Orangeburg County, South Carolina - The whole text, 1898 (part 4 of 9)

Mr. W. W. Culler also gives a description of a very unique dwelling house that was built about 1750, or earlier, by his great grand-father, Benedict Roller, on the lands that had been granted him by the government, and which lands are still in possession of the Culler family. The last wall of this house was torn down by Mr. Culler himself about 1835, and he remembers perfectly well how it was constructed. It was about 16 X 20 feet. The sides were built by putting up in line eight fat lightwood posts, with eight or nine feet clear the ground, about two feet apart. Each post had a groove cut in the sides facing the neighboring posts. These grooves ran the entire length of the posts. The spaces between the posts were tilled in by sliding into these grooves a wicker work of small twigs made somewhat as stick baskets are made. The ends of the house were built up in the same manner, save that a space was left for a door. The outside wall was then plastered over with a plaster made of red clay and the inside was quite smooth and nice looking when plastered with a plaster made of native lime. The floor was made by hewing small logs flat on the upper and under sides and laying them together as a floor is laid, and then putting on a finishing touch with an adz. The roof was made of the same material and then sodded. The door was made of the same sort of boards joined together by wrought nails which Roller himself had made by hand at his own forge. The hinges were made of dogwood, and very ingeniously arranged so that the door might swing on them, very much as our modern iron gates revolve on an iron rod. Beneath this structure was a cellar, which has only been filed up in the last decade. With such a house as that the settler could defy the elements, the wild beasts and the savage Indians.

A number of notes, extracted from the Statutes of South Carolina, the columns of the old Gazettes, and other authorities, that beaf on matters and people in the section embraced within this work, will be reproduced here, as they give some insight into the condition of affairs in this section in colonial days, and familiarize us with the names of many of the families then living here:

The Statutes of South Carolina* show that on April 21, 1753, the Provincial legislature appointed commissioners "To build a Bridge over the pond in the Four Holes Swamp, commonly called Gibbe's pond, and to lay out, make and keep in repair, a road from the said bridge, as convenient as may be, into the Orangeburgh old road, from the head of the path leading from Dorrhe.'^ter to Izard's Cow-pen."* The "old road" here spoken of was opened in 17371 by an act of the Council establishing "a road from the head of the path that leads from Dorchester to Capt. Izard's Cow pens to the Township of Orangeburgh."

The follow described plantation was offered for sale in the South CaroJhm Gazette of June 18, 1753: "A Plantation at Orangeburgh, containing 250 acres, esteemed the best Land in that Township, on which one Lary now dwells, bounding N. E. on said Lary's Land, S. E. on Hans Spring's and Henry Fousts; and a Town-Lot in the said Towuiship, No. 32.":t

On May 11, 1754, an Act was passed "for vesting th© Ferry over Savanna river, at the Garrison of Fort Moore, in New Windsor, in John Stewart of New" Windsor, his executors, administrators and assigns, for the term therein mentioned; and for establishing a Ferry over Santee river, in the township of Saxe- Gotha, from the land of Martin Fridig, on the South side, to the opposite landing on the North side, of the said river, and for vesting the same in the said Martin Fridig. his executors, administrators and assigns, for the term therein mentioned."**

*0n April 7, 1770, an Act was passed "for repealing an Aft entitled 'An Act for appointing Conunissioners to build a Bridge over the Pond in the Four Hole Swamp, commonly called Gibbes' Pond, and to lay out and make and keep in repair a road to and from the said bridge, as convenient as may be, into the Orangeburgh old road, from the head of the said path leading from Dorchester to Izard's Cowpen'; and for authorizing and empowering the Board of Commissioners of the Roads for the parish of 8t. George Dorchester, to lay out and make and keep in repair the road mentioned in the said Act". - Stats, of S. C, Vol. IV, page 322.

tThe "Old Charleston Road." jLot No. 82 on the original plan of Orangeburgh was a lot near tiie river. **Stats. of S. C., Vol. IV, l«ige lo.

The South Carolina Gazette of May 21st, 1754, contains a notice from William and Thomas Sabb, of Amelia Township; and the Gazette of May 28th, 1754, advertises 1700 acres of land "on Edisto opposite Orangeburgh Township,"

On April 13th, 1756, the Legislature passed "An Act for laying out, making and keeping in repair a Road from the bridge commonly called Minnick's bridge, to the 15 mile post on the road leading from Orangeburgh township to (Jharlestown, and for rebuilding the said bridge and keeping the same in repair."'*

Christopher Rowe, Henry Gallman, Conrade Holman and Gavin Pou were all paid for carrying presents to the Indians, while John Fairchild received compensation for entertaining Indians.

On April 12th, 1768, the Legislature passed "An Act for establishing and making public a road to lead from Orangebnrgh to Saludy. and from thence to Bush and Rayburn's Creeks, and for appointing Commissioners for the same; and also for establishing and making public a Ferry over Saludy river, and vesting the same in Samuel Kelly and John Millhouse, their Executors, Administrators and Assignees, for the term therein mentioned".*

From the (jazeiie of May 9, 176S, we extract: "The Grand Jurors of the body of the province of South Carolina presents" * * * * "^^^ .^ grievance that Thomas Bond, a J. P. of Amelia Township, is a person unworthy of that dignity; on information of Moses Kirkland. When these presentments were taken into consideration process was issued requiring Bond to come in, plead to, and answer the presentment." The same paper, mentioning the prisoners at the Charles-Town Court, remarks: "Thomas Owen, Jun. convicted of willfully burning the house of Anthony Distoe, pleaded his Majesty's pardon." Distoe. or Duesto, was of Orangeburgh District.f

The Gazette oi July ISth, 1768. contains the following advertisement: ''A Plantation or Tract of Land, containing 187 acres, situate in Amelia Township" * * * "late the property of Robert Stewart, and sold under execution by

On the same day an Act was passed "for stamping and issuing the sum of Seventy Thousand Pounds, for defraying the ex pence of building the several Court Houses and Goals appointed to be built in the several Districts in this Province", under the Act of 1768, creating the seven Districts, or Precincts. The late Judge T. W. Glover stated, in some notes prepared by him, that the Orangeburgh District jail was built in the village of Orangeburgh in 1772; and Dr. Joseph Johnson, in his "Traditions of the Revolution", says that Col. William Thomson was the first Sheriff of the District, and that he assumed the duties of the office in June 1772.

The following notice is taken from the South Carolina Gazette of January 23rd, 1775: "South Carolina. "November Assizes, 1774. ''Wherean at a Court of General Sessions of the

Peace, Oyer and Terminer, Assize, and General Goal- Delivery, begun and holden at Orangeburgh, for the District of Orangeburgh, on Saturday the S^ii Day of November, 1774,

Daniel Kelly, Being duly summoned, and returned, to serve as Grand Jurors; and John. Newman, Melchior Smith, Gersham Kelly, Peter Corbin, Sadrick Parler, George Robinson, and Richard Barklow, As Petit Jurors, made Default, and were noted for Non Appearance: This is to give notice.

That the former will be fined in the Sum of Ten Pounds and the latter in the Sum of Five Pounds Proclamation-Money of America, each, unless they shall make good and sufficient Excuses, upon Oath, for ther Non Appearance, by the third Tuesday in May next.

"Whereas at a Court of Common Pleas, begun and holden at Orangeburgh, on Tuesday the 8*^ Day of November 1774, William Tucker, W^i Heatley, Sen., George Hales, Henry Young, and George Freeman. Sen., Being duly summoned and returned to serve as Jurors at the said Court, made Default, and were noted for Non-Appearance.

"This is to give notice. ''That they will be fined in the Sum of Five Pounds, Proclamation-money of America each, unless they shall make good and sufficient Excuses upon Oath, for their Non-Appearance. and transmit the same to the Pleas-Office, in Charles Town, on or before the First Tuesday in April next.

"February Term "Their Honours the Judges, Chose their Circuits, which are as follows; viz. April Assizes, Southern Circuit: T , - ( Honorable the Chief Justice Justices ^ Mr. Justice Cossett.

In the Soidh Carolina Gazette oi April 14th, 1748, Governor Glen published a proclamation announcing that "George Haig, Justice of the Peace," had been carried offf by "French Indians from the Congarees or new township of Saxa-Gotha";:}: and in consequence there-

*Peter B(Hiiietheau was Clerk of the Court of Coniinon Pleas at Charlestown and civil processes for all the districts were returned at Charlestown.

Jin the South Carolina Gazette of January 8, 1754, Mrs. Elizabeth Mercier advertised as "Executor of George Haig", and stated that she was "late" his wife. In the Gazette of July 2, 1758, Patrick Brown and Thomas Corker, "who survived George Haig", advertised for James Cirill.

of he recommended that Co'uncil pi'ovide for two small troops of horse and for l)uilding a fort "at the Congarees." From this it would seem that the fort established at the Congarees in 171S had long since been abandoned. It is quite likely that after the fears of Yemassee incursions had blown over that the fort was abandoned, and that Captain Russell and his men were employed as rangers, for in the "Contingency'" account for 1734* the following item appears: "To the Rangers under Captain Russell, four hundred and five pounds seventeen shillings. 405 17 00;' Captain Russell di<ed in 1737, and by his death his rangers were probably broken up. At any rate it appears that a. fort called St. John's was built near the site of the old fort at the Congarees, and that troops were organized in this sectl'O^n in accordance with Governor Glen'^ suggestion, ahd that in the rourse of ten years there were several regiments instead of two troops. Col. Moses Thomson was, about 1750, commander of the "Township battalion'', that is, the provincial forces of the region southwest of the Santee, and outside of the old parishes. William Thomson was a captain of Rangers,! 175 1759. For his services in the Cherokee war, 1759, he was promoted major, and the Assembly, in the Act of July 31st, 1760, voted him £275. He is spoken of by HewatJ as "Major Thomson,"** and the South Carolina Gazette of September 27th, 1760, says: "Our 7 companies of Rangers are to be completed to full numbers and W"'- Thomson, Esq., being appointed Major Commandant of the whole, they will soon be equal to a Regiment of Light Horse." He afterwards commanded the "Township battalion", and was made col- on el in 1765.* Tacitus Gaillard was also a colonel,! but his commission was revoked by the Governor in 1769. Peter Mercier, whose will was made in 1754, and proved in 1755. declares himself therein:|: to have been '"Lieutenant in one of the three Independent companies." John Chevillette, the same who had been an officer under Prince Frederick of Prussia, commanded a battalion of provincial malitia,** and Wm. Gilmore Simms says, in *'The Forayers," p. 264, that Christopher Rowe was commissioned captain, ff in 1755, in John Chevillette's regiment of foot", and that his commission was then (1855) extant.:|::|: Captain Christian Minnick is mentioned in the South Carolina Gazette of March 23rd, 1752; John Lloyd is called Captain by Giessendanner and Major in the Gazette of August Sth, 1768, and James Tilly, Jacob Giessendanner and Christopher Rowe are all spoken of as captains by Giessendanner.

