Editor’s Notes ______________________________________________________________________
Last month we looked at primary source writings on the Battle of Rocky Mount. In the summer of 1780 after the fall of Charleston, the South Carolina backcountry militia had been mobilized opposing the organization of Loyalist militias, the administration of Crown loyalty oaths, and loyalist patrols at Beckhamville, Mobley’s Meeting House, and Williamson’s Plantation. While the defense of Rocky Mount was a British and Loyalist victory, it represented the first major coordinated North Carolina and South Carolina backcountry militia action in South Carolina after the fall of littoral Savannah, Beaufort, and Charleston. The British quickly extended their dominance 100 miles inland extending an arc of forward bases from Augusta, Ninety Six, Camden, to Georgetown. The attack on the British forward position at Rocky Mount followed the North Carolina Patriot victory dispersing the Loyalist gathered at Ramseur’s Mills on June 20, 1780 (at modern Lincolnton, NC). After the Patriot’s failure to dislodge the Loyalist at Rocky Mount, the backcountry militia cooperation, in opposition to restoration of Crown rule, was in action only a week later at the second Battle of Hanging Rock, (near modern Heath Springs, South Carolina), and this time with great success. Gen. Thomas Sumter proved himself an effective partisan militia leader and renewed the pattern of inter-state militia cooperation while the South Carolina rebel government was in exile.

In this newsletter we slightly regress in time and study modern research on the Battle of the Waxhaws, better known from the American point of view as Buford’s Massacre. On May 29, 1780, this defeat of the last organized Continental Army in the Southern Department was skillfully turned into a great propaganda victory for the Patriot cause, equal to a Texan’s battle cry, “Remember the Alamo” or the Spanish–American War’s “Remember the Maine”. Jim Piecuch, history professor at Clarion University, shares his article on this battle and examines the question of whether or not there was really a “massacre” at the Waxhaws. Villainizing the victorious British Commander, Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton became a favorite tactic of 18th century Patriots and subsequent American historians. Interestingly, Tarleton returned to England a celebrity and war hero. Mel Gibson and Hollywood picked up some of the Tarleton myth and reputation in his hit movie, “The Patriot”. As now in the Middle East, at some point I am sure Lord Cornwallis wondered if he was creating more Rebels than he was subjugating.

The initial focus of the newsletter has been on the Revolution in South Carolina. This is for two reasons. First, more battles and skirmishes were fought in South Carolina than in her sister states and most practically, my files are heavily biased on local materials. This narrow focus is already being overcome by article submissions on topics from all over the Department; the other important areas will get their due.

I plan to be in Savannah on October 8-9-10, 2004 enjoying the fall weather for the 225th anniversary of the bloodiest hour of the Revolution where the Patriot and French allied attack on October 9, 1779 on the Spring Hill Redoubt failed. If you are there, be sure to see Monterrey Square and its monument to Continental Cavalry Commander Gen. Casmir Pulaski, the Gen. Nathanael Greene obelisk in Johnson Square and a beautiful statute of Sgt. William Jasper, hero of the Battle of Fort Sullivan in Madison Square. Scott Smith, Executive Director of Savannah’s Coastal Heritage Society is the luckiest man; not only is he a great Southern Campaign scholar, in his job he has his own fort (Fort Jackson), his own steam locomotives and roundhouse, an important Revolutionary War battlefield (the Spring Hill Redoubt), and some great cannon. Scott gives a passionate description of the French and Americans forlorn hope attack on the Spring Hill Redoubt. The Savannah Campaigns are fascinating. David Reuwer and I led a tour there earlier this year and had a great time visiting the ground where the British recaptured Savannah from the rebel government and held it against a vastly superior allied siege. The campaigns against the British stronghold in East Florida started from Savannah; one ill fated campaign led to the fatal dual between a Georgia signer of the Declaration of Independence, Button Gwinnett, and Gen. Lachlan McIntosh.

