Vol. 2 No. 2 _____ ___________________________________ __ February 2005 Editor’s Notes The plans for our Thomas Sumter Symposium (April SC and Ramseur’s Mill, NC (June 2005), Brattonsville, SC 8-9-10, 2005) and battlefield tours have really jelled. We have (July 2005), Camden, SC (August 2005) and Kings Mountain, a great line up of presenters to cover Gen. Sumter’s SC (October 2005) are already planning major 225th Southern multifaceted life. Dr. Dan Morrill, a dynamic speaker, will Campaign anniversary events. kick off with Sumter’s early service in the French and Indian We received the wonderful news of the satisfaction of War and the American Revolution. I am excited to announce the purchase money mortgage on the Battle of Camden site in that Dr. Jeff Dennis of Morehead State University will travel December with State of South Carolina funds. While there is with us and talk about his recent research on Thomas Sumter’s much more work to be done in property acquisition, planning, travels with Lt. Henry Timberlake’s Expedition to take three research, and interpretation at Camden, the public’s permanent Cherokee Chiefs to meet the great white father, King George access to this important battleground is now guaranteed. We III, in London. Dr. Tom Powers from USC Sumter will talk understand that various non-profit and governmental agencies about our great Gamecock as a militia and State Troop are now working on obtaining several other important Palmetto Commandant. Thomas Sumter Tisdale, descendent and State Revolutionary War sites. We hope we can announce author of the popular book on Thomas Sumter’s aristocratic, several milestone acquisitions here soon. This preservation French daughter-in-law, will talk about Sumter’s extensive post work and current focus is critical as we have irrevocably lost Revolutionary War activities as a political leader and most of the Revolutionary War battlefield historic context by businessman. We will end the Friday classroom session with over-development at Hobkirk Hill, much of Eutaw Springs and an audience participation panel discussion on “The Gamecock”. Stono Ferry, all of Charleston, Augusta, Charlotte, and Friday night, Historic Camden at the Kershaw-Cornwallis Savannah, some of Guilfords Courthouse, and most of House will host our guest at their great “Groaning Board”, a Ramseur’s Mill and Cowan’s Ford. Re-locating the “lost” feast of heavy hors d’oeuvres and friendly discussion. On Revolutionary War sites, appropriately marking them, and Saturday, we will visit four important, unmarked battlefields: widely disseminating the facts of what happened where are the the site of Gen. Sumter’s first victory at Hanging Rock; his first most powerful tools we have to spread the knowledge base to attack on the British Provincial Volunteers of New York at build public awareness and influence to encourage cooperative Rocky Mount on the Catawba River; Sumter’s narrow escape at uses of these sites entrusted to our generation. Please help us Fish Dam Ford of the Broad River with archaeologist Wayne pry this information from the dusty archive files, the Roberts; and tour the site of Sumter’s defeat of Lt. Col. archaeology departments, and knowledge base of local Banastre Tarleton at Blackstock’s Plantation on the Tyger historians, property owners and collectors. We have over 200 River with Dr. Allan Charles. Saturday night we serve our Revolutionary War battle and skirmish sites to document in guest dinner followed by the impeccable Howard Burnham’s South Carolina alone. We need your help! Even the over-built premier of an original monologue, in the character of Thomas sites like Charleston, Ramseur’s Mill, Hobkirk’s Hill, Augusta, Sumter. On Sunday, we will visit Sumter’s final home site and Granby, Eutaw Springs, Orangeburg, Savannah, and Charlotte tomb in Stateburg; visit two important sites in his 1781 “Dog can be appropriately marked and interpreted. Days” of summer campaign to “thunder at the gates of Charles We plan to be in Charleston, SC the weekend of Town” which ended in his defeat at Quinby Bridge/Shubrick’s February 25th to attend the South Carolina Historical Society’s Plantation; and return to a visit and reception at the Sumter presentations on 18th century South Carolina and the annual Museum. Make your plans to join us for this program, convention of the Society for Military History organized by excellent entertainment and great fellowship. Professor Jennie Speelman at The Citadel. We hope to see As the British renewed their initiatives to re-conquer you there. their rebellious New World colonies in the Southern We thank John Robertson of Shelby, NC for the Department in December 1778, Southern Campaigns fans will great job he does as volunteer webmaster, librarian and be treated to many 225th anniversary events in the next two organizer of the voluminous materials we share on the Battle of years. Reenactments, memorial services, scholarly conclaves, Camden website at www.battleofcamden.org. John and the and tours are now being planned and scheduled. We will keep Battle of Camden research volunteers have amassed the best- you