```Marion. Friends! fellow-soldiers! we again have heard
```The threats of our proud enemies; they come.
```Boasting to sweep us, like the chaff, away.
```Shall we yield? shall we lie down like dogs beneath
```The keeper's lash? Then shall we well deserve
```The ruin, the disgrace that must ensue.
```Ne'er dream submission will appease our foes;
```We shall be conquered rebels, and they'll fear
```The spirit of liberty may rouse again;
```And therefore will they bind us with strong chains,
```New cords, green willies, like those which Samson bound,
```And we, alas! shall have been shorn and weak,
```On Folly's lap, if we yield up our freedom.
````Mrs. S. J. Hale's Tragedy,
`````"Ormond Grovesnor." Act IV.=
[Illustration: 9692]
T was a brilliant, frosty morning when I left Camden to visit the scenes
of some of the exploits of Marion and his partisan compatriots. Soon
after crossing the Big Swift and Rafting Creeks, we reached the high
hills of Santee, whereon General Greene encamped before and after the
battle at the Eutaw Springs. They extend southward, in Sumter District,
from the Kershaw line, twenty-two miles, parallel with the Wateree. They
are immense sand hills, varying in width on the summit from one to five
miles, and are remarkable for the salubrity of the atmosphere and for
medicinal springs. Just at sunrise, while swiftly skirting the base
of these hills, with the Wateree Swamp between us and the river on
the west, we saw the sharp pencilings of the few scattered houses ol
Statesburg against the glowing eastern sky.
[Illustration: 8692]
There was the residence of General Sumter after the war, and in his
honor the surrounding district was named. * After skirting the Wateree
Swamp some distance, the road passes through a high sand bluff, and then
crosses the great morass to the river, a distance of four miles. Beyond
that stream, it joins the rail-way from Columbia. Through the swamp,
the iron rails are laid upon a strong wooden frame-work, high enough
to overtop a cane-brake. The passage is made at a slow rate to avoid
accidents. The scenery was really grand, for below were the green canes
waving like billows in the wind, while upon either side of the avenue
cut for the road, towered mighty cypresses and gum-trees, almost every
branch draped with long moss. Clustered around their stalely trunks were
the holly, water-oak, laurel, and gall-hush, with their varied tints of
green; and among these, flitting in silence, were seen the gray murk-
* I was informed that the house of General Sumter and several others,
with a large tract of land, was owned by a mulatto named Ellison, who,
with his wife and children, were once slaves. He was a mechanic, and
with the proceeds of his labor he purchased the freedom of himself and
family. He is now ( 1850) about sixty years of age, and owns a large
number of slaves. His sons and daughters are educated, and the former
occupy the position of overseers on his plantation. Mr. Ellison is
regarded as one of the most honorable business men in that region.
** This little sketch is from the pencil of J. Addison Richards, one of
our most accomplished landscape-painters. The cypress "knees," as they
are called, are here truthfully shown. They extend from the roots of the
trees, sometimes as much as two feet above the earth or the water,
but never exhibit branches or leaves. They appear like smooth-pointed
stumps.
[[[Fort Motte.--Remains of the Revolution.--Position of the Americans
there.--General Marion]]]
{683}ing-biril and the brilliant scarlet tanniger. Here, I was told,
opossums and wild eats abound, and upon the large dry tracts of the
swamp wild deers are often seen.
We arrived at the junction station at a little past eight o'clock, and,
crossing a narrow part of the Congaree Swamp and River, reached Fort
Motte Station, on the southern side of that stream, before nine, a
distance of forty-four miles from Camden.
The plantation of Mrs. Rebecca Motte, whose house, occupied and
stockaded by the British, was called Fort Motte, lies chiefly upon a
high rolling plain, near the Buck's Head Neck, on the Congaree, a little
above the junction of that river with the Wateree, thirty-three miles
below Columbia, the capital of the state.
[Illustration: 8693]
This plain slopes in every direction, and is a commanding point of view,
overlooking the vast swamps on the borders of the Congaree. It is now
owned by William H. Love, Esq., with whom I passed several hours very
agreeably. His house (seen in the engraving) is built nearly upon the
site of Mrs. Motte's mansion, desolated by fire at her own suggestion,
while occupied by the British. The well used by that patriotic lady is
still there, close by the oak-tree seen on the right; and from it to the
house there is a slight hollow, which indicates the place of a covered
way, dug for the protection of the soldiers when procuring water.
[Illustration: 9693]
The other large tree seen in the picture is a blasted sweet-gum, and in
the extreme distance is seen the Congaree Swamp. This house was built by
Mrs. Motte immediately after the close of the war. The Americans, whose
exploits we shall consider presently, were stationed upon an eminence
about a quarter of a mile northeast of the house, toward the Congaree,
in the direction of M'Cord's Ferry. A little eastward of the house
there was an oval mound, when I was there in 1849, about twelve feet in
height, and dotted with the stumps of trees recently cut down. This is
the vestige of a battery, upon which the assailants planted a field-We
shall better understand these localities after consulting piece to
dislodge the British, the oracle of history.
Among the bold, energetic, and faithful patriots of the South, none
holds a firmer place in the affections of the American people than
General Francis Marion. ** His adventures were
* The Congaree is formed by the junction of the Broad and Saluda
Rivers at Columbia. Its junction with the Wateree (Lhe Catawba of North
Carolina), at the lower end of Richland District, forms the Santee,
which name is borne by the whole volume of united waters from that point
to the ocean. Buck's Head Neck is formed by a sweep of the Congaree,
of nearly eight miles, when it approaches itself within a quarter of a
mile. The swamp land of this neck has been reclaimed in many places,
and now bears good cotton. At the rundle of this bow of the river is the
ancient M'Cord's Ferry, yet in use.
** Francis Marion was born at Winyaw, near Georgetown, South Carolina,
in 1732. He was so small at his birth, that, according to Weems, "he was
not larger than a New England lobster, and might easily enough have
been put into a quart pot." Marion received a very limited share
of education, and until his twenty-seventh year (1759), he followed
agricultural pursuits. He then became a soldier, by joining an
expedition against the Cherokees and other hostile tribes (see page 646)
on the Western frontier of the Carolinas. When the Revolution broke out,
he was found on the side of liberty, and was made captain in the
second South Carolina regiment. He fought bravely in the battle at Fort
Sullivan, on Sullivan's Island, He was afterward engaged in the contest
at Savannah, and from that period until the defeat of Gates, near
Camden, in the summer of 1780, he was an active soldier. Soon after that
affair, he organized a brigade, having passed through the several grades
to that of brigadier of the militia of his state. While Sumter was
striking heavy blows, here and there, in the northwestern part of North
Carolina, Marion was performing like service in the northeastern part,
along the Pedee and its tributaries. In 1781, he was engaged with Lee
and others in reducing several British posts. After the Battle at Eutaw,
Marion did not long remain in the field, but took his seat as senator
In the Legislature. He was soon again called to the field, and did not
relinquish his sword until the close of the war. When peace came, Marion
retired to his plantation, a little below Eutaw, where he died on the
twenty-ninth of February, 1795, in the sixty-third year of his age. His
last words were, "Thank God, since I came to man's estate I have never
intentionally done wrong to any man."
* Marion's remains are in the church-yard at Belle Isle, in the parish
of St. John's, Berkeley. Over them is a marble slab, upon which is
the following inscription: "Sacred to the memory of Brigadier-general
Francis Marion, who departed this life on the twenty-ninth of February,
1795, in the sixty-third year of his age, deeply regretted by all of his
fellow-citizens. History will record his worth, and rising generations
embalm his memory, as one of the most distinguished patriots and heroes
of the American Revolution; which elevated his native country to Honor
and Independence, and secured to her the blessings of liberty and peace.
This tribute of veneration and gratitude is erected in commemoration
of the noble and disinterested virtues of the citizen, and the gallant
exploits of the soldier, who lived without fear and died without
reproach."
[[[The Song of Marion's Men.]]]
{684}full of the spirit of romance, and his whole military life was an
epic poem. The followers of Robin Hood were never more devoted to their
chief than were the men of Marion's brigade to their beloved leader.
[Illustration: 8694]
Bryant has sketched a graphic picture of that noble band, in his
````SONG OF MARION'S MEN.
````Our band is few, but true and tried,
`````Our leader frank and bold;
````The British soldier trembles
`````When Marion's name is told.
````Our fortress is the good green wood,
`````Our tent the cypress-tree;
````We know the forest round us,
`````As seamen know the sea.
````We know its walls of thorny vines,
`````Its glades of reedy grass;
````Its safe and silent islands
`````Within the dark morass.=
````Woe to the English soldiery,
`````That little dread us near!
````On them shall light at midnight,
`````A strange and sudden fear;
````When, waking to their tents on fire,
`````They grasp their arms in vain.
````And they who stand to face us
`````Are beat to earth again;
````And they who fly in terror deem
`````A mighty host behind,
````And hear the tramp of thousands
````Upon the hollow wind.=
````Then sweet the hour that brings release
`````From danger and from toil;
````We talk the battle over,
`````And share the battle's spoil.
````The woodland rings with laugh and shout,
`````As if a hunt were up,
````And woodland flowers are gather'd
`````To crown the soldier's cup.
````With merry songs we mock the wind
`````That in the pine-top grieves,
````And slumber long and sweetly.
`````On beds of oaken leaves.=
````Well knows the fair and friendly moon
`````The band that Marion leads--
````The glitter of their rifles,
`````The scampering of their steeds.
````'Tis life to guide the fiery barb
`````Across the moonlight plain;
````'Tis life to feel the night wind
`````That lifts his tossing mane.
````A moment in the British camp--
`````A moment--and away
````Baek to the pathless forest.
`````Before the peep of day.=
````Grave men there are by broad Santee;
`````Grave men with hoary hairs,
````Their hearts are all with Marion,
`````For Marion are their prayers.
````And lovely ladies greet our band
`````With kindliest welcoming,
````With smiles like those of summer,
`````And tears like those of spring.
````For them we wear these trusty arms,
`````And lay them down no more,
````Till we have driven the Briton
`````Forever from our shore.=
[[[Marion in Gates's Camp.--Description of his Regiment.--Rebecca
Motte.--Her House fortified and garrisoned]]]
{685}When Gates was pressing forward toward Camden, Marion, with about
twenty men and boys, were annoying the Tories in the neighborhood of
the Pedee. With his ragged command, worse than Falstaff ever saw, he
appeared at the camp of Gates, and excited the ridicule of the well-clad
Continentals. * Gates, too, would doubtless have thought lightly of
him, if Governor Rutledge, who was in the American camp, and knew the
partisan's worth, had not recommended him to the notice of that general.
Gates listened to his modestly-expressed opinions respecting the
campaign, but was too conceited to regard them seriously, or to offer to
Marion a place in his army.
[Illustration: 8695]
While he was in Gates's camp, the Whigs of Williamsburg District,
who had arisen in arms, sent for him to be their commander. Governor
Rutledge gave him the commission of a brigadier on the spot, and he
hastened to organize that _brigade_, which we shall hereafter
meet frequently among the swamps, the broad Savannahs, and by the
water-courses of the South. **
Fort Motte, where the brave Marion exhibited his skill and courage, was
the principal depot of the convoys between Charleston and Camden, and
also for those destined for Granby and Ninety-Six.
The British had taken possession of the fine large mansion of Mrs.
Rebecca Motte, *** a widow of fortune, which occupied a commanding
position. They surrounded it with a deep trench (a part of which is yet
visible), and along the interior margin of it erected a high parapet.
Mrs. Motte and her family, known to be inimical to the British, were
driven to her ton with dispatches for Lord Rawdon. They were on the
point of leaving, when Marion and Lee appeared upon the height at the
farm-house where Mrs. Motte was residing.
After cautiously reeonnoitering, Lee took position at the farm-house,
and his men, with the field-piece sent to them by Greene, occupied the
eastern declivity of the high plain on which Fort Motte stood. This
gentle declivity is a little southwest of the rail-way station, in full
view of passengers upon the road. Marion immediately cast up a mound
upon a hill north of the mansion, and their place was supplied by a
garrison of one hundred and fifty men, under Captain M'Pherson, a brave
British officer. After Colonel Watson eluded the pursuit of Marion and
Lee, and crossed the Congaree (see page 681), those indefatigable
partisans moved upon Fort Motte. A few hours before their arrival at
that place,
M'Pherson was re-enforced by a small detachment of dragoons sent from
Charles-
* Colonel Otho H. Williams, in his Narrative of the Campaigns of 1780,
thus speaks of Marion and his men, at that time: "Colonel Marion, a
gentleman of South Carolina, had been with the army a few days, attended
by a very few followers, distinguished by small leather caps and the
wretchedness of their attire; their numbers did not exceed twenty men
and boys, some white, some black, and all mounted, but most of them
miserably equipped; their appearance was, in fact, so burlesque, that
it was with much difficulty the diversion of the regular soldiery was
restrained by the officers; and the general himself was glad of an
opportunity of detaching Colonel Marion, at his own instance, toward
the interior of South Carolina, with orders to watch the motions of the
enemy, and furnish intelligence.
