Mr. RUGGLES, in reply to Mr. SMITH, of Maryland, said, that many meritorious officers, who had resigned before the close of the war, were as much entitled to remuneration for their services, as any who had served to the close of the war. He would cite the case of an officer whom he knew: He was a soldier at the battle of Bunker's Hill; and, for his gallantry, received a commission as a Lieutenant. He was for some time engaged, with great credit to himself, in the severest enterprises of the war. He then resigned from ill health. This man fought before the war was legalized; he fought, in its earliest struggles, with a halter about his neck. Surely, upon every principle of justice, he was as much entitled to remuneration as those who entered after him, and continued to the close of the war. This man recently died, and left a helpless family. If his children were not pro vided for, he would vote for no provision. [JAN. 28, 1828. Mr. SMITH, of Maryland, was, he said, one of those toil and blood are the source whence this revenue is deofficers who entered the army at an early period, and re-rived. No, sir, said Mr. C. it is not as objects of charity, signed before the close of the war. He had, therefore, that these men now come. They present you a copy of no claim, and never had advanced any. None who left your contract; they tell you it has been violated to their the army before the close of the war can have any claim. pecuniary loss; that the obligation of the Government In the year 1778, General WASHINGTON addressed Con- has not been redeemed, and they give a statement of facts gress on the state of the army, which was near dissolution. from which they say the principles of acknowledged law In 1779, many of the officers resigned; and to prevent authorise them to demand satisfaction at your hands. more from resigning, the act of 1780 was passed. No They refer to the page and letter of your own records, one, then, who resigned before the close of the war, can and to the undisputed history of the day, as making out be entitled to any benefit from the provisions of that act. a case which calls for the decision-the judicial decision After some remarks from Messrs. HARRISON and of this tribunal. Does any honorable member on this WOODBURYfloor dispute the facts, or deny the application of the principles of law and equity to those facts? This would be a fair and legitimate ground of discussion. If the terms of the contract are not as set forth, if the rules which should govern that contract are not as they are stated to be, let this be urged as a reason why this debt should not be paid. But a very different course is suggested. Other claims, resting on other grounds, and properly to be governed by other considerations, are referred to, and we are told that this debt ought not to be paid until those other claims are ascertained and adjusted. The Govern ment, like an individual, ought to be controlled by the great moral principles which enter into all pecuniary transactions. Good faith and the observance of contracts are demanded from a Government to the same extent as from an individual. Let, then, the case be supposed, that an individual is applied to for the discharge of a fair debt will any honorable man feel himself justified in turning an honest creditor from his door, with no other reason than that he is indebted to sundry other individuals, in large amounts, and he must ascertain the nature and extent of his engagements, before he can pay the claim which is presented to him and if the creditor could also urge his pressing necessities, his indigence, his age and decrepitude, would it not be still less excusable to repulse him with such an evasive reply? And if when impelled by the extremity of his distress, the creditor should assert and the debtor concede the highly meritorious nature of the services charged, the great peril to his life and the certain destruction to his fortunes, which were encountered in the performance, and the great advantage and abundant wealth derived by him from whom was asked but a portion of that price which, by his bond, he had promised to pay, would, Mr. C. again inquired, would any honorable man feel excused for again repeating his refusal to discharge, nay, even to examine the claim, until other transactions were adjusted, involving matters having no connection with it? Would not the moral sense of the community be disgusted with such conduct, and merited indignation over Mr. CHAMBERS said he could not consent to give a silent vote, after the declaration of the honorable gentleman from Maine, [Mr. PARRIS,] that he should hereafter offer the amendment which he had just withdrawn and after the remarks of the honorable gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. RUGGLES,] that he could not vote for filling the blank with any sum until a provision was inserted in the bill for the other officers and soldiers of the Revolutionary Army. The only difficulty, Mr. C. had long believed, which would be opposed to the recovery of this claim, was the one now presented by the proposed course. He did not believe that the good sense of the American people, or the justice of Congress, could ever permit a direct rejec tion of this claim. He was only apprehensive, therefore, of the indirect mode of attack, which had heretofore