|The presentation of a pair of colors, by the wife of Colonel Barnard
Elliott, is mentioned in several historical works. They were presented
to the second South Carolina regiment of infantry, commanded by
Colonel Moultrie,--on the third day after the attack on Fort Moultrie,
Sullivan's Island, which took place June 28th, 1776. These colors were
very elegant, and both richly embroidered by Mrs. Elliott's own hand.
One was of fine blue, the other of red silk. They were presented with
these words: "Your gallant behavior in defence of liberty and your
country, entitles you to the highest honors; accept these two standards
as a reward justly due to your regiment; and I make not the least doubt,
under Heaven's protection, you will stand by them as long as they can
wave in the air of liberty." *
* Moultrie's Memoirs; Ramsay's History of South Carolina; McCall's
History of Georgia.
The colors having been received from the lady's hands by the Colonel and
Lieutenant Colonel, she was thanked for the gift--and a promise was
made by the Colonel in the name of the soldiers--that they should be
honorably supported, and never tarnished by the second regiment. Never
was pledge more nobly fulfilled. Three years afterwards, they were
planted on the British lines at Savannah. Two officers, who bore them,
lost their lives; and just before the retreat was ordered, the gallant
Sergeant Jasper, in planting them on the works, received a mortal wound
and fell into the ditch. One of the standards was brought off in the
retreat; and Jasper succeeded in regaining the American camp. In his
last moments he said to Major Horry, who had called to see him--"Tell
Mrs. Elliott I lost my life supporting the colors she presented to our
regiment." The colors were afterwards taken at the fall of Charleston,
and were deposited in the Tower of London.
The maiden name of Mrs. Barnard Elliott was Susannah Smith. She was a
native of South Carolina, and the daughter of Benjamin Smith, for many
years Speaker of the Assembly of the province. Left young an orphan and
an heiress, she was brought up by her aunt, Mrs. Rebecca Motte, with
whom she lived till her marriage. Mrs. Daniel Hall used to say she was
"one of the most busy among the Revolutionary women, and always active
among the soldiers." It is known that her husband raised and maintained
a regiment at his own expense. Among the papers in the possession of the
family is a letter from General Greene to Mrs. Elliott, expressive of
high respect and regard, offering her a safe escort through the camp,
and to any part of the country to which she might desire to travel.
While at her plantation called "The Hut," she had three American
gentlemen as guests in the house. Surprised one day by the sudden
approach of the British, she hurried them into a closet, and opening a
secret door, disclosed a large opening back of the chimney, known only
to herself, and contrived for a hiding-place. Two entered; but the third
determined to trust to the fleetness of his horse, and his knowledge
of the woods. In leaping a fence he was overtaken, and cut down within
sight of the house.
This was searched thoroughly for the others; but no threats could
induce Mrs. Elliott to reveal their place of retreat. The officers then
demanded her silver; and pointing to some mounds of earth not far off,
asked if the plate was buried there. Mrs. Elliott replied that those
mounds were the graves of British soldiers who had died at her house.
Not believing her, they ordered two of the soldiers to dig and see. The
coffin in one of the graves was soon disinterred; and on opening it
the truth was at once made manifest. After the men had taken their
departure, Mrs. Elliott released her two guests. The silver had been put
in a trunk and buried in the marsh by a faithful servant, who after the
close of the war came to Mrs. Elliott's son, requested assistance to dig
for it, and brought it out safe, though perfectly blackened.
Mrs. Elliott was beautiful in person, with a countenance inexpressibly
soft and sweet. Her portrait is in the possession of the family, defaced
by the act of a British soldier--a small sword having been run through
one eye. Her descendants reside in Charleston, and in other parts of the
State.
A Revolutionary _jeu d'esprit_ sent me by a friend in Charleston,
containing allusions to some of the prominent whig ladies, mentions the
name of Mrs. Elliott. It is a letter from Major Barry to "Mrs. G." and
was found copied in the hand-writing of Bishop Smith. It appears to be a
burlesque dedication of a poem, which unfortunately has not descended
to posterity. It is somewhat curious to observe how the writer, with
playful sarcasm, characterizes women of the opposite party, while
seeking one who might fitly matronize his offspring.
"The feathers which bedeck the head of Mrs. Ferguson for a moment
attracted my attention, but right fearful was I lest the critics and
poetasters of this age might infer a light foundation from so airy a
superstructure; which most sorrowful event might at once overthrow both
the patronized and patronizer.