These malitia ofRcers and rangers were kept quite busy from about the time of the carrying off of Haig, until the close of the Cherokee war in 1761, for, says Logan, § "from 1749, to the close of Col. Grant's campaign, in 1761, embracing a period of more than ten years, there was not a settlement in this portion of the province that was not exposed to the inroads of hostile savages, and at their hands became the not unfrequent scene of bloody tragedies and domestic ruin."

*'0n one occasion." saj's Logan, p. 302. ''he had been emplo3'ed, it seems, b}' tlie provincial authorities in Charleston, to go. in company with a member of the Board of Indian Trade, to the Cheiokee Xation. in search of the precious metals, which were supposed to exist in inexhaustible abundance in that mountainous region. Having set out, and reached in safety one of the middle towns, they there discovered several of their friendlj^ settlement Indians in the hands of a party of hostile Canadian savages, who had captured them near Charleston, and were carrying them prisoners to their towns in the north."

Gieger's pity was aroused, and. at the head of a body of traders, he succeeded in rescuing the friendly Indians, but this act of kindness afterwards cost him his life.

The following summer, having set out for the Catawba Nation, in company with a half-breed, they were intercepted and captured by several of the very part}" of Canada Indians from whom Geiger had rescued the friendly Indians a year before, by whom he was carried toward the Great Lakes, and finally murdered.*

On the 7th day of May, 1751, Mrs. Maiy Gould, or Cloud, appeared at the house of Martin Friday, at the Congarees. severely wounded, and i-eported to Capt. Daniel Sellider. of the Saxe-Gotha company, that on Saturday, the fourth, two Savannah Indians had come to her house, situated about half way between the Congarees and Savannah Town. and. after partaking of her husband's hospitality, had suddenly arisen in

*In the iS'o?/^/? Carolina Gazette of 3 une 18th, 1753, John and Henry Gallnian advertised for the crtditors of "Herman Geijrer, of Saxe- Gotha, deceased".

the dead of night and murdered her husband, and her two children, and a young white man who was living with them, and had dangerously wounded her and left her for dead. It is also recorded that Mrs. Gould died of her wounds soon after.

About the same time Stephen Crell, of Saxe-Gotha, infornjed Governor Glen that a gang of Indians had been killing "horses, mares, and cattle" at the Congarees, and in the more northern settlements, after which they went to the house of John Gieger, and carried off his negro boy. Two women, who were the only members of the family at home at the time, tried to save the boy, but were threatened with death by the savages.

In 1754 the Cherokees of the up-country committed several murders, and sacked several stores; whereupon the frontier settlers hastily assembled, and fortified themselves at Ninety-Six, the Congarees and other convenient points. But it was not until 1759 that the Cherokees made any serious outbreak.

Shortly after the breaking out of Cherokee hostilities in 1759, Dr. Hewat says:* "The Governor! set out for Congarees, the place of general rendezvous for the militia, and about one hundred and forty miles distant from Charlestown, where he mustered in all about one thousand four hundred men." From the Congarees Governor Lyttleton marched his little army against the Cherokees in the Northwestern part of the province, but before shedding much blood he succeeded in arranging terms of peace with them.

The rejoicings on account of the peace were scarcely over when the news arrived of a fresh outbreak of hostilities. General Amherst, the British Command- er-in-Chief in America, was then appealed to, and he sent a battalion of Highlanders, and four companies of the Royal Scots, under command of Colonel Montgomery, afterwards Earl of Eglinton, to South Carolina, where he landed in April, 1760; but as the conquest of Canada was the grand object of the year's campaign in America, he had orders to strike a sudden blow for the relief of Carolina, and return to head-quarters at Albany without loss of time. Hewat says, p. 455: "Several gentlemen of fortune, excited by a laudable zeal for the safety of their country, formed themselves into a company of volunteers, and joined the army. The whole force of the pi'ovince was collected, and ordered to rendezvous at Congarees".

"A few weeks after his arrival Colonel Montgomery marched to the Congarees, where he was joined by the internal strength of the province, and immediately set out for the Cherokee country.*' In this expedition the Indians were defeated, but not quelled, and so soon as Colonel Montgomery retired from their country they immediately resumed hostilities. They captured and killed most of the garrison at Fort Loudon, and had designs on Fort Prince George. 'Tn consequence of which", says Hewat, p. 465, "orders were given to Major Thompson, who commanded the militia on the frontier, to throw in provisions for ten weeks into that fort, and warn the commanding officer of his danger.'"

The British authorities next sent Col. Grant to the aid of South Carolina, and he, with the assistance of the provincial malitia under Colonel Arthur Middleton, succeeded in tinally defeating and overthrowing the Indians; but the chief glory in this last expedition belonged to the provincial malitia. and it is greatly to be regretted that the names of the militia men

The people of Orangeburgh Township liad, at least, some of the scare of the Indian warfare of this period, for from the Giessendanner record we learn that several forts* existed in the Township, and from the w^ording of the record we are led to believe that the inhabitants assembled in these forts with their families in times of Indian troubles.

On the Schedule! of the expenses of the Indian warfare the following items concern us: William Thomson, a cart; Conrad Holman. corn and straw; ''To the following persons, for Colonel John Chevillette's battalion"', &c; Michael Snyder, flour; Elizabeth Mercier, English peas, and corn; Michael Lightner, hire of a mare; Rev. Mr. John Giessendanner, for hire of a horse 7 days; Christopher Minnick, for cattle; Henry "-Rinchenbackor," flour, peas and hogs; "Nicholas Shooler", for a steer; Godfrey Dreyer, flour; "Conrad Holman, for entertaining the Governor and several others, ... 55 00 00;" Michael Christopher Rowe, 30 13 00; Moses Thomson, for a steer; Jacob Runjph, cart hire; Christopher Rowe, for cattle; Jacob Fridig; David Fridig; and Henry Whetstone, wagon hire; "To pay the battalion of Colonel John Chevillette, (as the muster roll of the said battalion was settled by a committee of the Assembly,) 13,109 12 08"; "To Major William Thompson, a gratuity for his services, 275 00 00". Other Orangeburgh names are on the statement, as having furnished provisions, hired wagons, pastured cattle and rendered various other services for which they received pay from the public treasurer.

In the section devoted to the settling of Saxe-Gotha Township some mention has been made of the Weber, or Weaver, "heresy." The following interesting account of that trouble, wlych culminated in 1760, is taken from Dr. Bernheim's history, p. 195 et seq.:

"In Saxe-Gotha Township, Lexington County, South Carolina, and 'in the neighborhood of what is now called Younginers Ferry', there originated a sect among the Swiss and German settlers, who were called Weberites. Their heresy was of so revolting a nature, that it would be desirable to pass it by in silence, if it could be done without doing injustice to a faithful and correct narration of historical facts.

"Rev. Dr. Hazelius give us a brief sketch of the doings of these Weberites in his American Lutheran Church, p. 103; and the Rev. Dr. Muhlenberg has also furnished us a more extended account of them in his journal, translated and published in vol. i of the Evangelical Review, dating their transactions as having occurred in the year 1760; nevertheless, the origin of this sect must have taken place some time before, as that is the date of the culmination of their heresj^ into the crime, which brought their leader to suffer the just penalty of the law.

"Dr. Muhlenberg's account is as follows: 'Mr. Strobel, the son-in-law of Rev. Mr. Martin, a wealthy tanner, sent for me in a chaise, to convey me out of town to dine with him. He told me, among other things, a remarkable history of an abominable sect, which had arisen among the Germans in South Carolina, A. D. 1760-1, and had some similarity with Knipperdolling and Jan Van Leiden. They committed murders, on wdiich account one of them, named Jacob Weber, who called himself a god, and slew a person, was hanged. Their founder is said to have been Peter Schmidt. The sect originated at Saluda Fork, about one hundred miles from Charleston (125 or 130 miles).

'- 'Jacob Weber was a Swiss. He first became an exhorter, then he advanced himself still farther, but before his end he came to his senses, and saw his error.

'"The people in the country, in general, grew up without schools and instruction. Occasionally a selftaught (auto-didacter) minister may labor for awhile amongst them, yet it continues only a short time. The people are wild, and continue to grow wilder, for what does it profit them to hear a sermon every four, six, or twelve weeks, if in early youth the foundation of Divine Truth had not been laid? The aforesaid sect had so far obtained the supremacy that several families united wdth it for fear of their lives; numbers of both sexes went about uncovered and naked, and practiced the most abominable wantonness. One of them pretended to be God the Father, another the Son, and a third the Holy Spirit; and the pretended Father, having quarrelled with the Son, repudiated the pretended Son, chained him in the forest, declared him to be Satan, and finally gathered his gang, who beat and trampled on the poor man until he died; he is reported also to have killed the pretended Holy Ghost in bed. A report of these circumstances having reached the authorities in Charleston, the malitia were ordered to arrest the pretended deity, when he was tried, condemned, and executed upon the gallows.