prov. ed fatal. For a long series of years these claimants have addressed themselves to the liberality, to the generosity and to the charity of the Government. They had associated themselves in this appeal with other officers and soldiers of the Revolutionary war, and had surrounded their case with all the material, and had connected with it all the considerations which could operate upon the sympathies and sensibilities of a noble and generous pa-whelm its author? tion. They had told over the well known story of the Is not such the case of these officers? They claim the hardships and sufferings of a Revolutionary war, the same privilege which is extended to the most humble inscars, the wounds, the hunger and nakedness and pover-dividual in the community-the privilege of demanding ty-the courage and constancy of those who fought and justice from the Government. They have submitted, in bled in that mighty struggle which resulted in securing respectful terms, an argument to sustain their demand. to us the means of enjoying every civil and political bless- Their memorial has been examined by an intelligent ing. They appealed in vain. Year after year has rolled committee, and the exposition by the Chairman appear. away, and age, disease, and death, have thinned their ed to him to demonstrate the obligation of the Govern numbers to a little remnant, who now hover over the ment to pay their debt. To the arguments thus urged, grave, most of them in indigence and want. They have and to his mind conclusively urged, no member of the now made a last effort to engage the notice of the Gov-Senate had opposed contrary arguments, and in that state ernment not by an appeal to its charity or its generosi- of things he did not intend to add one word more on that ty; not as mendicants asking its bounty; not as pension- part of the case. His object was to resist the fatal influers, sir. Let me say to the honorable member from ence of proposed amendments, which the honorable genMaine, [Mr. PARRIS,] who has introduced this term, that tleman from Maine [Mr. PARRIS] must pardon him for saythe wealth of this nation is too little to place these men ing were calculated to destroy all prospect of final success. in that character. Exhaust the annual revenue of the The gentleman had said, and no doubt with great sincerity, nation in filling their coffers and multiplying their luxu- that he was not influenced by a motive to embarrass this ries, and yet, sir, the present generation must ever re-bill; but, let the motive be what it may, such is the ef main pensioners to the veterans of the Revolution, whose fect. Delay alone is fatal. The few surviving patriots 185 JAN. 29, 1828.] OF DEBATES IN CONGRESS. Surviving Officers of the Revolution.—Memorial of E. V. Sparhawk. who now apply for a portion of their debts, are rapidly disappearing from their country and from the world; they, too, owe a debt which all must pay to nature's law, and which will, ere long, call them to rewards of a higher order. All they can hope for is to smooth the rugged path which separates them from the grave, and which, however short the distance, is beset with thorns which age and infirmity does not enable them to remove without your aid. And why should you refuse your aid? The gentlemen from Maine and Ohio, [Mr. PARRIS and Mr. RUGGLES,] deplore a separate legislation for these Mr. C. said he officers, as a positive injury to others. venerated the character of the Revolutionary soldiers, and was willing to do ample justice to every class of them. No man would go farther in extending the beneficence and the charity of the nation to those persons. But their claims were not now before us. [SENATE. He had declined adding one word to the argument of read: TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 1828. The CHAIR presented the following memorial, accompanied with an affidavit, from E. V. Sparhawk, which was The Memorial of the undersigned (accompanied by an To the Honorable the Senate of the United States: affidavit of the facts) humbly sheweth, that, having been mittee of Claims of the Senate of the United States, from a subjected to insult and violence, in the room of the Comened by said Green with further violence, in case your person called Duff Green, an officer of the Senate, on Friday, the 25th of January, instant; and having been threatMemorialist should "ever write a line about him"-conHe would asked by your Memorialist, and that it was committed within a room devoted to the use of the Senate: Therefore, your sidering that said violence was not, in any manner, provokMemorialist humbly prays that such notice may be taken of this matter as may, in the opinion of your honorable body, comport with its dignity, and extend protection to individuals while within the precincts of the Senate. The question of separate legislation ought to have been The separate legislamade forty years ago, and more. tion of the old Congress, for the very class of persons now before the House, formed the specific subject of their claims. On matters growing out of the general legislation for the army, they claimed nothing. They had sustained equal loss by depreciated paper, by want of pay, by want of food, by nakedness, and sufferings of various kinds; these they encountered in common with their fellow officers and