Tag: Lt. Col. Henry Lee

SEP – NOV1781 – Slow Push on British and Loyalist Troops Toward Charlestown

Port of Wilmington, North Carolina – evacuated by the British forces on 14NOV1781

One might figure that with the Battle of Eutaw Springs done, there is little to do at this point of the Revolutionary War or for what was actually the civil war in SC between Whigs and Tories and those who switched sides back and forth. There is also the transition from a British military presence for 12-18 months that displaced civil government as so we see at this time Gov. Rutledge attempting to piece back together something.

Post Eutaw Springs battle, Greene dispatched Lee and Marion to attempt to get in front of Stewart’s British forces as they withdrew towards Charlestown but 400 fresh Brits arrived in Moncks Corners from Charlestown itself to cover the retreat.

On 12SEP1781, Stewart, who was wounded, was temporarily replaced by Col. Paston Gould, who had been Balfour’s position until he was promoted to commandant of the Charleston district for the British.

Gould had stayed put in Charleston until now and was unfamiliar with the territory. He briefly took an expedition out towards Greene but then came back to a point 50 miles outside Charleston while half his men came down with seasonal fever. He returned to Charleston and was replaced by Gen. Alexander Leslie and Steward, having recovered from his wounds, took command of 1,200 troops 7 miles north of Moncks Corners where he proceeded to raid plantations for food (harvest time was getting near), capturing slaves including women and children to return to Charleston where they were put to work strengthening British fortifications there.

At this time Greene felt confident with the British south of the Santee to take his own sickly army to the High Hills of the Santee to recover. Marion camped 50 miles away on the Santee ready to deploy but he himself was hit with the seasonal fever in spite of his vinegar and water concoction.

Between daily correspondence with Greene on intelligence reports and sometimes two letters a day from Gov. Rutledge in getting the right people in the right positions in the new civil government especially justices / judges, it was a different kind of busy for Marion.

Gov. Rutledge offered a Clinton-like proclamation that now allowed Tories to be pardoned and reunite with their families if they serve 6 months in the patriot militia.

Gov. Rutledge’s proclamation states that all Loyalists except those who held commissions from the British government could have:

“a free pardon and permission for their wives and families to return and reoccupy their possessions, on condition that such men appearing at our headquarters, or before a Brigade or the Colonel of any Regiment, and there subscribing an engagement to serve the State faithfully as militia men for six months.”

Those who declined this pardon faced banishment and property loss similar to the Clinton order a few years prior. 27SEP1781 was the day the amnesty proclamation was made official and gave 30 days for men to meet with a brigadier general of SC.

By early October 1781, Marion was able to attend to family matters as he continued to assist his nephews in collages in the north with a shipment of indigo to Philadelphia to supply them with winter clothes, etc.

By early November 1781, with all these distractions, it was learned that on October 19th Cornwallis surrendered ALL his troops at Yorktown.

With this news, Marion actually arranged for a celebration at a local plantation, a ball for his officers and area ladies, yet Marion remained subdued during the festivities. He still had on his mind two patriots that were still in prison, one would die there and the other would remain there until the official end of the war.

NOTE: Unlike what history books claim today, Yorktown was NOT the end of the Revolutionary War !!!

One more domino to fall was when the British evacuated the port of Wilmington, North Carolina on 14NOV1781! This too gives those in South Carolina hope that the evacuation of Charlestown, South Carolina is next!

Stay tuned for more details on the 1781 fall season in South Carolina where the British forces in Charlestown could be resupplied from the sea at any time to renew a push into this rebellious colony that seceded from the British Empire.

-SF1

18-31JUL1781: Marion Takes a Well Needed Break and Reflects on the Past Year

My last post on the adventures of Francis Marion written about a month ago, his militia was down to 100 men and they had just written off fellow militia leader Thomas Sumter and his tactics.

Marion goes to Cordes’s Plantation and sets up camp to break from the exhaustive mid-July battles at Quinby’s Bridge and Shubrick’s Plantations. After one year of fighting the British, much of which without direct support from the Continentals, he had to be proud of what was accomplished. These last few months in the summer of 1781 with the Continentals had its positives, but it also had its negatives.

Lt. Col. Henry Lee and his Continentals proceed to bury their dead and move to join Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene in the High Hills of the Santee as the militia melts back to their homes in South Carolina.