** So certain was Gates of defeating Cornwallis, that when Marion
departed, he instructed him to destroy all the boats, flats, and scows,
which might be used by the British in their flight.
*** Rebecca Brewton was the daughter of an English gentleman. She
married Jacob Motte, a planter, in 1758, and was the mother of six
children. General Thomas Pinckney, of South Carolina, married in
succession her two eldest daughters; the third married Colonel William
Alston, of Charleston. Her other three children did not live to reach
maturity. Mrs. Motte died in 1815, at her plantation on the Santee. The
portrait here given is copied, by permission of the author, from Mrs.
Ellet's Women of the-Revolution. The original is in the possession of
Mrs. Motte's descendants.
[[[American Battery.--Siege of Fort Motte.--Lee's Expedient.--Patriotism
of Mrs. Motte.]]]
{686}ton which he planted the six-pounder, in a position to rake the
northern face of the parapet of the fort, against which Lee prepared
to approach. M'Pherson had no artillery, and his safety depended upon
timely extraneous aid, either from Camden or Ninety-Six.
Between the height on which Lee was posted and Fort Motte is a narrow
vale, which allowed the assailants to approach within four hundred
yards of the fort. From that vale they began to advance by a _parallel_,
which, by the assistance of some negroes from neighboring plantations,
was sufficiently advanced by the tenth[[May 1781]] to warrant the
Americans demanding a surrender. A flag was accordingly dispatched,
with a formal summons, but M'Pherson gallantly refused compliance. That
evening, intelligence of Rawdon's retreat from Camden toward Nelson's
Ferry was communicated to the Americans, and in the course of the night
a courier from Greene confirmed the report. Delay would be dangerous,
for Rawdon, with his superior force, could easily repulse them. Early on
the morning of the eleventh, the light of his beacon-fires were seen
on the high hills of Santee, and that night their gloamings upon the
highest ground of the country, opposite Fort Motte, gave great joy
to the beleagured garrison. To batter down the enemy's works with the
field-piece, or to approach by a trench, was too slow for the exigency
of the case. The fertile mind of Lee, full of expedients, suggested a
quicker plan for dislodging the garrison. The mansion of Mrs. Motte,
in the center of the enemy's works, was covered with shingles, now very
dry, for no rain had fallen for several days, and the rays of the sun
were powerful. To communicate fire to this mansion was Lee's expedient.
That officer had enjoyed the hospitality of Mrs. Motte during the siege,
and her only marriageable daughter was then the wife of his friend,
Major Thomas Pinckney. These circumstances made it a painful duty
for him to propose the destruction of her property. Her cheerful
acquiescence, and even patriotic desire to be able to serve her country
by such a sacrifice, gave him joy; and, communicating his plan to
Marion, they hastened to execute it. It was proposed to hurl ignited
combustibles upon the roof of the house, by arrows. These were prepared,
when Mrs. Motte, observing their inferiority, brought out a fine bow
and a bundle of arrows which had been brought from the East Indies, and
presented them to Lee. On the morning of the twelfth,[[May 1781]]
Lee sent Dr. Irvine, of his cavalry, with a flag, to state truly the
relative positions of the belligerents; that Rawdon had not yet
crossed the Santee, and that immediate surrender would save many lives.
M'Pherson still refused compliance; and at meridian, when the ditch was
advanced within bow-shot of the fort, several arrows from the hand of
Nathan Savage, a private in Marion's brigade, winged their way, with
lighted torches, toward the house. Two struck the dry shingles, and
instantly a bright flame crept along the roof. Soldiers were ordered up
to knock off the shingles and put out the fire, when one or two shots
from Marion's battery, raking the loft, drove them below. M'Pherson hung
out a white flag, the firing ceased, the flames were extinguished, and
at one o'clock the garrison surrendered themselves prisoners of war. By
invitation of Mrs. Motte, both the victorious and the captive officers
partook of a sumptuous dinner from her table, while she presided with
all the coolness and easy politeness for which she was remarkable when
surrounded by friends in the enjoyment of peace. *
* Lee's Memoirs, 229-32. Simm's Life of Marion, page 236, 239. In this
siege Marion lost two of his brave men, Sergeant M'Donald and Lieutenant
Cruger. The British did not lose a man killed, and the prisoners were
all paroled. Colonel Horry, in his narrative, mentions some pleasing
incidents which occurred at the table of Mrs. Motte on this occasion.
Among the prisoners was Captain Ferguson, an officer of considerable
reputation. Finding himself near Horry, Ferguson said, "You are Colonel
Horry, I presume, sir." Horry replied in the affirmative, when Ferguson
continued, "Well, I was with Colonel Watson when he fought your General
Marion on Sampit. I think I saw you there with a party of horse, and
also at Nelson's Ferry, when Marion surprised our party at the house.
But," he continued, "I was hid in high grass, and escaped. You were
fortunate in your escape at Sampit, for Watson and Small had twelve
hundred men." "If so," replied Horry, "I certainly was fortunate, for
I did not suppose they had more than half that number." "I consider
myself," added the eaptain, "equally fortunate in escaping at Nelson's
Old Field." "Truly you were," answered Horry drily, "for Marion had
but thirty militia on that occasion." The officers present could not
suppress laughter. When Greene inquired of Horry how he came to affront
Captain Ferguson; he answered, "He affronted himself by telling his own
story."--Horry's MS. Narrative, quoted by Simms, Life of Marion, p. 239.
[[[Rawdon's Retreat.--Belleville.--A Slave Market.--Trial of a
Slave.--Columbia.]]]
{667}The prisoners were treated with great humanity, notwithstanding
some of them were Tories of a most obnoxious stamp. As soon as paroled,
they were sent off to Lord Rawdon, then crossing the Santee at Nelson's
Ferry, near Eutaw Springs. The fall of Fort Motte greatly alarmed that
officer, and two days afterward,[[May 14]] he blew up the fortifications
at Nelson's Ferry, and hastened toward Charleston. During the day of the
capitulation, Greene arrived with a small troop of cavalry, being
anxious to know the result of the siege, for he was aware Rawdon was
hastening to the relief of the garrison. Finding every thing secure, he
returned to his camp, then on the north side of the Congaree, after
ordering Marion to proceed against Georgetown, toward the head of Winyaw
Bay, near the coast, and directing Lee with his legion, and Captain
Finley with his six pounder, to attack Fort Granby, thirty-two miles
above Fort Motte, near the present city of Columbia. Thither we will
presently proceed.
About a mile eastward of Fort Motte is the residence of Charles Thomson,
Esq., known as _Belleville_. It was taken possession of, stockaded, and
garrisoned by the Loyalists for a while. The fine old mansion, which I
am told exhibits many bullet-marks made by some Whigs, who attacked a
party of Tories stationed in the house, was owned by William Thomson,
who, next to Moultrie, was most conspicuous in the battle on Sullivan's
Island, at the entrance to Charleston harbor, in 1776. I intended to
visit Belleville, but it was so late when I had finished dinner with Mr.
Love, that I was obliged to mount one of his horses and hasten to the
station to take passage for Columbia. While waiting for the cars, the
overseer of a plantation near requested me to write a _pass_ for a sick
female slave, whom he was about to send to her master at Columbia for
medical aid. Regardless of the penalty, ** I wrote upon a card from my
port-folio, "Pass Dido to Columbia, January 19, 1849. J. Smoke." Two
hours afterward I was there also, but did not again see the namesake of
the Queen of Carthage.
Columbia, the capital of South Carolina, is a fine town, handsomely
located upon a high plain three or four miles in extent, a little
below the junction of the Broad and Saluda Rivers, where they form the
Congaree. It was laid out in 1787, when the region around it was very
sparsely populated. The Legislature first met there in 1790. There was
a settlement on each side of the river, about two miles below, called
Granby, which was a point of departure for the wilderness of the
Cherokee country. The climate is mild and salubrious; and Columbia
promises to be, from its geographical and political situation, a large
inland city. It is the favored seat of learning in the state, the South
Carolina College and Theological Seminary of South Carolina and Georgia
being located there.
The morning after my arrival in Columbia was very inclement. A cold
drizzle, which iced every thing out of doors, made me defer my visit
to Fort Granby until noon, when, seeing no prospect of abatement, I
procured a conveyance, and crossing the great bridge over
* Some writers attribute Greene's presence at Fort Motte on this
occasion to other motives than here represented. An unsatisfactory
correspondence had recently taken place between Greene and Marion, the
former having blamed the latter for not furnishing cavalry horses
when in his power to do so. Marion, conscious of having been eminently
faithful, felt deeply wronged, and tendered the resignation of his
commission to Greene. The latter soon perceived the injustice of
his suspicions, and took this, the first opportunity, for a personal
interview to heal the wound.
** A slave found in the streets of a town after dark, without a pass,
is liable to be locked in prison until morning, and this was written
to prevent such an occurrence. The laws of South Carolina inflict the
penalty of fine and imprisonment upon a person found guilty of writing
a pass for a slave without authority. I was informed of a curious
circumstance connected with this fact, which occurred near Fort Motte, a
few days previous to my visit there. Two slaves, carpenters, had escaped
from their home, and were found near Camden with well-written passes or
permits to find work, signed by the name of their master. Who wrote the
forged passes, was a question which puzzled the neighborhood. A mulatto
on the plantation was suspected, and, on being accused, confessed that
he wrote them, having been secretly taught to write by an overseer.
A jury was called to try him for the offense, but as the law did not
contemplate the ability of a slave to write, and as the term person did
not apply to a negro, no punishment could be legally awarded. The jury
simply recommended his master to flog him.
[[[Fort Granby and its Garrison.--Mr. Friday and Colonel
Maxwell.--Capture of Fort Granby.]]]
{688}the Congaree, rode to the house of James Cacey, Esq., the "Fort
Granby" of the Revolution, two miles below.
[Illustration: 9698]
It is a strong frame building, two stories in height, and stands upon
an eminence near the Charleston road, within three fourths of a mile of
Friday's Ferry, upon the Congaree. It overlooks ancient Granby and the
country around. Several houses of the old village are there, but the
solitude of desolation prevails, for not a family remains. Mr. Cacey
was a hopeless invalid, yet he was able to give me many interesting
reminiscences connected with that locality, * and I passed an hour very
pleasantly with him and his family.
The dwelling of Mr. Cacey was originally built by some gentlemen of
Pine Tree (Camden) as a store-house for cotton and other products of
the country, whence they were sent upon flat-boats down the river to the
sea-board. When the chain of military posts from Camden to Charleston
was established, this building, eligibly located, was fortified, and
called Fort Granby. A ditch was digged around it; a strong parapet was
raised; bastions were formed; batteries were arranged; and an _abatis_
was constructed. The garrison consisted of three hundred and fifty men,
chiefly Loyalists, with a few mounted Hessians, under the command of
Major Maxwell (a refugee from the eastern shore of Maryland), of the
Prince of Wales's regiment. He was neither brave nor experienced, and
the want of these qualities of the commandant being known to Lee, he
felt no hesitation in attacking him in his strong position. Detaching a
small troop of cavalry, under Captain Armstrong, to watch the movements
of Rawdon, Lee pushed forward with his usual celerity, to the investment
of Fort Granby. Sumter, instead of joining Greene before Camden, had
made a demonstration against Fort Granby, a few days before, but finding
it too strong for his small arms, had retired, and marched to attack
the British post at Orangeburg, fifty miles below. Lee arrived in the
vicinity of the fort on the evening of the fourteenth of May,[[1781]]
the day on which Sumter took possession of Orangeburg; and in the edge
of a wood, within six hundred yards of the fort, he began the erection
of a battery. A dense fog the next morning enabled him to complete it,
and mount the six pounder brought by Captain Finley from Fort Motte,
before they were discovered by the garrison. When the fog rolled away,
Captain Finley discharged his cannon, and, at the same moment, the
legion infantry advanced, took an advantageous position, and opened a
fire upon the enemy's pickets. This sudden annunciation of the presence
of an enemy, and his imposing display, alarmed Maxwell excessively,
and he received Captain Eggleston, who was sent with a flag to demand
a surrender, with great respect. After a brief consultation with his
officers, the major agreed to surrender the fort, on condition that
private property of every sort, without an investigation of title,
should be left in the hands of its possessors; ** that the garrison
should be per-
* Mr. Friday, the father-in-law of Mr. Cacey, and his brother, were the
only Whigs of that name in the state, and often suffered insults from
their Tory kinsman. Mr. Friday owned mills at Granby, and also a ferry
called by his name: and when the British fortified that post, the
garrison supplied themselves with flour from his establishment. He gave
the British the credit of dealing honorably, paying him liberally for
every thing they took from him--flour, poultry, cattle, &e. On one
occasion, when ealled to the fort to receive his pay, Major Maxwell, the
commandant of the garrison, said to him, "Mr. Friday, I hope you are as
clever a fellow as those of your name who are with us." "No!" shouted
his Tory uncle, who was standing near, "he's a damned rebel, and I'll
split him down!" at the same time rushing forward to execute his brutal
purpose. Colonel Maxwell protected the patriot, but dared not rebuke
the savage, for fear of offending his Tory comrades. After the battle at
Eutaw, Colonel Maxwell, and two or three other officers, passing through
Granby, stopped one night at Mr. Friday's. Early in the morning, Maxwell
said to Mr. Friday, "You Dutchmen are celebrated for fine gardens;
let us go and look at yours." When a little distance from the other
officers, the colonel remarked, "Mr. Friday, you are a friend to your
country. Remain so. We have not conquered it yet, and never will, and
your name will yet be honored, while those of your countrymen who are
with us will be despised." I gladly record the patriotism of Mr. Friday,
in fulfillment of this prediction.
