Chapter VII: Preface: NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 1888 (4)

Chevalier de la Neuville, born about 1740, came to this country with his younger brother in the autumn of 1777, and tendered his services to Congress. Having served with distinction in the French army for twenty years, enjoying the favorable opinion of Lafayette, and bringing with him the highest testimonials, he was appointed on the 14th of May, 1778, inspector of the army under Gates, with the promise of rank according to his merit at the end of three months. He was a good officer and strict disciplinarian, but was not popular with the army. Failing to obtain the promotion he expected, he applied for permission to retire at the end of six months’ service. His request was granted on the 4th of December, 1778, Congress instructing the president that a certificate be given to Monsieur de la Neuville in the following words:--

“Mr. de la Neuville having served with fidelity and reputation in
the army of the United States, in testimony of his merit a brevet
commission of brigadier has been granted to him by Congress, and on
his request he is permitted to leave the service of these States
and return to France.”

The brevet commission was to bear date the 14th of October, 1778. Having formed a strong attachment for General Gates, they corresponded after De la Neuville’s return to France. In one of his letters the chevalier writes that he wishes to return to America, “not as a general, but as a philosopher,” and to purchase a residence near that of his best friend, General Gates. He did not return, however, and his subsequent history is lost amid the troubles of the French Revolution.

JETHRO SUMNER.

Jethro Sumner, born in Virginia about 1730, was of English parentage. Removing to North Carolina while still a youth, he took an active part in the measures which preceded the Revolution, and believed the struggle to be unavoidable. Having held the office of paymaster to the Provincial troops, and also the command at Fort Cumberland, he was appointed in 1776, by the Provincial Congress, colonel in the Third North Carolina Regiment, and served under Washington at the North. On the 9th of January, 1779, he was commissioned brigadier-general, and ordered to join Gates at the South. He took part in the battle of Camden, and served under Greene at the battle of Eutaw Springs on the 8th of September, 1781, where he led a bayonet-charge. He served to the close of the war, rendering much assistance in keeping the Tories in North Carolina in check during the last years of the struggle, and died in Warren County, North Carolina, about 1790.

JAMES HOGAN.

James Hogan of Halifax, North Carolina, was chosen to represent his district in the Provincial Congress that assembled on the 4th of April, 1776. Upon the organization of the North Carolina forces, he was appointed paymaster of the Third Regiment. On the 17th of the same month, he was transferred to the Edenton and Halifax Militia, with the rank of major. His military services were confined to his own State, though commissioned brigadier-general in the Continental army on the 9th of January, 1779.

ISAAC HUGER.

Isaac Huger, born at Limerick Plantation at the head-waters of Cooper River, South Carolina, on the 19th of March, 1742, was the grandson of Huguenot exiles who had fled to America after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Inheriting an ardent love of civil and religious liberty, reared in a home of wealth and refinement, thoroughly educated in Europe and trained to military service through participation in an expedition against the Cherokee Indians, he was selected on the 17th of June, 1775, by the Provincial Congress, as lieutenant-colonel of the First South Carolina Regiment. Being stationed at Fort Johnson, he had no opportunity to share in the defeat of the British in Charleston Harbor, as Colonel Moultrie’s victory at Sullivan’s Island prevented premeditated attack on the city. During the two years of peace for the South that followed, Huger was promoted to a colonelcy, and then ordered to Georgia. His soldiers, however, were so enfeebled by sickness, privation, and toil that when called into action at Savannah, they could only show what they might have accomplished under more favorable circumstances. On the 9th of January, 1779, Congress made him a brigadier-general; and until the capture of Charleston by the British in May, 1780, he was in constant service either in South Carolina or Georgia. Too weak to offer any open resistance, the patriots of the South were compelled for a time to remain in hiding, but with the appearance of Greene as commander, active operations were resumed.

Huger’s thorough knowledge of the different localities and his frank fearlessness gained him the confidence of his superior officer, and it was to his direction that Greene confided the army on several occasions, while preparing for the series of engagements that culminated in the evacuation of Charleston and Savannah. Huger commanded the Virginia troops at the battle of Guilford Court-House, where he was severely wounded; and at Hobkirk’s Hill he had the honor of commanding the right wing of the army. He served to the close of the war; and when Moultrie was chosen president, he was made vice-president, of the Society of the Cincinnati of South Carolina. Entering the war a rich man, he left it a poor one; he gave his wealth as freely as he had risked his life, and held them both well spent in helping to secure the blessings of liberty and independence to his beloved country. He died on the 17th of October, 1797, and was buried on the banks of the Ashley River, South Carolina.