Reflecting on these days later, Greene told Lafayette that the “Dog Days Campaign” had some success but admitted it was far short of what needed to be accomplished. Driving the British out of Monck’s Corner and Dorchester only lasted a few weeks before the Brits were back. On the plus side, 140 prisoners, 200 horses and ammunition were to be had.

The rift between the principled Marion and the opportunist Sumter was also widened by another of Sumter’s actions, in that 720 guineas (gold coins) were found and distributed to Sumter’s men and some of Lee’s men BUT not Marion’s.

Sumter’s men were also getting disillusioned as his 10-month enlistees were on their way home at this point, dissatisfied with Sumter’s Law.

Sumter now was desperate, and tried to plunder more by going near Georgetown and seizing slaves, horses, indigo and salt from the Tories there.  The British retaliated on 01AUG1781 by bombarding Georgetown from a warship with many innocent people caught in the crossfire. Gov. Rutledge generally favored harsh treatment of Tories BUT finally started seeing this from Marion’s point of view as that practice usually gave significant blowback.

Finally, on 05AUG1781, Rutledge signed a proclamation strictly forbidding plundering for any purpose essentially nullifying Sumter’s Law. Sumter took this personally and resigned but Greene talked him into staying on but that would old last a few months as Sumter had fought his last battle.

Just as the patriots alter their ways to ensure they were seen as leading a noble cause, respecting the innocent people’s life, families and property, the British decide once more to turn the burner up on violence. The British decide towards “making an example” of someone, in a typical bully move.

The British proceed to arrange a public hanging that took place in CharlesTown South Carolina which was still in British hands. On 04AUG1781 a 35 year old Col. Issac Haynes, a much beloved planter/patriot in the Low-country region, was hanged as an example to the people of the colony of South Carolina.

There is quite a backstory to this event that will be the subject of my next American Revolutionary post .. coming soon!

Stay tuned.

-SF1

JUL1781: Dog Days (Campaign) are a Real Thing in South Carolina in the Summertime

In my last update on the slow attrition of British forces in South Carolina the summer of 1781 as well as the condition of the American Continentals:

Summer fighting in South Carolina requires a lot of a man should he come from Virginia or further north. Greene concluded that the American forces were weakened by the heat and could not survive on the rice in the region and needed bread again. With no beef they resorted to frogs and alligators, because they taste like chicken.

After the next encounter in July 1781, Greene would then moved his troops to the High Hills of the Santee for the rest of the summer.

To recap quickly, Georgetown and Ninety-Six had fallen and so two significant outposts remained slightly inland, Monck’s Corner 30 miles north of Charleston and Dorchester 20 miles northwest of Charleston.The only other occupied outpost is Ninety-Six which has a Loyalist contingent in place there many miles away from the action down state.

The British army was basically in Charleston, in these outposts, and then just one regular British army in the field at Orangeburg. Sumter convinced Greene that he should take out the two outposts cutting off the Brit army in Orangeburg from Charleston, using Lee’s and Marion’s forces of course. Greene’s objective was then to get the Brits stuck on the coast in a land siege and then pray the French Navy could bottle them up in Charleston.

05JUL1781: American Continental leader Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene orders Brig. Gen. Francis Marion and his militia to march from Ancrum’s Plantation towards Moncks Corner in an attempt to cut off Lord Rawdon who is in the field at Orangeburg.  Marion and his men passes around Lord Rawdon, whose troops are sick, exhausted, and almost mutinous and goes in the direction of Moncks Corners and the British forces that are in route to Orangeburg.

08JUL1781: At “o’dark thirty”, Marion quietly breaks camp
and begins moving stealthily down the highway between Orangeburgh
and Moncks Corner looking for Lt. Col. Alexander Stewart and his forces. They pass each other as they took different roads and so at daylight, Marion learns of this mistake and sends Lt. Col. Peter Horry back to pursue Stewart but it is too late. Marion gets word to return to Ancrum’s Plantation where Greene finally has almost all of his army with him at one location – Sumter, Marion, Washington, and Lee. Pickens is the only SC Brigadier General not there.

12JUL1781: July 12th marks the day that Marion followed his orders and took his 180 man force to Moncks Corner while Lee and his 150 man force moved on Dorchester. Sumter remained in the rear with his 200 infantry and one six-pounder.

