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Independence Fostering the Rich History of Dataw Island, South Carolina

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Independence Fostering the Rich History of Dataw Island, South Carolina Dataw Historic Foundation Independence Fostering the rich history of Dataw Island, South Carolina https://www.datawhistory.org/52-sams-in-52-weeks/independence/ INDEPENDENCE Posted on August 3, 2020 by Bill Riski This week's theme is INDEPENDENCE. Most of you know that William Sams fled with his family to the Beaufort area from Charleston in 1783. Why he left Charleston is directly related to the Confiscation Acts of early 1782. Why they moved to Beaufort is family connections. It all began this week, 244 years ago. Stay tuned; I'll answer these questions more thoroughly and wrap up with two fascinating genealogy relationships between Sams women and historical figures. Category: 52 Sams in 52 Weeks Tags: 2020, 52Sams-in-52Weeks, Genealogy, Sams, The Proprietary Period, Week-31 Page: 1 Dataw Historic Foundation Independence Fostering the rich history of Dataw Island, South Carolina https://www.datawhistory.org/52-sams-in-52-weeks/independence/ Signatures on the United States Declaration of Independence, Aug 1776. Signatures of the four South Carolina delegates are in the blue box. This week's theme is INDEPENDENCE. Most of you know that William Sams fled with his family to the Beaufort area from Charleston in 1783. Why he left Charleston is directly related to the Confiscation Acts of early 1782. Why they moved to Beaufort is family connections. It all began this week, 244 years ago. Stay tuned; I'll answer these questions more thoroughly and wrap up with two fascinating genealogy relationships between Sams women and historical figures. First Continental Congress - 1774 In Volume 1 of his History of Beaufort County, Dr. Larry Rowland has five chapters which do a great job of describing the run-up to the American Revolution, the ebb and flow of the war in Beaufort District, and the struggles to start the new nation. An early decision of the First Continental Congress adversely affected Beaufort, in particular, and soured support for the independence movement. The Continental Congress decided to enforce a strict embargo on all trade with Great Britain. The South Carolina delegation lobbied successfully to free rice from the blockade, but not indigo. Indigo was the vital pillar of the Sea Islands' economy, not rice. The Royal Navy used indigo cakes primarily imported from the Lowcountry in making their uniforms. These efforts of the nascent American Revolution government to embargo indigo but not rice did not sit well in Beaufort. The decision was a blow to Beaufort's economy, and worse, none of the SC delegates who voted for the embargo were from the Beaufort District. When the First Provincial Congress met the next year, representatives from Beaufort District were included, and the rice/indigo disparity was partially resolved. As you might expect, the smuggling of indigo out of the Lowcountry quickly became a problem. It was a distraction that bred distrust and impeded local patriotic efforts to resist the British. The smuggling pipeline went down Skull Creek (north side of Hilton Head Island) to Savannah, GA, and on to St. Augustine. Once "the shot heard round the world" was fired at the Old North Bridge in Concord, MA (April 1775), events started to move quickly. It was time for Beaufort District to take up arms against the British. Patriots did, some did not; Tories fought for the British. For nearly the entire war, a critical British stronghold was St. Augustine, FL. Beaufort's proximity to the Atlantic sea lanes of communication, Page: 2 Dataw Historic Foundation Independence Fostering the rich history of Dataw Island, South Carolina https://www.datawhistory.org/52-sams-in-52-weeks/independence/ proximity to St. Augustine, and its location between Charleston and St. Augustine were key reasons so much of Beaufort District was destroyed as the armies and militia clashed. Patriot Colonel Stephen Bull was in command of the militia forces in the Beaufort District. He achieved an early victory in June 1775 when, supported by John Habersham and others, they captured a British ship on its way to Savannah with 16,000 lbs of gunpowder. This vital resource was divided between the patriotic forces in GA and SC, some was stored in Old Sheldon Church, and some made its way to General George Washington's army, then besieging Boston. Two months later, another patriotic victory resulted in the capture of 11,000 lbs of gunpowder. This victory increased the powder stored in Charleston for defending the entire colony by a factor of ten. The Battle of Sullivan's Island (near Charleston) in June 1776 was another American victory. For the next three years, a relative peace set in throughout South Carolina. Second Continental Congress - 1776 In July of 1776, Thomas Jefferson, in consultation with the Committee of Five (i.e., himself, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston) were