MORDECAI GIST.

Mordecai Gist, born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1743, was descended from some of the earliest English settlers in that State. Though trained for a commercial life, he hastened at the beginning of the Revolution to offer his services to his country, and in January, 1775, was elected to the command of a company of volunteers raised in his native city, called the “Baltimore Independent Company,”--the first company raised in Maryland for liberty. In 1776, he rose to the rank of major, distinguishing himself whenever an occasion offered. In 1777, he was made colonel, and on the 9th of January, 1779, Congress recognized his worth by conferring on him the rank of brigadier-general.

It is with the battle of Camden, South Carolina, that Gist’s name is indissolubly linked. The British having secured the best position, Gates divided his forces into three parts, assigning the right wing to Gist. By a blunder in an order issued by Gates himself, the centre and the left wing were thrown into confusion and routed. Gist and De Kalb stood firm, and by their determined resistance made the victory a dear one for the British. When the brave German fell, Gist rallied about a hundred men and led them off in good order. In 1782, joining the light troops of the South, he commanded at Combahee--the last engagement in the war--and gained a victory. At the close of the war he retired to his plantation near Charleston, where he died in 1792. He was married three times, and had two sons, one of whom he named “Independent” and the other “States.”

WILLIAM IRVINE.

William Irvine, born near Enniskillen, Ireland, on the 3d of November, 1741, was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. Though preferring a military career, he adopted the medical profession to gratify the wishes of his parents. During the latter part of the Seven Years War between England and France, he served as surgeon on board a British man-of-war, and shortly before the restoration of peace, he resigned his commission, and coming to America in 1764, settled at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he soon acquired a great reputation and a large practice. Warm-hearted and impulsive, at the opening of the Revolution he adopted the cause of the colonists as his own, and after serving in the Pennsylvania Convention, he was commissioned in 1776 to raise a regiment in that State. At the head of these troops, he took part in the Canadian expedition of that year, and being taken prisoner, was detained for many months. He was captured a second time at the battle of Chestnut Hill, New Jersey, in December, 1777. On the 12th of May, 1779, Congress conferred on him the rank of brigadier-general. From 1782 until the close of the war, he commanded at Fort Pitt,--an important post defending the Western frontier, then threatened by British and Indians. In 1785, he was appointed an agent to examine the public lands, and to him was intrusted the administration of an act for distributing the donation lands that had been promised to the troops of the Commonwealth. Appreciating the advantage to Pennsylvania of having an outlet on Lake Erie, he suggested the purchase of that tract of land known as “the triangle.” From 1785 to 1795, he filled various civil and military offices of responsibility. Being sent to treat with those connected with the Whiskey Insurgents, and failing to quiet them by arguments, he was given command of the Pennsylvania Militia to carry out the vigorous measures afterward adopted to reduce them to order. In 1795, he settled in Philadelphia, held the position of intendant of military stores, and was president of the Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati until his death on the 9th of July, 1804.

DANIEL MORGAN.

Daniel Morgan, born in New Jersey about 1736, was of Welsh parentage. His family having an interest in some Virginia lands, he went to that colony at seventeen years of age. When Braddock began his march against Fort Duquesne, Morgan joined the army as a teamster, and did good service at the rout of the English army at Monongahela, by bringing away the wounded. Upon returning from this disastrous campaign, he was appointed ensign in the colonial service, and soon after was sent with important despatches to a distant fort. Surprised by the Indians, his two companions were instantly killed, while he received a rifle-ball in the back of his neck, which shattered his jaw and passed through his left cheek, inflicting the only severe wound he received during his entire military career. Believing himself about to die, but determined that his scalp should not fall into the hands of his assailants, he clasped his arms around his horse’s neck and spurred him forward. An Indian followed in hot pursuit; but finding Morgan’s steed too swift for him, he threw his tomahawk, hoping to strike his victim. Morgan however escaped and reached the fort, but was lifted fainting from the saddle and was not restored to health for six months. In 1762, he obtained a grant of land near Winchester, Virginia, where he devoted himself to farming and stock-raising. Summoned again to military duty, he served during the Pontiac War, but from 1765 to 1775 led the life of a farmer, and acquired during this period much property.