"Mrs. Savage and Mrs. Parsons called vociferously for notice; but their
zeal so shook the dagger and the bowl in their hands, that I deemed them
unfit for the calm dignity of the tragic scene. Too much mildness, on
the other hand, superseded the veteran Mrs. Pinckney, when I beheld
her smiling, sliding, gliding advance to meet the commissioners of
sequestration. As for Mrs. Charles Elliott, she is only allied to
such exalted spirits by the zeal of party--perhaps in her case the
too exuberant emanation of a delicate and susceptible mind. And as the
banners in the hand of Mrs. Barnard Elliott waved but for a moment,
flimsy as the words that presented them, so slight a triumph could not
entitle her to fame so pre-eminent as this. 'Tis in you alone,
madam, we view united every concomitant for this most eminent
distinction--qualities which receive addition, if addition they can
have, from the veteran and rooted honors of that exalted character, the
General--a character allied to you by all the warm as well as tender
ties. It is with pleasure I ever view the _Wharf and Bridge_, those
works of his hands, which stand, like the boasted independence of your
country, the crumbling monuments of his august repute. With what rapture
do I behold him, in the obscure recesses of St. Augustine, attracting
the notice of all mankind, and, as he traverses the promised land,
planting deep in Hebrew ground the roots of everlasting fame, etc."
Although not active in political affairs, the patriotic feeling and
secluded, yet picturesque life of _Sabina Elliott_, passed in the
exercise of the domestic and Christian virtues, was not without its
influence. By the early death of her parents, she was left in her eighth
year, the eldest of several daughters, dependent on their relatives; and
was brought up by an aunt. Her personal beauty was remarkable; and when
she was about fourteen, arrested the attention of William Elliott, a
wealthy widower, who had been twice married, but had no children. He saw
her accidentally in the street, dressed in coarse apparel, and
carrying a pitcher of water into the house; and deeply impressed by her
appearance, sought an early introduction to the aunt, and soon after
married the object of his admiration. He then procured masters for
her and her sisters, whom he took home and educated. All, except one,
married from his house.
When Mrs. Elliott was about twenty-eight, the sad event took place which
cast a blight on her life. Her husband riding one day over his rice
fields, on a low horse he commonly used, struck with his whip a dog
lying by the roadside. The animal sprang upon him and tore his cheek.
It was discovered soon after to be mad; and Mr. Elliott calmly made
preparations to meet his terrible and inevitable fate. So fearful was he
that in the paroxysms of the disease he might injure some of his family,
that he strictly commanded two of his stoutest men servants to bind him
hand and foot upon the first symptom. At the end of forty days he died
of hydrophobia.
The grief caused by this misfortune, and the loss of three children,
permanently impaired Mrs. Elliott's health. Two daughters remained to
her; the eldest married Daniel Huger; Ann, the youngest, was united, at
the close of the war, to Colonel Lewis Morris, aid-de-camp to General
Greene, and eldest son of Lewis Morris, of Morrisania, one of the
signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Mrs. Elliott employed herself constantly in useful domestic occupations;
and was remarkable for industry and economy of time. She superintended
the manufacture of the wool and cotton worn by her slaves, to whom she
was most kind and indulgent; and made salt on her plantation during
the war. Some of the stockings knit by her are still extant--having the
date, 1776, knit in the threads.
Garden relates a pleasant anecdote of her wit. A British officer having
ordered the plundering of her poultry houses, she afterwards observed,
straying about the premises, an old muscovy drake, which had escaped the
general search. She had him caught, and mounting a servant on horseback,
ordered him to follow and deliver the bird to the officer with her
compliments; as she concluded that in the hurry of departure, it had
been left altogether by accident.
She took particular delight in improving the family seat, Accabee,
seven miles from Charleston. This place, mentioned in history, was
noted during the war as a place of refuge; being unmolested because
its mistress had no male relative to be obnoxious to the British. The
mansion was of brick, solidly built; with a piazza in front, and a
garden and lawn extending to the Ashley river. The grounds were covered
with grass, on which the sheep owned by Mrs. Elliott might be seen lying
under the magnificent live oaks decorated with the floating, silvery
moss so beautiful in the low country. The graceful fringe tree and
magnolia grandiflora, with other ornamental trees, grew in clumps in
front and on either side. In the rear, a portico looked on an avenue of
flowering locusts, nearly a mile in length. A circular stairs ascended
from the spacious hall to Mrs. Elliott's study. This beautiful country
seat--now in ruins--was the usual residence of Mrs. Elliott in the
spring months; the summers being spent at Johnson's Fort, on John's
Island. It was there that she died.
_Ann Elliott_, the wife of Lewis Morris, was born at Accabee. In
Charleston, while the city was occupied by the British, she wore
a bonnet decorated with thirteen small plumes, as a token of her
attachment to republican principles; and for her patriotic spirit,
was called "the beautiful rebel." Kosciusko was her admirer and
correspondent. An English officer--the second son of a noble family--who
was billeted upon her mother, became so enamored of her that he sought
the good offices of one of her female friends to intercede in his
behalf; and even offered, if she would favor him, to join the Americans.
