Relevant History | Author Suzanne Adair

Bloody Good Relics

Posted on August 5, 2014 by suzanneadairAugust 4, 2014

Relevant History welcomes back L.A. native Jeri Westerson, who combined the medieval with the hard-boiled and came up with her own brand of medieval mystery she calls “Medieval Noir.” Her brooding protagonist, Crispin Guest, is a disgraced knight turned detective on the mean streets of fourteenth century London. Jeri’s novels have been shortlisted for a variety of industry awards, from the Agatha to the Shamus. She is president of the Southern California chapter of Mystery Writers of America, and speaks all over the southland about medieval history, including as a guest lecturer at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana and Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA. To learn more about Jeri’s books, watch a series book trailer, find discussion guides, and read Crispin’s blog, check out Jeri’s website. Friend Jeri on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter and Goodreads.

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My medieval mysteries always involve a religious relic or venerated object. And so part of my job is to explore relics and make the mythical real. Some of my “favorite” relics (in that they get a lot of attention) are the blood relics. My protagonist Crispin Guest, a disgraced knight turned detective, has a favorite oath: “God’s blood!” Yes, in the medieval period, swearing took on a whole different quality. But it is “God’s blood” and that of his saints that we want to explore.

Holy grail, Batman!
Joseph of Arimathea plays an important role in most Christ blood relics, either capturing the blood and sweat in a cup while Jesus hung on the cross (and here is where the complicated grail history begins and what we see in Cup of Blood, my latest medieval mystery, released 25 July 2014) or later keeping some as he cleaned the body before burial.

I must first explain the unlikelihood of such an event from the Jewish Pharisee that Joseph was. Surely he was aware of the blood prohibitions, of touching blood and bodies that would make him unclean to enter the temple. This would be a horrific situation for a priest of the temple, his being unable to enter it until he underwent many days of ritual bathing before he was declared clean again. The thought of even saving blood must have been completely foreign. But let us, for the sake of argument, assume that Joseph—for whatever reason—had the idea to preserve some of Jesus’ blood. What did he do with it from there?

If we were to follow the grail legend, then we would end up at Glastonbury in the southwest region of England, which gave rise to its co-mingling with the Arthurian legends (a complicated cross-pollination from the stories commissioned by Marie of France, Countess of Champagne and daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine in the twelfth century to include a love triangle. She had Chretien de Troyes, her court poet, invent Lancelot. Chretien also wrote the unfinished poem Perceval le Gallois, the keeper of the grail—and it only gets more convoluted from there).

The bloodier the better
But if we were to follow other blood legends, we might end up in Constantinople. During the fourth crusade it is said that the Holy Blood of Christ made its way from Constantinople to the Basilius chapel in Bruges on 7 April 1150. The relic consists of coagulated blood kept in a 12th century style rock-crystal flask. Since 1303, the relic was carried around the city walls in procession, called the Holy Blood Procession, which is still celebrated today.

Westminster Abbey was presented with Christ’s blood by King Henry III of England on 3 October 1247, that the king had received from the Masters of the Knights Templars and Hospitallers and the patriarch of Jerusalem. It was encased in a crystal vase. The Bishop of Norwich preached a sermon, promising an indulgence of six years and one hundred and sixteen days to anyone who venerated the relic (that is, six years and one hundred and sixteen days less in Purgatory). Unfortunately, it never made Westminster the pilgrim stop that Henry had desired. In fact, it was not lost on the populace that Henry was desperately trying to compete with the French king who a year later, dedicated his Sainte Chapelle with relics from the holy land, among them the Crown of Thorns, the Holy Lance, a portion of the sponge soaked with vinegar, purple vestments with which Jesus was mocked, and a sepulchral stone. In Hailes Abbey, not too far from Westminster, larger crowds came to see their vial of Christ’s blood. But when Hailes’ blood was scrutinized in the 16th century by Henry VIII’s examiners, it was reported that the vial consisted of not Christ’s blood but of honey mixed with saffron coloring. Yet another account says it contained oft-replaced goose blood. Whatever was in it, this vial, along with the one at Westminster, was disposed of by the Reformation’s agents.

Bleeding out
One of the more famous blood relics belongs to Saint Januarius or as he is known in Italy, San Gennaro. Born in Naples in 300 AD, he was a Bishop of Beneveto around the time of Emperor Diocletian, who was particularly nasty to Christians. While offering spiritual support to imprisoned fellow Christians, Januarius was himself arrested. The prelate, Timoteo, put Januarius through several gruesome tortures—thrown into a furnace, tried to tear his limbs apart on the wheel—but he seemed to come out of them unscathed. Finally, Januarius and his fellow prisoners were condemned to be torn apart by wild beasts. When this also proved useless, Timoteo ordered Januarius to be beheaded.

Januarius’ old wet-nurse Eusebia, gathered his blood into vials, and his body and head were wrapped and hidden until the time that Christianity was no longer persecuted. Eusebia was now free to display the glass vials of the martyr’s dried blood, and for the first time, they became liquid. Januarius was one of the many honored saints in Italy for many centuries, but there is no mention of his blood or it’s “liquefaction” until 1389. By then his skull and blood had come to rest at the Real Cappella del Tesoro di San Gennaro, located near Pozzuoli. And to this day, on 19 September, the feast day of Saint Januarius, his blood relics are displayed with much praying, novenas, and other celebrations. If the blood liquefies, it is signaled by the firing off of cannons.

