Category: American Revolution

28SEP1780: South Carolina’s Internal Civil War Means It’s About Family

The wars this nation (originally known as the united States of America, emphasis on States OVER “united” or ‘union’) has been involved in since the so-called “Civil War” from 1861-1865 have rarely pitted family members against each other. Sure there are many of those whose family have come over from a land where true civil war was fought. However, a war that splits families and generations only has occurred in 1775-1783 and 1861-1865 in the USA.

NOTE: The definition of civil war implies that the contestants or factions desire control of the entire country. This was NOT the case when the southern States started seceding in late 1860 and by spring 1861 had formed a federation fashioned after the original 13 States, whose goal was independence of 7 states NOT control of > 30 states! But I digress.

By 1780 in South Carolina, there were those who have switched sides (Tory to Whig or visa versa) especially after the British secured Charleston harbor. Many former militiamen were now Tory/Loyalists and backing the crown, King George, and the Redcoats.

Francis Marion’s family was no exception to the rule. One can read history and easily gloss over the names and not be aware that these people were in the same circles, were at each other’s weddings and funerals before the war.

It is essential to get some background at this point of Marion’s story as he re-enters South Carolina in late September. From the book, The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution, the author John Oller states pretty clearly the relationships and relational lines that connected many of these men that were shooting at each other:

… Marion knew these Tories. They were from St. James and St. Stephens Parishes, the French Santee and English Santee of Marion’s family. John Coming Ball, a local rice planter, was a half-brother of Elias Ball, the Tory whose tip had helped Banastre Tarleton defeat the rebels at Lenud’s Ferry in May. A Whig militiaman who switched sides after Charleston fell, Elias Ball was married to a Gaillard, whose sister married Marion’s brother Job (his second marriage), with Marion serving as best man…

… Peter Gaillard, another member of that prominent Huguenot family, was John Coming Ball’s second in command. Although only a lukewarm Tory, Gaillard was under the influence of his rabidly loyalist father and had served on one of the early expeditions designed to hunt down Marion. John Peyre, whose family was related by marriage to the Gaillards, Balls, and Marions, had been neutral until the fall of Charleston, after which he took British protection and became a strong Tory.

Needless to say, not only was there societal connections, there were also plenty of reasons to opt for revenge. Once again Francis Marion rises above the others and with his leadership offers a long-term view:

Although these neighbors and relatives were out to kill him, Marion took none of it personally. He would later describe the Tory militia at Black Mingo Creek as “men of family and fortune” who had shown themselves to be “good men” before the outbreak of civil war. He even hoped to convert some of them to his cause.

What a refreshing attitude to have in the middle of this life and death struggle among families. How many men (and women) today would consider the high road when faced with desperate times such as these?

Before twilight on 28SEP1780, Marion and his men had crossed the Great Pee Dee River on flatboats and camped at Witherspoon’s Ferry. Here, Marion met up with Capt. John James Jr. and Capt. Henry Mouzon (the author of the 1775 map I use in this series). Good Intel about a Tory presence was shared and again Marion chose to keep it secret and to rest his troops for a few hours before waking them up to ride south towards Dollard’s Tavern on Black Mingo Creek 15 miles away.

In a future post I will cover what happened at that tavern one of the few times Marion outnumbered his opponents. It involves a man, John Coming Ball, and his horse, and a whole lot more.

Stay tuned.

-SF1

24SEP1780: Intel Received is Evaluated – Time to Move Out of the Swamp

In my last post about Francis Marion, he and a subset of his men were hold up in a mosquito infested swamp just inside North Carolina.

[NOTE: Today, this same swamp would be a huge lake as Hurricane Florence dumped 20+ inches of rain on this exact area this past week in 2018.]

So with Intel detailing the destruction in the Williamsburg SC area being communicated by Major James including details on house burnings, church burnings and turning churches into British army depots, a plan was formed following the same strategy that had given them successes so far in their fight against the tyrannical British effort in the region.

On Sep 24th 1780 after two weeks in the swamp, Marion heads back into South Carolina and at nightfall on 25SEP they reach Kingston (now called Conway) and camp along the Waccamaw River.