"'The English inhabitants scoffed about it, and said the Germans had nothing to fear, their Devil having been killed, and their God having been hanged. Such are the fruits of not inculcating the doctrine of Divine Truth early in youth, and of leaving man to himself. Rom. 1: 21-32. This sect spread from South to North

Carolina, thence to Maryland and Virginia, among the German and English population, and has likewise left some seed of this heres}^ in Charleston. Upon this gross Satanic tragedy a more subtle temptation followed. Quakers, Anabaptists, &c., spread themselves in the country regions around, and appear to be better suited to the circumstances of the land at this time.

" 'October 9th. To-day I received the original copy of a letter dictated by Jacob Weber in prison before his death, for the benefit of his children, which reads as follows:

"'"April 16th, 1761, being imprisoned and ironed, it occurred to me and the jailor to transmit to my beloved children a sketch of my mournful life. I, Jacob Weber, was born in Switzerland, in Canton Zurich, in the county of Knomauer, in the parish of Stifferschweil, and was raised and educated in the Reformed Church. In the fourteenth year of my age I journeyed with my brother to South Carolina, leaving my parents; and soon after my arrival I lost my brother by death. Thus I was forsaken of man, and without father or mother. But God had compassion on me amid much trouble and sorrow. He planted the fear of the Lord in my heart, so that I had more pleasure in the Lord, in godliness, and the Word of God, than in the world. I was often troubled about ray salvation when I reflected how strict an account God would require, that I must enter into judgment, and know not how it would result. Although God drew me with his grace, 1 found also the reverse in my corrupt nature, which was excited with the love of the world. viz., of riches, honors, and an easy life.

nearer to him; notwithstanding I always attended to my religious services and prayer, but with a heart cold and averted from God. Through such exercises of the heart T arrived at a knowledge of my sins, and learned how awfully the human race had fallen from God, and how low all maiikiiid. without exception, are sunken in depravity. As soon as T experienced this, I earnestly besought God day and night for forgiveness, for the Holy Spirit, for a pure heart, and for saving faith, and I felt the necessity of retirement to restrain my thoughts, and to prevent the Divine work from being hindered in me. In this retirement I forgot the turmoil of the world. In this light I regarded all vain desires and thoughts and all human works as by nature damnable in the sight of God. Fear and sorrow now seized upon ray poor soul, and I thought, what shall I do to be saved? It was shown me that nothing would suffice but being born again of water and of the Spirit. Realizing that I could not be saved in any other way, I prayed still more earnestly, and it was shown me still more plainly by the Holy Ghost in my heart how sinful I was (Rom. 7), so that I stood there before the judgment of God; but the judgment of God became manifest in me, so that I judged myself, and confessed that I deserved a thousand-fold to be cast from the presence of God. and wondered that the forbearance of the Lord had not long since hurled me, poor and condemned wretch, into the lowest pit of destruction; and then too, I saw the whole world lay in sin. Feeling myself so lost, I cast myself entirely upon the mercy of God to lead me according to his holy will and pleasure, whether unto life or death, if he would only be gracious unto my poor soul for Christ's sake, and pardon my sin. and purify my heart from all uncleanness. Thus I lay at the feet of Jesus with all my heart in submission, sighing and praying night aud day for his grace, and so continued for several days, until I had passed from death unto life. Then Jesus revealed himself unto my soul. Then there was great joy in heaven over me, a returning sinner. Then all my sins were forgiven me, and I was full of the Holy Ghost, and rejoiced with a joy unspeakably great. This occurred, or 1 experienced this joy, A. D. 1756, in the month of May. This grace caused me to despise the joy of the world, and to disregard its reproach, and kept me, thenceforth, continually with my surety, Jesus, amid many temptations not now to be mentioned, until tinally I found rest for my soul. This peace and communion with God I possessed about two years, under every burden of affliction, for I had the grace to enable me, under all circumstances, to submit my will to the mercy of God. Through the grace which was in me 1 could govern temporal goods without danger to my soul. Upon this followed the great misery and awful fall into sin, already, alas! too well known. The devil bringing me into a greater temptation and fall than was ever known, of which Peter Schmidt was the origin and instrument. After this, by the providence of God, I was captured and cast into prison, that I might recover my reason, come to a knowledge of my great sins, and confess them before God, that thus it might awaken great wretchedness in my soul, humble me before God and man, yea, beneath all creatures, yea, that 1 might account myself as the poorest worm. I often thought each and every persoi] too good to speak to me, and interest himself in me. Nevertheless 1 sought cordially the forgiveness of my sins in the blood of the Lamb of God, my Redeemer, who loved me and died for all my sins, and for his righteousness' sake arose, all which I heartily believe, because I experience again the witness of the Holy Spirit, which testifies unto my spirit that I am a child of God. And now, my children, beloved in the Lord, T must leave this world, and, perhaps, behold your face no more in this life. I commend yon. therefore, to the protection and mercy of God! Pray without ceasing, learn and read; injure no one vs^illingly and wilfully while you live; labor industriously and faithfully according to your ability; then, if vs-e should meet no more in this world, we may hope to meet each other in heaven, in the world to come; which may the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, grant to you for the sake of the crucified Jesus, Amen. Such cunning and celerity does Satan possess as to cause so great a schism and injury even among the children of God, and to lead them astray, and make them fall so suddenly against their knowledge and consent. May God preserve all persons from so great a fall, and trample Satan under foot, for Christ's sake, Amen. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you and all persons. Amen. And I beseech all persons who have been injured by me to forgive me, for Christ's sake. *'* "Written or dictated by

"'It was about this time that a number of our (German) people, living on the banks of the Saluda River, in South Carolina, being destitute of ministerial instruction, agreed to assemble from time to time for singing, prayer, the reading of the Scriptures, and mutual edification. This was as it should be, but the enemy soon sowed tares among the wheat, by introducing spii'itual pride among the small fiock. One man, by the name of Weaver, personated Christ, another the Holy Spirit, a certain woman, the wife of

Weaver, the Virgin Mary, and one poor fellow was doomed to represent Satan. The curiosity of the people became highly excited by the strange proceedings on Saluda River, in the neighborhood of what is now called Younginer's Ferry. Excess followed excess, until at length Weaver, representing either Christ or God, ordered, in virtue of his dignity, that Satan should be chained in a subterranean hole, and finally that he should be destroyed. For this purpose they met, placed the unfortunate man in a bed, covered him with pillows, on which some seated themselves, while others stamped with their feet on the bed until the life of the man had become extinct. The corpse was then taken out of bed, and thrown into a burning pile of wood, to be consumed to ashes. The perpetrators of this crime were taken to Charleston and tried. Weaver was found guilty, and suffered the penalty of the law on the gallows. His wife was pardoned.'

"The Rev. Christian Theus furnished Dr. Muhlenberg with a more detailed description of this sect of Weberites, as he was well acquainted with their doings, having lived about twenty-five miles fiom the place where the murder occurred. At a certain time he came unexpectedly into their meeting, and found Jacob Weber contending that he was God, and the said Peter Schmidt insisting that he himself was Christ, and that the unconverted members must be healed through his stripes.

"Pastor Theus opposing such blasphemy, the leaders became enraged, and threatened his life, and counselled with their rabble whether to drown or hang him. He escaped, however, fronj their hands, fied to the river, and fortunately found a negro with his canoe at the shore, sprang into it, was conveyed across, and thus saved his life.

been obliterated: neither are tliere even any descendants of Jacob Weber and Peter Schmidt to be found in the Sahida Fork. To what region of country thej' emigrated, or what was their subsequent history, is not known. The object of history in preserving the record of such deeds is that it might serve as a w^arning to all not to depart from the truth as revealed in God's word, even in their religion."' * * * * « "That Weber was sincere, his confession, which he made with eternity in view, fully proves; notwithstanding his sincerity, so great was his deception in spiritual things, that he became guilty of the most horrid blasphemy and the greatest crime known to the law."

"In this locality, v^here the Weberites had their origin, and about that period of time, A. D. 1758, according to the import of Weber's confession, the Gospel was but seldom preached, and the effects of such neglect soon manifested themselves: the people generally gave a loose rein to their passions, rioted in their wantonness, and actually believed that in doing so they w^ere rendering service to God."

These were the people who contributed much toward bringing about the ''Regulation" troubles, and here is where the largest number of German Tories was to be found during the Revolution, and on that account the whole German population of South Carolina has been charged with being of Tory inclination. But let it be remembered that the little angle between the Saluda and Broad rivers - partly in Orangeburgh District and partly in Ninety-Six District - constituted a very small part of South Carolina, and the Germans there settled constituted a very snjall portion of the South Carolina (Jei-mans, and they were not all of them Tories either.

Up to 1768, when the Pioviiice of South Carolina was divided into districts, the townships of Amelia, Orangeburgh and Saxe-dotha formed parts of Berkeley County, as already stated, and the only civic officers in those townships were the Justices of the Peace, and the Inquirers and Collectors of taxes. After the formation of St. Matthew's Parish in 1765, representation was allowed that Parish in the Commons House of Assembly of the Province; and after the formation of Orangeburgh District in 1768. a Sheriff, a Jailer and a District Clerk of Court were added to the list of office holders. The following is a very incomplete list, made up from various sources, of the civic officers of the period:

*The ottice of justice of the peace was a far more important position in Colonial days than it lias ever been since. t^S'. C. Gazeftc, .Iiine 7, 1734. J.S'. a Gazeftc, July 2 - 9, 1787. He was also at that time a Deputy Surveyor General, as will appear by the grants of John Hearn, p.