fellow soldiers: and for these sufferings he should be proud to aid in giving some compensation. Yet let it not escape the attention of the Senate, that these claims were discarded by these men ; such items formed no part of the account rendered. Their demand rested on specific separate legislation, which no other officers and no soldiers in the army had any common interest in. It is entirely too late, therefore, to urge objections to separate legislation. Mr. C. said, he was It was in the equally surprised to hear from the gentleman from Ohio, (Mr. R. the objection he had alluded to. knowledge of the Senate, that that gentleman, as Chair. man of the Committee of Claims, was frequently called to act on claims preferred by individuals who had sustained injury during the late war, either by violations of contract on the part of the government, depredations by the enemy, or from various other causes. the honorable Chairman, if he had ever made it a cause of objection to either of these claims, that there were numerous other claims, arising upon the same or somewhat He knew such an ob. similar principles, yet unsettled? Jection had never been urged, and could never have been It was as competent to these individuals as to any others, to have separated their claims; and if one amongst them had presented his case alone to the Senate, Mr. C. did not perceive how they could have refused it their notice. The other officers of the army-the soldiers of the army, were not included in the memorial. Those officers alone believing, and he thought correctly, that their case did not resemble the case of officers and soldiers who were not embraced by the resolution of 1789, had asked an examination and decision of the rights of those who were included by the terms of that resolution. They had exerted the common privilege of every citizen in asking a decision upon their claims. If fairly examined and finally rejected, their history and their character did not permit any one to doubt of their acquiThe memorials of their virtues were too intimately connected with the history of the nation, and the plaudits of a grateful people had sounded too loudly their praises, to permit his feeble voice to extend the circle of their fame; but he would say, that men who could resist the seductive appeal made to them by the author of the Newburg Letters, were not now to be taught obedience to the constituted authorities, or respect for the laws of the land. sustained. escence. EDWARD, VERNON SPARHAWK. Washington City, Jan. 28, 1828. The affidavit accompanying the memorial was read. Mr. MARKS moved to lay the memorial on the table; Mr. WILLIAMS inquired what question was before which motion, on a division, was lost. the Senate. The CHAIR observed, that it was an application laid before the Senate by him, at the request of the MemorialMr COBB said it was a very grave subject, and he ist, and it remained to be disposed of by them. would move its reference to the Committee on the JudiMr. MACON said he thought the matter worthy in ciary; but was understood to have withdrawn the motion. quiry; and he should be in favor of laying it on the ta ble. He had known a similar case in the other branch of Congress; but did not know how it would be taken up by the Senate. Mr. COBB signified his assent to a motion to lay it on Mr. ROWAN said he would make another motion, the table. It appeared by the affidavit that the affair took which was, to allow the memorialist to withdraw his me place after the adjournment, from which it was plain, that morial. it did not come under the jurisdiction of the Senate. Mr. BERRIEN made some remarks, which were not distinctly heard, which were, in substance, that this matter was one which the Senate ought to consider not only with regard to what ought to be done in relation to the application of the memorialist, but what was also due by the Senate to itself. He then moved to lay the memorial on the table; which was agreed to. SURVIVING OFFICERS OF THE REVOLUTION. The unfinished business of yesterday, the bill for the relief of the several surviving Officers of the Revolutionary Army, was then taken up. The question being on filling the blank in the bill with 1,200,000 dollars Mr. SMITH, of South Carolina, 10se and said: He was opposed not only to filling the blank, but was opposed to the passage of the bill under any circumstances, and would ask the indulgence of the Senate whilst he offered some of the reasons upon which he grounded that opposition. Although he was far from entertaining any ungrateful feelings towards the surviving officers of the revolutionary army, yet he could never yield his assent to the assertion that they held exclusive claims, either upon the justice or gratitude of this government. The gentleman from Ohio [Mr. HARRISON] felt such devoted zeal on this occasion, that he had declared he would take the last cent from the treasury to discharge this demand; nay, he would go further, he would give up the Alleghany canal, he would give up the Cumberland road, and would even dispose of his churches to raise a revenue for that purpose, and would worship his God in the open fields, and in the shades of the forest. Mr. S said, if he believed this claim was founded in justice and good faith, he would go further than the gentleman from Ohio: he would