Certainly in Crispin’s era of the late fourteenth century, such things were well venerated. And much money could be made for the church or monastery that housed such a relic, paid by the pilgrims who came to see them. No wonder my detective remains skeptical as to the authenticity of such objects. And that, and a few murders, keeps him embroiled deeply in the mysteries.

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A big thanks to Jeri Westerson. She’ll give away a trade paperback copy of Cup of Blood to someone who contributes a comment on my blog this week. I’ll choose the winner from among those who comment by Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Delivery is available within the U.S. only.

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The Missionary Wife, or “Grilled Alive in Calcutta”

Posted on July 29, 2014 by suzanneadairJuly 28, 2014

Relevant History welcomes Joanne Dobson, a mystery novelist and scholar of American women’s literature. Her six-book Professor Karen Pelletier mystery series won an Agatha nomination and a Noted Author of the Year award from the New York State Library Association. The Kashmiri Shawl is her first venture into the genre of historical fiction. A retired professor of American Literature, Joanne is a specialist in Emily Dickinson and other nineteenth-century American women writers. Currently she teaches in National Endowment for the Humanities and Fulbright Fellowship International summer programs at Amherst College. She also teaches Creative Writing at the Hudson Valley Writers Center. For more information, check her web site, and look for her on Facebook and Twitter.

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The Kashmiri Shawl, my latest novel and first historical, was inspired by at least three different sources: a National Geographic article, believe it or not, on nineteenth-century narrow-gauge Indian railroads; the life of Emily Chubbuck, the third wife of Adoniram Judson, famed nineteenth-century missionary to Burma, who returned to New York when widowed and resumed a successful career as writer and poet; and—Jane Eyre.

You remember Jane Eyre, don’t you? The novel wasn’t all about Jane and Mr. Rochester. Jane had another suitor. In what has got to be the lamest marriage proposal in the history of the English language, Jane’s pious cousin, St. John Rivers, commands her to marry him and to come with him to India: “God and nature,” he intones, “intended you for a missionary’s wife…you are formed for labour, not for love. A missionary’s wife you must—shall be. I claim you—not for my pleasure, but for my Sovereign’s service.” In other words, she’s not beautiful and he doesn’t love her. But she would be a great little mission worker. “Jane, you are docile, diligent, disinterested, faithful, constant, and courageous…your assistance will be to me invaluable.”

Jane turns him down. I don’t blame her, and I find her reason interesting: “If I were to marry you, you would kill me. You are killing me now.” But almost immediately she deflects the cause of her certain death away from the man himself and onto India: “I am convinced that go when and with whom I would, I should not live long in that climate.” Her death would be implicit in her role as missionary wife. And St. John’s sister backs her up: “’Madness,’ she exclaimed upon hearing of his proposal, “you would not live three months there, I am certain…Think of the…incessant fatigue: where fatigue kills even the strong; and you are weak.’” Jane would be “grilled alive in Calcutta,” Diana concludes.

I came away from my reading of Jane Eyre with the assumption that the Indian climate was even deadlier than Jane’s would-be husband. What, I asked myself in a frenzy of inspiration, would have happened to Jane if she’d said yes to St. John Rivers and gone to India as his wife? And thus was born Anna Wheeler, the protagonist of The Kashmiri Shawl—a missionary wife (and poetess) fleeing her own “deadly” husband by train through a lethal Indian landscape.

But, no; maybe the landscape was not so lethal. In researching The Kashmiri Shawl, I was struck to find actual missionaries and their actual wives in India enthusing in letters home about the beauty and healthiness of the local climate. As early as 1812, Ann Hasseltine Judson, Adoniram’s first wife, wrote home reporting that they had come close to land and that the sight “was truly delightful…the fertile shores of India—the groves of orange and palm trees…the smell which proceeds from them is fragrant beyond description.”

In a letter from Mynpoorie in the early 1850s, the Reverend John E. Freeman reports that his wife, “Lizzie…enjoys excellent health, and looks fresh and cheerful. We ride daily, labour hard, and all goes smoothly and happily.”

Lizzie Freeman, herself, reports that she “walked this morning five miles. The cool bracing air and exercise gave me a fine appetite and red cheeks…I feel quite as well as in my best days at home.”

In early May 1857, Maria Campbell, at Fatehgarh, writes to her brother, “It is now very warm, you would say hot, but has been a very healthy season.”

Unfortunately, in actual history, Maria Campbell’s “healthy season” was soon to turn deadly for her and Lizzie Freeman and the other missionaries then at the Fatehgarh Mission. They were among the multitudes killed on both sides during the horrific Great Uprising of 1857, more familiarly known as the Sepoy Mutiny. Their fates, however, had nothing to do with anything lethal in the Indian climate.

So, no: Neither Jane Eyre nor Anna Wheeler has to be “grilled alive in Calcutta.” In fact, Anna finds herself “translated” in delightful ways by India. “The weather… was Biblical, hot and dry in season, with the scent of spices in the air. She loved the lilt of the languages…she took pleasure in the beauty of the people and their graceful ways…she loved the chants and bells and drums of festivals in the temples; she could not get enough of the cardamom, turmeric, and saffron, the mangoes and pomegranates.” She thrives in India. And so, too, might have Jane Eyre.

But, Reader, I’m truly glad she married Mr. Rochester, instead.