Marion’s force had just went through some leadership changes with Hugh Giles retiring, a 27 year old John Ervin taking his place and Greene’s commissioning of Peter Horry and Hezekiah Maham to lead two dragoon forces within the Continental Army which meant signing on for one year. Complicating the matter was that both promotions were dated the same day, and if that was not enough, it was never made clear as to who they really reported to .. Greene OR Marion. This was never made clear and made for issues down the road from this day.

The target Greene had in sight at Moncks Corner was a British force of 500-600 redcoats from 19th Regiment of Foot was led by Lt. Col James Coates which had two field howitzers. In addition to this force were 100-150 provincial cavalry under Major Fraser (SC Royalists) which were remnant forces from SC Rangers and Queen’s Rangers, all native SC men who knew the back-country as well as Marion and Sumter.

16JUL1781: Sumter wanted to surround Coates cutting off his escape routes and any reinforcements from Orangeburg. Lee easily pushed the British out of Dorchester and so upon hearing this Coates surprises the patriots by moving five miles northeast to St. James Goose Creek Church which is locally called Biggin Church (a structure with three foot thick walls and where Marion himself worshiped as a boy). As the patriots adjusted to Coates new position, Maham’s dragoons were sent to destroy Wadboo bridge so Coates would not have an easy time getting to Charleston, unfortunately, Coates men were able to repair if overnight and were all set to escape down the Cooper River if and when they needed to.

17JUL1781: With insignificant skirmishing on July 16th at 4am the next morning the Biggin Church was ablaze and Coates had a head start toward Charleston. As the patriots chased Coates they found the Wadboo bridge had been destroyed by the British this time, and so they had to ford the river farther upstream wasting valuable time.

The Brits then went 18 miles south and settled briefly at a vacant plantation of patriot Col. Thomas Shubrick. They posted a howitzer at Quinby Bridge to guard the crossing and started tearing up the planks when Lee, Wade Hampton and some of Marion’s cavalry arrived. Some of the men crossed the creek and started their assault on the British forces, Lee himself chose not to send his cavalry across the 20-yard wide creek due to the muddy bottom. On the other side there was a causeway that led to deadly hand-to-hand combat. Many of the green recruits of the 19th Foot threw down their weapons and fled only to realize how few patriots made is across the creek. The Brits were able to fight their way back to the plantation for cover. Fraser’s Brit cavalry left for Charleston for reinforcements.

Lee and Marion saw the plantation to well fortified and chose to wait for Sumter and his six-pounder. When Sumter arrived WITHOUT his cannon he decided to attack anyway against Lee and Marion’s advice. Marion’s men had to advance across open field and then finding Taylor’s men facing a bayonet charge (NOTE: there are no bayonets on patriot rifles) diverted on an oblique to save Taylor and his men but took a lot of causalities. Forty minute battle was finally called off by Sumter whose troops as well as Lee’s remained in reserve. Fifty killed or wounded, mainly from Marion’s men was the result.

Reflection time: What does one do when a superior, errr, I mean a higher ranking officer gives an ill-advised order? Well the obedient will “just follow orders”, however, the militia volunteers will never forget!

Taylor let it be known that he would not fight alongside the Gamecock Sumter again, putting his men at risk for a poor objective and with no backup. From J.D. Lewis’s “Evolution of Marion’s Brigade after the Fall of Charlestown 1780 to 1782“:

.. Maj. John Baxter is knocked from his horse by a musket ball. He shouts to Lt. Col. Peter Horry, “I am wounded, colonel.” Horry replies, “Think no more of it, Baxter, but stand to your post.”

Baxter shouts, “But I can’t stand, I am wounded a second time!” Horry shoots back, “Lie down then, Baxter, but quit not your post.”

Baxter is hit a third time and says, “They have shot me again, colonel, and if I stay any longer here, I shall be shot to pieces.” Horry then says, “Be it so, Baxter, but stir not.”

Baxter obeys, but he was hit a fourth time.

Fifty of Brig. Gen. Marion’s men are killed or wounded in this assault.  Col. Thomas Taylor finds Brig. Gen. Sumter “sitting cooly under the shade of a tree.” He says, “Sir, I don’t know why you sent me forward on a forlorn hope, promising to sustain me and failed to do so, unless you designed to sacrifice me. I will never serve a single hour under you,” and then retires from Brig. Gen. Thomas Sumter’s command.

