Thomas Sumter; Part 8 Battle of Sullivan's Island

Thomas Sumter was from the High Hills of the Santee near present day Sumter, South Carolina. He was born in Virginia but immigrated to South Carolina after he made a name for himself fighting in the French and Indian War against the Cherokee as part of the Virginia Militia as a sergeant. He even went to England after the war as an escort for Indian chiefs the British wished to impress. Upon his return he bought land in the High Hills and opened a store, mill, and farm in 1764. As he began to amass wealth over time in the High Hills, he started to resent the taxes he was paying and as a result, he turned to the Patriot cause.

He was elected to the South Carolina Provincial Congress along with a neighbor by the name of Francis Marion in 1774 that first meet on January 11th, 1775. While a member of the Provincial Congress he voted for many acts to distance South Carolina from England, he was considered a radical by many who were at the meetings. Also during this time period Thomas Sumter became a Captain in the local militia of the High Hills area. As a Captain he and his company participated in the Snow Campaign of December 1775 along with others such as Andrew Pickens,  and Lt. Col. William Thomson with the #rd South Crolina Rangers under the command of Col. Richard Richardson with a total force of 4500 men from South and North Carolina which sought out to destroy Tory strong holds and gathering points in the back country of South Carolina. During the Snow Campaign, Sumter was second in command to Col. Richardson and through this opportunity his leadership shown through as the Patriots smashed the Tories in the back country.

As a result of the name he made for himself in the Snow Campaign in February 1776 Thomas Sumter was appointed Lt. Colonel of a new regiment that was being formed in South Carolina. The new regiment would be called the 2nd South Carolina Rifle Regiment and would be made up of recruits from the Northwestern part of the state. They were to be primarily a sharp shooting regiment hence the name rifle regiment; instead of muskets they were issued rifles when possible as their primary weapon. Their name would later be changed to the 6th South Carolina a fact which will help the reader at a later date. They became an active regiment on March 25th, 1776 in Charleston after Sumter began recruiting for the regiment in the back country.

The 2nd South Carolina Rifles at the Battle of Sullivan’s Island under the command of Lt. Col. Sumter was stationed at Haddrell’s Point on Mount Pleasant on June 6th, 1776. They were being used as a ready reserve force with other regiments to meet the British if they should try to land on Mount Pleasant, but could also be ferried over to Sullivan’s Island if needed.

So on June the 6th we Find Thomas Sumter not yet the “Gamecock” he would become, eagerly waiting with his men to see what the British next move was to be.

Francis Marion enters the picture: Part 8 Battle of Sullivan's Island

With this blog being named after Marion’s Brigade you would figure it would be about Marion. Well to be honest it is, but we had to set the tone for Marion to enter the picture and there are lots of interesting stories about the revolution in South Carolina that we want to share also. So we will try to blend the two at times and concentrate on one or the other at other times.

Francis Marion by the fall of 1775 was a respected elected official in South Carolina politics which had voted for independence and was an officer in the 2nd South Carolina. He was also an experienced militia soldier who had served as an enlisted member of South Carolina Provincial Calvary with his brother and as a lieutenant in the infantry fighting the Cherokee in the back country of South Carolina and Eastern Tennessee in two different wars serving with such men as William Moultrie, Andrew Pickens, and Peter Horry. This military experience served him well in the inner circles of planter aristocracy in Charleston where they selected him to become a captain in the 2nd South Carolina, serving under his old commander from fighting the Cherokees, William Moultrie.

He first is to see action when he was chosen along with two other highly recognized militia military leaders who had join the line infantry Captain Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and Captain Barnard Elliot to take Fort Johnson from the British on June 21st, 1775 by the South Carolina Council of Safety. However, Marion and his men did not take part on the assault against Fort Johnson, which was not defended, since Lord Campbell had already left it earlier and spiked the cannons to keep them out of Patriot use. Marion and his men were still off loading at the transport when the others decide to attack because of  fear of alerting the fort to their presence. With Marion being selected for this assignment it shows just how highly he was thought of in early South Carolina military circles.

After the taking of Fort Johnson the Patriots started to build up defenses in the harbor proper to eject Lord Campbell and the two British ships which he maintained in the harbor to try to keep some control of the colony and to rally Loyalist support to the crown which never materialized. As a result a military depot to store powered, munitions, cannons, and important papers was established at the old fort at the town of Dorchester thirty miles up the Ashley River from Charleston. This fortification  was built in 1757 to protect a brick powder magazine and surrounded by a tabby wall for extra protection during the French and Indian War. As the supplies built up the fears of Loyalist coming from the back country of South Carolina to take the material there increased. As a result Moultrie sent Marion on November 19th, 1775 to Dorchester with command of his company and Captain Huger’s to secure the tabby fort there and make it ready for any possible attack. This was accomplished by Marion without incident and he remanded at Dorchester for some months protecting the very valuable material stored at this site.