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A big thanks to Joanne Dobson!

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The Winner of The Doppelganger’s Dance

Posted on July 22, 2014 by suzanneadairJuly 22, 2014

Jody has won a copy of The Doppelganger’s Dance by Libi Astaire. Congrats to Jody!

Thanks to Libi Astaire for the story about the Great Synagogue in Georgian London. Thanks, also, to everyone who visited and commented on Relevant History this week. Watch for another Relevant History post, coming soon.

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The Night the Royal Dukes Visited the Synagogue

Posted on July 15, 2014 by suzanneadairJuly 15, 2014

Relevant History welcomes Libi Astaire, author of the Ezra Melamed historical mystery series set in Regency England. The series has received accolades from the Jewish Book Council, and the first book, The Disappearing Dowry, received a Sydney Taylor Notable Book Award from the Association of Jewish Libraries. To find out more about the series, or to read an excerpt from the latest mystery, The Doppelganger’s Dance, check Libi’s web site and look for her on Facebook.

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When I was young, one of my favorite Broadway musicals was Bye Bye Birdie, the show that chronicles the excitement of a small Midwestern town when a rock and roll star comes to visit. What does rock and roll have to do with Regency England? Not much at first glance. But I did think of Bye Bye Birdie the first time I came across an account of a visit that set Regency London’s Jewish community all aflutter.

On the night of Friday 14 April 1809, three of England’s Royal Dukes—the Dukes of Cumberland, Sussex and Cambridge—attended the Sabbath Evening Services at London’s Great Synagogue, which was the central place of worship for England’s Ashkenazic community. This wasn’t the first time that a member of the Royal Family had visited a London synagogue, but such an honor was a rare occurrence. The fact that there would be three of them—and at a time when the Emancipation of the Jews was being hotly discussed in drawing rooms and coffee houses throughout England—was enough to send the small community into a whirlwind of frenetic activity as they made their preparations to welcome these influential visitors.

A Royal Welcome
The first time around, Jews didn’t do so well in Britain. William the Conqueror invited Jewish merchants from the Continent to settle in England, since he needed someone to act as his financiers, but the Jews were expelled from the country in 1290 by King Edward I.

Although there was a small group of crypto-Jews from Spain and Portugal living in England during Shakespeare’s time (I wrote about these refugees from the Spanish Inquisition in my novel The Banished Heart), Jews weren’t allowed to live openly as Jews until the 1650s, when Oliver Cromwell famously decided not to decide if Jews should be allowed back into England or not. Thanks to that loophole, the second chapter of Anglo-Jewish history began.

Some of the Jews who arrived in the late 1600s and 1700s were descendants of Jews expelled from Spain in 1492. These wealthy Sephardic Jewish merchants (Sepharad is the Hebrew word for Spain) had extensive trade connections that made them welcome not only at Cromwell’s palace, but at the royal courts of Charles II and William III.

There was also a sizeable community of Ashkenazic Jews who came from countries such as Germany (Ashkenaz in Hebrew), Bohemia, Holland and even faraway Poland. Although there were some wealthy merchants among their ranks, the Ashkenazic community was mainly comprised of poor Jews escaping the religious persecution that was prevalent on the European Continent.

Not all Englishmen welcomed this influx of foreigners. Indeed, the newcomers faced barriers in just about every sphere. Foreign-born Jews, the majority of the community until the early 1800s, couldn’t own property or engage in foreign trade unless they could afford to pay special taxes. No Jew could become a Member of Parliament, attend an English university or become an officer in the army or navy. Jews couldn’t open a retail business within the area that comprised the ancient City of London. They also couldn’t vote—although that was a privilege denied to many Englishmen and all women. In fact, one reason why some Englishmen were so against Jewish Emancipation was because they feared it would lead to all Englishmen being allowed to vote. (They couldn’t imagine that women would ever demand and get that right.)

Still, England was a tolerant haven in comparison to Europe. And during the Georgian era (1714–1830) the Jews found they had friends in English society, including some in very high places.

A Loyal Response
The royal visit to the Great Synagogue was arranged by Abraham Goldsmid, a wealthy Jewish financier who was friends with several members of the Royal Family, including the Duke of Sussex (Prince Frederick Augustus) and the Duke of Cambridge (Prince Adolphus Frederick).

Although the members of the Great Synagogue had only two weeks to prepare, according to press reports they did admirably. A welcoming service comprised of poems and songs was hastily put together. England’s chief rabbi, Rabbi Solomon Hirschell, was garbed in an elegant white satin robe made especially for the occasion. The synagogue’s interior was also spruced up, thanks to the new crimson velvet curtains furnished by a rising star on the London financial scene, Nathaniel Rothschild.

Then the hour arrived—half past six—and it’s not hard to imagine the community’s excitement as the rumble of the approaching carriages grew louder. When those elegant carriages came to a halt, Jewish children dressed in their Sabbath finery were there to greet the visitors, strewing the path to the synagogue’s entrance with flowers. And when the royal entourage stepped inside the candle-lit sanctuary, they were greeted by a full choir, which sang:

Open wide the gates for the princely train
The Heav’n-blessed offspring of our King
Whilst our voices raise the emphatic strain
And God’s service devout we sing.

Of course, not everyone was pleased with this public recognition of the Jewish community. Thomas Rowlandson, one of the era’s most popular caricaturists, ridiculed the event in a satirical cartoon that very likely reflected the feelings of those against giving Jews (and Catholics) full political and civil rights.

