In the first post in this series, Private Aaron Spelmore (Spellman), Part 1, I focused on two things: determining the commander of Captain Anthony Sharpe's company and gathering information regarding a possible skirmish at Bacon's Bridge across the Ashley River near the village of Dorchester, South Carolina (now Summerville).
Today I'll examine his claims of participating in the Siege of Ninety Six and the Battle of Eutaw Springs.
The Siege of Ninety Six: May 22 to June 18, 1781
The village of Ninety Six got its name from early 18th-century traders in Charleston who estimated the miles from that location to the Cherokee village of Keowee and Fort George on the Keowee River. I struggled to find sources for this battle that included details about the North Carolina Continentals, though the National Park Service's brief article lists twenty-eight sources.[1][2]
Keeping the objective in mind, we will only focus on the siege portions involving the North Carolina Continentals. Then we'll look into the specifics about the participants.
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| Major General Nathanael Greene, Wikipedia |
British outposts outside of Charleston were Augusta (GA), Georgetown (SC) and Ninety Six (SC)." Major General Nathanael Green had received intelligence about the fall of Fort Granby on May 15th, and he headed toward Ninety Six for he hoped that by taking the village he could loosen the British grip on the backcountry. When he arrived on the night of the 22nd, the General ordered the troops to build an earthworks for a three-gun battery, 130 yards from the enemy's redoubt and opened fire on the 24th.[3][4]
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| Lt. Col. Henry Lee, Wikipedia |
When Lt. Col. Henry Lee arrived with his legion on June 8th, General Greene's troops were preparing for an attack from the east, but Lee suggested they attack from the west side. Greene adapted his plan, calling for a three-pronged attack to begin at noon on June 18th: Lt. Col. Richard Campbell led the Virginia and Maryland Continentals on the east side of Ninety Six and Lee's Legion along with the North Carolinian and Delaware Continentals on the west. "Captain Michael Rudolph [of Lee's Legion] led his troops forward, crossed the moat, and after an hour of fighting forced his way into Fort Holmes," which protected the enemy's water supply.[5][6]
No other mention of the North Carolinians' participation is included in either of these accounts until they were ordered with Lee's Legion and two other detachments to harass the enemy's rear on their retreat.[7]
Commanders and officers
According to J.D. Lewis, Lee's Legion and the Delaware Continentals were assisted by the "1st NC Regiment of Continentals detachment led by Major Pinketham Eaton with 66 men in the following four (4) known companies led by: Capt. Alexander Brevard, Capt. Thomas Donoho, Capt. Joshua Hadley, Capt. William Lytle."[8]
Captain Anthony Sharpe's company was not included in this sixty-six-man detachment, so I wonder where the rest of the 1st North Carolina Regiment was posted during the siege. And why would Private Aaron Spelmore declare his service at Ninety Six if his unit wasn't present?
The Battle of Eutaw Springs: September 8, 1781
Eutaw Springs was a delightful spot near Nelson's ferry, just off the road leading to Monck's Corner. It had received its name because of two springs that boiled up from an underground stream and then flowed into Eutaw Creek. The creek ran between steep banks covered with heavy thickets of blackjack oak until it emptied into the Santee near the ferry.[9]
At 4:00 a.m. on September 8, 1781, General Greene's troops broke camp and headed to Eutaw Springs, marching in four columns in intense heat, having had few rations and little sleep.
The first column was headed up by Lt. Col. Henry Lee and Lee's Legion followed by the South Carolina state troops commanded by Lt. Col. John Henderson. The second column was the North and South Carolina Militia under the command of Brig. Gen. Andrew Pickens and Brig. Gen. François de Malmédy. The third column was three Continental Brigades: the Marylanders under Col. Otho Williams, the Virginians under Lt. Col. Richard Campbell, and the North Carolinians under Brig. Gen. Jethro Sumner.[10]
Private Aaron Spelmore would have been part of this last unit at the tail end of the third column commanded by General Sumner, and Capt. Anthony Sharpe was present with his company in the 1st North Carolina Regiment.