not only dispose of his churches, but would worship his God in sack-cloth and ashes before he would withhold a just debt. Yet he feared he should not pay that homage in spirit and in, truth, were he to withhold that same justice from the widows and orphan children of those revolutionary officers, who have deceased since the passage of that commutation law, whose claias are entitled to the same jus. tice, and to a much deeper sympathy. It has been stated by the Chairman of the Committee [Mr. WOODBURY] which reported this bill, that there were only 230 surviving officers to provide for. To satisfy the claims of these survivors, it was necessary to fill the blank with the sum of $1,100,000. At the close of the war, the whole number of officers then surviving, en. titled to half pay, were 2480; deduct from that number 230, will leave 2250; in the ordinary course of mortality, it is fair to suppose, that the average deaths would allow a calculation of 1125 entitled to full pay, in equal degree to the surviving officers, now sought to be provided for. This would require an additional sum of $5,380,434, which, with the $1,100,000, asked for the survivors, would make an aggregate of $ 6,480,434. If either justice or gratitude require the Senate to make provision for the surviving of cers, the same measure of justice and of gratitude, require provision to be made for the widows and children of the deceased officers, whose rights were as well founded, and whose rights were as [JAN. 29, 1828. perfect, up to the times of their respective deaths, as that of the survivors. Mr. S. said, he had yet to learn by what rule of law, or by what rule of gratitude, this discrimination could be made. It was a settled principle of municipal law, of almost the whole civilized world, founded in nature itself, and fully recognized by every State in this Union, to its fullest extent, that in all cases after death, the relations of the deceased, whether his widow or his children, his father or his mother, his brothers or his sisters, or relations in any other degree, were by inheritance entitled to the whole of his estate, in whatsoever it might consist; whether in lands, goods, moneys, or debts due, either from private individuals or from governments. If there fore, this be a debt of obligation, founded on contract, to the survivors, it is equally a debt of obligation, founded on contract, to the legal representatives of the deceased officers. And it would be a perversion of one of the soundest maxims of law, to suppose, that the death of a creditor cancels the debt, or lessens the obligations of the debtor. Mr. President, we have heard it stated, during this debate, by a Senator from Ohio, [Mr. RUGGLES,] that a revolutionary officer of distinguished merit, died in his neighborhood but a few weeks ago, and left a family of twenty children, two of them twin girls, only four years old. Are we, Mr. S. asked, to close our eyes upon the claims of these tender and helpless infants, because their father has been taken from them by the hand of death? who, had he survived but a few weeks longer, would have shared in the bounty of the government asked for in this bill. Are we to forget the dead, however merito'rious their claims, claims founded on the very same law, governed by the same rules of construction, and enhanced by the piteous condition of the objects to whom it must be equally due, if due to any, merely because we behold the living presenting themselves personally before us? This would be an exhibition of feeling but little to the credit of the Congress of the United States! The Chairman, [Mr. W.] as Mr S. understood him, had placed the claims of the surviving officers on the principle of annuitants. And fixing the length of time of the half pay at two lives, or 14 years, would demand as an equivalent, full pay for seven years, to constitute a fair commutation. But he, Mr. S. had made a calculation, and it would be found that five years full pay, paid promptly, with its accumulating interest, would amount to more than 14 years' half pay, only paid annually as it became due, with its accumulating interest also. [Here Mr. WooDBURY asked to explain, and said he had been misunderstood ] To this Mr. S. replied, he supposed that he must have misunderstood the gentleman from N. H. But laying that argument altogether out of the question, he could nevertheless assume that position without resorting to the annuity tables of any foreign country. Seven years were computed a life by our laws, and so understood in the calculations of life estates not otherwise provided for. And 11 years, the term of two legal lives, was a fair average computation upon which to found the commutation; the half pay for which was not equal to the five years' full pay, calculating the accumulating in. terest on each. Bet at the time this commutation was made, there were no calculations of this sort contemplated. The officers knew nothing about annuity tables, neither did the government. Congress had in 1781, almost at the close of the war, promised, by a resolution, half pay for life to all such officers as should remain in service to the end of the war. This was considered an odious distinction, and became excessively unpopular. It did not suit the genius of this country, and was opposed to the principles of