USA > South Carolina > The history of South Carolina in the Revolution, 1780-1783 > Part 48
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IN THE REVOLUTION
cepted protection, but to those also who had subscribed to the equipping of a troop of cavalry for the British service, punished only 47 of the 381. The same ob- servation as, that just made in regard to the Confisca- tion Act doubtless would account in some measure at least for this discrepancy, namely, that those who had no estates were not amerced. But this does not fully explain the great difference. The preamble of the act recites as an aggravation in some instances of the accept- ing of protection, that the person who did so had borne high and important trusts or commissions under the State, but in the list under the act the only persons named who could come under this description were Colonel Daniel Horry, who had commanded the regiment of dragoons raised in 1779, Colonel Maurice Simons, who had commanded the militia in Charlestown during the siege, Colonels John Harleston and Joseph Jenkins, also of the militia, and Colonel Charles Pinckney, member of the Council who had gone out with Governor Rutledge from the town before its fall. On the other hand, we do at e ce 31 not find in the list of those amerced the names of Henry Middleton and Rawlins Lowndes, who gave up the con- test and took protection when Charlestown fell, nor of Daniel Huger, who, like Charles Pinckney, having gone out with Governor Rutledge as a member of the Council, ing by ac returned and submitted to the enemy. The case of Colonel Charles Pinckney was a hard one, for he had all along, from the beginning in 1775, been hurried on faster and farther than he had been disposed to go in the re- bellion, as was particularly shown in his correspondence nt with General Moultrie in 1779. He did not, however, long tes eden survive the mortification. He died in the September ose following.1 di
1 The Royal Gazette, September 28, 1782.
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The protest of " Cassius " produced good fruit. In 1783 - the year after - the provisions of the Confiscation Act were so modified that seventy-seven persons who had been banished by it were allowed to return upon certain condi- tions, and the sale of their estates was suspended.1 The next year another act was passed by which the estates of sixty-two were taken off the confiscation list and amerced ; thirty more were entirely released, and the persons whose estates had been sold were indemnified. The names of thirty-three others were also taken off the confiscation list and amerced, but were disqualified from holding any office or trust for a term of seven years.2 From this time forth almost every legislature restored some part of the confis- cated property to the different former owners or their descendants, and their return to the country was wel- comed.3 As measures of revenue for which these acts were passed they accomplished nothing to compensate for the ill feeling they aroused.
The legislature, having adopted these measures, ad- journed on the 26th of February, 1782.
1 Statutes at Large, vol. IV, 553.
2 Ibid., 624.
3 Ibid., 639-666, 687, 699-721 ; Curwin's Journal and Letters, 670.
CHAPTER XXVI
1782
THE beginning of the year 1781 found the British forces upon the northern confines of the State preparing to advance into North Carolina and Virginia, regarding this State as already subjugated. The beginning of the year 1782 found the conquerors driven back, and confined to Charlestown Neck and James Island.
Soon after General Greene had taken post at Round O, General Leslie, who was now in command in Charlestown, began to feel seriously the effects of the restriction of his foraging ground. The driving in of his detachments and the crowding of refugees within his restricted lines caused an accumulation of horses for which he was unable to procure forage. His necessities on this account compelled him to put two hundred of these useful animals to death. To relieve this distress, strong parties were kept on the alert, watching for opportunities of collecting provisions from the surrounding country. As starting points for these raiders, posts were established on the extreme tongues of land at Haddrell's Point and Hobcaw in Christ Church Parish and Daniel's Island in St. Thomas's opposite the city, from which retreat was difficult to an attacking enemy, and to which reinforcements could easily be con- veyed by water. These points, now the last held by the British, it will be observed, were just those the last held by the Americans during the siege of the city in 1780 -
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the positions of the parties being exactly reversed. To cover the communication with these posts, galleys lay in the rivers at convenient distances. During the winter several brilliant and successful sallies were made from these positions. The first of these was by Major Coffin, the hero of Eutaw, and the captor of Armstrong.