Using "the Cowpens pattern," the front line of the less experienced militia, followed by the second line of more experienced soldiers. Brigadier General Francis Marion's South Carolina militia formed in the front line on the right, General Malmédy's two battalions of North Carolina militia were positioned in the center, and General Pickens' South Carolina militia on the left. "Captain-Lieutenant William Gains, who had just arrived the night before with dispatches from Lafayette, was in charge of the two three-pounders in the center of the first line."[11]
The 350 men of the North Carolina Brigade under General Sumner formed on the right side of the second line. Lt. Col. Campbell's 350 men in two battalions of the Virginia Brigade were in the center. The 250 men of the Maryland Brigade under General Williams were on the left and their two six-pounder cannon were in the center of the second line under Capt. William Brown of the 12th Company, 1st Virginia Artillery Regiment. The right flank was occupied by Lee's Legion, and on the left flank were Lt. Col. John Henderson's New Acquisition District Regiment of Militia (SC), Lt. Col. William Washington's cavalry of the 3rd Virginia Regiment Light Dragoons, and Capt. Robert Kirkwood's Delaware Company of the 1st Maryland Regiment in reserve.[12][13][14][15]
Heavy fire through the woods caused the center of the Patriot line to cave while the right and left flanks fought separate battles. General Green restored the center with the North Carolina Continentals. The British line sagged, but their reserves rushed them and forced the Patriots to retreat. The British shouted as they rushed forward in disorder, and seeing this, "Major General Greene (according to J.P. Petit) 'brought in his strongest force: the Maryland and Virginia Continentals, and Kirkwood's Delawares, and Lt. Colonel Washington's South Carolina [sic-Virginia] cavalry . . . with devastating effect.' "[16]
"Brigadier General Francis Marion's [South Carolina] Militia units fired seventeen (17) rounds - near the limit of their flintlocks endurance. Then, with ammunition exhausted, they retired in good order, leaving the fighting to Brigadier General Jethro Sumner's [North Carolina] Continentals . . . . [who] moved forward with spirit. As the Patriots advanced, the left of the British line fell back in disorder, and Lt. Col. Henry Lee, wheeling his infantry upon them, increased the enemy's confusion . . . British regulars meeting Continentals in hand-to-hand fighting, bayonets meeting bayonets, and swords on swords. . . . when the Marylanders delivered a terrific fire, the whole British line, except for Major Majoribanks flankers, sagged, faltered, and began retreating."[17]
Once the British fled, the Patriots rushed into their camp and devoured the uneaten breakfast they had left behind. They plundered the food stores, liquor, and equipment, confident that they had won the battle; however, by letting down their guard too soon, they were unaware of a new attack that set them to flight. The battle raged for over four hours in unrelenting heat until it was called a draw. Major General Green gathered his wounded and returned to Burdell's Tavern, seven miles away. The British remained the night and retreated toward Charleston, "leaving behind many of his [Lt. Col. Alexander Stewart's] dead unburied and seventy of his seriously wounded."[18]
Sources
[1] "A Brief History of Ninety Six," U.S. Park Service, 13 Jan 2021.
[2] Hugh Rankin, The North Carolina Continentals, UNC Press, 1971, p. 336.
[3] Ibid.
[4] J.D. Lewis, "The American Revolution in South Carolina: Ninety Six," Carolana.com.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Rankin, p. 339.
[7] Lewis.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Rankin, p. 351.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Rankin, p. 352, 253. Rankin notes that the returns of the battle under-reported the number of North Carolinians on the field.
[12] Ibid.
[13] J.D. Lewis, "The American Revolution in South Carolina: Eutaw Springs," Carolana.com.
[14] The Historical Marker Database, "Capt. Robert Kirkwood (1756-1791)."
[15] T. Kendrick, "A Brief History of the New Acquisition District," citing Michael C. Scoggins, York County Historical Center, May 2002.
[16] Lewis, "Eutaw Springs." I have emailed Mr. Lewis regarding the source "J. P. Petit".
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid.
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