[NOTE: In the next few days here in 2018, this river is expected to crest FIVE feet above the highest level seen in recorded history in this region]

Marion and his men end up traveling 60 miles in two days and finds much support as he arrives. He utilizes locals from the Pee Dee River area to guide the 60 man militia through three miles of swamp to avoid detection and with horses swim across the river so by 27SEP they were positioned for another strike in the area.

The strategy again involved, keeping your plans close-in, allowing his men to go to sleep good and then wake them for a night attack .. (to be covered in a subsequent post)

The cool leadership demonstrated by Marion early on in his militia-led actions showed that while there was common ground in the patriot leadership, there were big differences as well. Thomas Sumter (Gamecock) was combative, bold and rash in his approach whereas Francis Marion (later called the Swamp Fox) was described as timid, cautious and would risk nothing. Cornwallis himself would describe Marion as cautious and vigilant and would not jeopardize his men’s lives by relying on Intel, careful planning and shrewd tactics.

Again, it is essential when engaging a force with more resources that one is strategic in engaging the enemy, especially a global empire.

-SF1

20SEP1780: How Long Does the Fox Stay in the Swamp?

In my last post about the adventures of Francis Marion and a small remnant (about 60 men) of his men who in two weeks had cause a large part of the British forces, both Tory militia and British regulars numbering about 1500, to try to hunt him down, Marion’s men had reached the safety of Great White Swamp just 30 miles over the border in North Carolina.

I also shared that British office Wemyss was terrorizing the areas of South Carolina that supported Marion and in a letter to Cornwallis, Wemyss shared his frustrations:

In a letter to Cornwallis on September 20 the thirty-two-year-old Wemyss wrote that he had done everything in his power to nab Marion and Colonel Hugh Giles but lamented that “I never could come up with them.” Nonetheless he boasted that he had broken up their band and forced their retreat into North Carolina. The rest of his report was, in Cornwallis’s view, “not so agreeable.” Wemyss had discovered that every inhabitant in that part of the country was deeply caught up in the rebel spirit, whereas the Tories were dispirited and apathetic. “It is impossible for me to give your Lordship an idea of the disaffection of this country,”

Oller, John. The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution (Kindle Locations 1106-1111). Da Capo Press. Kindle Edition.

Part of Wemyss’ frustration was also on how Capt. James and a few of the Kingstree militia, maybe no more than 20 in number, that had stayed behind in South Carolina to harass the British as they targeted the innocent people and homes. On 15SEP1780 at McGill’s Plantation, Capt. John James, Jr. fires on Maj. James Wemyss and his 63rd Regiment of Foot (200 British Regulars) as well as another 100 men from South Carolina and North Carolina Loyalist militia units.

It would take more than a week for this news to finally reach Marion and it turned into a great excuse to leave their swamp existence as outlined again in John Oller’s book:

… Back at Great White Marsh, camp life had turned grim for Marion’s men. Food was scarce, mosquitoes prevalent, the mood downcast. Among those present was young William Dobein James, whose father and brother were still in Williamsburg Township assessing the situation there…

While there is safety in the swamps, the long hot summer and all the mosquitoes made for almost a more dangerous environment.

… Among those felled by the fever were young William James and Peter Horry. The others were starting to complain and become restless …

These men suspected that in their absence there was nothing good to come from the British having free rein of South Carolina, especially the areas known to support the rebels:

It was Major James who brought word that Wemyss had torched the major’s house as well as the Indiantown Presbyterian Church, where James was an elder and many of Marion’s men regularly worshiped. Other churches were either burned or turned into British army depots, and those that were not were closed by their congregations, as the people felt it was unsafe to gather in public. The men of Williamsburg, aroused as never before, were anxious to take the field again.

Oller, John. The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution. Da Capo Press. Kindle Edition.

So from a two week whirlwind of victories against the British and Tory forces, to a two week respite in the swamps of North Carolina, how did this leader impress the men in their first month together?

Gravity—seriousness of purpose—was what gave Marion the intangible, almost mystical power he held over his men. Although he lacked physical presence or a magnetic personality, they regarded him with awe. Part of their reverence was due to his success, which naturally bred respect. But it was his steady, equable character that most caused them to follow where he led. … “He yielded to few excitements, was seldom elevated by successes to imprudence—as seldom depressed by disappointments to despondency.”

Oller, John. The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution (Kindle Locations 1145-1151). Da Capo Press. Kindle Edition.

