and suspicion in the minds of the British authorities both at home and in England as to the sincerity of these back- woodsmen in their loyalty to the King. It is doubtful if it accomplished much in either of these directions ; but it had rescued himself from a most dangerous position and allowed him to retire with honor to the Board in town, whose divided counsels now needed much his strong will and energy to assist Arthur Middleton in the prosecution of vigorous measures there.
CHAPTER III
1775
THE middle of September, 1775, says Mr. Drayton in his memoirs, was an eventful era in the revolutionary his- tory of South Carolina, for on the 15th day of that month the provincial troops by order of the Council of Safety took possession of Fort Johnson commanding the entrance of Charlestown harbor ; the Commons House of Assembly was dissolved by the proclamation of Governor Campbell ; his Excellency, alarmed for his own personal safety, left Charlestown and took refuge on board the sloop of war Tamar, then lying in the roads, and on the 16th of the same month the treaty of pacification was interchangeably signed at the camp near Ninety-Six Court House.1
The last official act of Lieutenant Governor Bull, it may be recollected, was the prorogation of the General Assembly to the 19th of June.2 Lord William Campbell, on his arrival on the 18th, not being prepared to commu- nicate with the Assembly so soon after his arrival, and for the convenience of the members, at the instance of Mr. Lowndes, the Speaker, further prorogued it to Mon- day the 10th of July ; and on this day the General Assem- bly met, and without the usual formalities the Commons were immediately summoned to attend his Excellency in the Council chamber, where he delivered them his speech. He stated that his Majesty's instructions, his own incli- nations, and the critical situation of the province had
1 Memoirs of the American Revolution (Drayton), vol. II, 3.
2 Hist. of So. Car. under Roy. Gov. (McCrady), 791.
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induced him to meet them in General Assembly, as soon as was consistent with that attention necessary to be paid to their own private affairs at this season. He had flat- tered himself that, with their assistance and advice, he should have been able to prosecute such schemes and concur in such measures as would have contributed to increase that prosperity to which he saw the colony so rapidly advancing when he was last in the province. Filled with these sentiments and elated by these hopes, it was not easy to conceive his grief and disappointment at finding the province in such a distracted state : the legal administration of justice obstructed - government in a manner annihilated - the most dangerous measures adopted -and acts of the most outrageous and illegal nature publicly committed with impunity. It was not his duty or inclination to enter into a discussion of the disputes that, unhappily, subsisted between Great Britain and her colonies in America ; but he thought himself bound to warn the members of the House that if they apprehended that the people of their province now labored under any grievances, the violent measures adopted were not calculated to remove them : but on the contrary could not fail of drawing down inevitable ruin.
"Let me, therefore, gentlemen," he continued, "most earnestly entreat you as the only legal representatives of the people in this province -the only constitutional guar- dians of its welfare -and who are so deeply interested in the event of the measures now carrying on - to deliber- ate, to resolve, with that temper, coolness, and modera- tion the important instant demands, and to reflect that the happiness or misery of generations yet unborn will depend on your determinations." He assured them that, if it was in his power to be in any degree instrumental in restoring that harmony, cordiality, confidence, and affec-
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tion which should subsist between Great Britain and her colonies, he should esteem those moments the happiest and most fortunate of his life.1
This address was made to those who now sat before his Excellency as a constitutional House of Commons, but who were the very same men who, calling themselves a Con- gress, were engaged in the very measures which, as a constitutional House, he was calling upon them to con- demn. The chief difference between the two bodies was that Mr. Rawlins Lowndes presided as Speaker in the one, and Mr. Henry Laurens as President in the other. To such a body his Excellency's appeal was made in vain.
On the 12th of July the Commons attended upon his Excellency in the Governor's chamber and Mr. Lowndes, their Speaker, presented to him their reply. They
commenced with curtly observing that at "this very alarming and critical " period they were willing to post- pone the considerations of their private affairs whenever the public exigencies demanded their attention : fully convinced that the safety of private property entirely depends upon the security of public rights. They sin- cerely lamented that his Majesty's councils and the con- duct of his ministers had incapacitated them from meeting his Excellency with those expressions of joyful congratu- lation upon his arrival, with which in happier times they had been accustomed to meet his Majesty's representa- tive, but that the calamities of America, the present dangerous and dreadful situation, occupied all their thoughts and banished every idea of joy or pleasure. They did not doubt the fervent zeal of his Excellency's heart for the real interest and happiness of the colony, nor the sincerity of his professions to be instrumental in restoring harmony, confidence, and affection between
1 MS. Journal of Commons House, 291, 293.
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Great Britain and her colonies ; but they were surprised at the severe censures passed on measures which had been adopted by the good people of the colony for the preser- vation of their liberties.