On the American side a post was established at Cainhoy, at the head of navigation of Wando River, about twelve miles from Charlestown, which was now under the com- mand of Colonel Richard Richardson. A British galley lay in the Wando, which was an object of observation to Colonel Richardson, who patrolled the road from Cainhoy on the St. Thomas side of the river to Daniel's Island, the northern point formed by the junction of the Wando and Cooper rivers. On the 2d of January Major Coffin with a detachment of about 350 men, cavalry and infantry, were transported from Charlestown by water to Daniel's Island.1 Colonel Richardson, learning of this movement from his pa- trols, immediately pushed his scouts to the causeway over Beresford Creek, which, with the Wando and Cooper, forms Daniel's Island, and wrote to Marion for reenforcements. Marion's force scarcely equalled that of the enemy, but he resolved to advance for the purpose of attacking them. To detain them while he should come up with his main body, he ordered Colonel Richardson and a part of Maham's newly raised horse to throw themselves in front of the enemy and engage them until he reached them. Maham did not himself come with his cavalry; they were under the command of Major Giles.
The British advanced, taking the Strawberry road, and, crossing Beresford Creek, about noon reached Brabant, a plan- tation belonging to the Rev. Robert Smith, about fourteen miles distant. To the north of this plantation was a swamp
1 Johnson's Life of Greene, vol. II, 303 ; James's Life of Marion, 158, 159.
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IN THE REVOLUTION
of considerable width with a causeway and a bridge known as Videau's. Beyond the causeway, on the east, was a fence on a bank with a ditch behind it. Richardson passed the swamp, and, going down to the bank to reconnoitre, came back with a British troop and Captain Campbell at his heels. Upon reaching his command, Richardson at once ordered a charge. From the outset it was easy to see that Maham's new corps had not yet been trained.
They charged in disorder, but at first drove the British cavalry before them. At the bridge they met the British
infantry, who gave them a volley. All was at once in con- fusion, horses and men wedged together upon a narrow causeway, the front striving to retreat and the rear push- ing them on. The British cavalry now came in aid of the infantry, and a total rout of the Americans and scene of carnage ensued. Captain Samuel Cooper, one of Maham's officers, rallied his men, and, returning to the road, saved several lives and drove back a part of the British cavalry. Maham's men suffered particularly; being on the road when the rout commenced, they were trampled down by both parties. Among the creditable feats of the day was that of Captain Bennett, who with twelve men having been pur- sued by a party of the enemy double their number, and stopped by an impassable creek, turned upon his pursuers and drove them back. Another was that of G. Sinclair Capers, who took three swords from the British in single encounters, for which General Marion promoted him to a lieutenancy. Had Richardson posted his militia behind the fence, his defeat might have been prevented. The Ameri- cans admitted that twenty-two of their men were buried on the causeway; how many were killed in the pursuit was not known. The Royal Gazette of the 5th of January esti- mated the loss of the Americans at fifty-seven killed and twenty taken prisoners. That of the 9th of January rep-
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resented the loss of the rebels in killed, disabled, and prisoners as upwards of ninety, a large proportion of whom, it stated, were those who had reverted to the American cause contrary to their most solemn engagements as British subjects. The British loss was but one officer killed and a dragoon wounded. The officer killed was Captain Campbell, known as "Mad Archy," he who had captured Colonel Hayne in the July before.1 The defeat
1 Dr. Johnson, in his Traditions of the Revolution, p. 67, mentions this officer among the numerous British officers in America of the name of Campbell, and relates the following story of him : -
" Of Mad Archy, or Mad Campbell, we know nothing, except while the British occupied Charleston ; we believe that this appellation was given him by his brother officers. An instance of Campbell's violence of temper was told to a lady still living (1851) by the Rev. Edward Ellington, rector of St. James's, Goose Creek. Captain Campbell once drove up to his house accompanied by a young lady, who appeared agitated or alarmed ; he called for the reverend gentleman to come out to him and asked to be mar- ried to this lady. 'Yes,' was the answer, ' with her consent and that of her friends.' Campbell then drew his pistols and swore that he should marry them or be put to death immediately. Such was the character and deport- ment of Campbell that the minister did not dare to refuse ; he married them, and it proved to be a case of abduction. The lady was Paulina Phelp, of one of the most respectable families in the State. She told her friends that when Campbell was particular in his attentions, and flattered her, she had considered it nothing more than what all the British officers were in the habit of saying and doing, and supposed that Captain Campbell meant no more to her. That she had never promised to marry him or in- tended to do so, and never consented except when terrified."