25, Henry Salley, p. 28, and the grant made April 13, 1739, to Mrs. Mary Russell, in trust for her children. - p. 23. ^*S'. C. Gazette, March

*South Carolina Gazette^ 1752. -fS'otifh Carolina Gazette, Aufj. 6, 1753. XSouth Carolina Gazette, March 26, 1753. hSouth Carolina Gazette, March 19, 1754. || "In and for Amelia and Orangel)iirgh Townships." - From X\\e South Carolina Almanac, 1705. Jolin Govaii is mentioned in the same authority as one of the justices of the peace for Granville County. He had probably removed to Granville County, for in the Gazette of July 18, 1768, (No. 1711 - Supplement) under the caption "Provost-Marshal's Sale", appears the following notice: "On Thursday 25tli of August next, will be sold, at public vendue, at the usual place in Charles-Town, All that valuable plantation or tract of 520 acres of land", &c., "whereon John Govan, Esq., deceased, lately lived, situate in Prince Williams parish, Granville-county", &c. ^S'. a Gazette, May 9, 1768. °S'. C. Gazette, April 18, May 9, July 4, Sept. 5, Oct. 10, 1768. **.S. C. Gazette, July 11, 1768. tt-'^'- C Gazette, August S, 1768.

*See page 219. -fS'. C. Gazette and Country Joaniat, June 13, 1769. JThe South Carolina Gazette of Febriuiry 28rd, 1769, announced that the day before the Governor had ordered Tacitus Gaillard's name "struck out of the Commission of the Peace; and at the same time, the said Tacitus Gaillard, as Colonel". ^.For the townships of Amelia, Orangeburgh and Saxe-Gotha in Berkeley County. - The SoutU Carolina Gazette, Oct. 18, 1769. ^South Carolina Gazette, Oct. 18, 1770. °«S'. C. Gazette, Jan. 7, 1775. **For Orangeburgh District.

*See page 218, foot note. fStats. of S. C, Vol. IV, page 56-7. tOn Dec. 14, 1758, an Ordinance was passed "for rectifjang Mistakes in the names of two of the Inquirers, Assessors and Collectors, for the Township of Saxegotha, and the forks between the Congree and Wateree Rivers, and adjacent places, appointed by the Tax Act, passed the 19th May, 1758". James Leslie and Thomas Kennelly were by the mistake in the said Act, called "John Leslie and John Kennelly". - Stats, of S. C, Vol. IV, pages 73 and 74. |Stats. of S. C, Vol. IV, page 132.

Saxe-Gotha Township^ and the fork between the | John Pearson, Congaree and the Wa- [-William Harson, teree rivers and adjacent 1 William Raiford. places: J

It will be remembered that when the Parish of St. Matthew was erected in August, 1765, that two representatives in the General Assembly were allowed that parish. At an election held in October following William Thomson and Tacitus Gaillard were returned as representatives for the parish, and took their seats in the assembly that met on the 28th of the same month, and closed its session on April 12th, 1768. From the journal of that unusually long session we learn that; "His Majesty having been pleased to Repeal, the Act for establising S* Matthews Parish, Major Gaillard and Coll^ Thomson quitted their seats in the House the lO^ii day of November One thousand seven Hundred and sixty-seven."

ish, and that provision was made therein for one representative in the Provincial Assembly. The Soiitft Carolina Gazette for Monday, September 5th. 176S, contains the following announcement:

"Wednesday last ended the |>eneral election of members to represent the inhabitants of the several parishes into which this province is divided, in the ensuing general assembly, which is to meet here on Monday the 25th instant;* when the following gentlemen were elected, viz." * * -* * "For St. Matthew's. William Thomson. Esq."

1769. The South Carolina Gazette for March 16tb 1769, contains a list of the members elected to the General Assembly on the 7tb and 8th of that month. W^illiara Thomson is named as the representative elected for St. Matthew's Parish. f

The South Carolina and A/neriran Genera f Gazette. for March 3Ist, 1772, announced that Isaac Huger had been elected a member of the Provincial Assembly for St. Matthew's Parish.:|: The same paper for September 29th, 1772, again announced Isaac Huger as a member of the Assembly for St. Matthew's Parish.§

The South Carolina and American General Gazette. for December 29th. 1772. nnnounced that at the late elections, Tacitus Gaillard had been i-eturned as the representative fron] St. Matthew's;;; but Mr. (lailliard was not permitted to sit easy in his seat, for the South

*Met Nov, 15, 17()S, fFIie Assembly nie( on the 2HtFi of .Tune followinjf. JThe new Assembly niet soon nfter. ^Tlie Assembly met on OetoberSth, following. ||The new Assembly met on .Jnn. ITtli, 1773.

VaroVuKi and American General G<(zetU\ for March 26th, 1773, announced that Isaac Huger would contest the election of Tacitus Gaillard; and the journal of the House of Representatives for Saturday, March 20th, 1773, contains the following:

"A Petition of Isaac Huger Esquire of Charles Town,* was presented to the House and read in the words following ( ) "That 3'Our Petitioner with

Tacitus Gaillard Esquire were candidates at the last Election of a Member to serve in the present General Assembly for the Parish of Saint Matthew That the Election was not managed and conducted agreeable to the directions of an Act of the General Assembly for ascertaining the Manner and form of Electing Members to represent the Inhabetants of this Province in the Commons House of Assembly: First that no public notice was given in Writing at the Door of the -Parish Church, two Sundays before the appointed time of Election - That at two of the Clock in the Afternoon when the Box which contained the Names of the voters was produced by William Stent, one of the Church Wardens for the said Parish, two of the Seals were tore otf. That many undue practices were allowed by the Church Wardens during the Election to obtain a Majority of Votes for Mr Gaillard. That several persons were refused the liberty of Voting for your Petitioner on the first day of Election, and on the second were, offered their Votes, provided they would Vote for Mr Gaillard, That many Persons under Age, some who had no property in the Parish, and several Mulatoes were allowed to Vote at the said

*A citizen of South Carolina was eligible for election to the Conliiio!is House from any parisli or election district wherein he owned land, and Mr. Huger owned land in St. Matthew's Parish.

Election, contrary to the derections of the said Act, - Wherefore. Your Petitioner humbly prays that the Premises may be taken into Consideration by this Honorable House, and on proof thereof, that the Election of the said Tacitus Gaillard Esquire may be set aside and deemed void and of no Effect."

"Ordered-that the Petition be referred to the Committee on Privileges and Elections. And that the said Committee have Power to send for Persons, Papers and Records." What their report was the journal does not show, but suffice it to say that Mr. Gaillard served out his term, which - by the way - lasted until September 15th 1775, when Governor Campbell jDrorogued the Assembly; the last Assembly under the Royal government. We may, therefore, take that date as the closing date of the colonial period in our history.

* "His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor has bt'en pleased to apjioint John James Haig Esq., to he Sheriff of Orangeburgh District." - South Carolina Gazette, Feb. B, 1775.

Chapter Iv The Revolutionary Period

The excitement occasioned by the blockading of Boston port, by act of the British Parliament, in 1774,* caused a great number of the people of the Province of South Carolina to meet together in convention! in Charlestown, July 6th, 1774. St. Matthew's Parish was represented in that convention by Col. Tacitus Gaillard, who at that time was a member of the Commons House of Assembly (or Constitutional Assembly) for St. Matthew's Parish. (See S. C. Gazette for Monday, July 11, 1774.)

This convention passed a set of resolutions condemning the British Parliament for shutting up Boston port, and setting forth the rights of the American <;olonists; and also elected five delegates:|: to a Continental Congress, to meet in Philadelphia the first Monday in September following. This convention selected a committee of ninety-nine to act as a General Comnjittee to correspond with the committees of the other Colonies, and to do all matters and things necessary to carry out the resolutions of the convention. It was stipulated that twenty-one of this committee should constitute a quorum and that the power of the General Committee was to continue until the next general meeting. On this committee Col. Tacitus Gaillard, Col. William Thomson and William Ancrum

*See South Carolina Oazette, June 3,»1774. fHee <S'. C. Gazette, June 13, 1774, - call for meeting. jHenry Middleton, John Rutledge, Christopher (xadsden, Thomas Lynch and Edward Rutledge.

were appointed for St. Matthew's Parish.* At this early day St. Matthew's Parish was the only part of Orangeburgh District that was allowed representation in the Assemblies. St. Matthew's Parish, of course, included Orangeburgh Township,

The Continental Congress, which met the first Monday in September, and adjourned the 26th of October, 1774, among its other acts, formed an association to suspend importations of British goods, and the exportation of American produce, till their grievances should be redressed; and recommended to the several Colonies a strict observance of these pledges, and that the provincial conventions establish such further regulations as they might think proper for carrying the pledges into execution.

To give efficacy to the measure, adopted by the deputies at Philadelphia, it was determined by the General Committee in Charlestown, to convene a provincial congress, by electing representatives from every parish and district in South Carolina, and to submit the proceedings of the Continental Congress to their judgment. As the measures about to be adopted depended entirely on the consent of the people, a very large representation was thought advisable. The Constitutional Assembly consisted of only forty-nine, but this new representative body consisted of one hundred and eighty-four. The members of the Constitutional Assembly were universally members of the Congress, but with this difference, that in the latter capacity they could neither be prorogued nor dissolved by the royal Cover nor.

