Ninety Six Fortified. Its Garrison and Works. Capture of Fort Galphin. The Galphin Claim." the district around Ninety-Six. Like the neutral ground in West Chester, New York, Whig nor Tory could dwell there in peace, for armed bands of each were continually disturbing the inhabitants, and in close proximity were the hostile Cherokees, ready, when they dared, to scourge the settlers. The little village of Ninety-Six was stockaded to defend it from the incursions of the Indians; and when, after the fall of Charleston, the British established several posts in the interior, its location and salubrity indicated it as an important point for a fortification. It was in a position to maintain a communication with the Indians, keep in check the Whig settlements west of it, and cover those of the Loyalists in other directions; and it afforded an excellent recruiting-station for the concentration of Tory material in that quarter. Ninety-Six was garrisoned by about five hundred and fifty Loyalists, three hundred and fifty of whom were from New York and New Jersey,' and the remainder were South Carolina Tories, under Colonel King, the whole commanded by Lieutenant-colonel John Cruger, a native of the city of New York. Cruger was an energetic officer, and possessed the entire confidence of his superiors in the royal army. He did not receive instructions from Rawdon when that officer abandoned Camden, for Sumter cut off all communications; therefore, he had not prepared to evacuate Ninety-Six and join Colonel Browne at Augusta, as Rawdon desired him to do. When he learned that Greene was approaching Camden, he began to strengthen his works; and when informed that Lee, with his legion, had got between him and the post at Augusta, and that Greene was approaching to besiege him, his garrison labored night and day still further to strengthen the defenses. Already he had built a stockade fort on the borders of the village, in addition to a star redoubt. This was strength Before ened; a parapet was raised; a ditch was dug around it, and a covered way, communicating with the palisaded village, was prepared. Block-houses, formed of notched logs, were erected on the northeastern side of the village, near where a star redoubt was constructed. Greene reached there, Cruger's energy and skill had so directed the efforts of the garrison, under the superintendence of Lieutenant Haldane, one of Cornwallis's aids, that the place presented an apparently insurmountable strength against the attacks of Greene's little army of a thousand men. In the mean while, Marion and Sumter were directed to keep watch between the Santee and Edisto Rivers, and hold Rawdon in check, if he should attempt to march to the relief of either Ninety-Six or Augusta, now menaced by the Americans; while Lee, who left Fort Granby, with his legion, in the evening after its capture, was scouring the country between those two posts, and proceeding to form a junction with Pickens. Informed that quite a large quantity of powder, balls, small arms, liquor, salt, blankets, and other articles, intended for the Indians, and much wanted by the Americans, were deposited at Fort Galphin (sometimes called Fort Dreadnought), a small stockade at Silver Bluff, upon the Carolina side of the Savannah, twelve miles below Augusta,' he hastened thither to capture them. On the morning of the twenty-first of May,a he reached the vicinity, and Captain Rudulph, with some of the legion infantry, gallantly rushed upon the fort, while a a 1781. According to M'Kenzie, in his Strictures on Tarleton's History, there were one hundred and fifty men of Delancey's battalion (Loyalists of New York), and two hundred Jersey volunteers. Lieutenant-colonel Cruger was Colonel Delancey's son-in-law. Colonel Cruger died in London in 1807, aged sixty-nine. His widow died at Chelsea, England, in 1822, at the age of seventy-eight years. The house of George Galphin, deputy superintendent of Indian affairs, inclosed within stockades, was used for barracks, and as a store-house for various Indian supplies. The land is now owned by Ex-governor Hammond, of South Carolina. Previous to 1773, Galphin, by his dealings with the Creek Indians, had made them indebted to him in the sum of $49,000. To secure the payment of this and other debts, the Creeks conveyed to the British government, in 1773, a large tract of land lying within the present limits of Georgia. At the close of the Revolution, this land belonged to that state, and to the local Legislature Galphin applied for the payment of his claim. It was refused. In 1847, Milledge Galphin, surviving heir and executor of the Indian agent, petitioned Congress for a payment of the claim, principal and interest; and in 1850, the general government allowed what the local government had pronounced