There is no post battle comments are on record from Marion to Sumter but to Greene he implied that he too was sent on a fools errand. Most evident of Marion’s true feelings was that he and Lee left the night of the battle and went 15 miles away to camp without informing Sumter. All but 100 of Marion’s men left at this point and Marion internally knew he was done with Sumter.

Within a month, things would change in the leadership of the South Carolina state militias yet again.

Stay tuned for what the conclusion of the “Dog Days Campaign”, what was won and what was lost.

-SF1

07-12MAY1781: Fort Motte is the Next British Stronghold to Fall

In my last post concerning this Spring 1781 effort to take back South Carolina from the grips of the British Empire, I mentioned how Cornwallis had left the region for good and was in route to Virginia.

Fort Motte was constructed in and around the Motte Plantation house 30 miles up river from Fort Watson. 06MAY1781 started yet another siege of a fort as now the post-by-post elimination of British strongholds set in motion. Rebecca Motte, recent widowed, aristocrat and ardent patriot had been moved into the overseers log cabin by the British who took over her house perched on a 250 foot hill was now surrounded by protective wall of wooden stakes 10 foot high with a seven foot wide, six foot deep ditch around the walls. Inside were 80 Redcoats, 59 Hessians and 45 loyalist Tories led by Lt. McPherson, a Scottish unit that had proved itself in Canada and was now a part of the Brit regulars.

Lt. Col. Lee (‘Lighthorse’ Harry) had 250 and Brig. Gen. Marion 150 with one six-pounder cannon. The plan was to use slave labor to build zig-zag trenches close to the fort using patriot sharpshooters to protect the laborers.

In the middle of this siege, Marion fell into his deepest sour mood to date having done nine months being chased by “death squads” and having no practical consistent military help and being prodded to give, give, give. Again it was the request of horses that set him off (triggered in today’s language), but the root issues included

  • The undermining from other militia leaders who said “Marion had come across plenty of horses”
  • The outright murder of a patriot on his own front porch in front of his family by Tories
  • Typical comings and goings of a militia army.

Marion offered to quit and go north to Philadelphia to be assigned elsewhere. Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene, whom he had yet to meet, wrote back and backed off on the horses but saying the cause and his state needed him at such a time as this. Marion ended up sending Greene one quality horse with a promise of more horses when they could.

Word came on 11MAY1781 that the British commander at Camden, Francis Lord Rawdon had left for Charles Town and was in route to reinforce Fort Motte. The tower that worked at Fort Watson would not work in this instance, but raining down fire was the action agreed upon when Lee and Marion met with Rebecca Motte for permission, which she gave.

So on 12MAY1781 the main house was targeted with fire, and with the cannon used to spread canister shot, the Brits could not put out the fire and surrendered. Details from J.D. Lewis’ work called “The Evolution of Marion’s Brigade after the Fall of Charlestown 1780 to 1782” follows:

Waiting until noon when the roof has become hot and dry, Lt. Col. Lee orders the house to be set on fire.

[Weems (known for the fiction about George Washington cutting down a cherry tree) writes that Mrs. Motte lends the Patriots a bow and “African arrows.” However, William Dobein James is there and in his later book about Marion he writes, “the house was not
burnt, as is stated by historians, nor was it fired by an arrow from an African bow, as sung by poets. Nathan Savage, a private in Marion’s brigade, made up a ball of rosin and brimstone, to which he set fire and slung it on the roof of the house.”]

As the roof catches fire, Lt. McPherson sends a detail aloft to rip off the burning shingles. Capt. Samuel Finley fires upon those on the rooftop using his 6-pounder with grapeshot. When Lt. McPherson’s men begin jumping from the burning house, he raises the white flag on May 12 th .

As soon as the British and Loyalists lay down their arms, Brig. Gen. Marion sends his men to the house to help put the fire out. He offers the enemy generous terms. When they march out, Lt. Col. Lee accepts the surrender of the British regulars, while Brig. Gen. Marion accepts the surrender of the Loyalist militia – this is how fractured the Patriots are at that point in time – Continentals versus militia.