However, the royal visit is considered one of the steps along the path to the Emancipation of England’s Jews later that century. True, it was only a symbolic gesture, but it’s often the symbolic social gesture that paves the way for political and legal change. It’s therefore no wonder that this royal visit was still being enthusiastically discussed by members of the Great Synagogue for many years afterward.

It’s also a matter of pride for the fictional members of the Great Synagogue who are at the heart of my Ezra Melamed Mystery Series. They too remember that great day when the three Royal Dukes came to visit—that is, when they’re not too busy trying to solve the latest “white cravat” crime that is causing an upheaval in their community.

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A big thanks to Libi Astaire. She’ll give away a trade paperback copy of The Doppelganger’s Dance to someone who contributes a comment on her post this week. I’ll choose the winner from among those who comment by Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Delivery is available in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.

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Did you like what you read? Learn about downloads, discounts, and special offers from Relevant History authors and Suzanne Adair. Subscribe to Suzanne’s free newsletter.

Winners from the 2014 Week-Long Fourth of July

Posted on July 14, 2014 by suzanneadairJuly 13, 2014

Essayist: Lars D.H. Hedbor
Contribution: signed paperback set of the first three books in the author’s series
Winner: Lynn Demsky

Essayist: Helena Finnegan
Contribution: a $5 Amazon gift certificate
Winner: Sheila Ingle

Essayist: Dr. Christine Swager
Contribution: paperback copy of Musgrove Mill Historic Site
Winner: Tracy Smith

Essayist: David Neilan
Contribution: DVD of the South Carolina ETV program “Chasing the Swamp Fox”
Winner: Tate Jones

Essayist: Sheila Ingle
Contribution: paperback copy of Brave Elizabeth
Winner: Denise Duvall

Essayist: Jack Parker
Contribution: $10 discount certificate toward the purchase of a copy of Parker’s Guide to the Revolutionary War in South Carolina
Winner: Lars D.H. Hedbor

Essayist: Suzanne Adair
Contribution: winner’s choice of one title from author’s publications
Winner: Jenni Gate

Congratulations to all the winners!

Thanks to my wonderful essayists who contributed so much to this year’s program. Thanks, also, to everyone who visited and commented on the posts during the “Week-long Fourth of July.” Watch for another Relevant History post, coming soon.

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Did you like what you read? Learn about downloads, discounts, and special offers from Relevant History authors and Suzanne Adair. Subscribe to Suzanne’s free newsletter.

Religious Diversity in America During the Revolution

Posted on July 9, 2014 by suzanneadairJanuary 13, 2024

Welcome to my blog! The week of 2 July – 9 July, I’m participating with more than one hundred other bloggers in the “Freedom to Read” giveaway hop, accessed by clicking on the logo at the left. All blogs listed in this hop offer book-related giveaways, and we’re all linked, so you can easily hop from one giveaway to another. But here on my blog, I’m posting a week of Relevant History essays, each one focused on some facet of the American War of Independence. To find out how to qualify for the giveaways on my blog, read through each day’s Relevant History post below and follow the directions. Then click on the Freedom Hop logo so you can move along to another blog. Enjoy!

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For two centuries, a number of myths have circulated about certain aspects of the American War of Independence. Other historians and I have debunked some of those myths in our writings. One worth examining for 21st-century Americans is the myth that the civilian population during the Revolution was made of zealous Protestants. You can see an example of that myth in the historically inaccurate movie “The Patriot,” with its imagery of an overly enthusiastic young woman recruiting men from a Protestant congregation into joining a militia against the redcoats.

Firebrand Protestants could definitely be found during the war. Britons sometimes referred to the American War as the “Presbyterian War.” But although a good number of people of the thirteen colonies and surrounding territories were Christians, they weren’t all Presbyterians or even Protestants. And the residents of America certainly weren’t all Christian.

Christianity in America during the Revolution
In Revolutionary America, Christianity was splintered into diverse sects that weren’t on the same page about how their faith should be interpreted and expressed. Probably the largest and most influential sects were Anglicans, Congregationalists, and Presbyterians. In addition, there were groups of Puritans, Dutch Reformed, Quakers, Lutherans, Baptists, Anabaptists, Mennonites, Amish, Eastern Orthodox, and English Roman Catholics. There were likely also groups of French Huguenots and Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian Catholics. Thus Christianity in Revolutionary America was by no means a unified religion.

Founding Fathers
Most of America’s founding fathers were Christian, but the religious persuasions of a few elude definition. “Deism” has been the label ascribed to the religious preferences of certain of America’s prominent founding fathers. In his book The Religious Beliefs of America’s Founders: Reason, Revelation, and Revolution, historian Gregg L. Frazer makes the case that John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, and several others were actually theistic rationalists—neither deists nor Christians.

Jews
A financial broker who helped fund the Continentals, Haym Solomon, an Ashkenazi Jew from Poland, is the most famous Jew associated with the American War of Independence. From the number of congregations in existence at the time of the war, Solomon must have been one of many Jews in America. The goals of the Congress appealed to most Jews because they’d been persecuted for centuries elsewhere in the world.