This first Provincial Congress met in Charlestown on the nth. of January 1775, and took under consideration the proceedings of the Continental Congress at

Philadelphia at the close of the preceeding year. The following notice of the Provincial Congress appears in the Soittli Carol hia Gazette of January 23rd, 1775:* "List of the several members of the Provincial Congress, which was held here on the Uth Instant; being the most complete Representation of all the good people throughout the Colony that ever was and perhaps ever will be obtained." Then follows a list of the members, St. Matthew's Parish, including Orangeburgh Township, being represented by:

This Congress, without one dissenting voice, gave public thanks to theii" late deputies to the Continental Congress, approved their proceedings, and resolved to

*Set' also ;V. C. G'azrfte and Contifrjj Jour mil, Tuesday, January 17, 1775. Se£' also Moultrie's Memoirs, Vol. I, page 17. f "Ordered, That the Rev. Mr. Tunjuaud, a inemher, be desired to celebrate divine service in Provincial Con<>:ress." "Resolved, That the President do return the thanks of the C'onjiress, to the Rev. Mr. Tunjuaiid, rector of iSt. Mathew's Parish, for his devout and pious performance of divine service before the Congress. And the same was done accordingly." - Moultrie's Memoirs, Vol. I, page 89. JAny voter who owned land in an election district was eligibU" to represent that district in an Assemltly, whether he lived in that district or not.

carry their suggestions into execution; and to this end adopted the following resolution:* '"Remlved that the following Gentlemen be the Committee for effectually carrying into execution the Continental Association! and for receiving and determining upon applications relative to law processes". On this Committee the following gentlemen were appointed to represent St. Matthew's Parish, which included Orangeburgh Township:

Loudon reached Cliarlestowii with intelligence subversive of the [jleasing hopes of a speedy acconiinodation. These matters so excited the people, and affairs began to take such a serious shape that the Provincial Congres.>s was immediately summoned by the General Committee, to meet in twenty-three days at Charlestown. "So great was the zeal of the inhabitants", says Dr. Ramsay in his History of the Revolution of South Carolina, p. 33, ''and so general the alarm throughout the province, that one hundred and seventy-two members of the provincial Congress met on the day appointed, the first of June 1775, and proceeded with such assiduity, that they finished a great deal of important business in a short session of twentytwo days. Great were the objects which came before this assembly. Hitherto the only sacrifices demanded at the shrine of liberty, were a suspension of trade and business; but now the important question was agitated, whether it was better to 'live slaves or die freemen"."

On the second day of their meeting it was unanimously resolved that an association was necessary, and, accordingly, one was drawn up and signed by all of the members present, and afterwards by a large majority of the people of South Carolina.* By the terms of this association the people of South Carolina united themselves ''under every tie of religion and honour", and associated '"as a band in her defence against every foe'*. All persons who should refuse to subscribe to the association were to be considered as "inimical to the liberty of the colonies". Within three days it was resolved to raise two regiments of infantry Hud a regiment of rangers.* and to put the

*See letter of Henry Laurens to Col. Fletehall. - Collections of the South Carolina Historical Society, Vol, II, page 42. fOn .June 21, 1775, the Council of Safety: ''Rcmlvrd, That it is not

From the Smdli Cayolina Gazette of September 7th, 1775, we learn that on the 7th, Sth, 28th, and 29th of August, 1775, elections were held throughout South Carolina for delegates to a "Colony Congress" to be held in Charlestown the tirst day of December following. St, Matthew's Parish, including the Township of Orangeburgh, elected the following delegates:

Dr. Jacob Richmond. The section between the North fork of the Edisto river and the Savannah river, also a part of Orangeburgh District, elected delegates to this Congress also, but their names have not been obtained. The new Provincial Congress met, agreeably to their original appointment, on the 1st of November, 1775.* necessary for the present, to raise more than fifty men per company in the Foot, and thirty men per troop of Horse, in tiie Regiments ordered to he raised for the service of this colony."

*A sliort while previous to the assembling of the Provincial Congress, Lord William C'ami)bell, the Royal Governor, assembled the Constitutional Assembly and tried to transact business, but as most of the members of this Assembly sided with the Colonists, he could do nothing with them, and accordingly, on the loth of September, he

-*Till the year 1776, the opposition to Great-Britain was conducted on such temporary principles, that the repeal of a few acts of parliament would have immediately produced a reinst<itement of British government - a dissolution of the American army - and a recommencement of the mer<-antile intercourse between the two countries. The refusal of Great-Britain to redress the grievances of the colonies, suggested to some bold spirits early in 1776, the necessity of going much greater lengths than was originally intended."*

''Public affairs were in confusion for want of a regular constitution. The impropriety of holding courts of justice under the authority of a sovereign against whom all the colony was in arms, struck every thinking person. The impossibility of governing a large <'omm unity by the ties of honour, without the authority of law, was equally apparent. But notwithstanding the pressing weight of all these considerations, the formation of an independent constitution had so much the appearance of an eternal separation from a country, by a reconciliation with which many yet hoped for a return of ancient happiness, that a great part of the provincial Congress opposed the necessary measure. At the very time when they were suspended on this important debate, an express arrived from Savannah, with an act of parliament, passed December 21, 1775. confiscating American property, and throwing all the colonists out of his Majesty's protection. This turned the scnle - silenced all the moderate men who were advocates for a reconciliation - and produced a majority for an independent constitution".!

"So strong was the attachment of many to Great- Britain, which they fondly called the mother-country, that though they assented to the establishment of an independent constitution, yet it was carried, after a long debate, that it was only to exist 'till a reconciliation between Great-Britain and the colonies should take place'."*

This constitution, temporaiily declaring South Carolina a free and independent republic, was adopted March 26th, 1776. "The most essential parts of this temporary constitution are contained in the following resolutions:''!

"T. That this Congress, being a full and free representation of the people of this colony, shall henceforth be deemed and called the General Assembly of South Carolina, and as such shall continue until the 21st of October next, and no longer.

*TI. That the General Assembly shall, out of their own body, elect, by ballot, a legislative-council, to consist of thirteen members, (seven of whom shall be a quorum) and to continue for the same time as the general assembly.

"III. That the general assembly, and legislativecouncil, shall jointly, choose, by ballot, from among themselves, or from the people at large, a president and commander-in-chief, and a vice-president of the colony.

"V. That there be a privy-council, whereof the vicepresident of the colony shall of course be a member and president of the privy-council, and that six other members be chosen by ballot, three by the general assembly, and three by the legislative-council; provided always, that no officer of the army or navy, in the service of the continent, or of this colony, shall be eligible.

"XI. That on the last Monday in October next, and the day following, and on the same days of every second year thereafter, members of the general assemblj^ shall be chosen, to meet on the first Monday in December then next, and continue for two years from said last Monday in October. The general assembly to consist of the same numbers of members as this congress does, each parish and district having the same representation as at present.

"XVI. That the vice-president of the colony, and the privy-council, for the time being, shall exercise the powers of a court of chancery. And there shall be an ordinary, who shall exercise the powers heretofore exercised by that officer in this colony.

"XXI. That the sheriffs, qualified as by law directed, shall be chosen in like manner by the general assembly and legislative-council, and commissioned by the president for two years only.

"XXII. The commissioners of the treasury, the secretary of the colony, the register of mesne (conveyances, attorney-general, and powder-receiver, shall be chosen by the general assembly and legislative-council jointly. l)y ballot, and commissioned by the president during good behaviour: but shall be removed on the address of the general assembly and legislativecouncil.

captains in the navy, shall be, by the general assembly and legislative-council, chosen jointly, by ballot, and commissioned by the pi-esident: and that all other officers in the army and navy shall be commissioned by the president and commander-in-chief.'' and Henry Pendleton. vVttorney-rieneral, Alexander Moultrie, Secretary, John Huger, Ordinary, William Burrows, Judge of the Admiralty, Hugh Rutledge, Register of Mesne Conveyances, George Sheed. Members of the Legislative-Council: Charles Pinckney, Henry Middleton, Richard Richardson, Rawlins Low^ndes, LeRoy Hammond, David Oliphant, Thomas Ferguson, Stephen Bull, George Gabriel Powell, Thomas Bee, Joseph Kershaw, Thomas Shubrick, William Moultrie. Members of the Privy-Council: James Parsons, William Henry Drayton, John Edwards,

Rawlins Lowndes. Pursuant to the provisions of Article XIX above quoted, justices of the peace for the several parishes and precincts of the colony were, in April, 1776, nominated by the General Assembly and commissioned by President Rutledge. The following were the justices selected for Orangeburgh District: George Ancrum, William Ailhur, Jonas Beard, Samuel Boykin, Richard Brown, Donald Bruce, Peter Corbin, James Cornelley, Malcolm Clark, Isham Clayton, John Chesnut, Michael Dickert, Benjamin Farrar, John Fairchild, Lewis Golson, Tacitus Gaillard, Ralph Humphries,

The South (Jaroli//a and Anterican General Gazette for Wednesday, April 17th, 1776, states that on April 11th, the following commissioners of election were appointed by the General Assembly: For Saxe-Gotha Township, election to be held at Granby, William Arthur, Benjamin Farrar, Ralph Humphries, Jacob Richman, and Jacob Finlay. The commissioners of election for St. Matthew's were, as was the custom in all the parishes, the wardens of the parish church, and the election was held at the church.

After passing a few necessary laws, the representatives of the people closed their session on the Uth, of April, 1776. This first General Assembly, agreeably to the constitution they bad framed, was dissolved on the 21st of October of the same year, and a general election for members of the Legislature was immediately held throughout the State the last Monday in October. Such was the union of the people, and so general their acquiescence in the measures adopted by their representatives, that the former members were almost universally returned. The following members w^ere elected for Orangeburgh District:

"At a Court of General Sessions of the Peace. Oyer and Terminer. Assize and General Gaol Delivery, begun and hoi den at Orangeburgh for the District of Orangeburgh. on Monday the 20th. Day of May. 1776. before the Honorable William Henry Drayton. Esq. Chief Justice of the Colony of South Carolina.

*Tlu' Gazette of the S'tate of South Carolina for April f)tli, 1777: "Writs have been issued, for electing Members of the General Assembly to fill up Vaeaneies which have happened in the following Parishes and Districts." Among the members to be elected to fill these vacancies was one for Ht. Matthew's Parish, "in the room of ( "ol. Richard Richardson, who made his election for St. .lames, Goose Greek". The election days were set for Tuesday and Wednesday, April 'I'lud and 28rd, following.