informed with a list of events and contacts for which we documented revolutionary war battle on the web. John, retired need your help. Please submit your scheduled events and as an industrial engineer and manager by profession, is an contact information. Southern campaigns sites at Petersburg, engaging interpreter of Gen. Daniel Morgan’s great victory at Va. (April 2005), Charleston, SC and Lancaster County, SC for Cowpens. John has taught himself cartography and his maps Buford’s Massacre at the Waxhaws (May 2005), Beckhamville, have made Dr. Christine Swager’s youth oriented 1 Revolutionary War books have the best maps of the southern of my printing and mailing costs. We remain glad to print campaigns going. I wholeheartedly recommend Chris’ Come to and mail a copy to anybody without access to a high-speed the Cow Pens, not only as a good teen interest story, but also Internet service and a printer; however, electronic for John’s excellent maps. I got a sneak preview of one of publication allows us to use better color graphics and save John’s new maps for Christine’s upcoming book on the Battle printing and postage costs. We will email folks on our at Eutaw Springs and it is awesome. John has undertaken an email list a note when the new edition of SCAR has been exciting new mapping project that he will share with us soon. posted; you may review or download and print the current Again we must reiterate that this is not Charles and previous newsletters from our website at Baxley’s newsletter; it is a shared open forum for all fellow www.southerncampaign.org. Please let us know your email cohorts – rebel or loyalist partisans alike. Your input, criticism, address and preferred medium. To improve the publication, contribution, and assistance are needed and appreciated. better maps and graphics are desirable and a volunteer with Your contributions of money and articles, and my layout experience would be great. “real” job may continue to allow a monthly publication Please send any names, addresses and email contacts schedule. As there is no subscription fee at this time, we of persons you know who are interested in sharing our study of solicit your voluntary contributions in proportion to your the Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution and we evaluation of the product. An email notice and web-based will add them to our list. i distribution of the SCAR Newsletter has ameliorated some Charles B. Baxley……………….……Editor IN THIS EDITION: Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution is dedicated to the study of the War for American • Editor’s Notes…………………..………….…….....…1 Independence in the Southern Department from 1760 to • Book Review …Gen. Nathanael Greene……….....…..2 1789. We facilitate the exchange of information on the • Blackstock’s and Camden Battlefield Preservation…..3 Southern Campaigns’ Revolutionary War sites, their • History of Kings Mountain and Celebrations.……...…5 location, preservation, historic signage, interpretation, • Lowcountry Trail………………………………………8 artifacts, and archaeology as well as the personalities, • Calendar of Upcoming Events………………….…......9 military tactics, units, logistics, strategy, and the • Gen. Thomas Sumter Symposium……………………11 political leadership of the state. We highlight • Reward of Merit………………………………….…..12 professionals and amateurs actively engaged in • Greene’s Continentals, Insurgent Peacekeepers.……..13 Revolutionary War research, preservation and • Book Review………………………………………….18 interpretation to encourage an active exchange of information. All are invited to submit articles, pictures, documents, events and suggestions. We feature battles Terry Golway, Washington’s General Nathanael and skirmishes, documents, maps, artifacts, Internet Greene and the Triumph of the American links, and other stories. Revolution. (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2005. ISBN 0-8050-7066-4. Notes, Bibliography, Acknowledgements, Index, Pp. Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution is x, 355. Cloth, $26.00.) published by Woodward Corporation. I respectfully acknowledge that the title for this newsletter is also a Among students of the American War of Independence, the great book written by Dr. Dan L. Morrill. I claim no name Nathanael Greene stands as a familiar one. Outside of this rather copyrights on reprinted articles, photographs, maps narrow circle, however, Greene remains a little known figure in and excerpts contained in these materials. American history. He has not often received attention from Copyrights are reserved to the authors for articles, biographers, especially in comparison to other leaders of the Revolution. Terry Golway seeks to remedy this state of affairs with, maps, and images created by others and to myself on Washington’s General Nathanael Greene and the Triumph of the other original materials. I often edit old documents for American Revolution. The author simultaneously presents a very easier reading and insert comments as to names, readable narrative that will entertain and educate general audiences, alternative dates, and modern punctuation and spelling.