Mrs. Campbell survived her husband but a few days. The Royal Gazette of January 5, 1782, announces the death of Captain Campbell ; that of the 12th contains this notice : -
" Death. - Mrs. Margaret Campbell, widow of Capt Archibald Campbell and daughter of Robert Philp. She died greatly regretted by all who had the happiness of her acquaintance."
From the notice it appears that the lady's name was Margaret Philp, not Paulina Phelp. Robert Philp, her father, was one of the addressors of Sir Henry Clinton.
The novelist, W. Gilmore Simms, incorporates this story in his historical novel, Katherine Walton.
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IN THE REVOLUTION
of Richardson left Marion too weak to hazard an attack, and the enemy were content with what they had accom- plished without attempting to force him to it. Marion retired to Wambaw. The British marched up to Quinby Bridge, and, having gathered some stock, retired across Wappetaw to Haddrell's Point.1
A stronger vindication of the correctness of the opinion that it was necessary for the State to provide means of defending itself, observes Johnson, could not have been desired than was furnished when it was thought necessary to appeal to other quarters for protection and defence, a strong practical illustration of which were the circum- stances attending the advance of the reinforcements under General St. Clair. Ever since the month of March, 1781, this officer, with the mutinous Pennsylvania line, had been under orders to reinforce the Southern army. He had first been halted on his march to aid in the defence of Virginia ; and when again set in motion for his place of destination, he consumed more than two months in marching from York- town to Greene's headquarters in South Carolina. Nor was he chargeable with any unnecessary delay ; on the con- trary, he was said to have proceeded too rapidly, and so much was his strength impaired when he reached the Round O, that his force but little exceeded one-half of the number that crossed the Potomac. It was not until the 4th of January, the day after this affair at Videau's Bridge, that St. Clair formed a junction with Greene. The general had four days before dismissed the Virginia line with his warmest acknowledgments for their active and patient services. Only about sixty from that State now remained, and they had but one month longer to serve.
Five days after the arrival of General St. Clair, General
1 James's Life of Marion, 159 ; Johnson's Life of Greene, vol. II, 303. VOL. IV. - 2 Q
1
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Wayne was detached with the Third Regiment of Dra- goons under Colonel White, who had rejoined the army,1 and a detachment of artillery, to place himself at the head of the forces then in arms in Georgia. Orders, it will be remembered, had been some time before issued to General Sumter to detach Colonel Hampton's cavalry to the support of General Twiggs in that State, and that corps was also placed at the disposal of General Wayne. In addition to the forces under Wayne's immediate command, General Barnwell, who at this time commanded in that part of South Carolina which lay along the lower part of Savannah River, received instructions to cooperate with General Wayne and render him all the aid in his power.2
The General Assembly, as has been seen, met on the 18th of January and sat until the 26th of February. Dur- ing its sitting the demon of discord again seems to have possessed the American forces. Soon after it met, Sumter, resenting his treatment, resigned; and Lee, who had done so much to create an enmity between Greene and Sumter, himself taking offence at Laurens's command, by reason of his superior rank, early in February, retired in disgust from the field.3 It was at this time that the opposition to General Barnwell's command, and discontent at his appoint- ment to the prejudice of the superior rank, and, as it was alleged, the superior claims of Colonel Harden, ran so high that he also resigned his commission.4 But still more
1 Colonel Anthony Walton White, the officer who, it will be remem- bered, had been routed by Tarleton on the Santee in May, 1780. Hist. of So. Ca. in the Revolution, 1775-80 (McCrady), 493-494.
2 Johnson's Life of Greene, vol. II, 276, 277.
3 Ibid., 328. In his Memoirs of the War of 1776 Colonel Lee declares that he retired because of ill health, but his own account of the matter leaves little doubt that the reason assigned by Judge Johnson was the con- trolling one.
+ Ibid., 294.
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IN THE REVOLUTION
serious at this time were the dissensions in Marion's bri- gade, which brought it nearly to ruin, and laid open the country to the enemy's ravages.