illegal. The "Galphin claim" took a large sum from our National Treasury, for interest had been accumulating for about seventy years. Greene before Ninety Six. Siege commenced by Kosciuszko. A Sally. Plan of the Siege. With the loss of only small body of militia attacked the garrison from another quarter. one man, the fort, with all its contents, was captured by the Americans. After resting a few hours, Lee ordered Major Eggleston, who was a Continental officer, to cross the Savannah, join bodies of militia in that neighborhood, proceed to Augusta with a flag, inform Colonel Browne of the approach of Greene, and demand an instant surrender of Forts Cornwallis and Grierson, at that place. The events which followed will be detailed in another chapter. He found quite a strong fort, Lea பகு 1st Parali Greene arrived before Ninety-Six on the twenty-second of May,a with less than one thousand regulars' and a few undisciplined militia. well situated. On the left of the village, in a valley, was a spring and rivulet, which furuished water to the garrison. On the western side of this rivulet, upon an eminence, was a stockade fort, and upon the other side, near the village, was a fortified jail. These were to defend the water of the rivulet, for none could be had within the town. Eastward of the village stood the principal work, a star redoubt, consisting of sixteen angles, salient and re-entering, with a ditch and abatis, and furnished with three pieces of cannon. Every thing was judiciously arranged for defense, and Lieutenantcolonel Cruger defied Greene when he appeared. TO ABBEVILLE Cambridge TO AUGUSTA 196 fo 2nd Par! PLAN OF THE SIEGE OF NINETY-SIX.2 a 1781. Under cover Colonel Kosciuszko was with Greene, and under his direction the besiegers began approaches by parallels. They broke ground near the star redoubt on the evening of the twenty-second. Perceiving this, Cruger placed his three cannons upon a platform, in that direction, before noon the next day, and manned the parapet with infantry. of these, a sally party, under Lieutenant Roney, rushed out upon the besiegers, drove the guards back toward the lines, bayoneted all who fell in the way, destroyed the American works as far as they had progressed, and carried off all of the intrenching tools. Lieutenant Roney was mortally wounded, and that was all the loss the enemy sustained. All this was accomplished with great gallantry, before a detachment sent by Greene to re-enforce Kosciuszko, arrived upon the ground. Kosciuszko now commenced another approach to the star redoubt. He broke ground on the night of the twenty-third, under cover of a ravine, and day by day slowly approached the fortress. In the mean while, Pickens and Lee besieged and captured Forts Cornwallis and Grierson at Augusta, and hastened to the assistance of Greene. Lee arrived on the eighth of June,b and Pickens soon afterward joined him. These active partisans were directed to attack the enemy's works on b 1781. 1 Colonel Williams, deputy adjutant general, in his returns stated them thus: Fit for duty, rank and file, Maryland brigade, 427; Virginia ditto, 431; North Carolina battalion, 66; Delaware ditto [under Captain Kirkwood], 60; in all, 984. The number of the militia is not mentioned. 2 This plan is from a sketch sent to me by James M. M'Cracken, Esq., of Cambridge, South Carolina. a indicates the spring, with a rivulet running from it; b, a stockade fort; c, the old jail, which was also fortified; d, the court-house; e, star redoubt; f, first mine, traces of which are yet visible; gggg, the besieging encampments; hhh, stockades inclosing the village; i, the covered way from the stockade fort to the lines around the village. Mr. M'Cracken observes, "The trees and shrubbery on the battle-ground are considered by the inhabitants too sacred to be molested. The land is now (1849) owned by John C. M'Gehee, of Madison county, Florida. The present village of Cambridge is within a few hundred yards of the battle-ground, and the road leading through it, north and south, is the great thoroughfare from Hamburg (opposite Augusta) to Greenville. I have three small cannons in my possession, one six and two four pounders, taken from the enemy at the siege of Ninety-Six." Rawdon informed of the Siege. His march toward Ninety-Six. Attempt to destroy the Stockade. 