The first call to arms in the Revolutionary struggle found Morgan ready to respond; recruits flocked to his standard; and at the head of a corps of riflemen destined to render brilliant service, he marched away to Washington’s camp at Cambridge. Montgomery was already in Canada, and when Arnold was sent to co-operate with him, Morgan eagerly sought for service in an enterprise so hazardous and yet so congenial. At the storming of Quebec, Morgan and his men carried the first barrier, and could they have been reinforced, would no doubt have captured the city. Being opposed by overwhelming numbers, and their rifles being rendered almost useless by the fast-falling snow, after an obstinate resistance they were forced to surrender themselves prisoners-of-war. Morgan was offered the rank of colonel in the British army, but rejected the offer with scorn. Upon being exchanged, Congress gave him the same rank in the Continental army, and placed a rifle brigade of five hundred men under his command.

For three years Morgan and his men rendered such valuable service that even English writers have borne testimony to their efficiency. In 1780, a severe attack of rheumatism compelled him to return home. On the 31st of October of the same year, Congress raised him to the rank of brigadier-general; and his health being somewhat restored, he joined General Greene, who had assumed command of the Southern army. Much of the success of the American arms at the South, during this campaign, must be attributed to General Morgan, but his old malady returning, in March, 1781, he was forced to resign. When Cornwallis invaded Virginia, Morgan once more joined the army, and Lafayette assigned to him the command of the cavalry. Upon the surrender of Yorktown, he retired once more to his home, spending his time in agricultural pursuits and the improvement of his mind. In 1794, the duty of quelling the “Whiskey Insurrection” in Pennsylvania was intrusted to him, and subsequently he represented his district in Congress for two sessions. He died in Winchester on the 6th of July, 1802, and has been called, “The hero of Quebec, of Saratoga, and of the Cowpens; the bravest among the brave, and the Ney of the West.”

MOSES HAZEN.

Moses Hazen, born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in 1733, served in the French and Indian War, and subsequently settled near St. Johns, New Brunswick, accumulating much wealth, and retaining his connection with the British army as a lieutenant on half-pay. In 1775, having furnished supplies and rendered other assistance to Montgomery during the Canadian campaign, the English troops destroyed his shops and houses and carried off his personal property. In 1776, he offered his services to Congress, who promised to indemnify him for all loss he had sustained, and appointed him colonel in the Second Canadian Regiment, known by the name of “Congress’s Own,” because “not attached to the quota of any State.” He remained in active and efficient service during the entire war, being promoted to the rank of brigadier-general the 29th of June, 1781. At the close of the war, with his two brothers, who had also been in the army, he settled in Vermont upon land granted to them for their services, and died at Troy, New York, on the 30th of January, 1802, his widow receiving a further grant of land and a pension for life of two hundred dollars.

OTHO HOLLAND WILLIAMS.

Otho Holland Williams, born in Prince George’s County, Maryland, in 1749, entered the Revolutionary army in 1775, as a lieutenant. He steadily rose in rank, holding the position of adjutant-general under Greene. Though acting with skill and gallantry on all occasions, his fame chiefly rests on his brilliant achievement at the battle of Eutaw Springs, where his command gained the day for the Americans by their irresistible charge with fixed bayonets across a field swept by the fire of the enemy. On the 9th of May, 1782, he was made a brigadier-general, but retired from the army on the 6th of June, 1783, to accept the appointment of collector of customs for the State of Maryland, which office he held until his death on the 16th of July, 1800.

JOHN GREATON.

John Greaton, born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, on the 10th of March, 1741, was an innkeeper prior to the Revolution, and an officer of the militia of his native town. On the 12th of July, 1775, he was appointed colonel in the regular army. During the siege of Boston, he led an expedition which destroyed the buildings on Long Island in Boston Harbor. In April, 1776, he was ordered to Canada, and in the following December he joined Washington in New Jersey, but was subsequently transferred to Heath’s division at West Point. He served to the end of the war, and was commissioned brigadier-general on the 7th of January, 1783. Conscientiously performing all the duties assigned him, though unable to boast of any brilliant achievements, he won a reputation for sterling worth and reliability. He died in his native town on the 16th of December, 1783, the first of the Revolutionary generals to pass away after the conclusion of peace.