** Lee says, in his Memoirs (page 234), that. Maxwell, "zealous to
fill his purse, rather than to gather military laurels, had, during his
command, pursued his favorite object with considerable success, and held
with him in the fort his gathered spoil." This fact accounts for the
major's desire to have all private properly confirmed to its possessors
"without investigation of title."
[[[Terms of Surrender.--Greene's Army at Fort Granby.--The
Locality.--Ninety-Six.]]]
{689}mitted to retire to Charleston as prisoners of war, until
exchanged; that the militia should be held in the same manner as the
regulars; and that an escort, charged with the protection of persons
and property, should attend the prisoners to Rawdon's camp.
Lieutenant-colonel Lee's practice was always to restore plundered
property, when captured, to the rightful owners; yet, knowing the danger
of delay, with Rawdon so near, he acquiesced, on the condition that all
the horses fit for public service should be left. To this the mounted
Hessians objected, and the negotiations were suspended. During this
suspense, Captain Armstrong arrived with the intelligence that Rawdon
had crossed the Santee, and was moving upon Fort Motte. Lee waved the
exception; the capitulation was signed, and before noon Captain Rudulph
raised the American flag on one of the bastions, and the captive
garrison marched, with its escort, for Rawdon's camp. * Among the spoils
of victory were two pieces of cannon, and a considerable quantity
of ammunition, salt, and liquor. It was a glorious, because almost a
bloodless victory, for no life was lost.
On the surrender of the fort, Lee dispatched a messenger to Greene, who
with great expedition had pressed forward, and was within a few miles
of Friday's Ferry. He crossed that ferry, and on the evening of the
fifteenth[[May 1781]] encamped upon Ancram's plantation, near the river,
where the victors and the main army had a joyous meeting.
During the night a courier from Fort Motte announced the fact that
Rawdon had retreated, after a day's march, toward that post, destroyed
the works at Nelson's Ferry, and was pushing on toward Charleston. Early
in the morning another courier came with the cheering intelligence of
Sumter's success at Orangeburg,[[May 14]] and the seventeenth of May was
a day of rejoicing by the little American army at Fort Granby.
Resting one day, General Greene moved toward Ninety-Six, which place he
reached on the twenty-second of May. In the mean while, he strengthened
Lee's legion by the addition of some North Carolina levies under Major
Eaton, and then directed him to hasten toward Augusta, on the Savannah
River, to join Pickens, who, with a body of militia, was in the vicinity
of that post. We will follow them presently.
The house of Mr. Cacey yet bears many "honorable scars" made by the
bullets of Lee's infantry; and in the gable toward the river, between
the chimney and a window (indicated by a black spot in the engraving),
is an orifice, formed by the passage of a six-pound ball from Finley's
field-piece. In one of the rooms are numerous marks made by an ax when
cutting up meat for the use of the garrison; and an old log barn near,
which stood within the intrenchments, has also many bullet scars.
I returned to Columbia at four o'clock, where I remained until Monday
morning.
While at Columbia, I met a gentleman from Abbeville District, in the
vicinity of old Fort Ninety-Six. He informed me that the traveling was
wretched, and quite dangerous in that direction, and that nothing of
Revolutionary interest worth visiting yet remained at that military
post, now the pleasant village of Cambridge, seventy-nine miles westward
of Columbia. He also informed me that a gentleman of Cambridge, who
was familiar with every historical event in his neighborhood, would
cheerfully communicate all I could possibly learn by a personal visit.
Willing to avoid a long and tedious journey unless it was necessary,
I wrote to that gentleman, and by his kind and prompt compliance I am
furnished with all necessary details respecting the locality, together
with the plan of the fortification, printed on page 691. We will here
consider the events which render Ninety-Six historically famous.
Old Ninety-Six was so called because it was within ninety-six miles of
the frontier fort, Prince George, which was upon the Keowee River, in
the present Pickens District. Its locality is in the eastern part of
Abbeville District, near the borders of Edgefield, and within six miles
of the Saluda River. No portion of the state suffered more during the
war than
* The garrison had only sixty regulars (the Hessians); the remainder
were Tory militia.
[[[Ninety Six Fortified.--Its Garrison and Works.--Capture of Fort
Galphin.--The "Galphin Claim."]]]
{690}the district around Ninety-Six. Like the neutral ground in West
Chester, New York, Whig nor Tory could dwell there in peace, for armed
bands of each were continually disturbing the inhabitants, and in close
proximity were the hostile Cherokees, ready, when they dared, to scourge
the settlers.
The little village of Ninety-Six was stockaded to defend it from the
incursions of the Indians; and when, after the fall of Charleston, the
British established several posts in the interior, its location and
salubrity indicated it as an important point for a fortification. It
was in a position to maintain a communication with the Indians, keep in
check the Whig settlements west of it, and cover those of the Loyalists
in other directions; and it afforded an excellent recruiting-station for
the concentration of Tory material in that quarter.
Ninety-Six was garrisoned by about five hundred and fifty Loyalists,
three hundred and fifty of whom were from New York and New Jersey, * and
the remainder were South Carolina Tories, under Colonel King, the whole
commanded by Lieutenant-colonel John Cruger, a native of the city of
New York. Cruger was an energetic officer, and possessed the entire
confidence of his superiors in the royal army. He did not receive
instructions from Rawdon when that officer abandoned Camden, for Sumter
cut off all communications; therefore, he had not prepared to evacuate
Ninety-Six and join Colonel Browne at Augusta, as Rawdon desired him
to do. When he learned that Greene was approaching Camden, he began to
strengthen his works; and when informed that Lee, with his legion, had
got between him and the post at Augusta, and that Greene was approaching
to besiege him, his garrison labored night and day still further to
strengthen the defenses. Already he had built a stockade fort on
the borders of the village, in addition to a star redoubt. This was
strengthened; a parapet was raised; a ditch was dug around it, and a
covered way, communicating with the palisaded village, was prepared.
Block-houses, formed of notched logs, were erected on the northeastern
side of the village, near where a star redoubt was constructed. Before
Greene reached there, Cruger's energy and skill had so directed the
efforts of the garrison, under the superintendence of Lieutenant
Haldane, one of Cornwallis's aids, that the place presented an
apparently insurmountable strength against the attacks of Greene's
little army of a thousand men.
In the mean while, Marion and Sumter were directed to keep watch between
the Santee and Edisto Rivers, and hold Rawdon in check, if he should
attempt to march to the relief of either Ninety-Six or Augusta, now
menaced by the Americans; while Lee, who left Fort Granby, with his
legion, in the evening after its capture, was scouring the country
between those two posts, and proceeding to form a junction with Pickens.
Informed that quite a large quantity of powder, balls, small arms,
liquor, salt, blankets, and other articles, intended for the Indians,
and much wanted by the Americans, were deposited at Fort Galphin
(sometimes called Fort Dreadnought), a small stockade at Silver Bluff,
upon the Carolina side of the Savannah, twelve miles below Augusta, **
he hastened thither to capture them.
On the morning of the twenty-first of May,[[1781]] he reached the
vicinity, and Captain Rudulph, with some of the legion infantry,
gallantly rushed upon the fort, while a
* According to M'Kenzie, in his Strictures on Tarleton's History, there
were one hundred and fifty men of Delancey's battalion (Loyalists of New
York), and two hundred Jersey volunteers. Lieutenant-colonel Cruger was
Colonel Delancey's son-in-law. Colonel Cruger died in London in 1807,
aged sixty-nine. His widow died at Chelsea, England, in 1822. at the age
of seventy-eight years.
** The house of George Galphin, deputy superintendent of Indian affairs,
inclosed within stockades, was used for barracks, and as a store-house
for various Indian supplies. The land is now owned by Ex-governor
Hammond, of South Carolina. Previous to 1773, Galphin, by his dealings
with the Creek Indians, had made them indebted to him in the sum of
$49,000. To secure the payment of this and other debts, the Creeks
conveyed to the British government, in 1773, a large tract of land lying
within the present limits of Georgia. At the close of the Revolution,
this land belonged to that state, and to the local Legislature Galphin
applied for the payment of his claim. It was refused. In 1847, Milledge
Galphin, surviving heir and executor of the Indian agent, petitioned
Congress for a payment of the claim, principal and interest; and in
1850, the general government allowed what the local government had
pronounced illegal. The "Galphin claim" took a large sum from our
National Treasury, for interest had been accumulating for about seventy
years.
[[[Greene before Ninety Six.--Siege commenced by Kosciuszko.--A
Sally.--Plan of the Siege.]]]
{691}small body of militia attacked the garrison from another quarter.
With the loss of only one man, the fort, with all its contents, was
captured by the Americans. After resting a few hours, Lee ordered Major
Eggleston, who was a Continental officer, to cross the Savannah, join
bodies of militia in that neighborhood, proceed to Augusta with a flag,
inform Colonel Browne of the approach of Greene, and demand an instant
surrender of Forts Cornwallis and Grierson, at that place. The events
which followed will be detailed in another chapter.
Greene arrived before Ninety-Six on the twenty-second of May,[[1781]]
with less than one thousand regulars * and a few undisciplined militia.
[Illustration: 8701]
He found quite a strong fort, well situated. On the left of the village,
in a valley, was a spring and rivulet, which furnished water to the
garrison. On the western side of this rivulet, upon an eminence, was
a stockade fort, and upon the other side, near the village, was a
fortified jail. These were to defend the water of the rivulet, for
none could be had within the town. Eastward of the village stood the
principal work, a star redoubt, consisting of sixteen angles, salient
and re-entering, with a ditch and _abatis_, and furnished with three
pieces of cannon. Every thing was judiciously arranged for defense, and
Lieutenant-colonel Cruger defied Greene when he appeared.
Colonel Kosciuszko was with Greene, and under his direction the
besiegers began approaches by parallels. They broke ground near the star
redoubt on the evening of the twenty-seeond. Perceiving this, Cruger
placed his three cannons upon a platform, in that direction, before
noon the next day, and manned the parapet with infantry. Under cover
of these, a sally party, under Lieutenant Roney, rushed out upon the
besiegers, drove the guards back toward the lines, bayoneted all
who fell in the way, destroyed the American works as far as they had
progressed, and carried off all of the intrenching tools. Lieutenant
Roney was mortally wounded, and that was all the loss the enemy
sustained. All this was accomplished with great gallantry, before a
detachment sent by Greene to re-enforce Kosciuszko, arrived upon the
ground. Kosciuszko now commenced another approach to the star redoubt.
He broke ground on the night of the twenty-third, under cover of a
ravine, and day by day slowly approached the fortress. In the mean
while, Pickens and Lee besieged and captured Forts Cornwallis and
Grierson at Augusta, and hastened to the assistance of Greene. Lee
arrived on the eighth of June,[[1781]] and Pickens soon afterward joined
him. These active partisans were directed to attack the enemy's works on
* Colonel Williams, deputy adjutant general, in his returns stated
them thus: Fit for duty, rank and file, Maryland brigade, 427; Virginia
ditto, 431; North Carolina battalion, 66: Delaware ditto [under Captain
Kirkwood], 60; in all, 984. The number of the militia is not mentioned.