In times when the spirit of the constitution has full operation and, animating all the members of the State, gives security to liberty, then we claim, said they, to be " the only legal representative of the people in the province - the only constitutional guardian of its welfare"; but in the present unhappy situation of affairs, as their meeting depended upon the pleasure of the Crown, their constitu- ents would not trust to so precarious a contingent, but wisely appointed another representative body for neces- sary, special, and important purposes.
They wanted words to give an idea of their feelings at his Excellency's expression, "If there be any grievances that we apprehend the people of the province labor under," as if he doubted their existence when the world resounded with them. They would have esteemed it a high obligation if his Excellency had pointed out what steps they had omitted to avert the inevitable ruin of their once flourishing colony. Every pacific measure which human wisdom could devise had been used - the most humble and dutiful petitions to the Throne - peti- tions to the House of Lords and House of Commons had been repeatedly presented and as often treated not only with slight, but with rigor and resentment.
The Governor replied that he had delayed the meeting of the General Assembly for about three weeks at the suggestion of the Speaker, Mr. Lowndes himself, and of others, with a view to the convenience of the members, and therefore little expected the implied reflection contained in the opening of their address ; that he had already declined entering into any discussion of the present un.
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happy disputes and should not undertake the disagreeable task of replying to the particulars of the address. It was his duty to lay before them the fatal consequences of the measures lately adopted, and he had faithfully and con- scientiously discharged it; but as these appeared to them in so different a point of view, he could only add his fervent wishes that the great Sovereign of the Universe, to whom the Commons appealed, would, in His goodness, avert those evils with which the country was threatened.
But the House would do no business. It adjourned from day to day until the 20th of July, which having been appointed by the Continental Congress as a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer, the Commons went in procession with their silver mace before them to St. Philip's Church, where again a sermon suitable to the occasion was preached by the Rev. Robert Smith - a ser- mon which was said to have assisted in confirming their patriotism and settling their determination. On the 21st the House requested leave of his Excellency to adjourn until the 1st of November ; and awaiting reply the Speaker adjourned it from day to day until the 24th, when the
Governor sent an answer. This answer was inadver- tently addressed to the Speaker and Gentlemen of the Lower House of Assembly. At this the Commons at once flared up, supposing that his Excellency intended thereby to renew the dispute and assert the right of the Council to be called an Upper House; upon his attention being called to it, however, he at once withdrew the message and addressed them under the old style of the Commons House of Assembly. He declined, however, to allow their adjournment.
It was during this time that the Provincial Association was being pressed upon the people as we have seen, and that Arthur Middleton was urging upon the General
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Committee to attach the estates of those who had left the colony and for the expatriation of all those who should refuse to sign the Association. In pressing these rigorous measures in the Committee, Arthur Middle- ton was often alone. The two other extremists were away; Christopher Gadsden was in Philadelphia attend- ing the Continental Congress, and William Henry Dray- ton was on the mission in the back country.
On the 11th of August another case of tarring and feathering took place. In a letter of the 12th of August written by Arthur Middleton to William Henry Drayton in the upper country, he thus tells of the affair.
" A Mr. Walker, Gunner of Fort Johnson, had a new suit of clothes yesterday without the assistance of a single taylor. His crime was nothing less than damning us all. During his circumcartation he was stopped at the doors of the principal Non-Associators and made to drink damnation to them all, not excepting Sir Wm. on the Bay."
Peter Timothy, the secretary of the Council of Safety, also writes to Mr. Drayton : -
"Yesterday evening the Gunner of Fort Johnson (one Walker) had a decent tarring and feathering for some insolent speech he had made; there is hardly a street through which he was not paraded, nor a Tory house where they did not halt: particularly Innes's, Simp- son's, Wragg's, Milligan's, Irving's, etc., etc. At Fenwicke Bull's they stopt-called for grog- had it-made Walker drink damnation to Bull, threw a bag of feathers into his balcony - desired he would take care of it till his turn came, and that he would charge the grog to the account of Lord North. Finally the wretch was discharged at Milligan's door. The people were in such a humor there were scarce a non-subscriber who did not tremble, and Wells had his shop close shut." 1
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