RUFUS PUTNAM.

Rufus Putnam, born in Sutton, Massachusetts, on the 9th of April, 1738, after serving his apprenticeship as a millwright, enlisted as a common soldier in the Provincial army in 1757. At the close of the French and Indian War, he returned to Massachusetts, married, and settled in the town of New Braintree as a miller. Finding a knowledge of mathematics necessary to his success, he devoted much time to mastering that science. In 1773, having gone to Florida, he was appointed deputy-surveyor of the province by the governor. A rupture with Great Britain becoming imminent, he returned to Massachusetts in 1775, and was appointed lieutenant in one of the first regiments raised in that State after the battle of Lexington. His first service was the throwing up of defences in front of Roxbury. In 1776, he was ordered to New York and superintended the defences in that section of the country and the construction of the fortifications at West Point. In August, Congress appointed him engineer with the rank of colonel. He continued in active service, sometimes as engineer, sometimes as commander, and at others as commissioner for the adjustment of claims growing out of the war, until the disbanding of the army, being advanced to the rank of brigadier-general on the 7th of January, 1783.

After the close of the war, Putnam held various civil offices in his native State, acted as aid to General Lincoln during Shays’ Rebellion in 1786, was superintendent of the Ohio Company, founded the town of Marietta in 1788, was appointed in 1792 brigadier-general of the forces sent against the Indians of the Northwest, concluded an important treaty with them the same year, and resigned his commission on account of illness in 1793. During the succeeding ten years, he was Surveyor-General of the United States, when his increasing age compelled him to withdraw from active employment, and he retired to Marietta, where he died on the 1st of May, 1824.

ELIAS DAYTON.

Elias Dayton, born in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, in July, 1737, began his military career by joining Braddock’s forces, and fought in the “Jersey Blues” under Wolfe at Quebec. Subsequently he commanded a company of militia in an expedition against the Indians, and at the beginning of the Revolution was a member of the Committee of Safety. In July, 1775, he was with the party under Lord Stirling that captured a British transport off Staten Island. In 1776, he was ordered to Canada; but upon reaching Albany he was directed to remain in that part of the country to prevent any hostile demonstration by the Tory element. In 1777, he ranked as colonel of the Third New Jersey Regiment, and in 1781, he materially aided in suppressing the revolt in the New Jersey line. Serving to the end of the war, he was promoted to be a brigadier-general the 7th of January, 1783. Returning to New Jersey upon the disbanding of the army, he was elected president of the Society of the Cincinnati of that State, and died in his native town on the 17th of July, 1807.

COUNT ARMAND.

Armand Tuffin, Marquis de la Rouarie, born in the castle of Rouarie near Rennes, France, on the 14th of April, 1756, was admitted in 1775 to be a member of the body-guard of the French king. A duel led to his dismissal shortly after. Angry and mortified, he attempted suicide, but his life was saved; and in May, 1777, he came to the United States, where he entered the Continental army under the name of Count Armand. Being granted leave to raise a partisan corps of Frenchmen, he served with credit and great ability under Lafayette, Gates, and Pulaski. At the reorganization of the army in 1780, Washington proposed Armand for promotion, and recommended the keeping intact of his corps. In 1781, he was summoned to France by his family, but returned in time to take part in the siege of Yorktown, bringing with him clothing, arms, and ammunition for his corps, which had been withdrawn from active service during his absence.

After the surrender of Cornwallis, Washington again called the attention of Congress to Armand’s meritorious conduct, and he at last received his promotion as brigadier-general on the 26th of March, 1783. At the close of the war he was admitted as a member of the Society of the Cincinnati, and with warmest recommendations from Washington returned to his native country and lived privately until 1788, when he was elected one of twelve deputies to intercede with the king for the continuance of the privileges of his native province of Brittany. For this he was confined for several weeks in the Bastile. Upon his release he returned to Brittany, and in 1789, denounced the principle of revolution and proposed a plan for the union of the provinces of Brittany, Anjou, and Poitou, and the raising of an army to co-operate with the allies. These plans being approved by the brothers of Louis XVI., in December, 1791, Rouarie was appointed Royal Commissioner of Brittany. In March of the year following, the chiefs of the confederation met at his castle; and all was ready for action when they were betrayed to the legislative assembly, and troops were sent to arrest the marquis. He succeeded in eluding them for several months, when he was attacked by a fatal illness and died in the castle of La Guyomarais near Lamballe, on the 30th of January, 1793.

