Colonel
Ellerbe Boggan Crawford Cash
Unknown source
E.B.C. Cash was born on July 1st, 1823 in
Wadesboro, NC, the only child of Boggan Cash and Elizabeth Ellerbe.
His father was a colonel in the NC Militia and his mother hailed
from the wealthiest family of Chesterfield District. Boggan died
when Cash was only two, and his mother returned to South Carolina to
raise her son. He attended the Mt. Zion Institute and South Carolina
College. After graduation, Cash studied law under Gen Blakeney of
Cheraw and passed the state bar soon after. He formed a short-lived
partnership with Alexander McIver; Esq. But young Cash was forced to
retire from law to run a rather large plantation that had belonged
to his mother's family. The Cash plantation grew a variety of crops,
including cotton, corn, rice, and wheat. Cash also took to raising
horses and cattle--assisted by several hundred slaves he would
eventually inherit. He took an active part in the local militia,
working his way up to the rank of colonel, in command of the 29th SC
Militia Regiment. In 1848, he married his second cousin, Miss Eunice
Ellerbe of Kershaw and fathered three children. Soon after, he was
elected to the General Assembly and promoted to the rank of
brigadier general. He was instrumental in getting the Cheraw &
Darlington Railroad built--which ran through most of his land--and
established a depot on his property.
When the clouds of war begin to form, Cash was
an outspoken proponent of secession. He attended the first ever
secession convention in Chesterfield in 1860 and promoted SC's
independence at every opportunity. After the state left in the Union
in December, he immediately began to recruit men for service in the
militia from all over the Pee Dee. By now a major general, Cash
became an ardent supporter of the new Confederacy. In March of 1861,
he was elected colonel of the 8th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry
in Marion. It did not take long for the men to discover what kind of
complex man Cash was. On one hand, he was described as a man of
strong character, fearless, charitable, intelligent, and a patriot
to the Cause. On the other, he was a strict disciplinarian, a
swearer, easily roused to anger and brash. He was aggressive and
overbearing, yet gentlemanly in most social settings. He did not
confess to any particular denomination of religion, nor did he
belong to any church. After returning to Florence from Charleston in
April, Cash once placed seven captains under arrest and confined
them to their tents because they refused to move their company cook
fires 150 yards from the tents--the distance Cash thought
"proper".
At First Manassas, Cash boldly rode up and
down the line of the Eighth as they advanced around Henry House Hill
and up Sudley Springs Road. He demonstrated how well he could handle
the regiment, when they became separated from the 2nd SC while
moving through dense wood. Not only did the regiment emerge in
proper formation, Cash also drove off one Federal unit and was
engaged with another while on the move to rejoin on the 2nd SC. When
ordered by Col. Kershaw, the senior South Carolinian on the field,
to clear the enemy in his front, Cash responded coolly: "We will
drive them to hell in five minutes." In the closing stages of the
battle, the 8th SC was in pursuit of the fleeing Yankees. Many
prisoners were taken, including several civilians caught behind the
lines. One of these was Congressman Alfred Ely of New York, who had
come out to picnic and watch the battle. Brought before Cash by Sgt.
Maj. W.S. Mullins, the congressman immediately demanded his release
(following that with several offending oaths, according to one
account). Cash, with his temper now ignited and a fire in his eyes,
looked down over his mount and responded: "You son-of-a-bitch!
You’re one of them politicians that started this damn war!" Spurring
his horse, Cash drew his pistol, intent on killing the Congressman.
Ely took refuge behind Mullins as Cash attempted to get a clear
shot. For a few moments, these two went round and round Mullins
until a staff officer intervened.
At the regiment's reorganization in the spring
of 1862, Cash was no longer the colonel. Some accounts say that Cash
was not reelected to that office, mainly because of his strict,
uncompromising style of command. Other sources say Cash resigned
over "a perceived injustice by the Confederate Government..."
probably because he was passed over for promotion. In any case, he
returned home determined to stay in service to his State. In
February 1863, he was elected colonel of the 2nd Regiment of State
Troops. A reserve unit comprised of mainly men too old or too feeble
for active duty. This unit remained in existence for a year until
the Reserve Battalions were formed. Cash, however, could only
maintain his generalship in the State Militia. One of the many
services Cash gave during the war was charity to the soldier's
families. It was estimated he gave away some 50,000 bushels of corn
to the needy dependents of the area. He also supplied the
Confederate government with corn, grain, and beef throughout the
war, charging them antebellum prices despite the high inflation.
When Sherman ravaged the state, Cash was there organizing the
militia, running vital communications throughout the area, and
helping civilians hide themselves and their valuables. Cash himself
refused to leave his home, and hid in the swamps of the Pee Dee
River to avoid capture. The Slave Narratives recall that Cash killed
at least one of his slaves for disclosing a stockpile of corn to the
Federals.
After the war, he returned to farming and
raising stock. He continued to show compassion for the Confederates
returning home by canceling all debts owed to him. He was also a
vocal antagonist of the Reconstruction governments and politicians
and lawyers often sought after his advice. Cash even ran against
Gen. Wade Hampton in the 1876 race for governor. He thought of
Hampton as too reconciliatory to represent the white population of
the state. Col. Cash is most remembered by his duel with Col.
William Shannon of Camden on July 5th, 1880. Shannon and his law
partner had accused Cash's wife of fraud in the settlement of a levy
against her brother in Kershaw County. Cash naturally took this as
an affront and the case went to court. After several months (and a
lot of mud slinging on both sides), the state Supreme Court ruled in
Cash's favor. Shannon was not satisfied and ultimately challenged
Cash to a duel. The two sides met at Lynches River, between
present-day Bishopville and Lydia, and fought the last duel in South
Carolina. Shannon was killed. Soon, the state legislature made
dueling illegal.
Cash died on March 10th, 1888 and is buried in
the family cemetery in the Cash community (between Society Hill and
Cheraw on present day U.S. Highway 52).
