ever saw,' he was annoying the Tories in the neighborhood of the Pedee, when Gates was moving southward; and just before the battle at Camden, he appeared in Gates's camp. The proud general would have treated him with contempt, had not Governor Rutledge, then in the camp, known the sterling worth of the man before them. While Marion was there, the people of the 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 soon afterward, Marion organized that noted brigade, which performed such wonderful exploits among the swamps, the broad savannahs, and by the water-courses of the South. It was this motley brigade, only, that appeared in the field, and defied British power, after the dispersion of Gates's army at Camden. Had Cornwallis been governed by good judgment and humanity, the conquest of South Carolina might have been permanent, for the State swarmed with Tories, and the Republicans were wearied with the unequal contest. But he was governed by a foolish and wicked policy, and proceeded to establish royal authority by the most severe measures. Instead of winning the respect of the people by wisdom and clemency, he thought to subdue them by cruelty. Private rights were trampled under foot, and social organization was superseded by the iron rule of military despotism. His measures created the most bitter hatred; and hundreds of patriots, who might have been conciliated, were goaded into active warfare by the lash of military power. Everywhere the people thirsted for vengeance, and only awaited the call of leaders, to rally and strike again for homes and freedom. LORD CORNWALLIS. Now, feeling confident of his power in South Carolina, Cornwallis' prepared to invade the North State. Early in September he proceeded with his army to Charlotte, while detachments were sent out in various directions to awe the Republicans and encourage the loyalists. While Tarleton, with his legion, 1 Colonel Otho H. Williams said of his appearance then, that his followers were "distinguished by small leathern caps, and the wretchedness of their attire. Their number 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 [Gates] 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." 2 Page 310. He issued cruel orders to his subalterns. They were directed to hang every militia-man who had once served in Loyalist corps, but were now found in arms against the king. Many who had submitted to Clinton [page 313], and accepted protection, and had remained at home quietly during the recent revolt, were imprisoned, their property taken from them or destroyed, and their families treated with the utmost rigor. See note 3, page 337. 4 ) Charles, Earl Cornwallis, was born, in Suffolk, England, in 1738. He was educated for military life, and commenced his career in 1759. After the Revolution in America, he was made gov ernor-general of India [note 2, page 224], then lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and again governor of India. He died near Benares, East Indies, in 1805. His advanced corps were attacked by the Americans under Colonel Davie, on their arrival at Charlotte, but after a severe skirmish, the patriots were repulsed. was operating on the east side of the Catawba, Major Patrick Ferguson was sent to embody the militia who favored the king, among the mountains west of the Broad River. Many profligate and worthless men joined his standard, and on the first of October, 1780, he crossed the Broad River at the Cherokee ford, in Yorkville district, and encamped among the hills of King's Mountain, with about fifteen hundred men. Several corps of Whig militia united to oppose him,' and on the 7th of October, they fell upon his camp on King's Mountain, there, a cluster of high, wooded, gravelly hills, about two miles below the southern line of North Carolina. A very severe engagement ensued, and the British were totally defeated. Ferguson was slain,' and three hundred of his men were killed and wounded. The spoils of victory, which cost the Americans only twenty men, were eight hundred prisoners, and fifteen hundred stand of This defeat was to Cornwallis, what the affair at Bennington' was to Burgoyne, and it gave the Republicans hope. arms. Nearer the sea-board, in the mean while, the patriots were daily gaining strength. Marion and his men were striking the banding Tories here and there, and annoying British outposts continually; while Colonel Pickens and Clarke were hourly augmenting their forces in Georgia and south-western Carolina. Sumter, too, undismayed by his recent defeat, again appeared in the field; and other leaders were coming forth between the Yadkin and Broad Rivers. Alarmed by the defeat of Ferguson, and these demonstrations on flank and rear, Cornwallis withdrew [October 14] to South Carolina, and toward the close of October [27th], made his head quarters at Winnsborough, midway between the Broad and Catawba Rivers, in Fairfield district. Here he remained until called to the pursuit of Greene, a few weeks later. 6 Victory after victory was achieved by Marion and his brigade, until late in October, when they pushed forward to assail the British post at Georgetown, for the purpose of obtaining necessary supplies. Hitherto Marion had confined his operations to forays upon British and Tories; now he undertook a more These were commanded by Colonels William Campbell, Isaac Shelby, Benjamin Cleveland, John Sevier, Joseph Winston, Charles McDowell, and James Williams. Their united forces amounted to nearly eighteen hundred men. 3 On the spot where Ferguson was slain, a plain stone has been erected to the memory of that officer, and of Americans who were killed. The following inscriptions upon the stone, give the names: North side.