"Whilst engaged in an arduous but glorious Strugglia for the | (reservation of those invaluable Rights and Liberties, which, by the Laws of Keason, and of Nature, all men have a right to possess, and without the Possession of w hich Life itself would be A Burthen; it was Matter of no small Grief to us that any Men should be found amongst us ready to add to the Distress of an oppressed and injured People, by endeavouring to introduce Anarchy and Confusion and thereby to light up the Flames of Civil Discord in the Bowels of this once happy Country. - We are fully convinced that those'must have been the nefarious intentions, and base Hopes which induced the King's Judges to refuse the Execution of their Offices, and by so doing to put a Stop to the Administration of Justice in the Courts under their Jurisdiction; to the great Danger of the Lives, Liberties, and Properties of the good People of this Colony. But however great our Grief, we cannot say we are surprised at their Conduct - Strangers in this Land, as they are, and, induced by no Ties of Affection to this Country, or its Inhabitants, they acted as may ever be ex'pected from the wretched Hirelings of an arbitrary and despotic Power. We trust they are the last Officers of the Kind this Colony will ever know, and hope it will be an additional Cause, for us hereafter to rejoice that we resisted, that we thereby became sensible of the true Literest of America in this, as well as many other Respects. To the base Conduct of our late Judges, among other Causes, we owe however the excellent Constitution lately established amongst us: A Constitution evidently franied for the Good, Welfare and Happiness of those who are to live under it. We declare, that as we do most heartily approve of, so we are determined with our Lives and Fortunes to sup- port, maintain and defend it. And to that End. we will, to the utmost of onr Power, endeavour to make known its Excellency to all around us, to promote and encourage Peace. Harmony and good Will among the People; and w^hilst we treat with the tender Hand of Pity and Compassion those few', if any, of our Brethren, who, from the Want of Information, or the artful Designs and Intrigues of wicked Men, may be found at present unfriendly to the sacred Cause in which we are now engaged, we will use our utmost Efforts to teach and instruct theni what, and how" many Grievances we labour under; the dutiful, humble, and we cannot help now thinking too submissive. Petitions and Remonstrances, we have vainly presented for Redress; the appeal made by our oppressors to the Sword, and driven as we are by dire necessity, the becoming and spirited Measures we have pursued and are now pursuing for a vigorous, manly, and virtuous Defence of the Liberties of ourselves and. which are still dearer to us, of our Posterity. Thus acting, we doubt not but that we shall be -able to create such an Union among them, as if extended over the whole Colony, will, with the Assistance of that gracious Providence which has hitherto manifested itself in our Favour; the Goodness of our Cause, the Advantage of our Situation, our Use to Arnjs, and our Equality, if not Superiority in other Respects to those who are. or may be sent against us, insure us. if called to Action, both Victory and Peace.

"GREAT BRITAIN has forced us into a new Form of Government; she may continue the Sword so long unsheathed that by observing its Supei'iority over the old, we may be unwilling to part with it. We now have Rulers of our free Choice aud Judges of our own Election; a full and equal Representation in the Government; Blessings we hope we should never lose, and wbii'b tlie Wisdom of the Continental Congress will enable us long to keep Possession of. In our present Situation it would be needless for us to present any Grievances to tbis Court: From tbe Joy we are in, and the Pleasures we feel in observing the Attention paid to tbe Interests of the Colony, at the first Session of the Assembly under the present Constitution, by the Law for the once more opening the Courts of Justice amongst us, and, the many other excellent Laws passed in that vSession, we can think of none we labour under: Should there be any, we have the greatest Confidence that your Honour would pay proper Attention to them, were they pointed out, and that the Legislature will at all Times be ready to provide adequate Remedies, when they are.

From the strength of this Grand Jury report, and the ability displayed in its preparation, we are led to believe that the back country people of South Carolina were not as ignorant and illiterate as John Bach McMaster, Mason L. Weems, and some other writers would have us believe that they were at the time of the American Revolution.

; The new Assembly met on the 6tli of December ,1776, and. in a few days thereafter, re-elected the former President and Vice-President, South Carolina was the first of the United Colonies that fornjed an independent constitution: bnt as this was done on temporary principles, the declaration of independence by the Continental Congress. whi<*h took place on the 4tb of July preceding, made it necessary to remodel that temporary form of government, so as to accommodate it to that great event. The members of the Legislature, chosen in October 1776. were authorized by the people to frame a new constitution suited to the declared independence of the State. Authorized in this manner, the Legislature, in January 1777. began the important business of framing a permanent form of government, Before finally adopting this newconstitution the Legislature submitted it to the people for their approval for the space of one year, so that it was not finally adopted until the spring of 1778. The temporary constitution, ratified in March 1776. differs from that which was framed in 1777 in the following particulars: By the last, the appellation of the country was changed from colony to state, and of the chief magistrate, from president to governor. The Legislative authority was reduced from three to two branches. Instead of the Legislative-Council, to be chosen by the representatives of the people out of their own body, a senate, consisting at twenty-eight inembers, each upward of thirty years of age. to be elected by the people in their respective parishes and districts, was constituted a branch of the Legislature. And South Carolina was declared ahsoliifci// free and independent of Great Britain.

paragraph of the Act, appointed Inquirers and Collectors for the several parishes and districts of the State. The following were the Inquirers and Collectors appointed for Orangeburgh District: For St. Matthew's Parish, including Orangeburgh Township, Henry Felder, William Reed and Joseph Dunklin; for the district of Saxe-Gotha, George Stroul, Andrew Kaigler, and William Gieger; for the district between the Savaiiuah river and the North fork of the Edisto river, William Robinson, James Moore, Henry Peoples and Henry Young.*

''The Presentments of the Grand Jurors, at a Court of General Gaol Delivery, for the District of Orangeburgh, on Wednesday the 5th Day of November, 1777, before Hon. William Henry Drayton, Esq; Chief-Justice of the said State.

-'I. We present as a grievance the dangerous practice of fire-hunting, and recommend that a law be passed inflicting more severe penalties than the last, upon persons guilty thereof.

' JII. We present as a grievance, the want of a publick general test, by which the foes may be distinguished from the friends of the American cause; and we do recommend that the abjuration oath may be made general. Lastly, We return our thanks to his Honour the Chief-Justice for his patriotic charge de-

The new constitution having been approved of by both the deliberative branches of the Legislature, and also having gained the implied consent of the people, after one year of trial, the Generol Assembly and Legislative-Council proceeded, in March 1778, to give it a final sanction in the form of a law. When it was submitted to President Rutledge he refused to sign it, because he then held office under the constitution of 1776, which made South Carolina independent of Great Britain only until an agreement could be reached with her. He therefore resigned the office of President, and Rawlins Lowndes was elected in his stead, and on the 19th of March. 177S, he gave his assent to the new constitution.

On March 2Sth. 177S, the Legislature passed an act for establishing a new list of jurymen for the several Districts of the State, declaring: "That the several persons whose names are inserted in the different schedules or lists hereunto annexed as jury lists for the several districts of C'harlestowii, Georgetown, Cberaws, Camden. Beaufort and Oraiigelnirgh, within this State,, and entitled the grand jury list, petit jury list, and the special jury list, of each of the said districts respectively, are hereby deenjed and declared to be qualified and obliged to serve as jurjinen for such districts respectively, according to the several jury lists in which their I'lames are so inserted; that is to say, all persons whose names are inserted in the list of the grand jury of any of the districts aforesaid and hereunto annexed, shall be summoned, returned and obliged to serve as grand jurymen, according to law, for such districts in the grand jury list of w^hich their names are so inserted; and all persons whose names are inserted in the petit jury list of anj^ of the districts aforesaid and hereunto annexed, shall be summoned, returned and obliged to serve as petit jurymen for such districts in the petit jury list of which their names are so inserted; and also all persons whose names are inserted in the special jury list of any of the districts aforesaid and hereunto annexed, shall be summoned, returned and oliliged to serve as talesmen on the petit jury of such district in the special jury list of which their names are so inserted, in all cases where tales are allowed by law."

The Legislature of South Carolina, on March 28th. 177S, ratified an Act for raising taxes. This act provided for the appointment of Inquirers and Collectors for the collecting of the said taxes in the various parishes and districts of the State. In the 7th paragraph of this Act these Inquirers and Collectors are named, and the following were the appointees for Oi-angeburgh District: For St. Matthew's Parish, including Orange Parish, lately formed. Philip Frierson. William Heatly. George Frierson and Donald Bruce; for Saxe-Gotha Township and adjacent parts, William

Arthur and Samuel Boykin; for the district between the North fork of the Edisto river und the Savannah river, William Robinson, James Moore, Henry Peoples and John Jennings.*

In the Gazette of the State (f S(,at]( Carolina for October 28th, 1778, notice is given that at; election, in accordance with the new constitution, would be held the last Monday in Noveniber and the day following, Tuesday, December the first, and the following commissioners of election for Orangeburgh District were then named: For Orange Parish (late a part of St. Matthew^'s Parish), election to be held at Orangeburgh Court House, Henry Felder, Donald Bruce, Samuel Rowe, and John Clayton; for the district between the North fork of the Edisto river and the Savannah river; John Parkinson, James Moore, John Collins, Capt. George Robison, and Henry Peoples; for Saxe-Cotha Township; election to be held atGranby, Ralph Humphries, Jacob Richman, William Arthur, and Samuel Boykin. For St. Matthew's Parish the election was. as usual, of course, to be conducted by the parish church wardens at the church. Under the apportionment of the new constitutioi], Orangeburgh District was allowed the following representation: For St. Matthew's and Orange parishes combined, one senator; St. Matthew's three representatives, and Orange three; the district between the North fork of the Edisto river and the Savannah river, one senator and six representatives; Saxe-Gotha Township, one senator and six representatives. The election was scheduled

The new Assembly met the fiist Monday in January 1779. As the term of office of President Lowndes had expired, and as the office of president had been abolished by the new constitution and that of governor created in its stead, the Legislature immediate!}' elected John Rutledge governor.