** This plan is from a sketch sent to me by James M.M'Craeken, Esq.,
of Cambridge, South Carolina; a indicates the spring, with a rivulet
running from it; 6, a stockade fort; c, the old jail, which was also
fortified: d. the court-house; e, star redoubt; f, first mine, traces
of which are yet visible; g g g y, lie besieging encampments; h h h,
stockades inclosing the village; the covered way from the stockade fort
to the lines around the village. Mr. M'Craeken observes, "The trees and
shrubbery on the battle-ground are considered by the inhabitants too
sacred to be molested. The land is now (1849) owned by John C. M'Gehee,
of Madison county, Florida. The present village of Cambridge is within a
few hundred yards of the battle-ground, and the road leading through
it, north and south, is the great thoroughfare from Hamburg (opposite
Augusta) to Greenville. I have three small cannons in my possession,
one six and two four pounders, taken from the enemy at the siege of
Ninety-Six."
[[[Rawdon informed of the Siege.--His march toward Ninety-Six.--Attempt
to destroy the Stockade.--Beale and Cunningham.]]]
{692}the west. They immediately commenced regular approaches to the
stockade to cut off the enemy's supply of water; and at a proper
distance from it erected a battery to cover further approaches, and
planted a six pounder upon it, under the direction of Lieutenant
Finn. Cruger saw the inevitable destruction of the garrison when these
parallels, made slowly, day by day, should be completed. He had found
means to inform Lord Rawdon of his critical situation, and hourly he
expected aid from him. To gain time for this succor to arrive, he made
nightly sallies, and bloody encounters frequently occurred, while almost
daily the American foraging parties were attacked by bands of Tories.
* Yet slowly and surely the Americans approached; and when the second
parallel was completed, Greene sent Colonel Williams to demand a
surrender, with promises of kind treatment. Cruger promptly replied that
he should defend the fort till the last extremity, and regarded neither
the threats nor the promises of the American general. A battery,
constructed in the second parallel, now opened upon the redoubt, and
under its cover Kosciuszko pressed forward his approach with vigor.
On the eleventh[[June, 1781]] Greene received a dispatch from Sumter,
announcing the startling intelligence that on the third, a fleet
arrived from Ireland with reenforcements for Rawdon, consisting of three
regiments, a detachment from the Guards, and a considerable body of
volunteers, under the command of Lieutenant-colonel Gould. Rawdon
had been anxiously awaiting at Monk's Corner, near Charleston, this
propitious event. He had heard of the fall of Fort Cornwallis at Augusta
and the investment of Ninety-Six, but with his small force, and Marion
and Sumter before him, he dared not march to the aid of Cruger. On
the arrival of these troops, he repaired to Charleston, and on the
seventh[[June]] marched to the relief of Ninety-Six, with seventeen
hundred foot and one hundred and fifty horse. A few other troops from
his camp at Monk's Corner joined him, and with more than two thousand
men he proceeded toward Orangeburg. Greene dispatched Pickens to the
aid of Sumter, and ordered Marion from the lower country to join them in
retarding the advance of the royal army. They could do little to oppose
him, and Greene began to despair of reducing the garrison to submission
before Rawdon's arrival.
The besiegers now deplored the fact that earlier attention had not been
bestowed upon attempts on the western side to deprive the garrison of
water, and thus force a capitulation. To this object the chief efforts
were now directed, and the most effectual step to accomplish it was to
destroy the stockade. The method of approaches was too slow, and it was
resolved to endeavor to burn it. A dark storm was gathering, and
toward evening, covered by its impending blackness, a sergeant and nine
privates, with combustibles, cautiously approached, and four of them
gained the ditch. While in the act of applying the fire, they were
discovered. A volley of musketry was immediately opened upon them, and
the sergeant and five of his party were killed; the other four escaped.
The attempt was unsuccessful.
On the evening of the nineteenth, a countryman was seen riding along the
American lines south of the town, talking familiarly with officers and
soldiers. It was a circumstance too common to excite special notice. At
length, reaching the great road leading directly into the town, he put
spurs to his horse, and, amid a storm of bullets, rode safely to the
gate, holding a letter in his raised hand. He was received with the
greatest joy, for he was the
* Amoung the most active of these parties was the "Bloody Scout," under
the notorious Bill Cunningham. They hovered around the American lamp
like vultures, and picked off the patriots in detail. The most active,
opponent of this scoundrel was William Beale, of Ninety-Six. He formed a
scouting party of Whigs, and soon they became a terror to the Tories.
On one occasion, Cunningham and his party plundered the house of Beale's
mother, during his absence. On his return, Beale went in pursuit,
and approaching Cunningham, that marauder wheeled and fled. The race
continued for almost three miles, when Cunningham turned, and with a
pistol, shot Beale's horse dead. Beale retreated backward, daring the
Tory to follow. The latter fearing a Whig ambush, rode off. On another
occasion, Cunningham and his party surrounded a house where Beale and a
Whig were stopping. They heard the approach of the Tories, when, rushing
to their horses and rattling their swords, Beale gave command as if to a
troop. It was dark, and Cunningham, who had thirteen men with him, fled
in great haste. Cunningham was so mortified, when he learned that they
had been frightened away by a couple of Whigs, that he swore vengeance
against Beale.--Letter of James M'Crarken, Esq
[[[Cruger advised of Rawdon's approach.--Assault on the Star
Redoubt.--Capture of the Stockade.--A bold Prisoner.]]]
{693}bearer of a dispatch from Lord Rawdon, announcing his approach
with a large force. The beleaguered garrison, almost on the point of
surrendering (for this was the first intelligence Cruger had received
from Rawdon since his evacuation of Camden), were animated with fresh
hope, while the besiegers, aware of the approach of succor for the
besieged, were nerved to greater exertions. They completed their
parallels, and commenced the erection of a Mayham Tower, * from which to
fire into the star redoubt. To guard against this advantage of height,
Major Greene, the commander of the redoubt, piled bags of sand upon the
parapets. On the morning of the seventeenth, a general fire was opened
upon the works, and so effectual was it upon the stockade and its
vicinity, that the garrison was deprived of water from the rivulet. Had
this advantage been maintained, and Rawdon been delayed thirty hours
longer, Cruger must have surrendered.
Rawdon managed to elude the vigilance of Sumter, after passing
Orangeburg, and now approached Ninety-Six. Greene perceived that he must
either storm the works at once, fight Rawdon, or retire. He determined
upon the former; and at noon on the eighteenth,[[June 1781]] the Mayham
Tower being completed, and two trenches and a mine nearly let into the
enemy's ditch, the center battery opened upon the star, as a signal for
a general attack. Lieutenant-colonel Campbell, of the first Virginia
regiment, with a detachment from the Maryland and Virginia brigades,
led the attack on the left; Lieutenant-colonel Lee, with Kirkwood's
Delawares, advanced on the right; Lieutenants Duval, of Maryland, and
Selden, of Virginia, commanded the forlorn hope of Campbell; and Captain
Rudolph that of Lee. Riflemen were stationed in the tower, fascines were
constructed to fill the ditch, and long poles, with iron hooks, were
prepared to pull down the sand-bags from the parapets. Campbell and Lee
rushed to the assault simultaneously. Cruger received the attack with
firmness, and, from apertures between the sand-bags, Colonel Greene's
riflemen did great execution. Duval and Selden boldly entered the ditch,
and commenced pulling down the sand-bags. The parapet bristled with
pikes and bayonets, yet they could not reach the assailants. Rapidly the
bags were disappearing in the ditch below, and Campbell was pressing
to ascend the parapet and fight hand to hand with the garrison, when
Captain French, of Delancey's corps, and Captain Campbell, of New
Jersey, issued from a sally-port of the star redoubt with a few men,
and taking opposite directions in the ditch, fiercely assailed Duval and
Selden, at the same time, with bayonets. Terrible was the conflict which
followed. The brave patriots were assailed both in front and overhead,
yet they maintained their ground for some minutes. At length both
leaders of the forlorn hope were wounded, and the whole party retreated
to the trenches.
While this bloody scene was transpiring at the star redoubt, one more
successful effort for the besiegers occurred at the stockade. Rudulph
made his way into the fort, and the enemy, with some prisoners, **
hastily retreated to the main works. This advantage Lee intended to
follow up, by entering the town, assailing the fortified jail, and then
to assist in reducing the star redoubt; but General Greene, perceiving
the slaughter in the ditch, and desirous of saving his troops, ordered
Lee to do nothing more than to hold the stockade he had gained. Greene
then sent a flag to Cruger, proposing a cessation of hostilities for the
purpose of burying the dead. Cruger refused, claiming that service for
the victor, whoever he might be. Believing the reduction of the post
to be doubtful before the arrival of Rawdon, and unwilling to encounter
that general's superior force, Greene withdrew the detachment from the
stockade, and prepared for a general retreat. Thus ended the siege of
* For description of the Mayham Tower, and the origin of its name, see
an account of the attack upon Fort Watson, page 707.
** Mr. M'Cracken relates, that among the prisoners in one of the
redoubts was one named Benjamin Eddins. Lieutenant-colonel Cruger
frequently visited him, and often importuned him to eschew Republicanism
and join the British army. Eddins at length became tired of these
importunities, and one day said to Cruger, '' Sir, I am a prisoner in
your power; you may cut out my heart (baring his bosom), or you may drag
my limbs and body asunder with ropes and horses; all this will I endure
rather than desert my country's flag." Charmed by his boldness and
patriotism, Colonel Cruger replied, "Sir, you are too true a rebel to
remain here; you are liberated from this moment."
[[[Raising of the Siege of Ninety-Six.--Arrival of Rawdon.--His pursuit
of Greene.--Movements of the two Armies.]]]
{694}Ninety-Six, which continued twenty-seven days. During this siege,
the Americans lost about one hundred and fifty men in killed, wounded,
and missing. Captain Armstrong, of the Maryland line, a most valuable
officer, was shot through the head, during the assault on the
eighteenth, and fell dead. He was the only American officer who was
killed. Captain Benson, also of the Maryland line, was severely wounded
in the neck and shoulder. The exact loss of the besieged was not
reported.
On the evening of the nineteenth, Greene raised the siege, crossed the
Saluda,[[June 20, 1781]] and rapidly retreated toward the Ennoree. *
He had communicated to Sumter notice of the events of the eighteenth,
advised him of the route of his retreat, and ordered the corps in
his front, with the cavalry of Washington, to join him as speedily as
possible.
On the morning of the twenty-first, Rawdon and his army reached
Ninety-Six, and were welcomed with every expression of joy. Cruger
was greatly and justly applauded for his gallant defense. On the same
evening, when their mutual congratulations had ceased, and his army,
after forced marches for fourteen days, were rested, Rawdon started
in pursuit of Greene. He was eager to strike and utterly destroy or
disperse his little army; regain the various posts he had lost; scatter
the partisan forces of Marion and Sumter; revive the hopes and energies
of the Loyalists, and thus strengthen the power of Cornwallis, who at
this time was devastating Lower Virginia. Rawdon crossed the Saluda in
quest of Greene (who had now got beyond the Tyger, in Union District),
and gained the banks of the Eunorec, where he acquired information
which convinced him that further pursuit would be useless, and with his
wearied troops he returned to Ninety-Six.
When Greene heard of the retrograde movement of Rawdon, he halted, and
ordered Lieutenant-colonel Lee to follow the enemy with his corps, for
the purpose of obtaining intelligence. Greene had intended to retreat
to Charlotte, but now his future movements depended upon those of his
adversary. Lee soon ascertained that Rawdon had determined to abandon
Ninety-Six, and to join a force under Colonel Stewart, whom he had
ordered to advance from Charleston to Friday's Ferry at Granby; while
Colonel Cruger, with his garrison and those Loyalists, with their
property, who might choose to follow, were to march directly to
Orangeburg. While Rawdon was thus preparing to abandon the upper
country, Sumter intercepted a letter to that officer from Colonel
Balfour at Charleston, informing him that he had recalled Stewart after
he had commenced his march for Friday's Ferry. This letter was sent to
Greene, who immediately directed his hospital and heavy baggage, then
at Winnsborough, to be forwarded to Camden, while he prepared to pursue
Rawdon with all his force. He sent Lee to gain the front of the British
army before it should reach Friday's Ferry, and dispatched messages
to Marion and Sumter, ordering them to lake a similar position. ** Lee
accomplished his purpose, and in a skirmish with a part of
* The wives of Lieutenant-colonel Cruger and Major Greene were at a
farm-house in the neighborhood of Ninety-Six when the American army
arrived. General Greene soon quieted their fears, and as they preferred
to remain where they were, to joining their husbands in the beleaguered
town, he placed a guard there to protect them. This kindness Mrs. Cruger
reciprocated on the day when the Americans left, by informing some light
troops who had been out scouting, and were passing by the farm-house
toward the post, of the termination of the siege and the direction taken
by General Greene in his retreat. Without this timely information, they
would have been captured.
** It is related that the message to Sumter from Greene was conveyed by
Emily Geiger, the daughter of a German planter in Fairfield District.
