F liliiill! fiiiiii^ iiiilfi m '' ' i 'MnlM The Flag of South Carolina. THE HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA BY WILLIAM GILMORE SIMMS EDITED BY MARY C. SIMMS OLIPHANT REVISED EDITION WITH NEW MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR USE IN SCHOOLS GREENVILLE, S. C. 1922 I 1 T^Z. COPYEIGHT, 1922, BY MAEY C. SIMMS OLIPHANT APR 10 ii^:^. ©CI.A661486 TO MY FATHER 1843-1912 • PREFACE The purpose in revising Simms' History of South Carolina was to make the book better suited for study by grade pupils. The book has been entirely re-written and the text greatly simplified. The editor gratefully acknowledges the invaluable aid extended in revising the text by Miss Carol F. Robertson of the Union City Schools, Miss Ina H. McNally of the Sumter City Schools and Miss Octavia Walden, Rural School Supervisor of Spartanburg County. These gifted teachers read and constructively criticized sections of the book while it was in manuscript. The thanks of the editor are rendered to Mr. A. S. Salley, Jr., Secretary of the Historical Commission of South CaroHna, without whose help neither this edition nor previous editions would have been possible. Mr. Salley compiled the list of governors of South Carolina appearing in the appendix. Acknowledgement is also made to Colonel Holmes B. Springs and to Colonel J. M. Johnson for assistance in preparing the last chapter. M. C. S. O. Greenville, S. C. William Gii.more Simms. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I, The French Protestant Colony 1 II. The English Colony at Charles Town 7 III. Growth of the English Colony 15 IV. Quarrels Between Proprietors and People 20 V. Wars in the Province 28 VI. The Pirates 36 VII. The Overthrow of the Proprietors 45 VIII. Under the Rule of the English King 50 IX. The Cherokee War 60 X. Life in the Province 69 XI. Royal Restrictions on Provincial Trade 77 XII. Breach Widens Between King and Carolina 82 XIII. The Province Becomes a State 89 XIV. The Opening of the Revolutionary War 97 XV. British Capture Charles Town 102 XVI. The Rising of the Partisans 106 XVII. The Partisans Turn the Tide 112 XVIII. The Partisans Capture British Posts 123 XIX. Victory for the Partisans 130 XX. South Carolina Becomes a State in the United States. 137 XXI. How the State Developed After the Revolution.... 143 XXII. The War of 1812 and South Carolina Statesmen.. 153 XXIII. States' Rights Movement 160 XXIV. South Carolina Secedes from the United States .... 176 XXV. The War Between the Sections Begins 184 XXVI. Second Year of the War — 1862 190 XXVII. Third and Fourth Years of the War — 1863 and 1864 . 195 XXVIII. Downfall of the Confederacy 204 XXIX. South Carolina Under Radical Government 210 XXX. Overthrow of Radical Government 220 XXXI. Industrial Changes 230 XXXII. Dissatisfaction with the State Government 236 vii viii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE XXXIII. Schools and Colleges 243 XXXIV. War and Progress 252 XXXV. Social and Industrial Development 256 XXXVI. The United States Goes into the World War 261 XXXVII. South Carolina Troops in the World War 270 Appendix: Governors of South Carolina 287 Index 295 CHAPTER I THE FRENCH PROTESTANT COLONY 1. Visits to America. After Columbus discovered America in the year 1492, the strongest nations of Europe all wanted to make settlements and build forts in the New World so that they might own it. England, France and Spain sent men in ships to America to find out about the country. When these men came back, they told wonderful tales of the beauty of the New World, but what they talked most of was the chance of grow- ing rich by finding gold there. They also told about the Indians, a race of people with copper-colored skins, who lived in America. Some of these men who sailed from Europe saw the coast of South Carolina and gave to this part of America several names, among which was "Florida." 2. First Colony in United States. France was the first nation to send men to live in the part of America which is now our own country. This French settlement was made in the year 1561 in what afterward became South Carolina. 3. Why the French Came. The Roman Catholic church was the strong- est church in France. The French Protestants, or Huguenots, did not be- lieve in the Catholic faith, and the Catholics would not let them worship God as they chose. Admiral Coligny of France, who was himself a Protes- tant, got leave from Charles IX, the French king, to send a colony to "Florida," as South Carolina and all admiual coligny, this part of America were then called. Who sent the French ™, 1 • » • llieir new home m America was to be Colony to Carolina. 