Miss Elliott bade her friend say to him in reply, that to her former
want of esteem, was added scorn for a man capable of betraying his
sovereign for selfish interest. She had before declined the gift of a
splendid English saddle-horse, of which he wished her acceptance. She
would not attend church, as she had been accustomed, in Charleston,
while prayers were offered there for the success of the British arms;
preferring to join in the service read at her mother's house, where
petitions were put up for the downfall of the invaders.
At one time, while Colonel Morris, to whom she was then engaged, was on
a visit to her at Accabee, the attention of the family was drawn to
the windows by an unusual noise, and they perceived that the house was
surrounded by the Black Dragoons, in search of the young officer, who
had no time to escape. Ann went to one of the windows, opened it, and
presenting herself to the view of the dragoons, demanded what they
wanted. "We want the ------ rebel!" was the reply. "Go and look for him
in the American army!" answered the young girl. "How dare you disturb a
family under the protection of both armies?" Her firmness and resolution
conquered; and the enemy departed without further molestation.
Colonel and Mrs. Morris owned, among other possessions, a cotton
plantation on the Edisto River, about four miles from Charleston, called
the Round O, which is mentioned in Lee's Southern War. They had also a
residence upon Sullivan's Island. In September of one year there was so
severe a gale that several houses were blown down. The house of Colonel
Morris, which stood on a narrow part of the island, was undermined by
the advance of the tide. There was only time to remove the family to a
neighbor's, when the house fell, overthrown by the assault of wind and
waves.
Mrs. Lewis Morris was one of the belles distinguished at the levees of
the first President. Her residence during the last years of her life,
was in Morrisania. She died in New York the 29th of April, 1848, at the
age of eighty-six.
The incident of Jane Elliott's first acquaintance with her husband might
adorn a chapter in the romance of the real. She was the only child of
Charles Elliott, of St. Paul's parish--a staunch whig in principle, who
exhibited his devotion to the cause by equipping a considerable body of
troops at his own expense; but fell a victim to disease ere the war
had been waged in Carolina. His daughter having imbibed his opinions,
endeavored to serve the cause he had espoused, by the bestowal of a
portion of her wealth for the relief of the wounded American soldiers,
and to contribute to the establishment of hospitals for that purpose.
Not satisfied with this substantial aid, Miss Elliott gave her personal
supervision to certain wards in the hospital, which she visited to
attend to the sufferers. It was on one of these ministering visits
that she first saw Colonel Washington, who had been wounded and taken
prisoner in the cavalry charge at Eutaw Springs, and sent to Charleston
for surgical aid, and for safe keeping. The interest with which the
young girl heard the story of his perils, the sympathy given to his
misfortunes, and the gratitude and admiration of the brave young
soldier, may all be imagined, as leading to the reciprocal sentiment
that soon grew up between them. Miss Elliott was then in the early bloom
of youth, and surpassingly beautiful. Her manners were dignified, yet
gentle and winning; her perceptions quick, and her nature frank and
generous. Homage had been paid to her charms by the conquerors, from
which she turned to succor the defenders of her country. Major Barry,
whose pen seems to have celebrated the charms of many rebel fair ones,
addressed a poem "to Jane Elliott playing the guitar," which was lately
found in the ruins of Accabee by a daughter of Mrs. Lewis Morris. These
lines may serve as a specimen:=
```"Sweet harmonist! whom nature triply arms
```With virtue, beauty, music's powerful charms,--
```Say, why combin'd, when each resistless power
```Might mark its conquest to the fleeting hour?"
Colonel Washington was a gallant officer, imbued with the chivalric
feeling of that period, ardent in patriotism, and covered with the
brilliant renown of a successful soldier. It was not strange that two so
congenial should love each other, and become bound by a mutual pledge
to unite their fortunes; but the marriage did not take place till the
spring of 1782. With the return of peace the soldier exchanged
the fatigues of the camp for the quiet avocations of the planter,
establishing himself at the family-seat of his wife, at Sandy Hill,
South Carolina. They had two children; one of whom, a daughter, is yet
living. Mrs. Washington survived her husband about twenty years, and
died in 1830, at the age of sixty-six.