THADDEUS KOSCIUSKO.

Thaddeus Kosciusko, born near Novogrodek, Lithuania, on the 12th of February, 1746, was descended from a noble Polish family. Studying at first in the military academy at Warsaw, he afterward completed his education in France. Returning to his native country, he entered the army and rose to the rank of captain. Soon after coming to America, he offered his services to Washington as a volunteer in the cause of American independence. Appreciating his lofty character and fine military attainments, Washington made him one of his aids, showing the high estimation in which he held the gallant Pole.

Taking part in several great battles in the North, Kosciusko there proved his skill and courage, and was ordered to accompany Greene to the South when that general superseded Gates in 1781. Holding the position of chief engineer, he planned and directed all the besieging operations against Ninety-Six. In recognition of these valuable services, he received from Congress the rank of brigadier-general in the Continental army on the 13th of October, 1783. Serving to the end of the war, he shared with Lafayette the honor of being admitted into the Society of the Cincinnati. Returning to Poland in 1786 he entered the Polish army upon its reorganization in 1789, and fought valiantly in behalf of his oppressed country. Resigning his commission, he once more became an exile, when the Russians triumphed, and the second partition of Poland was agreed upon.

Two years later, however, when the Poles determined to resume their struggle for freedom, Kosciusko returned, and in March, 1794, was proclaimed director and generalissimo. With courage, patience and skill, that justified the high esteem in which he had been held in America, he directed his followers while they waged the unequal strife. Successful at first, he broke the yoke of tyranny from the necks of his down-trodden countrymen, and for a few short weeks beheld his beloved country free. But with vastly augmented numbers the enemy once more invaded Poland; and in a desperate conflict Kosciusko, covered with wounds, was taken prisoner, and the subjugation of the whole province soon followed. He remained a prisoner for two years until the accession of Paul I. of Russia. In token of his admiration, Paul wished to present his own sword to Kosciusko; but the latter refused it, saying, “I have no more need of a sword, as I have no longer a country,” and would accept nothing but his release from captivity. He visited France and England, and in 1797 returned to the United States, from which country he received a pension, and was everywhere warmly welcomed. The following year he returned to France, when his countrymen in the French army presented him with the sword of John Sobieski. Purchasing a small estate, he devoted himself to agriculture.

In 1806, when Napoleon planned the restoration of Poland, Kosciusko refused to join in the undertaking, because he was on his parole never to fight against Russia. He gave one more evidence before his death of his love of freedom and sincere devotion to her cause, by releasing from slavery all the serfs on his own estate in his native land. In 1816, he removed to Switzerland, where he died on the 15th of October, 1817, at Solothurn. The following year his remains were removed to Cracow, and buried beside Sobieski, and the people, in loving remembrance of his patriotic devotion, raised a mound above his grave one hundred and fifty feet high, the earth being brought from every great battle-field in Poland. This country paid its tribute of gratitude by erecting a monument to his memory at West Point on the Hudson.

STEPHEN MOYLAN.

Stephen Moylan, born in Ireland in 1734, received a good education in his native land, resided for a time in England, and then coming to America, travelled extensively, and finally became a merchant in Philadelphia. He was among the first to hasten to the camp at Cambridge in 1775, and was at once placed in the Commissariat Department. His face and manners attracting Washington, he was selected March 5, 1776, to be aide-de-camp, and on the 5th of June following, on recommendation of the commander-in-chief, he was made quartermaster-general. Finding himself unable to discharge his duties satisfactorily, he soon after resigned to enter the ranks as a volunteer. In 1777 he commanded a company of dragoons, was in the action at Germantown, and wintered with the army at Valley Forge in 1777 and 1778. With Wayne, Moylan joined the expedition to Bull’s Ferry in 1780, and was with Greene in the South in 1781. He served to the close of the war, being made brigadier-general by brevet the 3d of November, 1783. After the disbanding of the army, he resumed business in Philadelphia, where he died on the 11th of April, 1811, holding for several years prior to his decease the office of United States commissioner of loans.