that liberty for which we were then struggling, and was one of the features of the British Government which produced the JAN. 29, 1828.] Surviving Officers of the Revolution. [SENATE. than to meet the very wishes of the officers, and gave them what they asked for, that the contract was not fulfilled, because the operations of the change had not prov ed as prosperous as some of them had wished. contest. These officers viewed it in that light themselves, and wished to get rid of it; and in December, 1782, after the preliminary articles of peace had been signed, voluntarily stated, in a petition to Congress, their belief of its odious character, and said in that petition, "We are willing to commute the half-pay pledged, for full pay for a certain number of years, or for a certain sum in gross, as shall be agreed to by the Committee sent with this ad-gress, stating the discontent of the officers of the Army, dress." (1) Mr. President, our gratitude has been invoked on this occasion. The gentleman from Ohio, (Mr. H.) has read various letters written by Gen. Washington to Conthe hardships they endured, and concludes by saying, they would have quit the Army, had not Congress promised them the half pay: and asserts, it is to those officers that we are indebted for our civil and religious liberty, as well as for our independence as a nation, and the freesaid, it was by no means his wish to detract from the military merits of those officers; and much less would he have supposed they were actuated by the hope of pecuniary reward, to continue in the Army, had not the gen tleman himself affirmed, it was the promise of the half pay which kept them there. He was willing, himself, to ascribe to them better motives for remaining in the Army, than the hope of pecuniary reward. He was willing to believe it was patriotism that kept them in the Ariny. All your gallant men prefer the thick of battle, and seek death itself, as the highest reward of the brave. And can it be a motive to an American Senate, to pay those officers a second time, because they would have left the Army in the time of its greatest peril, but for the promise of half pay? These are their own words, and their own Committee, sent with that address, consisted of Major Gen. H. Knox, Brig. Gen. Patterson, Col. Crane, Col. Maxwell, Brig. Gen. J. Huntington, Col. Webb, Col. Huntington, Col. Cortland, Col. Cummings, Maj. Scott, Wm. Eustis, Hos-dom of debate we now exercise in this Senate. Mr. S. pital Surgeon, Brig. Gen. Hazen. Officers of high standing, selected and deputed from among themselves, with full powers to make the arrangement with Congress, what commutation should be given for the half pay. And among the members of Congress appointed on the Committee to make this arrangement with the Committee of officers, was Gen Alexander Hamilton, who had gone through the whole war himself, knew the relative claims of these officers, and whom he was one, and who was as just as he was generous, and as generous as he was brave; which was really surrendering almost the whole matter into their own hands to settle, and it was settled to be equal to five years' full pay, and no more. And when settled at that, it was not made compulsory by the resolution of Congress, but left optional to accept the five years' full pay or hold on to the half pay for life. Mr. Presideni, it is an error that is gaining ground in (2) Nine States: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Con-proportion as we recede from the period of the revolu necticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Penn- tion, that the independence of this government was sylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, accepted it by lines; and not a murmur was heard for twenty-seven years afterwards, when, for the first time, they brought it up. And at the distance of forty-four years the Senate are told the commutation was unjust, arbitrarily settled at the discretion of Congress, and forced upon those of ficers without any alternative, to take that or nothing; and that they come now to ask justice and demand a fulfilment of the compact. And gentlemen affirm that up. on principles of law and equity, it is a contract not yet fulfilled, and which in a court of justice the government would be bound to fulfil. Mr. S said, he was not brought up at the foot of Gamaliel, but he understood the law of contracts better than that. To render a contract binding on both parties, nothing was necessary, but that the parties were capable to contract, were willing to contract, and actually did contract. And if capable and willing to do so, they could make, and could change that contract as often, and into as many forms as they pleased. It required no lawyer to know this. It was every day's practice, with every man in the Government. But we have a fashion of paying Government contracts as often as they are asked for. What was the contract? First, that the officers who should remain in the army to the conclusion of the war, should be entitled to half pay for life. Who asked to change it? The officers themselves. When it was changed, to whom was it submitted for acceptance? To the officers themselves. Who did accept it in the very form in which Congress had placed it; to be paid in se curities, on interest of six per cent. per annum, instead