With the consent of Governor Rutledge and General Greene, Colonel Maham was engaged in the attempt to raise a legion for the Continental service upon the same basis as that of Colonel Lee, and had at least partially suc- ceeded and was in command of the troops he had raised. General Marion, Colonel Peter Horry, and Colonel Maham were all members of the General Assembly. The importance attached to the meeting of this body rendered Marion's attendance at Jacksonborough necessary. His command then lay at Strawberry; but, fearing that some disaster might happen during his absence, he had moved them back near the banks of the Santee, to be out of the reach of any sudden movement of the enemy. When leaving he turned over the command of his brigade to Colonel Peter Horry, as the senior officer, giving him directions to be pursued during his absence. In pursuance of these orders Colonel Horry retired to the north side of the Wambaw, a large creek emptying into the Santee. Colonel Maham's corps was ordered by Marion to be posted at Mepkin plantation, on the western branch of the Cooper River. As the enemy got most of their intelligence from persons, more especially women, going to and from town, Marion particularly ordered that guards should be kept to prevent any boats from passing without a written permission from himself or Horry.
It appears from the correspondence that Maham had already raised the question of Horry's right to command him, claiming that as the commander of a legionary corps, as that of Colonel Lee, he was under the immediate com- mand of the general-in-chief, and that Marion, upon his arrival at Jacksonborough, had at once submitted his claim
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to General Greene, for on the 16th of January Greene wrote to Marion : -
"I cannot imagine upon what principles Lt. Col. Maham presumes to dispute rank with Lt. Col. Horry; the latter has been a Lieut. Colonel in the Continental service and still claims his rank in that i line, but supposing his claim not to be well founded, he is out of ser- vice not of choice but of necessity and is a supernumerary officer on half pay and therefore his claim to rank must be good whenever called into service. ... On this ground I think Col. Horry has clearly the right of outranking Col. Maham. Much is due to the merits and exertion of Col. Maham, but no less is due to the rights and claims of Lieut. Col. Horry. It was never my intention that Lieut. Col. Maham's corps should be subject to no order but my own, [but] in the first instance this would be totally incompatible with the nature of the service. My intention with respect to that corps was that it should stand upon the same footing as Lieut. Col. Lee's Legion which is called an independent corps; nobody has a right to command them but the commander in chief unless by him placed under some other command. Lee's Legion is frequently put under a particular officer's command according to the nature of the service 1 and to be otherwise would be burdening the public with a useless expense, for many things which are practicable with a combined force could not be attempted without it. I am persuaded when Col. Maham thinks more fully upon the subject he must be convinced his idea of the constitution and nature of his corps is totally inadmissible," etc. 2
SO
Upon receipt of this letter of General Greene, Marion at once wrote to Colonel Horry on the 18th : "I send you General Greene's letter in answer to mine sent him as soon as I arrived here, and it is determined as I expected You will keep the letter, and if the enemy should ap proach your quarters and you find it necessary, you must call on Colonel Maham's troops and horse as a reenforce
1 This statement of General Greene is a conclusive answer to Lee's clain of independent command when serving under Sumter, Marion, or Pickens See ante, 176-177, 323-324.
2 Gibbes's Documentary Hist. (1781-82), 229-230.
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IN THE REVOLUTION
ment."1 He cautioned Horry not to call on Maham for any other purpose.
Unfortunately Greene and Marion appear not to have been explicit to him upon this subject, though both wrote to Maham at this time. On the 19th Horry wrote to him : "I received letters of Generals Greene and Marion yesterday. The former terminates our rank in my opinion (sic) and the latter writes me to take command of your Legion if I find it necessary ; the generals also wrote you, and I suppose to the same purpose. Please make a return of the strength of your Legion that I may know what sup- port I can have in case of need. I have an officer and six men at Wadboo; as 'tis beyond your post, I wish you to relieve him from your cavalry." 2
To this Maham replied that he also had received ed e 1 ess rce am letters from Greene and Marion, that neither of them had written to him to give up his rank, and added, “.As I annot think of being commanded by an officer of the ame rank, I think it proper not to make you a return f my regiment, and shall not obey any orders that you deahay be pleased to send." 3 Horry informed Marion of Ma- ole," am's conduct, and Marion wrote on the 23d, promising to be General Greene and endeavor to settle the dispute.4 rion you Iaham also requested and obtained a hearing from General reene, refusing to submit until he received a personal an- n as ver. This General Greene gave in substantially the same ected d ap- rms as in his letter to Marion of the 16th, concluding ith an appeal to Maham for the public service : " You have musterted yourself with an enthusiasm in raising your corps ; aforce d I have only to recommend that you let the public od and your private wishes walk hand in hand, and en I am persuaded you will not wish a single indulgence