Thank you for all of your kind letters and emails. This is not Charles Baxley’s newsletter; it is a shared open forum for all fellow cohorts – rebel or loyalist partisans alike. Your input, criticism, contribution, and support are appreciated. We want this newsletter to be an exchange of information between all interested in the Southern Campaigns: from professional scholars, the relic hunters, living history re-enactors, and avid amateurs. Scholars, archaeologists, and avid amateurs especially need a constructive link with the “diggers”. I have observed the excellent working relationship between professional archaeologists and Indian relic collectors at Archaeological Field Days that we need to emulate. Many metal detector hobbyists have done excellent archival research and have done the field work to locate and interpret many of these battles. Unfortunately, their knowledge and finds are not often preserved and shared so it is imperative that we talk together. We need to put these important actions on the actual ground. Some have argued that publication of Revolutionary War battlefields’ locations will encourage “looters” and “pot-hunters”. I have found that many of those (but not all) who have done the research in the libraries and on the ground are sensitive to landowners’ rights, respect those who fought, and already quite well know exactly where the actions were. Have collectors ever trespassed, left “pot” holes and taken valuable relics? I am sure, but so have credentialed archaeologists left holes, taken relics, not published their findings, and locked their finds away from the public and others’ view in dusty university vaults. Most of the 18th century metallic artifacts are quickly degenerating and, if now not quickly found, they will disintegrate and be lost forever. Unfortunately, there are too few professional archaeologists and too little money to do the needed surveys, so a joint venture is imperative. To appropriately understand these actions, interpret and preserve the finds, to preserve those special places where men fought and died, and to interpret them for others, requires this sharing.

Next month we will explore the interesting and controversial career of South Carolina Patriot militia Colonel James Williams. Col. Williams was as a regimental commander in the Ninety Six militia district, often called the “Little River Regiment”, named for the Little River in present day Newberry-Laurens Counties, SC. (Geographically and historically confusing, one of four or five “Little Rivers” found in South Carolina; the other “Little River Regiment” was organized by Loyalist living on the Fairfield County, SC Little River under Tory Col. John Phillips.) Col. Williams was an active militia commander from 1775 until his death at the pivotal Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780 where he was the highest-ranking officer killed in action. After the fall of Charleston and the British invasion of the South Carolina back country, Col. Williams had a “personality conflict” with Gen. Thomas Sumter and luckily was not with Sumter at his defeat at the Battle of Fishing Creek (August 18, 1780). Williams was about 50 miles west, cooperating with the North Carolina and Georgia militias when they defeated the Crown’s forces at Musgrove Mill. The work of Charlotte researcher Will Graves, author of James Williams: An American Patriot in the Carolina Backcountry and Laurens County, SC Revolutionary War sites will be featured.

If you do not want to be on our mailing list, just let me know. Hopefully, your contributions will allow a monthly publication schedule. My Revolutionary War files now contain about a year’s worth of Southern Campaigns materials. As there is no subscription fee at this time, I solicit your voluntary contributions in proportion to your evaluation of the product. I underestimated the interest and the cost of printing and distribution by first class mail. The first edition cost over $700. Currently, the newsletter will be duplicated and mailed; however, it will likely evolve into an electronic publication to save printing and postage costs or to paid subscriptions. You may tour our Beta test website at www.southerncampaign.org. Subscription implies a business, work and obligations, all of which I desire to avoid on this avid pursuit if possible. Let me know your email address and preferred medium. Better graphics are desirable and a volunteer with layout experience would be great. My daughter, Caroline, is the graphic artist of our new logo. Please send me any names, addresses and email contacts of persons you know who are interested in sharing information about the Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution.

It is important to give proper credit where credit is due. I claim no copyrights on reprinted articles and excerpts contained in these materials. Copyrights are reserved to the authors. I often edit old documents for easier reading and insert comments as to alternative dates, and modern punctuation and spelling. I also from time to time forget to appropriately reference my sources, to whom I offer my humblest apologies.
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Charles B. Baxley can be reached at P.O. Box 10, Lugoff, South Carolina 29078-0010 or at cbbaxley@charter.net (803)438-1606 (h) or (803)438-4200(w) ______________________________________________________________________