of the half pay promised for life? 3) After they had done so, it would be sporting with the rights of the Go. vernment, to say the contract had not been fulfilled on her part. If the Government has any rights, it has the same rights of individuals, governed by the same rules, and entitled to the same privileges. And it would be idie to say, when the Government had done no more (1) See 4th vol. Journals Old Congress, p 207. achieved solely by the regular army. It is an error that has been promoted by the very officers themselves, and to which gentlemen very naturally subscribe who wit. nessed no part of those times which tried men's souls. That war was a war without a parallel. It was forced upon the people of this country when they had neither money, arms, nor experience and not more than three millions and a half of a population. In this situation they had to meet a brave and experienced enemy, with a veteran army, and experienced and gallant officers at its head. The most determined doubted; but their appeared to be no alternative, and a general enthusiasm pervaded the whole community, with a few exceptions; and all who valued freedom were eager for battle, in defence of their homes and their fire-sides, and death or liberty was the universal motto. It was this proud eminence assumed by the American people, that gave them liberty, independence and freedom of debate: not the sordid mercenary hopes of pecuniary reward. But, said, Mr. S., it has nearly come to this, since time has thrown a veil over those scenes and achievements that ought to characterize that war, that we are taught to believe that, during that war, every thing was quiescent, and every body happy at home in the enjoyment of their families and fortunes, except the regular army; and that thete was but little praise due to any but the officers. The arguments seem to go upon the ground, that this is the correct history of the revolutionary war. Gentlemen who entertain this opinion, know but little of that war, as it was carried on in the three Southern States, of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia The Chairman [Mr. W.] has told us, these officers broke up their connexions in life, and left their families and their homes to serve their country. And so devoted was one of them, that he left his dead father unburied, to enter the Army. This, all will admit, was patriotic. But what does this weigh, when compared to the bloody scenes that spread horror and desolation throughout the two Carolinas and Georgia, during the years of 1779, 1780 and 1781; a good part of which time you had no regular Army there. Whilst the British Army were there SENATE ] Surviving Officers of the Revolution. [JAN. 29, 1828. ravaging the country wherever they went; not a horse Marion was a man of large fortune, and lived at his in the country upon which they could lay their hands, ease. He abandoned it all, made the morasses his dwelthat they did not take, to repair the waste in their own ling place, and his rations were parched corn and potacavalry, or for the use of their baggage wagons. All toes, when he could get them. He may be justly called the cattle, hogs, sheep, flour, wheat, corn, and every the Leonidas of the South. He never was defeated, nor description of forage, fell a prey to their rapacity. And could the strongest threats, or the most flattering prowhat was not consumed, was wantonly burned and des- mises from the enemy, induce him for one moment to fortroyed. The tories, following in their train, burning sake the cause of his country. Sumpter and Marion could dwelling houses, out buildings, and fences, and laying have had any promotions they would have asked for in waste with fire and sword all that came in their way. the British army, if they would have accepted it. Or if Plundering the defenceless women and children of any they would have laid down their arms, even at the most little remains of provisions that the Army might have left, gloomy moment of that perilous time, they could have and stripping them of their wearing apparel, and the ve- been protected in their persons and fortunes by that army. ry bed clothes that covered them by night. Mothers and But they were inspired by other considerations, of a daughters who had seen better times, labored in the field higher character. They were inspired by a patriotism to procure a scanty subsistence; whilst the fathers and and love of country that never tired, and taught them to brothers were harassing the enemy, and fighting the bat- look upon pecuniary rewards as trash; not to be put in tles of their country. Not in the regular Army, but in competition with a soldier's honor nor with a patriot's love volunteer and self-created bodies; self-trained, and mount- of liberty. Their troops, composed as they were entireed on their own horses, and armed with their own rifles, ly of volunteer militia, from the mass of citizens, were and other arms, such as they could procure; all at their equally inspired by the same motives. There never was own expense, without the aid, or even the knowledge of a regular army belonging to the government, from the the General Government. They annoyed the enemy by beginning to the end of the revolutionary war, that enhanging on their borders, killing their light troops, cut- dured such hardships, who