Muslims
On occasion, Africans captured for the slave trade proved to be literate Muslims who could transcribe the Quran from memory. Here are two examples provided by Daniel Dillard, a doctoral candidate in religion at Florida State University:

Job Ben Solomon Jallo (1701–1773), also known as Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, a Senegalese Muslim of aristocratic birth enslaved for a brief period in Maryland, composed three separate copies of the Quran solely from memory. Abdulrahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori (1762–1829), also known as Abd ar-Rahman, the famous West African prince enslaved for 40 years in Mississippi, occasionally delighted audiences by telling them he was writing out ‘‘The Lord’s Prayer’’ in Arabic, when in actuality he had transcribed the first sura, or chapter, of the Quran, known as the fatiha.

George Sale translated the Quran into English, advertised it in American newspapers, and made it available in bookshops. As a result, a number of Americans during the Revolution owned copies of the Quran and were familiar with the Muslim religion.

Thomas Jefferson studied the Quran. It may have influenced his work on the Declaration of Independence.

Other Non-Christians
Native Americans engaged in various spiritual practices—monotheistic, polytheistic, henotheistic, animistic, or a combination of those. Indentured servants from the British Isles or Germany who were transported or took passage to better themselves brought with them folk religions in addition to Christianity. Captured Africans who weren’t Muslim contributed varied polytheistic religions to the mix, and those slaves who embraced Christianity in America didn’t always abandon their native religion.

A number of the nation’s founders left written records showing that they were comfortable with and supportive of faiths other than Christianity. Plus they’d seen the problems caused by state religions in other parts of the world. After the Treaty of Paris, for the good of the new country, they steered the development of the United States of America toward a government that would tolerate a variety of religions. Here are Thomas Jefferson’s famous words about religion and government:

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.

In America, religion-based hate crimes undermine the goal of religious diversity that the country’s founders sought. Such crimes destabilize the freedoms we enjoy today—freedoms that thousands of people purchased for us with their lives from 1775–1783 and in subsequent wars.

What do you think about the position of our founders on religious diversity? In what ways would America be different today had their position been less tolerant?

The 2014 “Week-long Fourth of July” wouldn’t have been possible without you or my talented guests: Lars D.H. Hedbor, Helena Finnegan, Dr. Christine Swager, David Neilan, Tim Osner, Sheila Ingle, and Jack Parker. What worlds can they open for you? Browse back through the posts. Look for their works. Then comment here on something you learned this week that made history relevant to you. Thanks for stopping by!

(Thanks to James Stewart, Thad Weaver, William Myers, and Martha Katz-Hyman for input on this essay.)

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Contribute a legitimate comment on this post by today at 6 p.m. ET to be entered in a drawing to win a copy of one of my books, the winner’s choice of title and format (trade paperback or ebook). Delivery is available worldwide. Make sure you include your email address. I’ll publish the names of all drawing winners on my blog the week of 14 July.

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The Winning of the Revolution in South Carolina

Posted on July 8, 2014 by suzanneadairJuly 7, 2014

Relevant History welcomes Jack Parker, who was born in Pennsylvania, raised in Delaware, and has lived in Virginia, California, Colorado, and South Carolina. He earned a Bachelors Degree in Education and served four years in the U.S. Navy as an Asst. Navigator aboard the USS Spiegel Grove, then as Navigator and Executive Officer aboard the USS Pitkin County. After leaving the Navy, he moved to Colorado, rode and packed horses into the Gunnison Wilderness Area. He then spent five years living aboard a 43-foot yawl home ported in Charleston, SC, and taught several people to sail and live on the water. For more information, and to purchase Parker’s Guide to the Revolutionary War in South Carolina, check his web site.

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South Carolina was a leader in the Revolutionary War with many battles, skirmishes and murders. Parker’s Guide to the Revolutionary War in South Carolina was written to put the location with the “what happened there” for the actions in South Carolina, to educate those that believe the war was fought and won in the north. South Carolina was in the forefront of the war and the founding of our nation from the beginning.

The second edition of Parker’s Guide is the most complete publication on the Revolutionary War in South Carolina. The little-known events of the war in South Carolina are related here to inform everyone about the contribution of South Carolina in winning the Revolution.

One issue dividing the colonies from their motherland was that the British government required tax stamps for imported goods. On 18 October 1765, the ship Planters Adventure delivered the stamps to Fort Johnson, on James Island, where they were stored. The HMS Speedwell was stationed close to the fort on 23 October to deter an angry mob of citizens from Charleston. Two days later, the mob boarded the Carolina Packet that was thought to be carrying more stamps and the stamp officer, Mr. George Saxby, but he was not due until the next day. On 26 October, the Heart of Oak (built in Mt. Pleasant, SC) sailed into the harbor with Mr. Saxby aboard. That night, 150 volunteers from Charleston, commanded by Col. Daniel Stevens, captured twelve guards and a sergeant and took over the fort with the stamps. Upon the Speedwell sighting the “Liberty” flag of Patriot Christopher Gadsden instead of that of the British, a party was sent to the fort, where they were told the stamps must be removed from the fort and the province or they would be burned. Believing the Americans would not be deterred, the Speedwell removed the stamps and sailed out of the harbor. This action is often overlooked because it is prior to the Revolution’s accepted starting date, but is significant since it relates to the stamp problems in New England.

A Patriot, Dr. John Haley, killed Peter DeLancey, a prominent New York Tory, in a duel at a Charleston tavern. Before and during the Revolution, many notable Charlestonians met to drink and discuss politics at McCrady’s Tavern. DeLancey came to Charleston in 1771 and may have been killed over politics or a woman. The reason for his killing is unknown.