-"Sacred to the memory of Major WILLIAM CHRONICLE, Captain JOHN MATTOCKS, WILLIAM ROBB, and JOHN BOYD, who were killed here fighting in defense of America, on the seventh of October, 1780." South side.-"Colonel FERGUSON, an officer belonging to his Britannic majesty, was here defeated and killed." Ferguson's rank is incorrectly given, on the monument. He was only a major; but his good conduct was placing him in the way of speedy promotion. He was a son of the eminent Scotch jurist, James Ferguson, and came to America in 1777. He was in the battle on the Brandywine, in the autumn of that year [page 273], and accompanied Sir Henry Clinton to South Carolina [page 306] at the close of 1779. Page 277. Page 317. * Sumter collected a small force in the vicinity of Charlotte, and returned to South Carolina. For some weeks he annoyed the British and Tories very much, and Lord Cornwallis, who called him The Carolina Game Cock, used great endeavors to crush him. On the night of the 12th of Noven ber, Major Wemyss, at the head of a British detachment, fell upon him near the Broad River, but was repulsed. Eight days afterward he had a severe engagement with Tarleton, at Blackstock's plantation, on the Tyger River, in Union district. He had now been joined by some Georgians under Colonels Clarke and Twiggs. The British were repulsed, with a loss, in killed and wounded, of about three hundred. The Americans lost only three killed and five wounded. Sumter was among the latter, and he was detained from the field several months, by his wounds. • Page 332. serious business. The garrison was on the alert, and in a severe skirmish with a large party near the town, the Partisan was repulsed. He then retired to Snow's Island, at the confluence of Lynch's Creek and the Pedee, where he fixed his camp, and secured it by such works of art as the absence of natural defenses required. It was chiefly high river swamp, dry, and covered with a heavy forest, filled with game. From that island camp, Marion sent out and led detachments as occasion required; and for many weeks, expeditions which accomplished wonderful results, emanated from that point. Their leader seemed to be possessed of ubiquitous powers, for he struck blows at different points in rapid succession. The British became thoroughly alarmed, and the destruction of his camp became, with them, an object of vital importance.' That work was accomplished in the spring of 1781, when a party of Tories penetrated to Marion's camp, during his absence, dispersed the little garrison, destroyed the provisions and stores found there, and then fled. The Partisan was not disheartened by this misfortune, but pursued the marauder some distance, and then wheeling, he hastened through the then overflowed swamps to confront Colonel Watson, who was in motion with a body of fresh troops, in the vicinity of the Pedee. While these events were progressing at the South, others of great importance were transpiring at the North. As we have observed, military operations were almost suspended in this region during the year, and there were no offensive movements worthy of notice, except an invasion of New Jersey, in June. On the 6th of that month (before the arrival of Clinton from Charleston), Knyphausen dispatched General Matthews from Staten Island, with about five thousand men, to penetrate New Jersey. They took possession of Elizabethtown [June 7], and burned Connecticut Farms (then a hamlet, and now the village of Union), on the road from Elizabethtown to Springfield. When the invaders arrived at the latter place, they met detachments which came down from Washington's camp at Morristown, and by them were driven back to the coast, where they remained a fortnight. In the mean while Clinton arrived, and joining Matthews with additional troops [June 22], endeavored to draw Washington into a general battle, or to capture his stores at Morristown. Feigning an expedition to the Highlands, Clinton deceived Washington, who, with a considerable force, marched in that direction, leaving General Greene in command at Springfield. Perceiving the success of his stratagem, he, with Knyphausen, marched upon Greene, with bout five thousand infantry, a considerable body of cavalry and almost twenty pieces of artillery. After a severe 'Here was the scene of the interview between Marion and a young British officer from Georgetown, so well remembered by tradition, and so well delineated by the pen of Simms and the pencil of White. The officer who came to treat respecting prisoners, was led blindfolded to the camp of Marion. There he first saw the diminutive form of the great partisan leader, and around him, in groups, were his followers, lounging beneath magnificent trees draped with moss. When their business was concluded, Marion invited the young Briton to dine with him. He remained, and to his utter astonishinent he saw some roasted potatoes brought forward on a piece of bark, of which the general partook freely, and invited his guest to do the same. "Surely, general," said the officer, "this can not be your ordinary fare!" "Indeed it is," replied Marion, "and we are fortunate on this occasion, entertaining company, to have more than our usual allowance." It is related that the young officer gave up his commission on his return, declaring that such a people could not be, and ought not to be subdued. Page 309. Page 259. 2 3 |