The order reads as follows

Dated: November 19, 1775

"To Captain Francis Marion

     You are to proceed with all expeditions with yours, and Cap. Huger's companies to Dorchester, to reinforce the troops there, and to take specialcare in guarding and defending the cannon, gunpowder, and public records at that place. you are to take command of the whole of the troops at that place, till further orders. You are to apply to the commottee in Dorchester, for a sufficient number of negroes in the public service, to remove the cannon lying by the water-side to a spot more safe, and convenient, near the fort or bacrraks, etc.

Willaim Moultrie"

In late January or early February Marion and his detachment was ordered to Fort Johnson on James Island and then to Haddrell’s Point where a battery was nearing completion by the Continental forces while Moultrie and most of the 2nd South Carolina was starting in earnest to build the main fortifications on Sullivans Island. While at the fortifications at Haddrell’s Point, Marion was promoted to Major in the 2nd South Carolina and took his place as second in command to Moultrie. Once this occurred he along with his detachment transferred to Sullivans Island to help with the work on the fortifications there.

So in early June 1776, we find Francis Marion, a Major in the 2nd South Carolina and second in command of the major fortification on the South Eastern side of the island ready to meet their fate against the British Empire.

South Carolina’s Navy at the Battle of Sullivan's Island part 7

South Carolina Navy Jack

                                                                                           Defence in action by Conner

On September the fifth, 1775 the South Carolina Provincial Congress ordered three ships for the defense of Charleston Harbor. The ships would provide the back bone for the newly formed South Carolina Navy. This was a time period where each state still provided for its own defense with assistance from other states. As a result each state provided its own army and navy, thus the South Carolina Navy was born in Charleston to defend the harbor. The South Carolina Navy went into action with three ships at first the Defence, Hibernia, and Hawke with a forth Prosper coming on line in December of 1775. These ships provide escort, helped with troop movements, patrolled the South Carolina coast looking for prize opportunities, and helping to secure the harbor. On November the 12th, 1775 the Defence got into the first navel fight of the short history of the South Carolina Navy when it was trying to sink old hulks as obstacles near Hog Island channel to block British ships from attempting to enter the harbor through this channel. The SC Navy Defence traded shots with the HMS Cherokee and HMS Tamar for three hours as she helped place the hulks for sinking in the channel. Fort Johnson with the First South Carolina tried to join the battle but the distance was to far for its cannons and it stopped firing after the shots if fired were not able to reach its targets. These are the same ships that Royal Gov. Campbell was on trying to keep royal control over South Carolina through. The exchange causes no real harm to either of the forces with Defence taking three minor hits, but it did show South Carolina was not ready to back down.

Defence vs Tamar and Cherokee by Conner

On January 10th, 1776 the Defence was the ship selected to carry the troops selected to form the battery on Sullivans Island to the island. After she got the men and material off board safely she then stayed near the island to provide protection to the work force as they began to build the first primitive battery on the island.

Also in the spring of 1776, the Defence and a newly commissioned ship in the South Carolina Navy the Comet began patrolling the coast of South Carolina collecting some prizes for the new navy. This was accomplished while they were also watching out for the British Fleet that was rumored to be heading from Boston to the South. In late May, both of the ships returned to Charleston at different times bring with them captured prizes. Defence was able to bring her prize into the port safely while Comet ended up with her prize grounded as two British ships gave her chase. 

This action in late May ended the open ocean role of the South Carolina Navy as the British Fleet blockaded the harbor on June 2nd. Upon their arrival closing up the harbor until the battle was decided. The new role of the fleet was to help with troop movements around the harbor, to become floating batteries, and to refit while they were in port if supplies were available. Two of the ships that would play a role in the defense of Sullivans Island would be the Defence and Prosper.

The unified defence plan of Charleston which included the harbor and the town called for the navy to place the Defence and the Prosper in key positions in the harbor to offer support to the main two forts. The Prosper would be placed close to James Island near Fort Johnson and the Defence would be placed near Hog Island channel to offer support to the battery on Haddrell's Point and the fort on Sullivans Island.

Thus, once the Royal Navy shows up outside the harbor, the unified defence plan is put into action and the South Carolina Navy gets ready for action.