South Carolina (Colony). Council of Safety. South Carolina Provincial troops : named in papers of the first Council of Safety of the revolutionary party in South Carolina, June-November, 1775 / compiled by Alexander S. Salley ; with an index by Alida Moe. (Baltimore : Genealogical Pub. Co., 1977)
"Excerpted from the South Carolina historical and genealogical magazine, volumes I-III, 1900-1902."
-16 Aug 1775 - Charleston -
group wants to form a company of foot - signed Wm H Roberts / Robert Leavengston
(et al)
-SC to Charles Pinckney Esq Colonel of Militia for District of Charleston
desire to form company of foot
appointed captain Wm Roberts esq
also George Grey, John Davis
Ervin, Sara Sullivan. South Carolinians in the Revolution, with service records and miscellaneous data, also abstracts of wills, Laurens County (Ninety-six District) 1775-1855. ([Ypsilanti? Mich.] 1949)
1st Regiment - Colonel Christopher Gadsden
Capt William Scott’s Pay Bill 16 June - 1 July
Joseph Roberts 16 days 6sh?
Capt Benjn Cattell’s - 22 June 1 July
Robert Roberts 10 d 3.15
Capt Robert Sanders 2-17 July
Joseph Roberts - 16 days 6 ch?
5 Aug 1775 Muster Colleton Co Reg Foot - Jos Glover Col.
PonPon - Thos Roberts Lieut
20 Oct 1775 - Prince William’s Parish
formed a Co of Vols - John Roberts, John Ferguson et al
p. 33 - Chesterfield Dist - pension list
William Roberts pvt - annual allowance $20/yr - rec’d $60 - served SC Militia - placed on roll 21 Oct 1833 - commencement of pension 4 Mar 1831 age 72
p. 117 - Muster Roll - Capt Richard B Roberts’s company - SC Cont. Corp - Artillery - commanded by Col Owen Roberts - Richard B Roberts, capt comm 4 June 1777
- Muster Roll - Grenadiers - 2nd Co, SC Inf Col Isaac Motte
John Roberts enl 26 Nov 1776 - 26 Nov 1779 corp
William 7 Aug 1775 - & Aug 1778
p. 115 - Petition to Common Hose Assembly for relief because of Stamp Act - signed Benj. Roberts
p. 81 - General Sumpters Brigade
Capt Peter Burns Pay Roll a&D - Jas. Roberts
Capt Jacob Burnett - Jesse Roberts
Capt Philemon Waters - Benjamin Roberts
- party of exiles fled to NC - chose Sumpter to lead them
Andrews, John L. South Carolina Revolutionary War indents : a schedule (Columbia, S.C. : SCMAR, 2001) - I'm sorry, I didn't write down what all the codes mean.
186T Roberts, Lewis Militia Duty Gen Winn Camden 2.5.8 ½
3972X George Militia Duty Cols Garden & Harden - Beaufort -.10
402Y Willm Supplies Marion’s Brigade Georgetown 43.11.6
403Y Zephh Militia Duty 96 7.14.3
946Y Abraham care of a negro (Hesick) Georgetown 1.1.9
947Y Zachh supplies Gen Greene -.3.17
Moss, Bobby Gilmer. The loyalists in the siege of Fort Ninety Six. (Blacksburg, S.C. : Scotia-Hibernia Press, 1999)
Roberts Henry and Vincent (Vincin) - served from 14 June 1780 under Capt Wm Hendricks
in the Battle of Kings Mountain
evacuated fort July 1781
23 Aug 1781 - served under Patrick Cunningham at Dorchester
-source PA#14/T50/2 - Pay Abstract #14, Treasury Papers 50, vol 2 (or 6) PRO Kew, Surry
Roberts, Silas - mustered in New Jersey volunteers 24 Feb 1781 -24 Feb 1783
siege of Fort 96
-source PAC/RG81/C/1856 (or 856) - Public Archives of Canada/ British Military Records concerning NA
Edgar, Walter. Patisans and Redcoats: the Southern Conflict that turned the tide of the American Revolution. (New York : Harper Collins, 2001)
On the eve of the American Revolution, SC was the wealthiest colony in British North America. . . . The elite who controlled SC owed their wealth to rice, indigo, and the labor of thousands of black slaves. In 1775 there were 104,000 black Carolinians but only 70,000 whites. Of these whites, nearly 2/3s (approx. 46, 000) lived in what was called the backcountry.xiii
backcountry began ~50 mi inland-> foothills of the Appalachians
until 1730s - Indians (Catawba, Cherokee)
then handful - Germans, Scots-Irish, Welsh
then 1740-50s hundreds via the Great Wagon Road - from PA through the Shenandoah to the Savannah River valley - majority of these = Scots-Irish, some English, German
1760 - Cherokee war (egged on by French) -> destroyed social fabric -> banditti -> Regulators
No sooner had the frontier begun to calm down than a heated constitutional dispute between the colonial assembly and imperial officials led to a government shutdown. After 1771, for all practical purposes, royal government ceased in SC. xiv-xv