Peter DeLancey was the son of New York Royal Lt. Gov. James DeLancey. The killing of Peter DeLancey in Charleston resulted in Loyalist Brig. Gen. Oliver DeLancey raising and commanding a provincial regiment (three battalions), known as DeLancey’s Brigade of light horse troops to fight the South Carolina Patriots in 1776.

In 1775, the arms stored in the attic of the State House by the British were seized by the Americans. This was the scene of the first significant incident of the Revolutionary War in South Carolina. This incident happened just two days after Patriots fired on the British at Lexington, Massachusetts.

The war was used as an excuse for robbery and violently settling disputes. The Harrison Brothers plundered the Patriots to enrich themselves with the blessing of the British forces. The Tories on Lynches Creek, in the vicinity of M’Callum’s Ferry, began their murders and depredations early in the war. Matthew Bradley, Thomas Bradley, and John Roberts, all respectable and upstanding citizens who had joined neither party, were murdered in their homes, possibly with some other members of the Salem Black River Presbyterian Church congregation. The three Harrison brothers joined the local Tories; John Harrison later became a major and Samuel became a captain of the “South Carolina Rangers” in the British provincial service. British Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton called them “men of fortune.” They were three of the worst bandits of the area. Before the fall of Charleston to the British, they lived in a wretched log hut by the road near M’Callum’s Ferry over the Lynches Creek (River), just east of modern Bishopville, SC. As an example of the recriminations and civil war, the Americans killed Robert Harrison in his home. After the war was over, the major retired to Jamaica as a rich man with the wealth accumulated from looting Patriots’ homes and robbing his neighbors.

Within four months after Gen. Nathanael Greene’s return to South Carolina, his Southern Continental Army, with South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia state troops and militia, broke the British hold on the interior by eliminating the Crown’s posts one by one. American mounted detachments carried the war almost to the gates of Charleston. A decisive blow was dealt to the British on the battlefield at Eutaw Springs in September of 1781.

Eutaw Springs was essentially a draw, but the battle was both a material and moral victory for the Americans. The British suffered such heavy losses that they could no longer exert control beyond Charleston and its immediate environs. The British troops at Eutaw Springs were to reinforce Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, but because of their heavy losses in this battle, they retreated to Moncks Corner and to White’s Meeting House (Dorchester County) to recover. Since the British in the Battle of Eutaw Springs were unable to reinforce Cornwallis, he was defeated.

The war in South Carolina did not end with the surrender of Cornwallis, but continued until September 1783. It is generally thought that the War in SC ended when the British withdrew from Charlestown in December 1782, but there were some murders and retributions thereafter. The final act of revenge for the war was carried out in 1807 with the shooting of “Ned Turner,” one of William “Bloody Bill” Cunningham’s right hand men, by John and William, sons of Stokely Towles who was killed by Ned Turner on 18 November 1781.

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A big thanks to Jack Parker. He’ll provide a $10.00 discount certificate toward the purchase of a copy of Parker’s Guide to the Revolutionary War in South Carolina for someone who contributes a legitimate comment on this post today or tomorrow. Delivery is available worldwide. Make sure you include your email address. I’ll choose one winner from among those who comment on this post by Wednesday 9 July at 6 p.m. ET, then publish the name of all drawing winners on my blog the week of 14 July. And anyone who comments on this post by the 9 July deadline will also be entered in the drawing to win a copy of one of my five books, the winner’s choice of title and format (trade paperback or ebook).

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Brave Elizabeth

Posted on July 7, 2014 by suzanneadairJuly 6, 2014

Tears of the Foot Guards

Posted on July 6, 2014 by suzanneadairJuly 5, 2014

Relevant History welcomes Tim Osner, who lives in Melvin Village, NH and has been a finalist in 2011 in the Faulkner/Wisdom Literary Competition for his novel, Tears of the Foot Guards and as a short-list finalist in 2005 for his novel, Miles Christi. Tim is the principle partner in a healthcare consulting firm. He has also been a commercial photographer in Chicago, specializing in large locations shooting for ad agencies and corporations. An ardent student of history, Tim has been a Revolutionary War re-enactor since 1984 in the re-created grenadier company of the Brigade of Guards on American Service. Look for him on Redroom. He may be contacted at tim.osner (at) tcosner (dot) com.

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WERE I, like N I O B E, all tears – I’d weep,
And swell the Water of the mighty Deep:
If chang’d like A R E T H U S A to a Stream,
In Tears I’d flow – and Beauty make my Theme.
Curse the Madness of the Times – and those
Who made America our fellest Foes! . . .

So begins the satirical poem, “Tears of the Foot Guards”, published in 1776 by an “Ensign of the Army,” accusing the Guards of puppyism and cowardice upon their departure for the American war.

What shall I write here about the Guards during the American Revolution? It took me nearly twenty years and many hundreds of pages for the novel that is to come out in 2015. Twenty years, I admit it—writing and rewriting, and just when I thought I was finished, I’d discover something new, and though I love the history, my task was first and foremost to tell a story.

As to the poem’s veracity, one needs only to examine the Guards’ service to see that it is patently untrue. The American actions stack up to any in their celebrated history.