1 Beale and Cunningham the west. They immediately commenced regular approaches to the stockade to cut off the enemy's supply of water; and at a proper distance from it erected a battery to cover further approaches, and planted a six pounder upon it, under the direction of Lieutenant Finn. Cruger saw the inevitable destruction of the garrison when these parallels, made slowly, day by day, should be completed. He had found means to inform Lord Rawdon of his crit ical situation, and hourly he expected aid from him. To gain time for this succor to arrive, he made nightly sallies, and bloody encounters frequently occurred, while almost daily the American foraging parties were attacked by bands of Tories. Yet slowly and surely the Americans approached; and when the second parallel was completed, Greene sent Colonel Williams to demand a surrender, with promises of kind treatment. Cruger promptly replied that he should defend the fort till the last extremity, and regarded neither the threats nor the promises of the American general. A battery, constructed in the second parallel, now opened upon the redoubt, and under its cover Kosciuszko pressed forward his approach with vigor. On the eleventh, a Greene received a dispatch from Sumter, announcing a June, 1781. the startling intelligence that on the third, a fleet arrived from Ireland with reenforcements for Rawdon, consisting of three regiments, a detachment from the Guards, and a considerable body of volunteers, under the command of Lieutenant-colonel Gould. Rawdon had been anxiously awaiting at Monk's Corner, near Charleston, this propitious event. He had heard of the fall of Fort Cornwallis at Augusta and the investment of Ninety-Six, but with his small force, and Marion and Sumter before him, he dared not march to the aid of Cruger. On the arrival of these troops, he repaired to Charleston, and on the sev enth marched to the relief of Ninety-Six, with seventeen hundred foot and one hundred and fifty horse. A few other troops from his camp at Monk's Corner joined him, and with more than two thousand men he proceeded toward Orangeburg. Greene dispatched Pickens to the aid of Sumter, and ordered Marion from the lower country to join them in retarding the advance of the royal army. They could do little to oppose him, and Greene began to despair of reducing the garrison to submission before Rawdon's arrival. b June. The besiegers now deplored the fact that earlier attention had not been bestowed upon attempts on the western side to deprive the garrison of water, and thus force a capitulation. To this object the chief efforts were now directed, and the most effectual step to accomplish it was to destroy the stockade. The method of approaches was too slow, and it was re solved to endeavor to burn it. A dark storm was gathering, and toward evening, covered by its impending blackness, a sergeant and nine privates, with combustibles, cautiously approached, and four of them gained the ditch. While in the act of applying the fire, they were discovered. A volley of musketry was immediately opened upon them, and the sergeant and five of his party were killed; the other four escaped. The attempt was unsuccessful. On the evening of the nineteenth, a countryman was seen riding along the American lines south of the town, talking familiarly with officers and soldiers. It was a circumstance too common to excite special notice. At length, reaching the great road leading directly into the town, he put spurs to his horse, and, amid a storm of bullets, rode safely to the gate, holding a letter in his raised hand. He was received with the greatest joy, for he was the 1 Among the most active of these parties was the "Bloody Scout," under the notorious Bill Cunningham They hovered around the American camp like vultures, and picked off the patriots in detail. The most active opponent of this scoundrel was William Beale, of Ninety-Six. He formed a scouting party of Whigs, and soon they became a terror to the Tories. On one occasion, Cunningham and his party plundered the house of Beale's mother, during his absence. On his return, Beale went in pursuit, and approaching Cunningham, that marauder wheeled and fled. The race continued for almost three miles, when Cunningham turned, and with a pistol, shot Beale's horse dead. Beale retreated backward, daring the Tory to follow. The latter, fearing a Whig ambush, rode off. On another occasion, Cunningham and his party surrounded a house where Beale and a Whig were stopping. They heard the approach of the Tories, when, rushing to their horses and rattling their swords, Beale gave command as if to a troop. It was dark, and Cunningham, who had thirteen men with him, fled in great haste. Cunningham was so mortified, when he learned that they had been frightened away by a couple of Whigs, that he swore vengeance against Beale.