fought more, or more ting off their foraging parties, shooting their sentries at successful batties, or rendered more essential service. their posts, and destroying and dispersing the tory par- These men never received a farthing from the general ties wheresoever they assembled. No friend of his coun-government, neither for their services nor their arms, try could remain at home in safety. Many who ventured which they furnished for themselves for the most part. there for a moment, were dragged from the bosoms of Nor has a single man among them, however hacked or their families, and butchered at their own doors. Others cut to pieces, ever been placed upon your pension roll. who were taken in arms, were treated as rebels, and hung upon the limbs of trees, on the road sides. These scenes became so familiar, that the spilling of human blood lost the most of its horrors. Many of the first citizens of South Carolina were seiz ed, incarcerated in prison ships, and sent to St. Augustine, and other unwholesome climes, to subdue their patriotism; many of whom perished. Col. Laurens, the While this undiciplined warfare was carried on by the elder, was sent to England and imprisoned in the Tower, community at large by a spirit of patriotism unrivalled, to subdue his own patriotism, and strike terror in others. General Sumpter, with no other authority than a com- These tortures were endured by men who lived in the mission from the Governor of the State, for the legislative lap of ease and fortune, all of which was abandoned to body was dispersed by the enemy, drew to his standard a the reckless ravages of the enemy, rather than they respectable number of volunteer militia, who displayed would abandon the cause of that independence in which as much bravery, and fought to as much purpose, as any they had embarked. Was there any officer in the con. continental troops belonging to the regular army. They tinental army who suffered such hardships, and made distinguished themselves, and were victorious in almost such sacrifices for the cause of freedom? Who is there, every battle they fought. Their leader was as gallant a that would not rather rush upon the spear of his enemy, soldier as ever drew a sword, with all the qualities of a and hazard his life in battle, than be confined in the hold cool circumspect general. His successful operations were of a prison ship, in an unwholesome clime? At the same more confined to the middle and southern parts of the State. time these scenes of horror and discomfort were going General Marion, who acted under a similar commission, on in South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina were only from the Governor, confined himself more to the also engaged in those of a similar character, except that eastern part of the State.-Whose partisan corps were the British army remained principally in South Carolina. entirely volunteers, also. Mr. S., said that he might be The three States were destitute for a long time of even more accurate as related to his operations, he would read the semblance of a regular army. It was the gallantry it from Ramsay's history of the United States. Speaking and patriotism of the farmers of North Carolina, who quit of the promotion and successes of General Sumpter, he their ploughs and embodied under Col. Caswell, a mili"About the same time Marion was promoted to the tia officer, that totally defeated and dispersed a large bo"same rank, who in the northeastern extremity of the dy of Scots tories, that had collected to the royal stand"State, prosecuted a similar plan. Unfurnished with ard, on Cape Fear River, in 1775, and gave a shock to "the means of defence, he was obliged to take posses- the formidable tory party in that quarter, from which it "sion of the saws of the saw-mills, and to convert them in-never recovered. This was effected by their own means, to horseman's swords. So much was be distressed for "ammunition, that he has engaged, when he had not "three rounds to each man of his party. Various schemes "were tried to detach the inhabitants from co operating with him. Major Wemys burned scores of houses on "Pedee, Linch's Creek, and Black River, belonging "to such as were supposed to do duty with Marion, or "to be subservient to his views. Having no houses to "shelter them, the camps of their country became their "homes. For many months, Marion and his party were "obliged to sleep in the open air, and to shelter them "selves in deep swamps. From these retreats, they sal "lied out, whenever an opportunity of harassing the en"emy, or of serving their country, presented itself." says: without the aid of a continental officer or soldier; or so much as a sabre furnished by the general government. For which they never received, nor did they even ask, a farthing. These achievements were followed up by the battle of King's Mountain, in the autumn of 1780, under Col. Campbell, of Virginia, Col. Cleveland, and Col. Shelby, and others of North Carolina, Col. Lacey, Col. Hill, and others of South Carolina, who assembled the volunteer militia of their neighborhoods, to stay the high-handed career of the enemy; and the historian says, "They had so little of the mechanism of a regular army, that the "Colonels, by common consent, commanded each day alternately. The hardships these volunteers under |