When the call went out among the three regiments for volunteers to form the brigade, so many petitioned that a draft was held, and fifteen privates were picked from each of the Guards’ companies to form the composite brigade of one thousand officers and men for America Service. I could talk about their campaign uniform derived from lessons learned in the French & Indian War. How they were veterans all; in the grenadier company the average age was thirty-four with fourteen years experience. They practiced marksmanship in preparation for battle. They engaged in light infantry maneuvers to fight on broken ground. Their officers, privileged sons, were often scrappers; Capt. Watson and Lt. Col. Hyde of the 3rd and 1st Guards engaged in an impromptu duel over an old house both their companies had earmarked to demolish for firewood while occupying Philadelphia (Lt. Col. Hyde received a stab wound in his arm). On another occasion, Coldstream ensign, George Eld, made quick work of a bullying Highland officer late one night in a crowded New York coffee house. Theirs was a great pride and élan. When Lord Percy found the Guards had been assigned to his division at the Battle of Brooklyn, in a letter home, he nearly gushed over them—what splendid fellows they are. Cock-of-the-Walk. They were hard fought and in the thick of many actions. If the war had been won, what additional honors would adorn their Regimental Colours.

When I think about the Guards on American Service, what is most striking is that these were soldiers who wanted to fight this war, who believed they were preserving liberties derived from a constitutional monarchy. To them, the enemy was rabble faction hijacking the rule of law and threatening loyal citizens. They, as other British regiments, were in a hostile country thousands of miles from home. To many, it was the other side of the world. And towards the end, they found themselves embroiled in a savage civil war. “The violence and passions of these people are beyond every curb of religion, & Humanity…violences of every kind, unheard of before…” (Charles O’Hara, Coldstream Guards, January 6, 1781.)

Of the actions the Guards are known for during the Revolution, most notably Guildford Court House and the Catawba Crossing, the one that stands out to me is the nighttime sortie at Yorktown. Cornwallis’ army was surrounded without hope. The Americans and the French had taken redoubts #9 and #10 the night before, allowing the allies’ batteries to come within 300 yards. A forlorn hope was ordered to spike the allies’ guns to buy time for escape and, in the event of surrender, buy the honors of war.

At 4:00 a.m. a sortie composed the Light Infantry, the grenadier company of the 80th Foot, and the grenadier company of the Guards moved out the Hornwork, silent with bayonets fixed and flints pulled. They crossed the scarred no-mans land of three hundred yards and entered the gap between the French and American batteries. A quick and vicious fight occurred, the British spiking the guns with the tip of their bayonets as they had no spiking nails. They tumbled back as French troops began to overwhelm them. As the British retreated, a lone Guards grenadier sergeant stood on the parapet fighting off the French hand-to-hand so the party could escape. His was struck twelve times before he went down.

After the surrender, Samuel Graham of the 76th Foot was allowed to visit the Allied works. French officers showed him the sergeant’s grave whom they had buried with full honors, saying, “Voila un de vos braves gens.”

I think about soldiers. Then and now. Thinking they’re not much different—ordinary men far from home and transformed by horrific situations. I was reading T. E. Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom, and in the opening chapter he said of war: “We lived always in the stretch or sag of nerves, either on the crest or in a trough of waves of feeling.” So I guess of Revolutionary soldiers. I guess it of the Guards. My hope is that I’ve given them a good story.

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A big thanks to Tim Oster. Anyone who comments on this post by 6 p.m. ET on Monday 7 July will be entered in a drawing to win a copy of one of my five books, the winner’s choice of title and format (trade paperback or ebook).

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Francis Marion and Nathanael Greene: Conflicts in Command

Posted on July 5, 2014 by suzanneadairJuly 5, 2014

Relevant History welcomes David Neilan, editor of The Francis Marion Papers, targeted for publication in 2015. His essay below is from a longer work: “Francis Marion and Conflicts in Command in the Southern Department.” Other projects include the Hezekiah Maham orderly book, in collaboration with the NY Public Library, and the William Moultrie orderly book. He will be giving a presentation entitled “The Weems-Horry Controversy: Where Fiction Trumped History” at the Francis Marion Symposium in Manning, SC, in October. He may be reached at daveneilan1 (at) gmail (dot) com.

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Francis Marion’s activities as a militia leader in South Carolina are the foundation of his legend. The reality of the life of the Swamp Fox is much less romantic. For six months after the fall of Charlestown in May 1780, Marion operated as a guerrilla commander, virtually independent of a formal command structure. It is no wonder that when the Continental Army did rejoin the field, conflicts occurred.

When Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene assumed leadership of the Southern Department of the Continental Army in December 1780, he had only the remnants of an army. Losses at Charlestown and Camden had decimated the ranks. Greene needed the cooperation of the militia to delay the British advance, until a sufficient Continental force arrived to re-take the state. Since authority over the militia rested with State officials, Greene recognized the need for diplomacy to put his plans into effect. His initial “orders” to Francis Marion were couched as requests, using the conciliatory “I beg you” and “Please” to obtain horses and intelligence.

Marion and Greene would clash numerous times during the first half of 1781. Greene’s request for horses would be repeated numerous times. Marion’s response would express his regret, then later his irritation[1]. As the war heated up, so would Greene’s need for horses, but so would the friction between the two over Marion’s failure (Greene’s opinion) or his inability (Marion’s point of view) to supply them.