SAMUEL ELBERT.

Samuel Elbert, born in Prince William parish, South Carolina, in 1743, was left an orphan at an early age, and going to Savannah, engaged in commercial pursuits. In June, 1774, he was elected captain of a company of grenadiers, and later was a member of the local Committee of Safety. In February, 1776, he entered the Continental army as lieutenant-colonel of Lachlan McIntosh’s brigade, and was promoted to colonel during the ensuing September. In May of the year following, he was intrusted with the command of an expedition against the British in East Florida, and captured Fort Oglethorpe in that State in April of 1778. Ordered to Georgia, he behaved with great gallantry when an attack was made on Savannah by Col. Archibald Campbell in December of the same year. In 1779, after distinguishing himself at Brier Creek, he was taken prisoner, and when exchanged joined the army under Washington, and was present at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. On the 3d of November, 1783, Congress brevetted him brigadier-general, and in 1785 he was elected Governor of Georgia. In further acknowledgment of his services in her behalf, that State subsequently appointed him major-general of her militia, and named a county in his honor. He died in Savannah on the 2d of November, 1788.

CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY.

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, born at Charleston, South Carolina, on the 25th of February, 1746, was educated in England. Having qualified himself for the legal profession, he returned to his native State and began the practice of law in 1770, soon gaining an enviable reputation and being appointed to offices of trust and great responsibility under the crown. The battle of Lexington, however, changed his whole career. With the first call to arms, Pinckney took the field, was given the rank of captain, June, 1775, and entered at once upon the recruiting service. Energetic and efficient, he gained promotion rapidly, taking part as colonel in the battle at Fort Sullivan. This victory securing peace to South Carolina for two years, he left that State to join the army under Washington, who, recognizing his ability, made him aide-de-camp and subsequently honored him with the most distinguished military and civil appointments. When his native State again became the theatre of action, Pinckney hastened to her defence, and once more took command of his regiment. In all the events that followed, he bore his full share, displaying fine military qualities and unwavering faith in the ultimate triumph of American arms.

At length, after a most gallant resistance, overpowered by vastly superior numbers, and undermined by famine and disease, Charleston capitulated in May, 1780, and Pinckney became a prisoner-of-war and was not exchanged until 1782. On the 3d of November of the year following, he was promoted to be brigadier-general. Impoverished by the war, he returned to the practice of law upon the restoration of peace; and after declining a place on the Supreme Bench, and the secretaryship, first of War and then of State, he accepted the mission to France in 1796, urged to this step by the request of Washington and the conviction that it was his duty. Arriving in Paris, he met the intimation that peace might be secured with money by the since famous reply, “Not one cent for tribute, but millions for defence!” The war with France appearing inevitable, he was recalled and given a commission as major-general; peace being restored without an appeal to arms, he once more retired to the quiet of his home, spending the chief portion of his old age in the pursuits of science and the pleasures of rural life, though taking part when occasion demanded in public affairs. He died in Charleston on the 16th of August, 1825, in the eightieth year of his age.

WILLIAM RUSSELL.

William Russell, born in Culpeper County, Virginia, in 1758, removed in early boyhood with his father to the western frontier of that State. When only fifteen years of age, he joined the party led by Daniel Boone, to form a settlement on the Cumberland River. Driven back by the Indians, Boone persevered; but Russell hastened to enter the Continental army; and he received, young as he was, the appointment of lieutenant. After the battle of King’s Mountain in 1780, he was promoted to a captaincy, and ordered to join an expedition against the Cherokee Indians, with whom he succeeded in negotiating a treaty of peace. On the 3d of November, 1783, he received his commission as brigadier-general.

At the close of the war Russell went to Kentucky and bore an active part in all the expeditions against the Indians, until the settlement of the country was accomplished. In 1789, he was a delegate to the Virginia Legislature that passed an act separating Kentucky from that State. After the organization of the Kentucky government Russell was annually returned to the Legislature until 1808, when he was appointed by President Madison colonel of the Seventh United States Infantry. In 1811, he succeeded Gen. William Henry Harrison in command of the frontier of Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. In 1812, he planned and commanded an expedition against the Peoria Indians, and in 1823 was again sent to the Legislature. The following year he declined the nomination for governor, and died on the 3d of July, 1825, in Fayette County, Kentucky. Russell County of that State is named in his honor.