He prepared a letter to Sumter, but none of his men appeared willing
to attempt the hazardous service, for the Tories were on the alert,
as Rawdon was approaching the Congaree. Greene was delighted by the
boldness of a young girl, not more, than eighteen years ol age, who came
forward and volunteered to carry the letter to Sumter. With his usual
caution, he communicated the contents of the letter to Emily, fearing
she might lose it on the way. The maiden mounted a fleet horse, and
crossing the Wateree at the Camden Ferry, pressed on toward Sumter's
camp. Passing through a dry swamp on the second day of her journey,
she was intercepted by some Tory scouts. Coming from the direction of
Greene's army, she was an object of suspicion, and was taken to a house
on the edge of the swamp, and confined in a room. With proper delicacy,
they sent for a woman to search her person. No sooner was she left
alone, than she ate up Greene's letter piece by piece. After a while,
the matron arrived, made a careful search, but discovered nothing. With
many apologies, Emily was allowed to pursue her journey. She reached
Sumter's camp, communicated Greene's message, and soon Rawdon was flying
before the Americans toward Orangeburg. Emily Geiger afterward married
Mr. Thurwits, a rich planter on the Congaree. The picture of her
capture, here given, I copied from the original painting by Flagg, in
possession of Stacy G. Potts, Esq., of Trenton, New Jersey.
[[[Courage and Arrest of Emily Geiger.--Rawdon foiled.--Camp at
Orangeburg.--Greene on the Santee Hills.]]]
{695}his corps, under Captain Eggleston, a foraging party of fifty or
sixty dragoons, with some wagons, were captured and sent to Greene's
camp, then on the banks of the Saluda, near its junction with the Broad
River at Columbia.
[Illustration: 0705]
Rawdon, not meeting with Stuart, and ignorant of the cause of his
delay, was baffled, and turning southward, pushed on toward Orangeburg,
unwilling now to encounter the Americans, for he had only a thousand men
with him. In the mean while, Stuart had again marched from Charleston;
and Marion and Lieutenant-colonel Washington being engaged in retarding
his progress, did not join Lee until the morning of the tenth of July,
when that officer and his corps were upon Beaver Creek, in the present
Lexington District.
Rawdon halted at Orangeburg, with the intention of establishing a post
there, and awaiting the arrival of Cruger and his Loyalists. Greene,
advancing rapidly, approached that place with a force now augmented to
almost two thousand men, before the British general had time properly to
arrange his camp and cast up defenses. Rawdon's force, though inferior
to Greene's, was so strongly posted and furnished with artillery, that
the latter was unwilling to hazard an assault, particularly as Cruger
was hourly expected at Orangeburg. As the heat of the season was
oppressive, provisions scarce, and sickness increasing among his troops,
he crossed the Congaree, and encamped upon the high hills of Santee,
where salubrious air and excellent water soon restored the vigor of his
army. Sumter, Marion, and Lee were ordered to make rapid marches toward
Charleston, beat up the British quarters at Dorchester and Monk's
Corner, cut off convoys between Rawdon and the capital, and then join
the main army upon the Santee Hills. Here we will leave the belligerents
for the present.
I left Columbia at seven o'clock on Monday morning,[[Jan. 23, 1849]]
and was at Orangeburg, fifty-one miles distant, at half past nine. The
weather was delightful. A dreamy haziness was in the atmosphere, and
the air was as mild as early June. Leaving my baggage at the rail-way
station, I strolled over that village and vicinity, for an hour, with
a gentleman from Columbia, who was familiar with its historical
localities. The village (which
[[[Orangeburg.--Old Court house.--Orangeburg taken by Sumter.--Sumter
and Lee.--Rawdon's Departure]]]
The Old Court-house. {696}was settled as early as 1735) is beautifully
situated upon a gently-rolling plain, near the banks of the Edisto
(which is here skirted with swamps), and contains about four hundred
inhabitants. There are several elegant dwellings standing upon each
side of the broad street extending from the rail-way to the heart of
the village, all shaded by lofty trees. It is about eighty miles west of
Charleston, and being the seat of justice, is the largest town in Orange
District.
[Illustration: 9706]
It has a handsome court-house and jail, and is regularly laid out. The
old jail, which the British fortified while they occupied the place, was
built of brick, in 1770, and stood upon the crown of the gentle hill, a
few yards northwest of the old court-house (represented in the picture),
which is yet standing. The court-house is a frame building, and was used
for a blacksmith's shop when I was there. The two trees seen on the left
are venerable _Pride-of-Indias_, choice shade-trees of the South. This
edifice exhibited several bullet-marks, the effect of Sumter's
assault in 1781. After sketching this--the only remaining relic of the
Revolution at Orangeburg, except some vestiges of the works east up by
Rawdon, half a mile westward, near the Edisto--I hired a horse and gig
to visit Eutaw Springs, about forty miles distant, near the south bank
of the Santee. It was with great difficulty that I could ascertain their
probable distance from Orangeburg; and the person from whom I procured a
conveyance supposed it to be twenty-five or thirty miles. His price
was determined by the distance, and he was agreeably surprised, on my
return, to learn that I had traveled eighty miles. Before departing
on this journey, let us consider for a moment the Revolutionary events
which distinguish Orangeburg.
Orangeburg was one of the chain of military posts established by the
British after the fall of Charleston.[[May 1780]] The jail was fortified
and garrisoned by about seventy militia and a dozen regulars. Sumter,
when marching to join Greene at Camden, according to orders, conceived
a plan for capturing Fort Granby, and therefore did not re-enforce his
general. He began the siege successfully, when, learning the fact
that Raw-don had ordered the evacuation of Orangeburg, he left Colonel
Taylor, with a strong party, to maintain the siege of Fort Granby, while
he should strike the garrison at the former place, before it should
retire. By a rapid march he reached Orangeburg on the morning of the
eleventh of May,[[1780]] and, after one or two volleys, the garrison
surrendered themselves unconditional prisoners of war. Paroling his
prisoners, Sumter hastened toward Fort Granby; but before his arrival,
Lee had invested and reduced it, allowing, as we have seen (page 689),
the most favorable terms. Sumter was incensed at the conduct of Lee, for
he felt that he had not only snatched from him the laurels he had almost
won, but that he had hastened the capitulation, and allowed favorable
terms, in order to accomplish the surrender before Sumter could arrive.
No doubt the garrison would have surrendered unconditionally, if
besieged a day or two longer. Sumter sent an indignant letter of
complaint to Greene, inclosing his commission. Greene, knowing his
worth, returned it to him with many expressions of regard, and Sumter,
sacrificing private resentment for the good of the cause, remained in
the army.
On the day after Rawdon's arrival at Orangeburg, he was joined by
Lieutenant-colonel Stewart, with the third regiment from Ireland, called
the Bulls, whom Rawdon had ordered from Charleston. The retirement of
Greene to the high hills of Santee, and the rendezvous there of the
several corps of Marion, Sumter, and Lee, indicating a present cessation
of hostilities, Lord Rawdon proceeded to Charleston, and embarked for
Europe, for the purpose of recruiting his health. * The command of all
the troops in the field now devolved
* While Rawdon was in Charleston preparing to sail for Europe, the
execution of Colonel Hayne occurred. This foul stain upon the character
of Rawdon and Colonel Balfour, the commandant at Charleston, we shall
consider hereafter.
[[[Movements of the two Armies toward Eutaw.--Journey
thither.--Four-hole Swamp.--General Sumner.]]]
{697}upon Colonel Stuart. That officer soon left Orangeburg, and, moving
forward, encamped upon the Congaree, near its junction with the Wateree.
The two armies were only sixteen miles apart by air line, but two rivers
rolled between, and they could not meet without making a circuit of
seventy miles. Stuart's foraging parties soon spread over the country.
Marion was detached toward the Combahee Ferry, and Washington went
across the Wateree to disperse them. Many brisk skirmishes ensued. In
the mean time, Greene was re-enforced by a brigade of Continental troops
from North Carolina, under General Sumner. * Intent upon the recovery
of South Carolina, he determined, with his augmented strength, to
attack the enemy. He left the Santee Hills on the twenty-second of
August,[[1781]] with about twenty-six hundred men (only sixteen hundred
of whom were fit for active service), crossed the Wateree at the Camden
Ferry, and made rapid marches to Friday's Ferry, on the Congaree. There
he was joined by General Pickens, with the militia of Ninety-Six, and
a body of South Carolina state troops recently organized, under Colonel
Henderson. On hearing of Greene's approach, Stuart decamped from
Orangeburg, and pitched his tents at Eutaw Springs, forty miles below,
vigorously pursued by the Americans. Thither let us proceed, where we
shall meet the two armies in terrible conflict.
I left Orangeburg for Eutaw Springs at eleven o'clock.[[Jan. 26,
1849]] The day was so warm that the shade of the pine forests was
very refreshing. My horse was fleet, the gig light, the road level
and generally fine, and at sunset I arrived at the house of Mr. winger
(Vances's Ferry post-office), thirty miles distant. About fourteen miles
from Orangeburg I crossed the Four-hole Swamp, ** upon a narrow causeway
of logs and three bridges. The distance is about a mile, and a gloomier
place can not well be imagined. On either side was a dense undergrowth
of shrubs, closely interlaced with vines; and above, draped with moss,
towered lofty cypresses and gums. At two o'clock I passed one of those
primitive school-houses, built of logs (for portrait, see next page),
which the traveler meets occasionally in the South. It stood in the edge
of a wood, and in front was a fine _Pride-of-India-Tree_, under which
the teacher sat listening to the efforts of half a dozen children in the
science of orthography. The country is very sparsely populated, and many
of the children, living four or five miles away from the school-house,
are conveyed on horseback by the negro servants. I stopped a moment in
conversation with the pedagogue, who was a Vermonter, one of those New
England people described by Halleck as=
```"Wandering through the Southern countries, teaching
````The ABC from Webster's Spelling-book;
```Gallant and godly, making love and preaching."=
He appeared satisfied with his success in each vocation, and hinted that
the daughter of a
[Illustration: 9707]
* Although the name of General Jethro Sumner does not appear very
conspicuous in the general histories of the War for Independence, his
services in the Southern campaigns were well appreciated by his peers
and compatriots in the field. He was a native of Virginia, and as
early as 1760 his merits caused him to be appointed a paymaster in the
provincial army of that slate, and commander of Fort Cumberland. In
1776, he lived in North Carolina, was appointed colonel of a regiment of
Continental troops, and joined the army at the North, under Washington.
He went South with General Gates, and was in the battle at Sander's
Creek (Camden) when the Americans were defeated. He was actively
engaged when Greene took command of the army, and continued in North
Carolina until he marched to re-enforce Greene upon the High Hills of
Santee. When Greene heard of the abduction of Governor Burke, after the
battle at Eutaw, in which Sumner was engaged, he sent that officer into
North Carolina to awe the Tories and encourage the Whigs. After the war,
General Sumner married a wealthy widow at Newbern. He died in Warren
county, North Carolina, and was buried near old Shocco Chapel, and Bute
old Court House. The following inscription is upon his tomb-stone: "To
the memory of General Jethro Sumner, one of the heroes of '76."--See
Wheeler's History of North Carolina, page 425.
** This swamp derives its name from the fact that the deep and sluggish
stream, a branch of the South Edisto, which it skirts, disappears from
the surface four times within this morass. Plunging into one pit,
the water boils up from the next; disappearing again in the third, it
reappears in the fourth, and then courses its way to the Edisto. These
pits are about half a mile apart, and are filled with remarkably fine
fish which may be taken with a hook and line at the depth of thirty
feet.
[[[A Yankee Schoolmaster.--Road to Eutaw.--Locality and Appearanee of
the Springs.]]]
{698}neighboring planter had promised him her heart and hand. When
obtained, he intended to cultivate cotton and maize, instead of the dull
intellects of other people's children.
[Illustration: 9708]
I passed the night at Mr. Avinger's, and very early in the morning
departed for Eutaw, ten miles distant. I was now upon the Congaree road,
and found the traveling somewhat heavier than upon ways less used. About
three miles from winger's, I passed Burdell's plantation, where the
American army encamped the night before the battle of Eutaw. It was
another glorious morning, and at sunrise I was greeted with the whistle
of the quail, the drum of the partridge, the sweet notes of the robin
and blue-bird, and the querulous cadences of the cat-bird, all summer
tenants of our Northern forests. They appeared each to carol a brief
matin hymn at sunrise, and were silent the remainder of the day. I
saw several mocking-birds, but they flitted about in silence, taking
lessons, I suppose, from their Northern friends, to be sung during their
absence.=
```"Winged mimic of the woods! thou motley fool!
````Who shall thy gay buffoonery describe?
```Thine ever ready notes of ridicule
````Pursue thy fellows still with jest and gibe:
````Wit, sophist, songster, Yorick of thy tribe,
```Thou sportive satirist of Nature's school!"