On the 9th of September, 1779, the Legislature passed an Act for raising taxes, and, under the 7th paragraph of the Act. appointed Inquirers and Collectors for the several parishes and districts of the State. The following were the Inquirers and the Collectors appointed for Orangeburgh District: For St. Matthew's Parish, Samuel Dubois. Jacob Christopher Zahn and Jared Neilson; for Orange Parish, Lewis Golson, William Hill and Henry Fekler: for Saxe-Gotha Township and parts adjacent, William Arthur and Jacob Sayler; for the Fork district, John Collins, George Robison, and James Leyton Richards.*

The General Assembly of South Carolina, called for, met in December, 1779, when the following representatives for Orangeburgh District appeared ij

*Statutt's of 8. C, Vol. IV, pages 490 and 491. fSee House journal for that period. JSee the Gazetff of the State of South Carolina for Wednesday, December 8th, 1779. These representatives were prohal)lv the ones elected in Octol)er, 1778.

*Hung by Tories in 1780. - Tarletoii Brown's Memoirs, page 17. tDied during the session beginning Aug. 31, 1779, and ending Feb. 12, 1780. JRemoved from the State during the same period.

This Assembly adjourned February 12th, 1780; but before adjourning, it passed, on Feb. 3rd, "An Ordinance for the better defence and security of this State, during the recess of the General Assembly", which Ordinance practically vested in Governor Kutledge the powers of a dictator, as, among other things, it gave him the right, *'with the advice and consent of the Privy Council", "to do all matters and things which may be judged expedient and necessary to secure the liberty, safety and happiness of this State, except taking away the life of a citizen without legal trial". Practically the same powers had been given Governor Rutledge on a previous occasion, February, 1779, when the Legislature adjourned with the State threatened by an invasion.

The fall of Charlestown, the capital, in 1780, and the subsequent overrunning of the State by the British, rendered it impracticable to hold another session of the Legislature for nearly two years. For the same reason it was not possible to hold an election for a new legislature in the fall of 1780. But, the State having been recovered from the British, towards the close of 1781, Governor Rutledge. by virtue of the extraordinary power delegated to him before the surrender of Charlestown. issued writs for new elections. These w ere ordered to be held in the usual places where it was practicable, and in other cases as near as safety and other circumstances would permit. By the same authority it was ordered, that at the election the votes of such, only, should be received as had never taken British protection, or who having taken it, had, not-

This Legislature, so chosen, met January Sth, 17S2. The Senate chose John Lewis Gervais, president: and the House chose Hugh Rutledge, speaker; and some days later. Governor Rutledge's term having expired, John Mathews was chosen governor; all vacancies were filled up in the different departments, and civil government was re-established, and before adjourning (Feb. 26th), the Legislature delegated to Governor Mathews the same powers, with similar limitations, that had been intrusted to Governor Rutledge in 1779 and 1780.

There are very few records to show the names of those brave men of Orangeburgh District, who went forth to battle for the independence of South Carolina and the other American colonies, but there are documents enough in evidence to show that a good part of the fighting was done by men from Orangeburgh, and that they usually had "a place in the picture near the flashing of the guns." If many of the companies and regiments to which the Orangeburgh men belonged ever had any official rolls they were not deposited in places of al)solute safety, for the Carolinians recked not of pension Inireans that might he formed when the war should end: and many of the rolls of the organizations to which those hrave men belonged, wdio fought for their country for their country's sake, were lost or destroyed. Many of them have been bought up since the Revolution by historical societies outside of this State, and others were destroyed during the last war. But we can recount the deeds of our heroes, even if we have not their names.

It will be remembered that in June, 1775, the Provincial Congress of South Carolina, as a safeguard, raised two regiments of infantry and one regiment of rangers. William Thomson, a member of that Congress from Orangeburgh District, was elected Lieutenant-Colonel and commander of the regiment of rangers. The officers and men of the regiment were from Orangeburghf and the adjoining districts of Camden and Ninety-Six. The following were the officers of this regiment elected at its organization.:!: Those marked with an asterisk (*) were of Orangeburgh District: fDr. Joseph Johnson says, "Traditions of the Revolution", page 90: "He" (Thomson) "being from tlie upper part of ()rangel)urg District, soon filled his regiment with many of the best riflemen in the State."

jSee Ramsay's Revolution in Soutii Carolina, Vol. I, ijages 36, 37. Also .Journal of Council of Safety for .June 18, 177"). - Collections S. C. Hist. Soe., Vol. II, page 24.

The commissions for these officers were signed hy the Council of Safety on vJune iSth, 1775, and on the 21st of June, following, a comnnssion for John Chesnut, Paymaster 3rd regiment, and nine blank commissions, all dated June lSth,for second lieutenants, were signed by the Council. The appointing of the second lieutenants was left to Col, Thomson.

On the 24th of June, 1775, Col. 'i'homson received, from the Council of Safety, his commission, and an order, dated June 21st, directing him to issue forthwith, orders for levying troops for his regiment; and in the Council of Safety on June 26, 1775, the following resolution was passed:

''Besoh'ed, That a letter be wiitten to Col. Thomson, directing him to station the first troop of Rangers that shall be raised, at Fort Charlotte, till further orders; that he send to Charles Town as soon as possible, the two brass field pieces, and bayonets, that are there; and that he do take charge of all the gun-powder and military stores that shall remain there, and fCanieron refused to aeeept the coniniissidii ottered him, as will be seen by hits two letters to Major Andrew Williamson, dated .July 10th and .July lOth, 1775, and published on pajie ()7 of Vol. II. of (^>lleetions of S. C. Historical Society. He sympathised with the Crown.

IRamsay and Col. Thomson f^We his name as John Donaldson, but his name is given on the Journal of Council of Safety and in (xeneral DeSausure's pamphlet as James Donaldson.

Orders in accordanee with thi.s resolution were then sent to Col. Thomson,* and on July 1st he transmitted them to Major Mayson to be by him put into execution: and Major Mayson was directed to place Fort (_'har!otte in chal-ge of Capt. Purvis.

On the 13th of July the Council of Safety issued orders requiring Col. Thomson to make a complete re^ turn of hi.s regiment, and issued further orders for the regiment to begin a series of movements on August the 10th; whi<-h last orders were rescinded by the Council on July 20th.

On July 14th, the Council, upon application by Col. Thomson, issued the following order, which was doubtless very agreeable to the officers and men of the Rangers:

to Col. William Thomson, to be paid by him to the Paymaster of the Regiment of Hangers, for paying the said Regiment, the sum of one thousand Pounds currency; for which this shall be your warrant.

Fronj the Journal of the Council for the same day, July 14th. we extract: "The Council signed a certificate for Dr. Alexander Rogers, appointed Surgeon to the Regiment of Rangers, dated this day, upon an application by Col. Thomson."

Col. Thomson was next given orders, on July 15th, to immediately march his regiment, or such part of it as he might deem necessary foi' the service, to take Fort Chailotte, in case the same had not already been secured agreeable to the order of June 26th. Upon receiving this order Col, Thomson issued orders for Captains Goodwyn, Kershaw, Richardson and Woodward to meet him at the Congarees on the following Sunday, ready to march to Fort Charlotte; but upon reaching the Congarees he met an express from Major Mayson containing the intelligence of the capture of Fort Charlotte.* Thereupon Col. Thomson went into camp at the Congarees with the four companies he had with him, issued orders for Capt. Wise to also join him at once with his company, and sent a detachment to Fort Charlotte for powder.

From his camp at "Granby near Friday's Ferry", Col. Thomson wrote a letter to the Council of Safety on July 22nd, in which he advised that some member of the Council of Safety and the Rev. William Tennent be sent among the back-country people.

It appears that when the Continental Association was carried among the settlers in the fork between the Broad and Saluda rivers, (a part of which territor}^ was in Orangeburgh District, but the greater part of which w^as in Ninety-Six District) many of them refused to sign it. The Council of Safety then resolved, on July 23rd, to send William Henry Drayton and the Rev. William Tennent among them to try to persuade them into signing it. The Council also gave them the following authority: "Gentlemen - in order to give you every necessary and proper support and protection in your progress into the country, in execution of our commission of this date, you are hereby authorized to call upon all and every Officer of the Militia and Rangers for assistance, support and protection". Acting under this authority Messrs Drayton and

Tenuent. who had left Charleston on August 2nd, <-alled upon Col. Thomson soon thereafter to accompany them with his regiment. The following account of their journey tiirough Orangeburgh District, and their transactions with Col. Thomson and his regiment of rangers, is made up from Mr. Tennent's diary, several letters written by Messrs Drayton and Tennent, and various other documents:

Tennent's diary: "'Sth. Set out a little after 6, and by the help of Mr. Thomson's good pair of horses, passed over sixteen miles of the worst road I almost ever saw, owing to the steepness of the hills, and the gullies made by yesterday's shower of rain. Dined at Mr. Patrick's, a man of property among the Dutch, and afterwards rode with him seven miles. Arrived at with sundry othcers of the regiment. Among others was agreeably surprised to find Dr. Charlton, from Philadelphia, a lieutenant among them. We were soon introduced to Messrs Dunn & Booth, two lawyers sent from North Carolina, prisoners, for having been busy in stirring up there in opposition to the Continent. They appear sensible and plausible men. After making known our errand to the Commanding Officer, we consulted with him and concluded to send the prisoners by a detachment to Charleston to the general committee informing them of the time of the Congress in North Carolina, to disband the Kangers for a few days, to take off the fears of the people. Sunday, evening. Finding some disaffected among the soldiers Mr. Drayton harrangued them and was followed by myself until all seemed well satisfied, and we returned to Mr. Chestnut's 2 miles. About midnight were alarmed by an officer from the Camp, who informed us, that they had niutined and were deterujined to g6

"Monday, 7th. Discovered that the Mutiny arose from some words dropped by some officers concerning their pay and duty. We dealt plainly with the Corps of Officers, and addressed the men at the head of the Regiment in such a manner as that they all went away happy".

