Ninety-Six and the Nuclear Option

Ninety-Six was the site of a siege and battle in November 19–21, 1775 between Patriot and Loyalist forces, resulting in a stalemate.  Here is a view of the road that was in place at the time around the village of Ninety-Six.

Six years later, from May 22 through June 18, 1781, it would be the scene of an attempt by American General Nathanael Greene to take the fort, held by Loyalist forces under Lieutenant Colonel John Cruger. In 1775, though, it was another exchange between Patriots and Loyalists reflecting the bitter internecine warfare to come in South Carolina.

This month the press has been full of stories on the so-called "nuclear option" in the Senate that abolished filibuster in most instances, and what it means for the way the country does business. While we do not seem, yet, to have reached the levels of violence that marked the onset of the Revolution, the depth of feeling, if not outright loathing, that partisans currently feel towards each other seems to draw roots reaching back over two centuries.  It may not be long before we revert to tarring and feathering.

Sergeant William Jasper and the Man of Action

One of the most gallant soldiers of the American Revolution was Sergeant William Jasper; remarkably, he has two memorials to him in Savannah, more than Casimir Pulaski and more than General Nathanael Greene.  One, in Madison Square, shows him holding a flag; the other, surrounded by interstate and local highways, is a more classical monument

His birthdate unconfirmed (some sources put 1750, another 1756), there is no doubt as to his death--October 9, 1779, during the failed assault by the Americans at the besieged British position at the Battle of Savannah.  At the Battle of Sullivan's Island, he retrieved a fallen flag of the 2nd South Carolina while exposed to enemy fire and restored it to its prominent position, proclaiming "God Save Liberty and my Country forever!" He successfully conducted a variety of raids that resulted in British prisoners.  Offered a lieutenant's commission, he turned it down, saying "Were I made an officer, my comrades would be constantly blushing for my ignorance, and I should be unhappy feeling my own inferiority.  I have no ambition for higher rank than that of a Sergeant."

While it is hard to admire foolhardiness with the consciousness of today, and with Wilfred Owen's poem, Dulce Et Decorum Est ringing in our ears, it is nonetheless possible to think about Jasper as a man who put his "money where his mouth was," who acted and did not just talk, and who did so with a marked humility that is completely absent from most public figures today.

Seneca Town and the First Jewish Casualty of the Revolution

On the Clemson University campus in South Carolina is this site identifying the Battle of Seneca Town (also known as Essenecca Town.

I was there on a foggy morning, which added to the atmosphere.  On August 1, 1776, a few weeks after the Declaration of Independence and while the main armies of both Americans and British were massing in and around New York, Maj. Andrew Williamson and his South Carolina militia of about 330 men, led by two captured Loyalists, were attacked by Loyalist and Cherokee forces.  Though Williamson won, among his casualties was Francis Salvador, identified here as "the first Jewish Patriot killed during the Revolution." Salvador was shot, and when found by the Cherokee, scalped.

In John Drayton's Memoirs of the American Revolution, Vol. 2 at page 347, wrote that Salvador "retained his senses, to the last; and, when Major Williamson came up and spoke to him, he anxiously asked whether the enemy were beaten? And upon being told they were, he replied, he rejoiced at it: when shaking the Major by the hand, he bade him farewell--and died."

 

Eutaw Springs and Bunker Hill

Almost as many Americans (138) were killed at the Battle of Eutaw Springs, South Carolina on September 8, 1781 as were killed at Bunker Hill (140).The British suffered 85 killed (they lost 226 at Bunker Hill) and 351 wounded (to 828 at Bunker Hill).  American wounded 375, more than the 271 at Bunker Hill.  Eutaw Springs serves as a bloody bookend to the war at the tail end, around the time of Yorktown.

American General Nathanael Greene, having lost his assault on Ninety-Six, continued to harass the British as their forces consolidated in South Carolina at Charleston.  British Colonel Alexander Stewart was in charge of the British forces at Charleston, following Lord Rawdon's return to England.  He took 2,000 men to search for Greene's army and while camped at Eutaw Springs, Greene attacked him with about 2200 men.  Though his men drove the British back and should have won, they started plundering the British tents.  The British made a well-defended stand around a brick house near the river, under command of Major John Marjoribanks, and turned the tide against the Americans.  Marjoribanks was killed and is buried on the site, shown here.

King's Mountain and the Culture Wars

    The Battle of King's Mountain, fought October 7, 1780, was a bitter and brutal affair in South Carolina.  Among its distinguishing features was that it was a battle fought between Americans--Loyalists and Patriots.  The only "regular army" officer was Major Patrick Ferguson, leader of the Loyalist forces.  Following the defeat of the Americans at Camden, South Carolina, Cornwallis determined to retake North Carolina.  Ferguson sought to engage the various Patriot militia units that were dogging him, and made his stand on this mountain.

     This image reflects one of the North Carolina militia positions at the start of the battle, according to the National Park Service indicators.

     The current political climate continually refers to the "culture wars," or even the "return" of the culture wars, as if they ever ended.  This country was not created by consensus.  Estimates vary, and they vary from colony to colony, but some quarter to third of "Americans" were Loyalist or Loyalist sympathizers.  As we proceed into 2012 and the presidential election, we might do well to understand our contentious history, as exemplified to an extent by this battle.