The revolutionaries . . . controlled Charleston and the lowcountry, but not much else. In the backsountry, there were individuals who had greater grievances with the SC Commons House of Assembly than with the British Parliament. . . .Initially the revolutionaries obtained a grudging pledge of neutrality from prominent backcountry leaders. Then, late in 1775, patriots imprisoned leading backcountry Tories, and in response, Tory militia units attacked patriot troops. In savage fighting that would presage the brutal nature of the American Revolution in SC, the Tory uprising was suppressed. xv
During the first 7 months of 1776, the revolutionary forces of SC defeated the British and the Cherokee . . . then calm for 30 mos. In the backcountry, many opted to farm and build up their holdings rather than join the army. xv
1778, British captured Savannah, invaded SC - repulsed.
Returned in 1780 - captured Charleston - > backcountry leaders thought it was all over, surrendered forts
But then the British behaved in typical British fashion and within 6 months, they lost everything.
. . . the occupying forces believed that fear and brutality would cow the populace. Instead the strategy backfired. xvi
The Great Wagon Road that served as the settlers’ highway began across the Schuykill River from Philadelphia. West to Harrisburg, then south, following the great Shenandoah Valley through Maryland and Virginia into the piedmont of NC. Veered slightly southest of the Moravian settlements at Wachovia, and then almost due south to SC town Pine Tree Hill (Camden) - Traversed the Catawba River Valley from N-S - because of its lushness and accessibility, it was the site of some of the first backcountry settlements in backcountry SC - Washaws = Catawba RV
primary attraction = land
each male head of household = 100 a + 50 a for each member of family AND each servant
also religious toleration
also SC had a major port - for exporting cash crops
the initial group that headed south was almost all Scots-Irish - from Ulster, then to PA - ran afoul of the Quaker govt, who assumed all problems on the frontier were caused by them
one batch came directly from Ulster, at urging of Rev William Martin 1772
Presbyterians & Baptists disliked each other more than either disliked Anglicans
“The relative unimportance of organized religion to the overwhelming majority of backcountry residents added to the instability of the region. . . . This lack of community respect carried over to magistrates’ courts. . . By the 1750s, backcountry society was still not very community minded. Sectarian and ethnic animosities, individualism, and general lack of respect for social and civic institutions resulted in a society that was disorganized and unstable. The Cherokee War (1760-61) would be the match that ignited this volatile mix. The result was a society that could best be described as dysfunctional.” 11
settlers coming directly to backcountry disrupted the PLAN by the govt
The SC backcountry was seriously divided over what to do in 1775. Ethnic origin or religious beliefs provided no simple explanation of why individuals became patriots or Tories. A number of Scots-Irish newcomers became loyalists because they were afraid that they might lose their government land grants. However, in the Waxhaws the population was “universally Irish and Universally disaffected.” The English and Scots-Irish in the territory between the Broad and Saluda Rivers were evenly split, while the Germans in Saxe Gotha District were almost all Tories. The Quakers in the Bush River Valley were pacifists, but their co-religionists in the Camden area supported the king. When forced to make a choice, backcountry folk did, albeit reluctantly in many cases. If they had had their druthers, they would just like to have been left alone. (30) Revs sent delegations to convince loyalists to join - mixed results - many seemed willing to accept neutrality. “Treaty of Ninety Six” - backcountry opponents of the Provincial Congress agreed not to render military aid to any British forces - in return, they received a vague promise that they would be left alone.