Greene continued to rely on Marion to take the action to the enemy. In January 1781 Greene dispatched Lt. Col. Henry Lee to join Gen. Marion. In his letter of 16 January, Greene was less conciliatory into his directions: “You [Marion] will give him [Lee] all the aid in your power to carry into execution all such matters as may be agreed on.”

For the next two months, correspondence between Greene and Marion was infrequent. Greene was caught up in racing to the Dan River to avoid the advance of Cornwallis and then fighting the British at Guilford Courthouse. By the middle of April, Greene and the Continental Army were back in South Carolina.

When Lee rejoined Marion, they attacked Fort Watson, a small British fort on the Santee River. During the siege, Marion received stiff criticism from his former commanding officer Gen. William Moultrie. Lee asked Greene to write “a long letr. to Gen. Marion…”[2] Greene outdid himself:

When I consider how much you have done and suffered, and under what disadvantage you have maintained your ground, I am at a loss which to admire most, your courage and fortitude, or your address and management…History affords no instance wherein an officer has kept possession of a Country under so many disadvantages as you have; surrounded on every side with a superior force…To fight the enemy bravely with a prospect of victory is nothing; but to fight with intrepidty under the constant impression of a defeat, and inspire irregular troops to do it, is a talent peculiar to yourself.[3]

Marion did not have long to savor the compliments. Greene again complained to him about his failure to furnish horses.

The 4 May “horse” letter from Greene was the last straw. An exasperated Marion fired back:

I acknowledge that you have repeatedly mention the want of Dragoon horses…if you think it best for the service to Dismount the Malitia…but am sertain we shall never git their service in future. This would not give me any uneasiness as I have sometime Determin to relinquish my command in the militia…& I wish to do it as soon as this post is Either taken or abandoned.[4]

Marion, then in the midst of the siege of Fort Motte with Lee, continued to vent to Greene:

…I assure you I am serious in my intention of relinquishing my Malitia Command…because I found Little is to be done with such men as I have, who Leave me very Often at the very point of Executing a plan…[5]

Fortunately for the American cause, General Greene was in the proximity of Fort Motte. He rode sixty-five miles to meet Marion, arriving shortly after the surrender of the fort 12 May[6].

Although Greene may have mollified Marion during this first meeting, the issues continued. During a brief lull in the fighting, Marion took the opportunity to press for orders to march on Georgetown, South Carolina:

I beg Leave to go & Reduce that place which has not more than 80 British soldiers & a few torys. The Latter is very troublesome…& by the fall of Geor Town will make them quiet.[7]

As long as Georgetown was a safe haven for the enemy, Marion would be unable to maintain his advance over the Santee River.

Marion repeated his plea on 20 May and 22 May without response from Greene. The Swamp Fox delicately announced two days later, “…I find the enemy is about evacuating Georgetown & as I cannot do any thing by remaining here I have thought it most for the service to go to Georgetown…”[8]

Greene deferred ordering an attack on Georgetown, instead advising Marion to obtain permission from Thomas Sumter, who was Marion’s superior officer in the South Carolina militia.[9]

On 28 May Marion liberated Georgetown without firing a shot.

Greene begrudgingly offered his congratulations.[10]

The relationship between Marion and Greene continued to have its ups and downs. Marion’s decisive victory at Parker’s Ferry at the end of August and then his command of the first line of militia and State troops at the Battle of Eutaw Springs in September brought him commendation from Greene.

Despite the occasional conflict over orders, horses, and command issues among subordinates, for the rest of 1781 and throughout 1782 the relationship between Marion and Greene strengthened. By the end of the war, as the two became better acquainted and the war had evolved into a containment operation, Marion was Greene’s most trusted officer.

Footnotes

1. Marion to Greene, 9 Jan 1781, ALS (MiU-C), transcription, Parks, Greene Papers.
2. Lee to Greene, 20 Apr 1781, ALS (MiU-C).
3. Greene to Marion, 24 Apr 1781, Greene Papers, 8: 144-145.
4. Marion to Greene, 6 May 1781, Greene Papers, 8: 214-216.
5. Marion to Greene, 11 May 1781, Greene Papers, 8: 242.
6. Rankin, Swamp Fox, 208.
7. Marion to Greene, 19 May 1781, ALS (MiU-C), transcription, Parks, Greene Papers.
8. Marion to Greene, 24 May 1781, Tr (ScHi, South Carolina Historical Society).
9. Marion to Greene, 24 May 1781, Tr (ScHi), There is a note on the transcript of the letter: On reverse (the outside cover of the letter) that reads, “From Genl. Marion May 24th 1781 (docketed—probably in the hand of Gen. Greene’s ADC.).”
10. Greene to Marion, 10 Jun 1781, Df (NcD).

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A big thanks to David Neilan. He’ll give away a DVD of the South Carolina ETV program “Chasing the Swamp Fox” to someone who contributes a legitimate comment on this post today or tomorrow. Delivery is available in the U.S. and Canada. Make sure you include your email address. I’ll choose one winner from among those who comment on this post by Sunday 6 July at 6 p.m. ET, then publish the name of all drawing winners on my blog the week of 14 July. And anyone who comments on this post by the 6 July deadline will also be entered in the drawing to win a copy of one of my five books, the winner’s choice of title and format (trade paperback or ebook).

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Did you like what you read? Learn about downloads, discounts, and special offers from Relevant History authors and Suzanne Adair. Subscribe to Suzanne’s free newsletter.