racing to draft and present to the Second Continental Congress a declaration of independence from the British Empire. It was debated in Congress and agreed to on July 4th. Congress had the declaration printed in multiple copies in newspaper form (i.e., broadsides) and distributed to the thirteen colonies. At that point, this very secret document became public, along with three names. The authorizing name printed on the broadsides was that of the President of Congress, John Hancock. Also identified were congressional secretary Charles Thomson and the Philadelphia printer, John Dunlap. There were no signatures yet. Congressional Clerk Timothy Matlack handwrote a parchment copy, which was signed by members of Congress the first week in August 1776. And here we are, the same week, 244 years later. With this act, the 56 delegates signed their death warrants in the eyes of the British Empire. The war would continue for seven more years. The four signatories from South Carolina on the Declaration of Independence were: Edward Rutledge (1749 - 1800) - youngest signatory at 26, was taken as a POW after the British siege of Charleston, later Governor of SC. Thomas Heyward, Jr. (1746-1809) - Born in St. Luke’s Parish (Beaufort District) and also taken prisoner. Most ardent revolutionary from Beaufort District [Rowland]). Thomas Lynch, Jr. (1749 - 1799) - He and his wife were lost at sea. Page: 3 Dataw Historic Foundation Independence Fostering the rich history of Dataw Island, South Carolina https://www.datawhistory.org/52-sams-in-52-weeks/independence/ Arthur Middleton (1742 - 1787) - Also taken prisoner, had a United States Navy ship named after him in WW II. Page: 4 Dataw Historic Foundation Independence Fostering the rich history of Dataw Island, South Carolina https://www.datawhistory.org/52-sams-in-52-weeks/independence/ Page: 5 Dataw Historic Foundation Independence Fostering the rich history of Dataw Island, South Carolina https://www.datawhistory.org/52-sams-in-52-weeks/independence/ United States Declaration of Independence. This image is of the 1823 William Stone facsimile. Stone may well have used a wet pressing process (that removed ink from the original Aug 1776 document onto a contact sheet to make the engraving). Wikipedia. End of the Revolutionary War in South Carolina In South Carolina, over 200 battles were fought during the war, and six significant battles were fought in Beaufort District. Here are a few details: Battle of Port Royal Island (Battle of Beaufort), February 1779 Inconclusive, but Americans declared it a victory because they had fewer casualties and their militia beat British Regulars in open-field combat. The two British soldiers buried in St. Helena's Episcopal Churchyard, Beaufort, SC fell at this battle and were buried there under orders from patriot Capt John Barnwell. Native son Andrew DeVeaux IV defected to the British side just before this battle and became a staunch Tory throughout the rest of the Revolutionary War. He was born and raised here, and his knowledge of the area was invaluable to the British cause. I'll come back to him in a minute. Battle of Coosawhatchie, May 1779 This British victory resulted in their occupation of the town of Beaufort. Tory Andrew DeVeaux admits to burning Prince William Parish Church (Old Sheldon Church), built on Bull family land at their own expense. He hated the Bulls. Battle of Stono Ferry, June 1779 This was an American victory for Charleston, but not Beaufort and not the enslaved that the British had 'liberated' along the way. The battle was fought near Charleston, but it was the successful British retreat to Beaufort that historians admire. Their ability to move so large a force across four large tidal rivers and the St Helena Sound back to Beaufort was surprising. The large number of enslaved people liberated by the British became a burden to them. In the retreat, the British abandoned most of the enslaved on Otter Island (in St Helena Sound), where African-Americans perished by the hundreds. Fall of Charleston, May 1780 "The surrender of Charleston was the worst single defeat suffered by Americans in the Revolutionary Page: 6 Dataw Historic Foundation Independence Fostering the rich history of Dataw Island, South Carolina https://www.datawhistory.org/52-sams-in-52-weeks/independence/ War." [Rowland, pg 231] Captured Beaufort Patriots were put on the prison ship Pack-Horse for a year. POWs were John, Robert & Edward Barnwell, Henry W. DeSaussure, William Elliott Jr., Benjamin Guerard, Thomas Grayson, James Heyward, John Kern, and William Hazzard Wigg. The most important Patriots POWs were sent to the ancient dungeons of the Castillo San Marcos in St. Augustine. Three of the four SC signers of the Declaration of Independence were taken prisoners in Charleston. The fourth, Thomas Lynch, Jr., had been lost at sea with his wife in 1779. December 1782 As the war was winding down in 1782, the General Assembly met at Jacksonburgh from January thru February 1782 and passed the Confiscation Acts.
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