FRANCIS MARION.

Francis Marion, born at Winyah, near Georgetown, South Carolina, in 1732, was of Huguenot descent; his ancestors, fleeing from persecution in France, came to this country in 1690. Small in stature and slight in person, he possessed a power of endurance united with remarkable activity rarely surpassed. At the age of fifteen, yielding to a natural love of enterprise, he went to sea in a small schooner employed in the West India trade. Being shipwrecked, he endured such tortures from famine and thirst as to have prevented his ever wishing to go to sea again. After thirteen years spent in peaceful tilling of the soil, he took up arms in defence of his State against the Cherokee Indians. So signal a victory was gained by the whites at the town of Etchoee, June 7, 1761, that this tribe never again seriously molested the settlers. Returning to his home after this campaign, Marion resumed his quiet life until in 1775 he was elected a member of the Provincial Congress of South Carolina. This Congress solemnly pledged the “people of the State to the principles of the Revolution, authorized the seizing of arms and ammunition, stored in various magazines belonging to the crown, and passed a law for raising two regiments of infantry and a company of horse.” Marion resigned his seat in Congress, and applying for military duty, was appointed captain. He undertook the recruiting and drilling of troops, assisted at the capture of Fort Johnson, was promoted to the rank of major, and bore his full share in the memorable defence of Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island, which saved Charleston and secured to South Carolina long exemption from the horrors of war. Little was done at the South for the next three years, when in 1779 the combined French and American forces attempted the capture of Savannah. Marion was in the hottest of the fight; but the attack was a failure, followed in 1780 by the loss of Charleston. Marion escaped being taken prisoner by an accident that placed him on sick leave just before the city was invested by the British. The South was now overrun by the enemy; cruel outrages were everywhere perpetrated; and the defeat of the Americans at Camden seemed to have quenched the hopes of even the most sanguine. Four days after the defeat of Gates, Marion began organizing and drilling a band of troopers subsequently known as “Marion’s Brigade.” Though too few in number to risk an open battle, they succeeded in so harassing the enemy that several expeditions were fitted out expressly to kill or capture Marion, who, because of the partisan warfare he waged and the tactics he employed, gained the sobriquet of the “Swamp Fox.” Again and again he surprised strong parties of the British at night, capturing large stores of ammunition and arms, and liberating many American prisoners. He was always signally active against the Tories, for he well knew their influence in depressing the spirit of liberty in the country. When Gates took command of the Southern army, he neither appreciated nor knew how to make the best use of Marion and his men. South Carolina, recognizing how much she owed to his unwearying efforts in her behalf, acknowledged her debt of gratitude by making him brigadier-general of her Provincial troops, after the defeat of Gates at Camden. Early in the year 1781, General Greene assumed command of the Southern army, and entertaining a high opinion of Marion, sent Lieutenant-Colonel Harry Lee, with his famous legion of light-horse, to aid him. Acting in concert and sometimes independently, these two noted leaders carried on the war vigorously wherever they went, capturing Forts Watson and Motte, defeating Major Frazier at Parker’s Ferry and joining Greene in time for the battle of Eutaw Springs. When the surrender of Cornwallis practically ended the war, Marion returned to his plantation in St. John’s parish and soon after was elected to the Senate of South Carolina. On the 26th of February, 1783, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted by that body:--

“_Resolved_, That the thanks of this House be given
Brigadier-General Marion in his place as a member of this House,
for his eminent and conspicuous services to his country.

“_Resolved_, That a gold medal be given to Brigadier-General Marion
as a mark of public approbation for his great, glorious, and
meritorious conduct.”

In 1784, he was given command of Fort Johnson in Charleston Harbor, and shortly after, he married Mary Videau, a lady of Huguenot descent, who possessed considerable wealth and was a most estimable character. On the 27th of February, 1795, Francis Marion passed peacefully away, saying, “Thank God, I can lay my hand on my heart and say that since I came to man’s estate I have never intentionally done wrong to any.”

THOMAS SUMTER.