-Letter of James M. M'Cracken, Esq Cruger advised of Rawdon's approach. Assault on the Star Redoubt. Capture of the Stockade. A bold Prisoner. The bearer of a dispatch from Lord Rawdon, announcing his approach with a large force. beleaguered garrison, almost on the point of surrendering (for this was the first intelligence. Cruger had received from Rawdon since his evacuation of Camden), were animated with fresh hope, while the besiegers, aware of the approach of succor for the besieged, were nerved to greater exertions. They completed their parallels, and commenced the erection of a Mayham Tower,' from which to fire into the star redoubt. To guard against this advantage of height, Major Greene, the commander of the redoubt, piled bags of sand upon the parapets. On the morning of the seventeenth, a general fire was opened upon the works, and so effectual was it upon the stockade and its vicinity, that the garrison was deprived of water from the rivulet. Had this advantage been maintained, and Rawdon been delayed thirty hours longer, Cruger must have surrendered. a June, 1781. Rawdon managed to elude the vigilance of Sumter, after passing Orangeburg, and now approached Ninety-Six. Greene perceived that he must either storm the works at once, fight Rawdon, or retire. He determined upon the former; and at noon on the eighteenth, the Mayham Tower being completed, and two trenches and a mine nearly let into the enemy's ditch, the center battery opened upon the star, as a signal for a general attack. Lieutenant-colonel Campbell, of the first Virginia regiment, with a detachment from the Maryland and Virginia brigades, led the attack on the left; Lieutenantcolonel Lee, with Kirkwood's Delawares, advanced on the right; Lieutenants Duval, of Maryland, and Selden, of Virginia, commanded the forlorn hope of Campbell; and Captain Rudulph that of Lee. Riflemen were stationed in the tower, fascines were constructed to fill the ditch, and long poles, with iron hooks, were prepared to pull down the sand-bags from the parapets. Campbell and Lee rushed to the assault simultaneously. Cruger received the attack with firmness, and, from apertures between the sand-bags, Colonel Greene's riflemen did great execution. Duval and Selden boldly entered the ditch, and commenced pulling down the sand-bags. The parapet bristled with pikes and bayonets, yet they could not reach the assailants. Rapidly the bags were disappearing in the ditch below, and Campbell was pressing to ascend the parapet and fight hand to hand with the garrison, when Captain French, of Delancey's corps, and Captain Campbell, of New Jersey, issued from a sally-port of the star redoubt with a few men, and taking opposite directions in the ditch, fiercely assailed Duval and Selden, at the same time, with bayonets. Terrible was the conflict which followed. The brave patriots were assailed both in front and overhead, yet they maintained their ground for some minutes. At length both leaders of the forlorn hope were wounded, and the whole party retreated to the trenches. While this bloody scene was transpiring at the star redoubt, one more successful effort for the besiegers occurred at the stockade. Rudulph made his way into the fort, and the enemy, with some prisoners,2 hastily retreated to the main works. This advantage Lee intended to follow up, by entering the town, assailing the fortified jail, and then to assist in reducing the star redoubt; but General Greene, perceiving the slaughter in the ditch, and desirous of saving his troops, ordered Lee to do nothing more than to hold the stockade he had gained. Greene then sent a flag to Cruger, proposing a cessation of hostilities for the purpose of burying the dead. Cruger refused, claiming that service for the victor, whoever he might be. Believing the reduction of the post to be doubtful before the arrival of Rawdon, and unwilling to encounter that general's superior force, Greene withdrew the detachment from the stockade, and prepared for a general retreat. Thus ended the siege of 1 For description of the Mayham Tower, and the origin of its name, see an account of the attack upon Fort Watson, page 707. 2 Mr. M'Crackenlre ates, that among the prisoners in one of the redoubts was one named Benjamin Eddins. Lieutenant-colonel Cruger frequently visited him, and often importuned him to eschew Republicanism and join the British army. Eddins at length became tired of these importunities, and one day said to Cruger, Sir, I am a prisoner in your power; you may cut out my heart (baring his bosom), or you may drag my limbs and body asunder with ropes and horses; all this will I endure rather than desert my country's flag." Charmed by his boldness and patriotism, Colonel Cruger replied, "Sir, you are too true a rebel to remain here; you are liberated from this moment." Raising of the Siege of Ninety-Six. Arrival of Rawdon. His pursuit of Greene. Movements of the two Armies. Ninety-Six, which continued twenty-seven days. During this siege, the Americans lost about one hundred and fifty men in killed, wounded, and missing. Captain Armstrong, of the Maryland line, a most valuable officer, was shot through the head, during the