2 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA a place in wliieli the French Protestants could worship God in peace. Admiral Coligny selected Jean Ribault, who was an able sea captain and a good Protestant, to take charge of the colony. Two ships were provided in which Ribault and his party of Protestants set sail from France. Entuance to Pout Royal Harbor into Which Ribault Sailed. 4. French Reach Port Royal. In May, 1561, Ribault 's two ships reached the coast of what is now Beaufort County in South Carolina and anchored in a beautiful harbor. To this ' ' harbor, ' because of the largeness and fairness thereof, ' Ribault gave the name of Port Royal, by which name we still call it. The French landed on the northern side of Port Royal harbor. After their long voyage from France, the sight of the great live oaks and cedars filled them with delight. They saw turkeys, quail and other birds in the woods and found that with their nets they could catch great numbers of fish. After they had rested and eaten of the game and fish, the French rowed up the harbor in their small boats. They had gone only a little way when they saw on the shore some Indians who ran into the woods as the boats drew near. The Indians had been cooking a young lucerne (wild cat) and for this reason the French called this place Cape Lucerne. Rowing farther, Ribault and his men HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA 3 entered a river. There they saw other Indians, both men and women, half hidden in the woods. These were afraid at first of the white men, but, when Ribault made friendly signs to them, they saw that his men meant no harm and beckoned for them to come ashore. The Indians brought presents of skins, baskets made of palmetto leaves, and a few pearls, which they freely gave to the strangers to show their friendliness. The Indians Welcome Ribault and His Men. 5. Fort Charles Built. Ribault decided to make his settle- ment on one of the islands in Port Royal harbor. The island he chose is now called Parris Island. Here he built a fort of earth and logs in which he placed provisions and powder. Ribault named it Fort Charles in honor of King Charles IX of France. Then Ribault left twenty-six men at the fort under command of Captain Albert, and, after promising to send ships to them, he sailed away to France. 6. Life at Fort Charles. The twenty-six Frenchmen Ribault left at Fort Charles were lazy. Instead of planting grain for themselves, they depended for food upon their Indian neighbors. 4 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA Audusta, a powerful Indian chief, was their greatest friend. He invited them to his village and gave them provisions. Before long he had none himself. Then the Frenchmen went to the Indian chief, Couexis, and his brother, Ovade, who generously gave them a supply of corn, beans and meal. The French had hardly returned from their visits to these two chiefs when their fort burned down and all their provisions were lost. The kindly Indians hurried to help them rebuild the fort and to supply them with food again. 7. Troubles among the French. The Indians, lazy them- selves, had planted barely enough corn to last the season. Their gifts to the French used this up, and the Indians were forced to live on roots until harvest time. While the French at Fort Charles were thus hard pressed for food, other troubles started. These began about a common soldier who was hanged without a trial by Captain Albert. This captain had been, from the first, very stern and harsh with his men. "While they were still angry with him for hanging the soldier, he aroused them still further by his treatment of La Chere, a soldier who was a great favorite with all the men. He sent La Chere to an island about nine miles from the fort and left him there to starve. As a result, the other Frenchmen rose suddenly and killed Captain Albert. Then they brought La Chere back from the island where they found him almost dead for want of food. 8. French Leave Fort Charles. The French at Fort Charles began now to long for their homes. No word came from France. They lost hope of ships coming with other settlers and food aboard. They decided finally to leave the New World where, in spite of the kindness of the Indians, they had suffered much from starvation. Consequently, they began to build a small ship in which to sail to France. The tall pines at Port Royal furnished them with resin and moss for calking the ship. The timber and planks they needed they hewed by hand from the trunks of trees.