Thomas Sumter, born in Virginia in 1734, served in the French and Indian War, and afterward on the Western frontier. Establishing himself finally in South Carolina, he was appointed in March, 1776, lieutenant-colonel of the Second Regiment of South Carolina Riflemen, and sent to overawe the Tories and Loyalists in the interior of the State. The comparative immunity from war secured to South Carolina during the first years of the Revolution deprived Sumter of any opportunity for distinguishing himself until after the surrender of Charleston to the British in 1780. Taking refuge for a time in the swamps of the Santee, he made his way after a while to North Carolina, collected a small body of refugees, and presently returned to carry on a partisan warfare against the British. His fearlessness and impetuosity in battle gained for him the sobriquet of “the game-cock;” and with a small band of undisciplined militia, armed with ducking-guns, sabres made from old mill-saws ground to an edge, and hunting-knives fastened to poles for lances, he effectually checked the progress of the British regulars again and again, weakened their numbers, cut off their communications, and dispersed numerous bands of Tory militia.

Like Marion, whenever the enemy threatened to prove too strong, Sumter and his followers would retreat to the swamps and mountain fastnesses, to emerge again when least expected, and at the right moment to take the British at a disadvantage. During one of many severe engagements with Tarleton, he was dangerously wounded and compelled for a time to withdraw from active service, but learning Greene’s need of troops, Sumter again took the field. After rendering valuable assistance toward clearing the South of the British, the failure of his health again forced him to seek rest and strength among the mountains, leaving his brigade to the command of Marion. When once more fitted for duty, the British were in Charleston, and the war was virtually at an end. Though Sumter’s military career ended with the disbanding of the army, his country still demanded his services. He represented South Carolina in Congress from 1789 to 1793, and from 1797 to 1801; he served in the United States Senate from 1801 to 1809, and was minister to Brazil from 1809 to 1811. He died at South Mount, near Camden, South Carolina, on the 1st of June, 1832, the last surviving general officer of the Revolution.

ADDENDA.

Prior to the adoption of the “federal Constitution,” partisan feeling ran high on this side of the Atlantic,--indeed, it was no unusual thing for a man to speak of the colony in which he was born as his _country_. When the struggle for American independence began, though men were willing to fight in defence of their own State, there was great difficulty in filling the ranks of the Continental army,--not only because of the longer time for which they were required to enlist, but also because once in the Continental service, they would be ordered to any part of the country. The same difficulty existed in respect to securing members for the Continental Congress. With the slowness of transportation and the uncertainty of the mails, it was no small sacrifice for a man to leave his home, his dear ones, and his local prestige, to become one of an unpopular body directing an unpopular war, for it was not until near the end of the struggle that the Revolution was espoused by the majority. It was under these circumstances, then, that three different kinds of troops composed the American army,--the Continentals, the Provincials, and the Militia. The first could be ordered to any point where they were most needed; the second, though regularly organized and disciplined, were only liable to duty in their own State; and the last were hastily gathered together and armed in the event of any pressing need or sudden emergency. Washington, as stated in his commission, was commander-in-chief of all the forces. The other subjects of the foregoing sketches were the commanding officers of the Continental army. Marion and Warren were famous generals of the Provincials; while Pickens and Ten Brock were noted leaders of the militia. Dr. Joseph Warren received his commission of major-general from the Massachusetts Assembly just before the battle of Bunker Hill. He was among the last to leave the redoubt, and while trying to rally his men was shot and killed. By his untimely end America lost one of her purest patriots; and General Gage is reported to have said, “Warren’s death was worth that of five hundred ordinary rebels.” Andrew Pickens, brigadier-general of South Carolina Militia, never fought outside of his own State, but received from Congress a sword in recognition of his gallant conduct at the battle of Cowpens.

All the dates and facts in the foregoing sketches have been carefully verified by comparison with the “Continental Army Returns” and “Journals of the Continental Congress,” and various cyclopædias and histories.

University Press: John Wilson & Son, Cambridge.

Transcriber’s Notes

Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.

Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced quotation marks retained.

Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained.

Page 81: The chapter about John Armstrong conflates the father, who was born in 1717 and served as a General in the Continental Army, with the son, who was only 18 in 1776 and became a Major in 1782 (Wikipedia).