BUT they didn’t keep their word. In a calculated move to smoke out the enemies of the Revolution, Drayton taunted Robert Cunningham and several leading Tories. When they responded, the Council of Safety ordered them arrested and hauled off in chains to Charleston. This breaking of the treaty led to a Tory uprising in Oct 1775 (320)
Fighting began when a group of Tories, led by Patrick Cunningham (Robert’s brother) captured a supply train with ammo etc -> Dec 1775 - Tories defeated - had to sign a doc pledging not to take up arms again - on pain of losing property (33)
July 1776 Cherokees attacked the entire southern frontier, from Georgia to VA - among captured prisoners were Tories disguised as Indians -> idea that the British were behind the attack - this guy says it was a myth, but a persistent one. “Backcountry settlers of all political persuasions rallied and, in a 90-day campaign under the leadership of Major Andrew Williamson, routed the Indians. (36) Once the Cherokee were the most feared Indian nation on the Carolina frontier, but after this defeat they were no longer a threat to white settlers. In May 1777, the Cherokee signed a treaty with SC and abandoned their lands east of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
With the departure of the Cherokee, there was no longer any serious danger to moving into the isolated river valleys of the piedmont. . . . The thirty months following the defeat of the Cherokee in October 1776 brought an artificial peace to SC. The lull in the fighting produced an economic boom in the state, from the mountains to the sea.
Hundred of new immigrants pushed into the piedmont in something of a land rush.” (37)
This lull in the fighting -> public apathy. Not many citizens took the trouble to exercise their right to vote. In the fall of 1776, elections for the 2nd General Assembly were held . . . some members received only 2 or 3 votes; in some places, the only ballots cast were by the local polling officials (41) “Thus, the important work of creating a permanent state constitution fell to men who could hardly claim to be representing the people. And on a number of occasions when the assembly met, there were not enough representatives present to make up a quorum and conduct business.” (41)
On 12 May 1780, the Brits captured Charleston - General Lincoln should have left earlier “It was one of the greatest disasters in the annals of the U.S. Army. . . . the entire future of the Unites States in jeopardy. There was now no American army in the South to oppose Clinton. SC, the key state in Clinton’s grand southern strategy, lay open to the victorious British army.” (51-2)
The garrisons at 96, Camden, Beaufort, Georgetown surrendered. “Despairing of the American cause, Williamson’s men chose to surrender, accept parol, and return to their homes.” (53)
It appeared to many that the revolutionary movement in SC was finished. . . . Yet within less than 6 weeks the backcountry would be up in arms and the British would be fighting desperately to control what they had thought was a conquered province.(54)
Why?
1. Clinton proclamation 3 June 1780 - abrogating terms of surrender. Instead of allowing people to remain neutral, they had to take an oath or be treated as rebels - and they had 17 days to decide.
2. 29 May 1780 - Buford’s Massacre - “Not only were men who tried to surrender cut down, but the wounded were bayoneted as they lay on the ground. One officer survived 23 stab wounds and the deliberate mistreatment of a British surgeon.” 113 killed (at least) 150 wounded (many died later) (56) - survivors taken to Waxhaws church - “among those tending the wounded were Elizabeth Jackson and hr two young sons, Andrew and Robert.” (57) - they joined Sumter’s partisan band (Andrew = 13)
3. Early June - British delegation sent to Waxhaws to convince people to settle down - Wm Hill (ironworks) rallied his neighbors - set up unit - > British response another show of force - 18 June Huck destroyed ironworks.
“Only in 96 District did the British have much success in organizing Tory militia. In that district, it has been estimated, about 1500 men in 7 regiments saw duty from June to December 1780.” (60) In Pee Dee region, not much luck - tried to create SC Rangers - but only could get riff-raff - more interested in loot and revenge than regular military action.
4. 28 May (on the way to Buford’s Massacre, Tarleton burned down Sumter’s home -> Sumter led group of partisans “Thomas Sumter had been content to remain on his plantation in the High Hills until Tarleton’s men destroyed all he had. Their actions, wrote a 19th c historian, “roused the spirit of the lion” and created an inveterate foe. Others who did not suffer any personal loss were nonetheless repelled by the callous and wanton cruelty of the occupying army.” (62-3)
1812 Captain Elisha Bethea's Company of S.C. Militia
From June 29 to September 29, 1812 was in service of the United States near Georgetown, S.C. This company was organized in Marion District, which then included present Marion and Dillon counties, and a part of Florence county. The names are from the original payrolls, copies of which are in the Marion County Library
This info comes from the Marion County website.
Privates:
George Davis
James Davis
Morton Roberts (Actually, this is probably Norton Roberts)
Readen Roberts
Reading Roberts
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