`````Richard Henry Wilde.=
Occasionally a wild turkey would start from a branch, or a filthy
buzzard alight by the wayside, until, as I came suddenly upon a
water-course, a wild fawn that stood lapping from the clear stream
wheeled and bounded away among the evergreens of the wood.
At about eight o'clock, I arrived at the elegant mansion of William
Sinkler, Esq., upon whose plantation are the celebrated Eutaw Springs.
It stands in the midst of noble shade-trees, half a mile from the
high-way, and is approached by a lane fringed with every variety of
evergreen tree and shrub which beautify Southern scenery in winter. I
was courteously received by the proprietor; and when the object of my
visit was made known, he ordered his horse and accompanied me to the
springs and the field of battle, which are about half a mile eastward of
his mansion. The springs present a curious spectacle, being really but
the first and second apparition of the same subterranean stream. They
are a few rods north of the forks of the Canal and the Monk's Corner
roads, at the head of a shallow ravine. The first spring is at the foot
of a hill, twenty or thirty feet in height. The water bubbles up, cold,
limpid, and sparkling, in large volumes, from two or three orifices,
into a basin of rock-marl, and, flowing fifty or sixty yards, descends,
rushing and foaming, into a cavern beneath a high ridge of marl
* covered with alluvium and forest-trees. After traversing its
subterraneous way some thirty rods, it reappears upon the other side,
where it is a broader stream, and flows gently over a smooth rocky bed
toward the Santee, its course marked by tall cypresses, draped with
moss. The whole length of the Eutaw Creek, in all its windings, is only
about two miles. Where it first bubbles from the earth there is suffi-
* This marl appears to be a concretion of oyster-shells, and is said
to be an excellent fertilizer when crushed to powder. In this vicinity,
many bones of monsters, like the mastodon, have been found.
[[[Remains of the "Citadel" at Eutaw.--Greene joined by
Marion.--American Encampment before the Battle.--Captain Coffin.]]]
{699}cient volume to turn a large mill-wheel, but the fountain is so
near the level of the Santee at Nelson's Ferry, where the Eutaw enters,
that no fall can be obtained;
[Illustration: 8709]
on the contrary, when the Santee is filled to the brim, the waters flow
back to the springs.
Just at the forks of the road, on the side toward the springs, was a
clump of trees and shrubbery, which marked the spot where stood a strong
brick house, famous as the citadel of the British camp, and a retreat
for some of the warriors in the conflict at Eutaw. Nothing of it now
remains but the foundation, and a few broken bricks scattered among some
plum-trees. Let us sit down here, in the shadow of a cypress, by the
bubbling spring, and consider the event when human blood tinged the
clear waters of the Eutaw, where patriots fought and died for a holy
principle.=
```"They saw their injured country's woe;
````The flaming town, the wasted field;
```Then marched to meet the insulting foe;
````They took the spear, but left the shield!
`````Led by thy conquering standards, Greene,
````The Britons they compelled to fly:
```None distant viewed the fatal plain,
````None grieved in such a cause to die;
```But, like the Parthians, famed of old,
````Who, flying, still their arrows threw;
```These routed Britons, full as bold,
````Retreated, and retreating, slew.--Philip Freneau.=
At Orangeburg, General Greene was informed that Stuart had been
re-enforced by a corps of cavalry, under Brevet-major John Coffin **
(whose real rank was captain), which Rawdon had formed on his arrival at
Charleston. He immediately issued an order[[Sept. 4, 1781]] for Marion
(who was then, with his command, scouring the country toward the Edisto,
in rescuing Colonel Harden from the toils of Major Fraser) to join him,
and then pressed forward toward Eutaw. Marion, by a forced night march,
reached Laurens's plantation, *** a few miles from Eutaw, in advance of
the American army, on the fifth. In the mean while, Greene's army slowly
approached the British camp, preceded by Lee's legion and Henderson's
South Carolina corps. The main army reached Burdell's plantation, on
the Congaree road, within seven miles of Eutaw, on the afternoon of the
seventh[[Sept. 1781]] and there it encamped for the night.
* This is a view of the reappearance of the stream (or lower spring)
from the marl ridge thirty feet in height. These springs are in
Charleston District, near the Orangeburg line, about sixty miles
northwest of Charleston. It is probable that a subterranean stream here
first finds its way to the surface of the earth.
** John Coffin was a native of Boston, and brother of Admiral Sir Isaac
Coffin, of the Royal Navy. He accompanied the British army in the action
on Breed's Hill. He soon obtained a commission, rose to the rank of
captain in the Orange Rangers, and finally, effecting an exchange into
the New York Volunteers, went with that corps to Georgia in 1778. In
the campaigns of 1779 and 1780, his conduct won the admiration of his
superiors. His behavior in the battle of Eutaw attracted the attention
of Greene and his officers. He retired to New Brunswick at the close
of the contest. In the war of 1812, he commanded a regiment. He filled
several civil offices in the province until 1828, when he retired from
public life. He had been a member of the Assembly, chief magistrate
of King's county, and a member of the council. He died at his seat in
King's county in 1838, at the age of eighty-seven years. He held the
rank of lieutenant general at the time of his death.--Sabine's Lives of
the Loyalists.
*** This plantation belonged to Henry Laurens, who was one of the
presidents of the Continental Congress.
[[[Deserters.--Stuart's fancied Security.--Arrangement of the Americans
for Battle.--Colonel William Polk.]]]
{700}While the Americans were reposing, two men of Sumner's North
Carolina conscripts deserted to the British lines, and gave Colonel
Stuart the first intimation of the close proximity of the Republican
army. Stuart regarded them as spies, and would not listen to their
information, for his scouts, who were out upon the Congaree road the
day before, brought him no intelligence of the approach of Greene. His
feelings of security were not disturbed by the deserters, and he sent
out his foraging parties in the morning,[[Sept. 8]] as usual, to collect
vegetables. Prudence, however, dictated caution, and he detached Captain
Coffin, with his cavalry, as a corps of observation, and, if necessary,
to call in the foraging parties.
At dawn on the morning of the eighth, the Americans moved from Burdell's
in two columns, each composed of the troops intended to form the
respective lines of battle.
[Illustration: 8710]
Greene's whole force, according to Lee, * amounted to twenty-three
hundred men, of whom the Continentals, horse, foot, and artillery,
numbered about sixteen hundred. The front or _first line_ was composed
of four small battalions of militia--two of North, and two of South
Carolinians. One of the South Carolinians was under the immediate
command of Brigadier Marion, who commanded the whole front line. The two
North Carolina battalions, under the command of Colonel Malmedy, were
posted in the center; and the other South Carolina battalion, under
the command of General Pickens, was placed on the left. The second line
consisted of three small brigades of Continental troops, one each from
North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. The North Carolinians were
formed into three battalions, under the command of Lieutenant-colonel
Ashe, and Majors Armstrong and Blount; the whole commanded by General
Sumner, and posted on the right.
The Virginians consisted of two battalions, commanded by Major Snead and
Captain Edmonds, and the whole by Lieutenant-colonel Campbell, and were
posted in the center.
The Marylanders also consisted of two battalions, commanded by
Lieutenant-colonel Howard and Major Hardman, the whole brigade by
Colonel Otho II. Williams, the deputy adjutant general, and were posted
on the left. Lieutenant-colonel Lee, with his legion, covered the
right flank; and Lieutenant-colonel Henderson, with the State troops,
commanded by Lieutenant-colonels Polk,2 Wade Hampton, and Middleton, the
left. Lieutenant-colonel Washington, with his horse, and the Delaware
troops, under Captain Kirkwood, formed a reserve corps. Two three
pounders, under Captain-lieutenant Gaines, advanced with the front line,
and two sixes, under Captain Brown, with the second. The legion and the
State troops formed the advance.
* Memoirs, 331. See. also, Greene's Dispatch to the President of
Congress, September 11, 1781.
** William Polk, son of Colonel Thomas Polk, of Mecklenburg, North
Carolina, was born in that county in 1759. He was present at the
celebrated Mecklenburg convention, in May, 1775. He joined the army
early in 1777, and went to the North with General Nash, who was
killed at Germantown. He was in the battles on the Brandywine and at
Germantown, and was wounded at the latter place. He went South with
General Gates, and was with him in the battle at Sander's Creek, near
Camden. He was with Greene at Guilford and Eutaw. In the latter battle
he received a wound, the effects of which he felt until his death. At
the close of the war, he returned to Charlotte, his native place, and
in 1787 represented his county in the North Carolina Legislature. He
subsequently removed to Raleigh, where he resided until his death. In
1812, President Madison offered him the commission of a brigadier,
but, being opposed to the war, he declined the honor. He died on the
fourteenth of January, 1835, in the seventy-sixth year of his age.
Colonel Polk was the last surviving field officer of the North Carolina
line. Bishop Leonidas Polk, of the Protestant Episcopal Church of
Louisiana, and General Thomas G. Polk, of Mississippi, are his sons.
[[[Arrangement of the British Forces.--The
Citadel.--Skirmishes.--Commencement of the Battle at Eutaw.]]]
{701}The British army, under Stuart, at Eutaw, was drawn up in a line
extending from the Eutaw Creek, north of the Congaree or Charleston
road, near Mr. Sinkler's mansion, across that high-way and the road
leading to Roche's plantation, an eighth of a mile southward. The Irish
Buffs (third regiment) formed the right; Lieutenant-colonel Cruger's
Loyalists the center; and the 63d and 64th veteran regiments the left.
Near the creek was a flank battalion of grenadiers and infantry, under
Major Majoribanks. These were partially covered and concealed by a
thicket on the bank of the stream. To the cavalry of Coffin, and a
detachment of infantry held in reserve in the rear, were assigned the
support of the left. The artillery was distributed along the front of
the line. About fifty yards in the rear of the British line, at the
forks of the present Canal and Monk's Corner roads, was a cleared field.
There was their camp, and so certain was Stuart of victory, that he left
his tents all standing. Close by the road was a two-story brick house
(mentioned on page 699), with servant's huts around it. This was
palisaded, and so likewise was the garden, extending to the Eutaw Creek.
* This house was intended as a citadel if their line should be forced
back. Such was the situation of the two armies at sunrise on the morning
of the eighth of September, 1781.
At about eight o'clock, when the Americans were within four miles of
Eutaw, Lee fell in with Captain Coffin, who was acting as an escort for
a foraging party of about four hundred men. Ignorant of the proximity
of the main army of Greene, Coffin attacked Armstrong, who led Lee's
advance. Armstrong fell back to the van, and Lee and Henderson received
the assault with spirit. A severe skirmish ensued, when Lee's cavalry,
under Major Eggleston, gained Coffin's flank, and attacked him in the
rear. The firing drew out the foraging party into the road, when the
whole fled precipitately, pursued by Lee's dragoons. Many of Coffin's
infantry were killed, and the captain and forty men were made prisoners.
Some of the cavalry were also slain, and many of the foraging party were
captured.
This little success inspirited the Americans, and they pushed forward
with vigor. Within a mile of the British camp they encountered another
detachment of the enemy, whom Stuart had sent out to aid Coffin and
the foragers. It was a surprise for both. While the British fell back a
little, Greene quickly prepared for battle, and, pressing forward,
the action commenced with spirit in the road and fields, very near the
present entrance gate to the seat of Mr. Sinkler. The enemy's cannon
swept the road with a destructive fire until Colonel Williams brought
up the artillery of Gaines, in full gallop, and returned their fire with
severe effect. The British detachments soon yielded and fell back to
their lines, dividing right and left, and taking position on the flanks.
The Americans, with their line extended on either side of the road,
continued to advance, and at a little past nine opened a sharp fire with
musketry and artillery upon the British line. The latter received the
attack with great gallantry, and a bloody conflict ensued. The artillery
of both parties played incessantly, and a continual fire ran from flank
to flank, along the whole line of the militia, while it continued to
advance. Stuart was now fully convinced that Greene and his whole army
were upon him, and every portion of his line was brought into action.
In the mean while, Lee's legion infantry were warmly engaged with the
veteran 63d of the enemy, when the 64th advanced with a part of the
center and fell furiously upon Malmedy and his corps. They soon yielded
to the pressure, and the enemy's left pushed forward. Now the corps,
under Henderson, sustained not only the fire of the British right, but
also of the flank battalion, under Majoribanks. At this moment one
of the British field pieces was disabled, and both of Gaines's three
pounders were dismounted. Yet the militia, even when unsupported by
artillery, fought with all the skill and bravery of veterans. They
faced the storm of grape-shot and bullets until they had fired seventeen
rounds, when the 64th and center, who had borne down Malmedy, pressed so
powerfully upon inferior numbers, that the militia gave way, while Lee
and Henderson continued fighting manfully upon the wings of the retiring
patriots.
* Stuart's dispatch to Lord Cornwallis, September 9th, 1781: Sledman,
ii., 378; Lee, 333.