Seldom depressed by the vary real circumstances that were totally out of his control, and yet he was able to stay the course. That quiet, resolute character strength was just what the militia needed as they lamented their family and friends lot back home.

It is this steadfastness of character that caused many after the war to pay high respects to this man who humbly led men, whether 20 or 200, in a variety of engagements towards stalling the British in South Carolina and keeping focused on the cause, freedom from tyranny!

Before the end of the war, Marion himself would be very aware that this “tyranny” would not evaporate once the conflict was over. George Mason from Virginia would say in 1782:

“posterity will reflect with indignation that this fatal lust of sovereignty, which lost Great Britain her western world, which covered our country with desolation and blood, should even during the contest against it, be revived among ourselves, and fostered by the very men who were appointed to oppose it!”

Sick, isn’t it? To go through a revolution and end up with practically the same thing? So basically, freedom and liberty in this world is an everyday battle for every generation to embark on. One of my goals is to give insights for the next generations to consider. Passing on not only knowledge, but wisdom if I can.

-SF1

08SEP1780: In Only Two Weeks of Irregular Warfare, Marion’s 150 Men are Targeted by the British

The last we heard of Marion, he had split his militia force in the face of larger British/Tory numbers into three units. Maj. James had some intel that indicated on the evening of 07SEP1780 that 400 Redcoats/Tories under Wemyss were in Kingstree only 20 miles west of Marion with orders to finish Marion off. Marion was also made aware of 200 more Redcoats coming north out of the port of George Town heading his way as well.

With the news of overwhelming forces headed their way, Marion took counsel with the militia leadership and decided to move back east and north away from this pressure. Many of the men we audibly anxious about this news as they knew their homes in the Williamsburg area would be subjected to the pillaging efforts of the British as they gave chase to the fox (Marion).

The morning of 08SEP1780, Marion had more intel about the same force he had dispersed at Blue Savannah, Gainey and his Tory militia was headed toward Marion from the east. It is at this point that Marion makes the call to release those under his command to go and give aid and comfort to their own families as well as other patriotic families in the region and left with the balance, 60 men in all, to move north. Maj. James with a small band of men were to move directly in the path of Wemyss in the Williamsburg area to do what they can to counter act the wrath of the British.

By this time, from the west, the British force under Wemyss was only two miles away and so Marion decided to address the items he had that slowed him down, two old iron artillery pieces, probably six-pounders, and dumped them in the swamp just before crossing the North Carolina border.

By 15SEP1780, Marion and his men would be safely in Great White Marsh which is in eastern North Carolina, 30 miles past the border. Francis Marion, like a fox, sensed eminent danger and pressure from all sides and safely withdrew into a swamp area that offer protection and rest for the remainder of his men. Without a direct conflict in a week, Marion reflects on his efforts in late August / early September 1780.

With two weeks of irregular warfare with NO support from the Continentals prompted Francis Marion to use this time in relative safety to write Gen. Gates and explain that he and his men would remain in North Carolina until he heard from Gates or had another opportunity.

In Marion’s absence, the British left an indelible impression on the region:

Upon his arrival in Indiantown around September 7 Wemyss burned the Presbyterian church there, calling it a “sedition shop.” (Ironically, Wemyss was himself a Presbyterian.) Over the next few days he put the torch to several more homes, including that of Major James, allegedly because James’s wife refused to provide information as to her husband’s whereabouts.

He also hanged Adam Cusack, a local ferryman, in front of his wife and children as they pleaded for his life. According to American accounts, Cusack was executed either for refusing to ferry Wemyss’s officers across a creek or because he fired a shot across the creek at a slave of Tory militia captain John Brockinton. When Dr. James Wilson tried to intercede on Cusack’s behalf, Wemyss burned his house too. …

On his march north from Kingstree to the town of Cheraw, Wemyss cut a path of destruction seventy miles long and five miles wide on both sides of the Pee Dee River, burning fifty houses and plantations along the way. He claimed that these “mostly” belonged to people who had broken their paroles or oaths of allegiance and were now in arms against the British. (He offered no justification for burning the others.) Wemyss also ordered his men to destroy blacksmith shops, looms, and mills and to shoot or bayonet any milk cows and sheep not taken by the British for themselves. The residents thus lost not only their shelter but also their means of livelihood, food, and clothing. Wemyss’s scorched-earth policy would have echoes in Sherman’s famous march through the South in the Civil War.