Basically, the patriots saved the house from fire, the prisoners were granted generous conditions even keeping their recent loot. The Brits lost no men and the patriots lost two. McPherson surrendered to Lee and the Tories to Marion. McPherson thought he was surrendering to a gentleman BUT three months earlier Lee himself had employed tactics (i.e. “Tarleton’s Quarter”) used by the hated Banastre Tarleton himself. This tendency that all leaders on all sides of conflicts struggle with will be highlighted in the next few hours.

After the surrender, Lee again received wrath from Marion when Francis learned that Lee was hanging Tories:

Mrs. Motte invites both the Patriot and British officers to dine with her that night. The dinner is marred when one of Lt. Col. Lee’s officers, Cornet William Butler Harrison, orders three Loyalists to be hanged.

Brig. Gen. Marion is seated at the table when Lt. McPherson receives the news of this hanging. Brig. Gen. Marion leaps up from the table and storms out of the mansion, arriving to find two dead Loyalist on the ground and one swinging from a noose.

He orders the man cut down and strongly tells Lt. Col. Lee’s men that he is in charge and that he will kill the next man
who harms any prisoners.

Lee complained but said that Marion’s humanity among the ranks could not be overcome.

THIS is a critical point! If the rank and file are empowered to interject morals into the middle of war, then long term relationships after the conflict could be so much better. Total war drives wedges into society that lasts generations. Examples include not only “Tarleton’s Revenge”, but also Sheridan’s burning of the Shenandoah Valley and Sherman’s 50 mile wide path through Georgia and South Carolina! Same goes for the CIA taking out the democratically elected president of Iran in 1953. But I digress.

It was finally at this point for the first time that Greene met with Marion personally and cleared the air. There were no more threats of quitting from this point forward. Again, from J.D. Lewis:

Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene finally meets Brig. Gen. Francis
Marion in person at McCord’s Ferry on the Congaree River. They all camp here for the night.

The Brit Rawdon arrived at Nelson’s Ferry on 14MAY only to hear that Fort Motte was gone and dismantled and all the supplies taken by the patriots. From there his only recourse was to move his troops to within 30 miles of Charles Town at Monck’s Corners.

It seems that the tide is turning into a flood, and mid-May 1781 will come more changes as this internal civil war rages on in South Carolina between Tories and Whigs, British regulars and Continentals and everyone else caught in between.

-SF1

24JAN1781: “Lighthorse” Harry Lee and Marion’s Amphibious Assault on British at Georgetown, SC

22JAN1781 finds Lt. Col. “Lighthorse” Henry Lee arriving in Marion’s camp on Snows Island giving the militia a boost in spirits. The very next day, Lee has tow companies of his men depart down the Pee Dee River in flatboats guided by some of Marion’s men. Destination is Georgetown, a primary source of salt, rice and if lucky, some guns, horses and ammunition as well. These two leaders were about to bring their forces to bear on Georgetown in a coordinated amphibious assault (by land and sea).

By dawn on 24JAN1781 these flatboats reach the mouth of the Pee Dee River and Lee’s men hide on a small island in Winyah Bay (that leads to the Atlantic Ocean) to await the arrival of their companions coming via land. Brig. Gen. Francis Marion gathers his Militia at Kingstree on 24JAN1781,
then he and Lt. Col. Henry Lee ride hard, arriving near Georgetown at dark.

Delays in the land portion led to a premature attack from the sea the morning of the 25th. During the early morning hours, Lt. Col. Lee’s men in the flatboats slip undetected from their hiding place in Winyah Bay and
land on Georgetown’s undefended waterfront at Mitchell’s Landing. Continental office Capt. Carnes leads one party to seize Lt. Col. George Campbell in his headquarters near the parade ground.

With the Georgetown British garrison’s commander and four others  captured, and eventually paroled, the element of surprise was gone and the taking of Georgetown would not be that day. Had the Patriots really assaulted the redoubt, Lt. Col. Lee and Brig. Gen. Marion might then have taken the cannons there and used them on the houses. However, they do not want to risk unnecessary losses, and they quickly depart the small town. Both commanders erred appropriately toward preserving their men’s live than achieving a bloody victory.

The psychological impact was there as the British held back resources to protect Georgetown which as a supplier of salt in the region as well as a transportation crossroads.

-SF1