[[[Williams's Bayonet Charge.--Death of Campbell and Duval.--Defeat and
Capture of Washington.--Retreat of the British.]]]
{702}Greene now ordered up the second line, under General Sumner, to
fill the space occupied by the militia. At the same time, the British
reserved infantry were brought into action, and these fresh troops
fought each other desperately. Colonel Henderson received a wound that
disabled him, and temporary confusion ensued. Order was soon restored by
Hamilton, Polk, and Middleton; but Sumner's brigade, which was composed
chiefly of recruits from the militia, gave way before the fire of
superior numbers, and retreated in much confusion. The British pursued
so eagerly that their ranks became disordered. The vigilant eye of
Greene perceived this, and he instantly issued the order, "Let Williams
advance and sweep the field with bayonets." Like a full-winged storm,
pregnant with destruction, the Virginians and Marylanders advanced, the
former led by Colonel Campbell, the latter by Colonel Williams. When
within forty yards of the British, these Continentals delivered their
fire, and the whole second line of the Americans rushed forward, with
trailed arms and loud shouts, to a bayonet charge.
[Illustration: 9712]
The confusion of the British was increased by this blow; and as the
smoke rolled away and exposed their broken lines, Captain Rudulph,
of Lee's legion, wheeled upon its flank, and swept down many with
an enfilading fire. In the mean while, a corps of Marylanders, under
Howard, were closely contending with the Buffs; so close that some of
the combatants were mutually transfixed with bayonets. The Marylanders,
under Williams, with the Virginians, now pressed upon the British right
and center so furiously that the line gave way, and they retreated in
confusion. Loud arose a shout of victory from the Americans; but there
was, at the same time, occasion for a voice of wail. In the shock which
scattered the British line, Colonel Campbell fell, mortally wounded.
Informed of the rout of the enemy, he exclaimed, with a faltering voice,
like Wolfe at Quebec, "I die contented!" and expired.
When the second line advanced, Majoribanks was ordered to the conflict,
and terribly annoyed the American flank. Colonel Washington, with the
reserve, and Colonel Wade Hampton, with his corps, were directed to
dislodge him. The thicket behind which Majoribanks was covered was
impervious to cavalry. Washington perceived a small space between him
and Eutaw Creek, and determined, by a quick movement, to gain his rear
at that point. Without waiting for Hampton, he divided his cavalry into
sections, and, ordering them to wheel to the left, attempted this bold
enterprise. It was a fatal step to many of his brave horsemen, for they
were brought within range of the enemy's fire. A terrible volley from
behind the thicket rolled many horses and their riders in the dust. They
laid strewn upon the ground in every direction. Lieutenant Stuart, of
Maryland, who commanded the first section, was badly wounded, and many
of his corps were killed or maimed. Lieutenants Simmons and King were
also wounded. Washington's horse was shot dead under him, and as he fell
himself, he was cruelly bayoneted. A moment more, and he would have been
sacrificed. A British officer kindly interposed, saved his life, and
made him prisoner. Of his whole cavalry corps, one half were killed or
wounded, with all the officers except two.
Hampton, in the mean time, covered and collected the scattered cavalry;
and Kirkwood, with his Delawares, fell upon Majoribanks. The whole
British line were now retreating, and Majoribanks fell back to cover the
movement. They abandoned their camp, destroyed their stores, and many
fled precipitately along the Charleston road; while some rushed
for immediate safety into the brick house near the great springs.
Majoribanks halted behind the palisades of the garden, with his right
upon Eutaw Creek; and Captain Coffin, with his cavalry, took post in the
road below, to cover the British left. During the retreat, the Americans
captured more than three hundred prisoners and two pieces of cannon.
Upon one of these field pieces, Lieutenant Duval, who fought so bravely
in the _fossé_ of the star redoubt at Ninety-Six (see page 693), leaped,
and, taking off his hat, gave three hearty cheers. A bullet from a
retreating soldier brought him to the ground, and he expired, within
half an hour afterward.
[[[Folly of the Americans.--Bravery of Lee's Legion.--Contest at the
"Citadel."--Retreat of Greene.]]]
{703}Although a large portion of the British had retreated, yet the
victory was far from complete. Majoribanks was at the garden; a large
number of Cruger's New York Volunteers, under Major Sheridan, were in
the brick house; and Stuart was rallying the fugitives in considerable
force a little below, on the Charleston road. The American soldiers,
considering the conflict over, could not be made to think otherwise by
their officers; and instead of dislodging Majoribanks, and pursuing the
enemy far away from his camp, they stopped to plunder the stores, drink
the liquors, and eat the provisions found in the tents. Many became
intoxicated; and others, by over-indulgence in eating, and drinking
cold water (for the day was very warm), were disabled. Irretrievable
confusion followed; and before order could be restored, the British were
forming to regain their lost advantage. A heavy fire was poured from
the house upon the Americans in the British camp, and at the same time
Majoribanks moved from his covert upon the right, and Coffin upon the
left of the disordered Americans.
Fortunately, Lee and his legion had not been tempted to indulge in the
sensualities of the camp; and so closely had they followed upon those
who fled to the house, that the fugitives prevented the entrance of the
Americans only by shutting the doors upon them. By so doing, several of
their own number were shut out, among whom were two or three officers.
Those of the legion who had followed to the door seized each a prisoner,
and interposing him as a shield, retreated back beyond the fire from the
windows. * The two six pounders belonging to the second line were now
brought to bear upon the house, but, being in range of a swivel in the
second story, and of the muskets, a large portion of the artillerymen
were soon killed or wounded, and they were obliged to withdraw the
cannons. At the same time, Coffin was advancing on the left. He had
fallen upon Captain Eggleston, and drove him back, and was about to
attack those who yet lingered among the British tents, when Colonel
Hampton, who had been ordered up to the support of Eggleston, charged
upon him so vigorously that he was compelled to retreat. The legion
cavalry pursued with so much eagerness that they were in front of
Majoribanks, and received a murderous volley from his ranks before they
were aware of danger. A great number fell, and the remainder were thrown
into confusion. Majoribanks perceived this, sallied out, seized the two
field-pieces, and ran them under the windows of the house. One of these
was soon rescued by Lieutenant Gaines, and remained with the Americans,
a trophy of victory.
At every point success now seemed to be turning against the Americans.
Colonel Howard, who had just commenced an attack upon Majoribanks with
Oldham's company, was wounded near the Great Spring, and his troops fell
back. At the same time, the broken ranks of Stuart had been united, and
were marching up the Charleston road to renew the battle. Despairing of
success in the present crippled condition of his army, his battalions
all broken, his artillery gone, his cavalry shattered, and many of his
best officers wounded,2 Greene deemed it prudent to retreat. Leaving
Colonel Hampton near the British camp with a strong picket, he withdrew,
with the remainder of the army, to Burdell's plantation, seven miles in
the rear. The British were contented to repossess themselves of their
camp, and did not attempt a pursuit. Both parties claimed the honor
of victory; it belonged to neither, but the advantage was with the
Americans. The conflict lasted four hours, and was one of the most
severely contested battles of the Revolution. Congress and
* Major Garden relates an amusing anecdote in connection with this
affair. Among the prisoners captured outside the house was Captain
Barré, a brother of the celebrated Colonel Barré, of the British
Parliament. He was taken by Captain Manning, who led the legion
infantry. In the terror of the moment, Barré began solemnly to recite
his titles: I am Sir Henry Barré," he said, "deputy adjutant general
of the British army, captain of the 52d regiment, secretary of the
commandant at Charleston--" "Are you, indeed?" interrupted Manning; "you
are my prisoner now, and the very man I was looking for; come along with
me." He then placed his titled prisoner between himself and the fire of
the enemy, and retreated.
** Colonel Otho H. Williams and Lieutenant-colonel Lee were the only
officers, of six Continental commanders of regiments, who were not
wounded. Washington, Howard, and Henderson were wounded, and Campbell
was killed.
[[[Honors awarded to Greene and his Officers.--The Loss.--Retreat of
Stuart.--Attacked by Marion and Lee.]]]
{704}the whole country gave warm expressions of their appreciation of
the valor of the patriots. * The skill, bravery, caution, and acuteness
of Greene was highly applauded; and Congress ordered a "gold medal,
emblematical of the battle, to be struck in honor of the event, and
presented to him, together with a British standard. **
[Illustration: 0714]
The loss of both parties, considering the number engaged, was very
heavy. The Americans had one hundred and thirty rank and file killed,
three hundred and eighty-five wounded, and forty missing; in all, five
hundred and fifty-five. There were twenty-two officers killed, and
thirty-nine wounded. The loss of the British, according to their own
statement, was six hundred and ninety-three men, of whom eighty-five
were killed on the field. Including seventy-two wounded, whom they left
in their camp when they abandoned it the day after the battle, Greene
took five hundred prisoners.
On the day succeeding the battle, Lieutenant-colonel Stuart, confident
that he could not maintain his position, decamped for Charleston,
after destroying a great quantity of his stores So precipitate was his
retreat, that he left seventy-two of his wounded to be taken care of by
the Americans. He also left behind him one thousand stand of arms. He
was pursued for some distance, when intelligence being received that
Major M'Arthur was advancing with re-enforcements for Stuart, the
Americans returned to their camp. It was fortunate for M'Arthur that he
met Stuart[[Sept. 10, 1781]] as soon as he did, for Marion and Lee had
been dispatched to fall upon any detachment coming up from Charleston,
and were then only a few miles off. Even with this re-enforcement Stuart
did not feel strong enough to meet Greene in battle, and he continued
his retreat to Monk's Corner, twenty-five miles from Charleston, leaving
the Americans the acknowledged victors at Eutaw.
When Greene was apprised of the positive retreat of Stuart, he followed
and pursued
* On the twenty-ninth of October, Congress adopted a series of
resolutions, expressive of its high appreciation of the services of
Greene and his officers and soldiers. In these resolutions, the various
corps engaged in the battle were named; also Captains Pierce and
Pendleton, Major Hyrne, and Captain Shubrick, his aids-de-camps. Marion
was also thanked for the part he had taken in this battle, and also for
his gallant conduct on the thirtieth of August, in attacking the British
at Parker's Ferry. Congress ordered the Board of War to present a sword
to Captain Pierce, who bore Greene's dispatches to that body.--See
Journals of Congress, vii., 166. On the same day, Congress adopted
the complimentary resolutions in honor of the defeat of Cornwallis at
Yorktown.
** This is a representation of each side of the medal, the full size of
the original. On one side is a profile of Greene, with the words, "The
American Congress to Nathaniel Greene, the distinguished leader." Upon
the other side is a figure of Victory, lighting upon the Earth, and
stepping upon a broken shield. Under her feet are broken weapons,
colors, and a shield. The legend is, "The Safety of the Southern
Department." "The Foe conquered at Eutaw, 8th of September, 1781."
*** Journals of Congress, vii., 167.
[[[Retirement of the Americans to the Santee Hills.--Mutiny.--Relic from
the Battle-field.--Nelson's Ferry.]]]
{705}him almost to Monk's Corner. Perceiving the strength of the enemy
there, he returned to Eutaw, and having a vast number of his troops
sick, he proceeded from thence, by easy marches, to his favorite retreat
upon the high hills of Santee.* [[Sept. 18, 1781]] There he remained
until the eighteenth of November, when the health of his army being
recruited, he marched into the low country, where he might obtain an
abundance of food. In the mean while, the army of Cornwallis had been
captured at Yorktown;[[Oct. 19]] St. Clair had driven the British from
Wilmington; and the whole upper country of the Carolinas and Georgia
were in possession of the patriots.
[Illustration: 8715]
Nothing now remained but to drive in the British outposts, and hem them
within the narrow precincts of their lines at Charleston and Savannah.
With this view, Greene, at the head of his cavalry, and about two
hundred infantry, proceeded toward Dorchester, a British post in the
neighborhood of Charleston, while the main army, under Colonel Williams,
crossed the Santee, and marched to the fertile plains upon the Four-hole
Creek, a tributary of the Edisto. Here we will leave the two armies
for the present, to meet many of the troops again upon other fields of
conflict.
As there were no works of consequence thrown up at Eutaw, not a vestige
of the camp or of the battle remained when I visited the spot in 1849,
except the few scattered bricks of the "citadel" already referred to. On
returning to his house, Mr. Sinkler showed me a gold watch which one of
his negroes found ten years before, while making holes with a stick in
planting cotton seed, in the field where Washington was defeated. The
negro hit a hard substance, and as there are no stones in the field, he
had the curiosity to search for the obstruction, when he drew forth the
watch. The hands were almost destroyed by rust; otherwise the watch is
well preserved.