_Anna,_ the wife of Charles Elliott, was a patriot by inheritance, being
the daughter of Thomas Ferguson, one of the bravest and most zealous
among the friends of liberty. It was said of her that she "appeared to
consecrate every thought and every hour of existence to the interests of
America." She received under her hospitable roof the sick and wounded,
and gave them her personal attention and sympathy; she divided of her
substance among those who needed aid; she was the advocate and friend of
such as were unjustly persecuted. The prisoners she visited at regular
intervals received hope and strength from her presence, and were
beguiled into forgetfulness of their sufferings by her conversation. To
the afflicted she was indeed an angel of blessing; and even the enemies
of her country were influenced by the remarkable power of fascination
she possessed, which few, even the most harsh and unbending, could
resist. This was acknowledged in the most satisfactory way--the granting
of privileges and favors by many British officers. What she would not
have condescended to ask for herself, she solicited for the benefit of
her countrymen. Major Garden says: "I do not know an officer who did not
owe to her some essential increase of comfort." Yet her efforts in the
cause of justice and clemency were not always successful; she is said to
have drawn up the petition addressed to Lord Rawdon, and signed by the
ladies of Charleston, in behalf of the gallant and unfortunate Colonel
Isaac Hayne.
The following anecdote of Mrs. Elliott has been mentioned. An officer
of the royal army, noted for his cruelty and relentless persecution of
those opposed to his political views, was one day walking with her in a
garden where was a great variety of flowers. "What is this, madam?" he
asked, pointing to the chamomile. "The rebel flower," she replied.
"And why is it called the rebel flower?" asked the officer. "Because,"
answered Mrs. Elliott, "it always flourishes most when trampled upon."
One day an officer, in the house of Mrs. Elliott in Charleston, pointed
out to her a young French officer of the legion of Pulaski, passing by.
"There, Mrs. Elliott," he cried, "is one of your illustrious allies! He
has a fine form and martial appearance. What a pity the hero is minus
his _sword!_" She answered promptly and with spirit, "Had two thousand
such men been here to aid in the defence of our city, I should not
at this moment, sir, have been subjected to the insolence of your
observation."
Her impulsive and feeling nature is shown by another anecdote. When her
father was arrested and put on board a transport ship to be sent into
exile, Mrs. Elliott, who had received the intelligence in the country,
hastened to Charleston and solicited permission to bid him farewell.
Her request was granted. She went on board the vessel in which he was
a prisoner, but had scarcely entered the cabin, when, oppressed with
grief, she fainted, and was laid upon a couch. The captain, in alarm,
recommended a variety of remedies, and at last said "A cordial would
revive her; we have some fine French liqueur." On hearing this, Mrs.
Elliott sprang from her couch in sudden excitement. "The French!"
she exclaimed; "who speaks of the French? God bless the nation!" Then
turning to her father, she strove by her touching eloquence, to sustain
him under his misfortunes, and inspire him with hope for the future.
"Let not oppression shake your fortitude," she said, "nor the hope of
gentler treatment cause you for a moment to swerve from strict duty.
Better times are in store for us; the bravery of the Americans, and the
friendly aid of France, will yet achieve the deliverance of our country
from oppression. We shall meet again, my father, and meet with joy."
The historian Ramsay bears heart-warm testimony to the patriotism of the
Carolinian women, who gloried in being called "rebels;" and did their
utmost to support the fortitude of their relatives.
The wife of Isaac Holmes, one of the patriots sent into exile at St.
Augustine, sustained his firmness by her own resolution, to the moment
when the guard separated him from his family. Bidding him have no
fears for those he left, her parting injunction was, "Waver not in your
principles, but be true to your country."
When the sons of Rebecca Edwards were arrested as objects of
retaliation, she encouraged them to persevere in devotion to the cause
they had espoused.
Should they fall a sacrifice, a mother's blessing, and the approbation
of their countrymen, would go with them to the last; but if fear of
death ever prevailed on them to purchase safety by submission, they must
forget she was their parent, for it would to her be misery to look on
them again.
The sufferings of the sick and wounded American prisoners after the fall
of Charleston, appealed to female benevolence also among the loyalists.
Though attached to the royal cause, Mrs. Sarah Hopton and her daughters
were indefatigable in their attentions to the sufferers, whom many
feared to visit in consequence of the prevalence of a contagious fever
in the hospitals. The English were well supplied with necessary stores;
the Americans were destitute, and therefore experienced their kindness
and bounty. Their servants were continually employed in carrying them
nourishment and articles needed; and in some cases, they paid the hire
of nurses, where personal services were indispensable. They soothed the
death-bed of many with the consolations of religion, prayed with those
who were in danger, and joined with the convalescent in returning
thanks. These kind offices were rendered to men of whose political
principles and acts they disapproved, while great bitterness of feeling
existed between the opposing parties; but no prejudice could make these
Christian women insensible to the claims of humanity.
The lessons of piety and charity--the great lessons of life--taught
by Mrs. Hopton to her daughters, were afterwards neither forgotten nor
neglected. They were prominent in promoting the diffusion of religious
education, and devoted to such objects their energies and wealth. Two of
them aided in the establishment of a charity school for the education of
female orphans. Mrs. Gregorie, the eldest daughter, appropriated a
fund to aid in the support of this school, with many other bequests to
different religious associations.