Oller, John. The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution (Kindle Locations 1093-1106). Da Capo Press. Kindle Edition.

There is a term that is used in the 21st century to describe the unintentional consequences of this kind of warfare on the civilian population, BLOWBACK. The US Empire’s CIA is well aware of what happens when these kind of tactics are used in that a majority of the population is so incensed that freedom fighters/insurgents are “birthed” at incredible rates. This is what would be the case in 18th century South Carolina, where any gains the British had after practically overrunning the whole state by the end of May 1780 would be erased by the conduct of British officers and Tory/Loyalists.

While it was tempting for the patriotic forces to mimic the British in a “tit-for-tat” move, for the most part Marion was able to control those under his command. While some junior officers did go rogue and follow the British “total war” strategy, Marion sought to distance himself from this and communicated with Gen. Gates specifically which officers had crossed that line. Unfortunately, there were few if any British officers that reined in their men like Marion did, and the civilian population in South Carolina took the brunt of this immoral use of military troops directly on families, their livelihood and their property.

-SF1

03SEP1780 Francis Marion Receives Intel on Nearby Loyalist Militia (led by an ex-Patriot)

Blue Savannah Battle – Patriot Win

As it happened time and again in the Revolutionary War in South Carolina, many men changed sides for various reasons. Sometimes their house was burned down or horses were stolen. Other times, just the tide of war changing into the other “team’s” favor led men to leave one cause for another.

The pattern we have seen in the previous victories by Marion’s new milita force come into play once more. Intel is received on 03SEP1780 that Francis Marion keeps to himself that a larger Tory/loyalist force of 250 men lies north of them. Marion uses the element of surprise to move TOWARD the threat, a great military tactic, the next morning and engages a subset of this force under ex-Patriot Gainey who is known to be quite the hot-head.

As Marion’s 50 or so men scatter this force which emboldens Marion to quickly followup and engage the full force just three miles north. Marion then decides to quickly disengage, and retreat back to a savannah area described by J.W. Lewis and his work at his Carolana site:

He conceals his men at Blue Savannah, an open sandy area surrounded by scrub pines. Capt. Barefield leads his men right into the ambush. Col. Marion charges with 50 men, weapons firing and swords flying. Capt. Barefield’s men send one volley that hits three men, and then his men break and run. Col. Marion’s men pursue to the edge of the nearby swamp, but do not penetrate it. They know that a cornered enemy is very dangerous

Whether you count this as 3 for 3 (Nelson’s Ferry win, Kingstree win, Blue Savannah win) or 2 for 2 if you see Kingstree without Marion was only a skirmish, you should know that THIS will probably get Cornwallis’ attention. Never the less, Marion returns to his “home” in Britton’s Neck:

The next day Marion marched back to his camp at Britton’s Neck, where sixty new volunteers from Colonel Hugh Giles’s militia joined him, doubling the size of his yet small force. Two weeks earlier his name was unknown to the British, and now suddenly he was capable of operating behind Cornwallis’s lines and harassing his right (eastern) flank. It was a vexation his Lordship needed to eliminate before he could launch his planned invasion of North Carolina. The success of Marion’s hit-and-run tactics so infuriated the British high command that at least half a dozen death squads, beginning with Wemyss, were dispatched in sequence to go after him.

From: Oller, John. “The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution” (Kindle Locations 1063-1068). Da Capo Press. Kindle Edition.

The pressure would be on soon, but Marion keeps receiving valuable intel, this time on 07SEP1780 he hears how about 150 British regulars and Tories were burning the very homes of the men serving under Marion near Williamsburg. Marion would yet again do something that goes against military protocol, divide his smaller force into three forces:

  1. Sending Maj. James and a small group towards the British forces who were unleashing their frustration against the civilian population in the area
  2. Keeping 25 men at camp at Britton’s Neck
  3. Moving the remaining men, about 75 in all, towards Indiantown where he would meet up again with Maj. James who had even more intel to share

Once Francis Marion adds up all the numbers of British regulars and Tories that are in the area AND their mission, the North Carolina border (seen in the map above) will look real good!

-SF1