"Gentlemen: - Having left Charles Town on Wednesday morning, we arrived here early on Saturda}' afternoon, 130 miles distant from town. In our way, we spent some hours at Col. Gaillard's.f and we flatter ourselves the visit had a good effect. It is to be hoped, he has not delivered himself in public so warmly, as he has expressed himself to us."

"As a first step to the particular object of our progress, upon our arrival here, we despatched notices to particular persons of influence among the Dutch, to endeavor to procure a meeting of them at the place of election as on this day. To our great mortification not one German}: appeared, but one or two of our friends who had been industrious to procure a meeting. By them we were informed, their countrymen were so much averse to take up arms, as they imagined, against the king, least they should lose their

JLet it be borne in niind that these were the 8axe-(Jotha and "Dutch Fork" Germans - not the Orangeburgh Germans. And even the small hopes that Drayton entertained of fheae, were redeemed ?ifterwards.

lands; and were so possessed with an idea, that the rangers were posted here to force their signatures to the association, that they would not by any arguments be induced to come near us". * * * "However unfavorable these circumstances are, we hope you will not be alarmed at them; we yet have some hopes of success, though we confess they are but small in this quarter.

"We have engaged Col. Thomson to order a muster of two Dutch companies in this neighborhood on Wednesday next, and w-e have declared if the officers disobey they shall be broke. This threat was highly necessary, as the Dutch Captains had some little time ago disobeyed such an order, alledging that extra musters were warranted only by orders from the Governor. We hope this step will oblige a part of the Germans to give us a hearing; and as we flatter ourselves that our discourses to them will not be entirely lost upon them, we expect these will induce others of their countrymen to be willing to hear what we have to say. With this view, and to give such persons an opportunity of hearing us; w^e have engaged one Dutch clergyman to perform service at one place on Friday next, and another, at a second place on Sunday next, at both which places Mr. Drayton will be present. And in the mean time, as we know in general, that an argument relating to money matters most readily catches a Dutchman's ear, we have declared that no non-subscriber in this settlement will be allowed to purchase at, or sell to this store or Charles Town. When Mr. Drayton shall quit the Dutch settlements on Sunday next, after having had on Saturday a meeting with a large number of people of all sorts, at one McLaurin's, a store keeper, hitherto an enemy, but now. at least in appearance, a friend, he will proceed up the fork to Col. Fletc hall's".

"Yesterday Mr. Tennent performed divine service in Camp; and in the afternoon Mr. Drayton harrangued the Rangers respecting the new and extraordinary power by which they were raised; the nature of the public disputes, and the justice of the cause in which they were engaged; the nature of their allegiance to the King and their duty to their country, their families and themselves; their duty and obligation to oppose and attack any British troops landing in this colony; their honor was awakened by contrasting their personal value and importance against the importance of the British troops; their complaints respecting provisions were entered into, and they were assured the public meant to do all that could be done for them consistently with the nature of discipline and the calamitous situation of affairs; they were informed that the public could not so much dishonor them as to imagine they had enlisted merely for pecuniary gain, but persuaded that they being actuated with a nobler motive, all men were willing to believe, that they without wishing to be at ease in every respect, as in a regular service under an established and quiet Government, did not, as they could not in honor or conscience, desire more than absolute necessaries. And that, if they thought it a hardship to go abroad to procure provisions, the Council were ready to save them that trouble by deducting a reasonable sum from their pay, and supplying them with provisions in the manner in which the foot were furnished. They had grumbled about tents, and were now informed that the British troops in America during the last war, not only generally used but pieferred huts made of bushes. Finally, encomiums were passed upon the progress they had made in the art military, and it was recommended to them in the strongest terms to pay the most perfect obedience to their officers, as the only means by which they could become good soldiers, and to defend those liberties and rights which they appeared so willing to protect. Hitherto there has been but little subordination.

"To these things Mr. Tennent added assurances of the value of Congress currency which many people liad endeavored to depreciate in the opinion of the soldiers, and he read and commented upon the declaration of the General Congress.

"These things being finished, we left the camp in apparent quiet satisliiction and content, the men on being discharged expressing their thanks to us. But about midnight, an officer stole from the camp (about two miles off*) and gave us the most alarming intelligence that a most dangerous mutiny had broke out in, and prevailed throughout the whole camp, in which there was no longer any command or obedience; that the men were in an uproar at the idea of a deduction of their pay, for they had in general been promised provisions above their pay, and they were determined to quit the camp this morning and disband. Col. Thomson and Capt. Kershaw lodge with us; they were willing to do any thing that was thought proper. We consulted with them upon the case, and it was thought most advisable not to take any step in the night or for either of those officers to go to the camp; but that time should be allowed for the men to cool, and for the three Captains and other officers in camp to sound the men, and learn who would be depended upon. This measure had the effect we exi»ected, and this ujorning the men appeared quiet, and it became evident that the disorders arose from three or four privates of prof!igate dispositions, and from improper conduct, declarations, and conversations of some officers. Capt. Woodward had incautiously at enlisting his men, made promises which proved grounds of discontent and disappointment, and yesterday had even the rashness to attempt to he spokesman to us in the hearing of the Rangers in favor of their being found above their pay; and Lieutenant Dutarque, also attenjpted to inveigh against the cruelty of keeping men encamped without tents. Such topics had by these officers frequently been touched upon heretofore, but we have privately given them a lecture upon the subject, and we hope as the}' heard us in a proper manner, that it will have a good effect. From such sources, however, it is plain the disorder of last night arose. The Rangers were this morning marched from camp to this place, where Mr. Drayton harrangned them upon the disorder of the last night, attributing it to a few disorderly persons. who in this the first instance, would by the Colonel be passed over unnoticed, in hopes such lenity would work a reformation in them. The consequences of a mutinous conduct were described as tending to expose them to the derision of their neighbors and enemiejs. and to cover them and the whole corps with shame, contempt, infamy and ruin, without effecting the public service; for, if they should prove unworthy of the service, they would certainly be brought to condign punishment, and other and more worthy rangers be found to supply their places. For they ought not to flatter themselves, that because some parts of this country w^ere disaffected, that therefore they could desert and be in places of security. If any should desert they must some time be off their caution and guard, and then they would be seized, for a reward would be put upon their heads - no money would be thought too much to ferret them out wheiesoever they should go; and dead or alive the}" would oeitainl}^ be carried to Charles Town. The situation of America was placed l)efore them. On one side of the question stood almost infinite numbers, supported b}^ wealth and men of learning and abilities to plan and execute measures to evercome their opponents, who, of the Americans were only a few men of little property and less knowledge and abilities to conduct affairs; and they were asked, if they could possibly think ther6 was any safety among such men. The obligation of their oath was strongly insisted upon; and as to provisions, it was declared that the officers wH)uld endeavor to encourage people, of whom many were willing to supply the camp; in which case the soldiers should purchase as they pleased in camp, where, when there were any provisions they should not be allowed to go abroad to seek what they could find at home. They were told, they were not now to look for rewards, but that they must expect them when these troubles w'ere over. For, as in the mean time it would be known who among them behaved with due obedience, and who conducted themselves otherwise; so, all these things in time to come would be remembered by the gentlemen below, who would in private affairs shew to the first all kinds of favors and acts of friendship whenever opportunities should offer; and they would carefully mark the latter, and discountenance and thwai't them upon every occasion. This discourse we flatter ourselves had a full effect. They were called upo!! to say what they pleased; except three men, they wer-e all well satisfied and contented, and showed the most perfect submission. These three were properly checked, and the worst of them severely reprimanded and spoken to in private."

settlers as those of the interior parts, that the Rangers were posted here to force measures; and to remove every idea that we came up to issue orders to plunder and lay waste, as well as to allow the soldiers to go home to places of election, and to procure necessaries, and to shew that we place a contidence in their good behavior, we have this day broken np the camp ami sent them to their respective homes under their officers, with orders to repair to a new camp in Amelia about thirty miles below this, and to join there on the 18th inst.,* at which place Maj. Mason is likewise under orders to appear at the same time with Capt. Purvis' Company. For the Major's personal presence in 96 is of disservice to the public affairs."

"With regards to Oapt. Polk, we are at present silent, but we hope you will not delay to fill up Captain's Commissions for those two vacancies, by promoting the two eldest first Lieutenants,}- as in such a case Mr. Heatly will speedily procure full compliments of recruits for and himself. We also beg leave to inform you that a Surgeon's mate is necessary for the Rangers, although there is no provision for such a post by particular act of Congress, yet it may arise

*Here is a copy of one of the orders issued by Col. Thomson to his captains on this occasion: (Gibbes's Documentary History, 1855, page 127.)

"Camp at Mineral Springs, August 7th, 1775. "Sir: - You are hereby ordered to give your men leave to go to their respective homes, and you are to order them to get their horses recruited, and themselves properly equipped, and on the 18th instant you are to rendezvous with your company in Amelia phice, known by the name of Flechall's old field, where you are to camp till further orders.

from your power, as such an officer is, in our opinion and the Colonel's, necessary for the service. We beg leave to recommend Lieutenant Thomas Charlton, a man of experience and reputation in physic, and who came into the corps under an idea, that there was provision for such an appointment. He is worthy of the first post in that line in the Regiment; but being willing to serve the public in this cause, he is content with the last rank in the way of his profession."

Tennent's diary: "Tuesday 8th. Spent the morning in preparing matters, to get people together in different parts of the district, crossed Congaree River and rode 5 miles to an election for the Congress, where they refused to proceed, unless we should enlighten them. We found persons had come a great way to oppose the election. Harangued the meeting in turns, until every man was convinced, and the greatest opposer signed the Association and begged pardon for the words he had spoken to the people. Returned and found that Major Mason had come. N. B. This morning about 11 o'clock sent off Lieutenant Dutarque with the prisoners to Charleston, charged with our dispatches."

"Gentlemen: - This afternoon Mr. Tennent and Col. Richardson sat off upon their progress on the north side of Broad River. Mr. Kershaw, who came from Camden to-day, remains to continue the progress with me, through the fork between Broad and Saluda rivers.'"