Guided by one of Mr. Shindler's servants, I crossed the Eutaw Creek, near
his house, and rode down to Nelson's Ferry, at the mouth of the stream,
about a mile and a half distant. At its entrance into the Santee, the
bateau of the ferryman was moored, and almost filled its narrow channel.
Beneath the moss-draped trees upon the bank of the river, some negro
women were washing clothes, and when they found themselves portrayed
in my drawing, in all the dishabille of a washing-day, they wanted to
arrange their dresses and caps, and be sketched in better plight. Time
was too precious to allow compliance, for I wished to get as far toward
Orangeburg that evening as possible. Promising to improve their toilet
when I got home, I closed my port-folio, and, taking the reins, hastened
toward Vance's Ferry.
Nelson's Ferry, the spot here portrayed, was an important locality
during the Revolution. It was the principal crossing-place of the Santee
for travelers or troops passing between Camden and Charleston, and as
such, commanded the attention of the British after they captured the
latter city. A redoubt was cast up there upon the north side of the
Santee, and garrisoned by a small detachment; and to that point, as we
have seen, Lord Rawdon retreated from Camden.
We have noticed, on page 685, that Marion, while in the camp of Gates,
was called to
* A mutinous spirit was soon manifested in the camp upon the hills,
chiefly among the Marylanders. They wished to go home, complained of
want of pay and clothing, and in petitions to Greene set forth their
various grievances. Finally, some stole away from the camp with their
arms, when stringent measures were deemed necessary to prevent open
disorder. Things were brought to a crisis by a South Carolina soldier,
named Timothy Griffin. He had heard whispers of disaffection, and one
day, while drunk, went up to a group of soldiers who were talking to
an officer, and said, "Stand to its boys--damn my blood if I'd give an
inch!" He supposed they were altercating with the officer, which was not
the fact. Griffin was instantly knocked down by Captain M'Pherson, of
the Maryland line, and then sent to the provost. The next day he was
tried for mutinous conduct, found guilty, and at five o'clock in the
evening was shot in the presence of the whole army. This terrible
example suppressed all mutinous proceedings.--Gordon, iii., 246
[[[Success of Marion at Nelson's Ferry.--Site of Fort Watson.--Movements
of Colonel Watson.]]]
{706}the command of the patriots of Williamsburg District, and went to
duty in the lower country. Ignorant of the operations of the Americans
under Gater that brave partisan was striking successful blows against
the enemy here and there, while his commander-in-chief was becoming
ensnared in the net of disaster which gathered around him near Camden.
On the day after Gates's defeat,[[Aug. 17, 1780]] Marion had placed
Colonel Peter Horry in command of four companies of cavalry, which he
had just formed and sent to operate against the British in the vicinity
of Georgetown, while he, with a small band of followers, marched rapidly
toward the Upper Santee. On his way, he was informed of the defeat
of Gates, but withheld the sad intelligence from his men, fearing its
effects upon their spirits. That night his scouts advised him of the
approach to Nelson's Ferry of a strong British guard, with a large body
of prisoners from Gates's army. Though much inferior in numbers, he
resolved to attack them.
[Illustration: 9716]
Just before daylight, he detached Colonel Hugh Horry, with sixteen
resolute men, to occupy the road at the Horse Creek Pass, in a broad
swamp, while with the remainder he should fall upon the enemy's rear.
The maneuver was successfully performed at dawn,[[Aug. 20, 1780]] and
on that day the brave partisan wrote the following dispatch to Colonel
Peter Horry: "On the 20th instant, I attacked a guard of the 63d and
Prince of Wales's regiment, with a number of Tories, at the Great
Savannah, near Nelson's Ferry; killed and took twenty-two regulars and
two Tories prisoners, and retook one hundred and fifty Continentals of
the Maryland line one wagon and a drum; one captain and a subaltern were
also captured. Our loss is one killed; and Captain Benson is slightly
wounded on the head."
It was past meridian when I reached Vance's Ferry, about ten miles above
Eutaw, and one from Mr. Avinger's, where I lodged the night before. I
crossed the Santee into Sumter District in a bateau; and driving about
five miles up the river, reached Scott's Lake, an expansion of the
Santee, a few miles below the junction of the Congaree and Wateree.
Upon the north side of the lake, upon the land of Mr. Rufus Felder, at
Wright's Bluff Postoffice, is an ancient tumulus, almost fifty feet
in height, and now covered with trees. Upon the top of this mound the
British erected a stockade; and in honor of Colonel Watson, under
whose direction it was built, it was called Fort Watson. Its elevated
position, and its close proximity to the water, made it a strong post,
yet not sufficiently impregnable to resist the successful assault of
Marion and Lee in April, 1781. Let us consider that event.
We have noticed the junction of the forces of Marion and Lee, in the
swamps of the Black Hiver, in Williamsburg District.[[Illustration:
April 14, 1781]] Lee immediately laid the plans of General Greene before
Marion; and a scheme of operations was decided upon within a few hours.
Colonel Watson, with about five hundred infantry, was near the site of
the present town of Marion, on Cat-fish Creek, in Marion District. He
had received orders to re-enforce Lord Rawdon at Camden. For some time
he had been greatly annoyed by Marion, who would appear on his flank
or rear, strike a severe blow, and then as suddenly disappear among the
interminable swamps of the low country. Marion was preparing to smite
Watson once more, when he was informed of the approach of Lee. He sent
a guide to conduct that partisan over the Pedee, in boats which he kept
concealed; and on the day after their forces were united, they started
toward Fort Watson[[April 15]]leaving Captain Gavin Witherspoon on the
trail of Watson, then fleeing
* "It will scarcely be believed," says Simms (Life of Marion, page 126),
that, of this hundred and fifty Continentals, but three men consented to
join the ranks of the liberator. It may be that they were somewhat loth
to be led, even though it were to victory, by the man whose ludicrous
equipments and followers, but a few weeks before, had only provoked
their amusement." The reason they gave was, that they considered the
cause of the country to be hopeless, and that they were risking life
without an adequate object.
** Marion was very anxious to pursue Watson, who, to facilitate his
march toward Camden, had sunk his two field-pieces in Cat-fish Creek,
burned his baggage, and was making forced marches toward Georgetown.
It was evident, from the circuitous direction of his march, that Watson
feared Marion excessively, for, instead of making a direct line westward
toward Camden, across the Great Pedee, he crossed the Little Pedee
eastward; marched southward through the present Horry District; crossed
the Waccamaw at Greene's Ferry, and Winyaw Bay where it was three
miles wide; traversed its western border to Georgetown, and from thence
crossed the country toward the Santee, following that stream up as far
as the junction of the Congaree and Wateree. Greene's instructions to
operate against the British posts below Camden prevented a pursuit.
[[[Fort Watson attacked by Marion and Lee.--Mayham Tower.--Sketch of
Colonel Mayham.]]]
{707}toward Georgetown. They sat down before Fort Watson on the evening
of the same day.
Fort Watson was garrisoned by eighty regulars and forty Loyalists, under
the command of Lieutenant M'Kay, a brave and active young officer of the
British army. Marion immediately sent a flag demanding the unconditional
surrender of the fort and the garrison. M'Kay promptly refused, for he
doubtless hourly expected the approach of Watson with his large force,
who, he knew, was on his march thither from Georgetown. Perceiving the
garrison to be well supplied with water from Scott's Lake, that resource
was cut off by the besiegers; but M'Kay and his men opened another
communication with the lake three days afterward. They sunk a well
within the stockade to a depth below the level of the lake, and dug a
trench at the base of the mound from the well to the water, and secured
it by an _abatis_. This circumstance perplexed the assailants, for they
had no cannons, and the stockade was too high to be seriously affected
by small arms. To the fertile genius of Lieutenant-colonel Maham, * of
Marion's brigade, this disadvantage was overcome. Near the fort was a
small wood. The trees were cut down, carried upon the shoulders of
the men within rifle shot of the fort, and piled up so as to form a
quadrangular tower of sufficient height to overlook the stockades. Upon
the top of this, a parapet was made of smaller trees, for the defense
of those upon the top of the tower. All of this work was accomplished
during the darkness of the night, which was intensified by a cloudy sky;
and at dawn the garrison were awakened by a deadly shower of balls
from a company of sure marksmen upon the top of the tower. At the same
moment, a party of volunteers of Marion's militia, under Ensign Johnson,
and another from the Continentals, of Lee's legion, ascended the mound
and attacked the _abatis_ with vigor. Resistance was vain; and the fort
thus assailed was untenable. M'Kay had anxiously awaited the approach
of Watson, but that officer, unwilling to allow any thing to impede his
progress toward Camden, left this post to its fate. The garrison, no
longer able to hold the fort, surrendered by capitula-
* Hezekiah Maham was born on the twenty-sixth of June, 1739. We have
no record of his early life. He was a member of the first Provincial
Congress of South Carolina; and in the spring of 1776 was elected a
captain in Colonel Isaac Huger's regiment. He was with that officer at
the siege of Savannah, and at the battle of Stono. As lieutenant colonel
of an independent corps of cavalry, he performed many daring exploits in
the low country of the Carolinas. At the close of the campaign of 1781,
he was obliged to leave active service on account of sickness. While at
home, he was made a prisoner and paroled, by which he was not allowed
to enter the army again during the war. He died in 1789, at the age of
fifty years. His descendant, J. J. Ward, Esq., living near Georgetown,
erected a handsome monument to his memory in 1845, upon which are the
following inscriptions: Front side.--"Within this Cemetery, and in the
bosom of the homestead which he cultivated and embellished while on
earth, lie the mortal remains of Colonel Hezekiah Maham. He was born
In the parish of St. Stephen's, and died A.D. 1789, aet. fifty years;
leaving a name unsullied in social and domestic life, and eminent for
devotion to the liberties of his country, and for achievements in
arms, in the Revolution which established her independence." Right
side.--"Impelled by the spirit of freedom which animated his countrymen,
he devoted himself to its support, and promoted the cause of American
Independence, by his service in the state committees, instituted by
recommendation of the General Congress, in the Jacksonborough Assembly,
and in various other civil capacities." Left side.--"Successively a
captain in the first rifle regiment, a commander of horse in Marion
s brigade, and lieutenant colonel of an independent corps of cavalry,
raised by authority of General Greene, he bore an efficient and
conspicuous part in the capture of the British posts, and in the series
of skillful maneuvers and gallant actions, which resulted in the final
extinction of the British dominion in South Carolina, and secured to
her and to the confederacy the blessings of Peace, Liberty, and
Independence." On the back.--"His relative, Joshua John Ward, of
Waccamaw, unwilling that the last abode of an honest man, a faithful
patriot, and a brave and successful soldier, should be forgotten and
unknown, has erected this memorial, A.D. 1845."
[[[Marion's Residence.--The Wife of Marion.--Return to
Orangeburg--Sketch of Marion's House.]]]
{708}tion,[[April 23, 1781]] and Marion with his prisoners and booty,
pushed forward and encamped upon the high hills of Santee, to await
further orders from Greene, while Lee turned his attention to the
movements of Watson. The loss of the Americans was only two killed,
and three Continentals and three militia-men wounded. The subsequent
movements of Marion and Lee, in efforts to prevent Watson's junction
with Rawdon, have been noticed in the preceding chapter.
I tarried at the site of Fort Watson only long enough to make the sketch
on page 706, when I hastened back to Vance's Ferry, and pushed on toward
Orangeburg. Late in the evening I reached the house of Mr. M'Ance,
within fifteen miles of Orangeburg, where I was hospitably entertained.
[Illustration: 9718]
There I met an elderly lady who had been very intimate with the wife
of Marion for several years previous to her death. She informed me that
Mrs. Marion (whose maiden name was Videau, one of the Huguenot families)
was much younger than the general. She was a large woman, weighing,
a year or two before her death, two hundred and thirty pounds. My
informant had often visited her at her residence, built by the
general at Fond Bluff-, on the Santee (near the Nelson's Ferry road to
Charleston), about three miles below Eutaw Springs. Miss Videau brought
wealth to her husband, and their dwelling was always the abode of
liberal hospitality.
I left M'Ance's before daylight on the following morning, traversed the
narrow causeway across the Four-hole Swamp by the feeble light of the
stars, and arrived at Orangeburg in time to enter the cars for Augusta,
on the Savannah River, eighty-five miles distant.
* This mansion was demolished a few years before my visit to Eutaw and
vicinity (1849). and this drawing was made from a minute description
given me by a gentleman with whom I rode in the mail-coach from Augusta
to the Ninety-mile station, on the great central rail-way, in Georgia.
His brother had resided there for many years and he was perfectly
familiar with its appearance. At the station I made this sketch, and my
informant pronounced it an excellent representation of the residence of
General Marion.
[[[From Orangeburg to Augusta.--A Turkish
Traveler.--Augusta.--Hamburg.--Liberty Hill.]]]
{709}