assault on the eighteenth, and fell dead. He was the only American officer who was killed. Captain Benson, also of the Maryland line, was severely wounded in the neck and shoulder. The exact loss of the besieged was not reported. a June 20, On the evening of the nineteenth, Greene raised the siege, crossed the Saluda,a 1781. and rapidly retreated toward the Ennoree.' He had communicated to Sumter notice of the events of the eighteenth, advised him of the route of his retreat, and ordered the corps in his front, with the cavalry of Washington, to join him as speedily as possible. On the morning of the twenty-first, Rawdon and his army reached Ninety-Six, and were welcomed with every expression of joy. Cruger was greatly and justly applauded for his gallant defense. On the same evening, when their mutual congratulations had ceased, and his army, after forced marches for fourteen days, were rested, Rawdon started in pursuit of Greene. He was eager to strike and utterly destroy or disperse his little army; regain the various posts he had lost; scatter the partisan forces of Marion and Sumter; revive the hopes and energies of the Loyalists, and thus strengthen the power of Cornwallis, who at this time was devastating Lower Virginia. Rawdon crossed the Saluda in quest of Greene (who had now got beyond the Tyger, in Union District), and gained the banks of the Ennoree, where he acquired information which convinced him that further pursuit would be useless, and with his wearied troops he returned to Ninety-Six. When Greene heard of the retrograde movement of Rawdon, he halted, and ordered Lieutenant-colonel Lee to follow the enemy with his corps, for the purpose of obtaining intelligence. Greene had intended to retreat to Charlotte, but now his future movements depended upon those of his adversary. Lee soon ascertained that Rawdon had determined to abandon Ninety-Six, and to join a force under Colonel Stewart, whom he had ordered to advance from Charleston to Friday's Ferry at Granby; while Colonel Cruger, with his garrison and those Loyalists, with their property, who might choose to follow, were to march directly to Orangeburg. While Rawdon was thus preparing to abandon the upper country, Sumter intercepted a letter to that officer from Colonel Balfour at Charleston, informing him that he had recalled Stewart after he had commenced his march for Friday's Ferry. This letter was sent to Greene, who immediately directed his hospital and heavy baggage, then at Winnsborough, to be forwarded to Camden, while he prepared to pursue Rawdon with all his force. He sent Lee to gain the front of the British army before it should reach Friday's Ferry, and dispatched messages to Marion and Sumter, ordering them to take a similar position. Lee accomplished his purpose, and in a skirmish with a part of The wives of Lieutenant-colonel Cruger and Major Greene were at a farm-house in the neighborhood of Ninety-Six when the American army arrived. General Greene soon quieted their fears, and as they preferred to remain where they were, to joining their husbands in the beleaguered town, he placed a guard there to protect them. This kindness Mrs. Cruger reciprocated on the day when the Americans left, by informing some light troops who had been out scouting, and were passing by the farm-house toward the post, of the termination of the siege and the direction taken by General Greene in his retreat. Without this timely information, they would have been captured. 2 It is related that the message to Sumter from Greene was conveyed by Emily Geiger, the daughter of a German planter in Fairfield District. He prepared a letter to Sumter, but none of his men appeared willing to attempt the hazardous service, for the Tories were on the alert, as Rawdon was approaching the Congaree. Greene was delighted by the boldness of a young girl, not more than eighteen years of age, who came forward and volunteered to carry the letter to Sumter. With his usual caution, he communicated the contents of the letter to Emily, fearing she might lose it on the way. The maiden mounted a fleet horse, and crossing the Wateree at the Camden Ferry, pressed on toward Sumter's camp. Passing through a dry swamp on the second day of her journey, she was intercepted by some Tory scouts. Coming from the direction of Greene's army, she was an object of suspicion, and was taken to a house on the edge of the swamp, and confined in a room. With proper delicacy, they sent for a woman to search her person. No sooner was she left alone, than she ate up Greene's letter piece by piece. After a while, the matron arrived, made a careful search, but discovered nothing. With many apologies, Emily was allowed to pursue her journey. She reached Sumter's camp, communicated Greene's message, and soon Rawdon |