1 Gibbes's Documentary Hist. (1781-82), 231. 8 Ibid., 238.
2 Ibid., 238.
4 Ibid., 240.
e's claim Pickens
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incompatible with the principle I have laid down." Ma- ham appears also to have complained of the hard service to which his corps had been subjected; and upon this Greene observes: -
" With regard to General Marion's having made too free use of your cavalry, you are to consider how extensive the country is he has to guard and how much he depends upon your corps. This will ac- count for the hard service you have been put to. The general is a good man, and when you consider his difficulties and make just allowances perhaps you will have little to complain of but the hard necessity of the service. Our force is small and our duty extensive. Let me entreat you to think properly on these matters and to en- deavor to accommodate yourself to the circumstances of our affairs, and I will again endeavor to impress the general with the necessity of giving you as much repose as possible. General Marion has been very useful and is very necessary; and your corps can nowhere be as usefully employed as where you are." 1
Notwithstanding this appeal, Maham remained obdurate and on the 28th Greene writes to Marion : -
"I will also write to Col. Maham decidedly upon the dispute re specting his rank. I am sorry the colonel carries the matter to s disagreeable a length. Rank is not what constitutes the good office but good conduct. Substantial services give reputation, not captiou disputes. A captain may be more respectable than a general. Ran is nothing unless accompanied with worthy actions."2
Contenting himself with such sententious platitudes 1 Marion, instead of peremptory orders to Maham, Gener; Greene allowed the most important and vulnerable sectic of the country to be exposed with no other protectic than that afforded by Horry, whose commands Maha refused to obey. Maham's value as a cavalry officer w doubtless too well established not to excite regret at tl
1 Johnson's Life of Greene, vol. II, 305, 306.
2 Gibbes's Documentary Hist. (1781-82), 244.
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IN THE REVOLUTION
probable loss of his services, which he intimated would be the result of his forced submission. 1 But this fear should not have prevailed over the necessity of providing for con- certed action in case of a movement of the enemy to the northward of Charlestown. Unfortunately Governor Rut- ledge joined in the discussion, and wrote, it is said, a philippic against Horry.2
So matters continued. Marion had especially charged Horry to prohibit and prevent communication with the town except by his own order or that of Horry himself. This Maham openly and flagrantly violated. " Colonel Maham interferes with my command," writes Horry to Marion on the 31st of January. "So much that I can scarcely act; he gave passes to several ladies to go to town without my leave, and they accordingly went in a boat, which has since returned, and the ladies have since come up." 3 Upon this General Greene writes on the 1st of February, to Horry : -
"I have written decidedly to Lieut. Col. Maham upon the dispute subsisting between you and him upon the subject of rank and told him you had an unquestionable right to outrank him. I have only to observe upon this subject that great delicacy on your part should be exercised on this occasion, nothing like triumph as that will wound his feelings; blinded by matters of interest and love of rank he will yield to conviction unwillingly and finding himself in this situation will feel with double force every unnecessary exercise of authority."+
In this embarrassing position, with an officer in com- mand of a considerable part of his force refusing to obey his orders, and his superiors evidently afraid to bring matters to an issue with his refractory subordinate,
1 Johnson's Life of Greene, vol. II, 305.
2 James's Life of Marion, 158.
: Ibid. ; Gibbes's Documentary Hist. (1781-82), 245.
៛ Gibbes's Documentary Hist. (1781-82), 247.
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Horry, himself sick, appealed to Marion to return and relieve him of the responsibility. Marion replies on the 3d of February that he had written positive orders to Maham not to interfere with him, and had been in hopes that General Greene would have prevented such evils before that, but that his presence was absolutely necessary in the legislature for a few days, until the militia act and that raising the Continental quota of troops was passed. There was also the confiscation and sequestration bill on hand, and until these were passed he could not get leave to return.1 Horry continued to urge Marion's return, and on the 10th (Sunday) Marion writes : -
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