The Life and Times of
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The Life and Times of
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Chapter One Nevertheless, the spirit was not broken, and the people now knew that the tide of fate had turned, that Greene was coming nearer day by day, and that the many skirmishes which took place along the coast were the last flashes of the war. It was just at this time, February the eleventh, 1782, that the subject of this sketch, William Lowndes, was born on the Horseshoe plantation in the parish of St. Bartholomew's, Colleton. And here I may observe that, although when he had achieved national reputation, he was known to the world as " Lowndes of Carolina," he would at any time have described himself as " of St. Bartholomew's," for the Carolinian of that day, like his English cousins, always identified himself with the place where his lands lay, and was first, and before all things, a country gentleman. He was the youngest and only surviving child of the Honorable Rawlins Lowndes, by his third wife, Sarah, daughter of Colonel Charles Jones, of Georgia. Mr. Rawlins Lowndes had been one of the leaders of the Revolution, even before he himself knew whither he was going; for as judge of the Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions he had, in 1754, ordered the release of one Powell, a printer, who had been arrested and imprisoned by order of the Governor's Council, of which Sir Egerton Leigh was then president. Powell was arrested because he had presumed to print some of the proceedings of the said council, and Mr. Justice Lowndes, then Speaker of the Commons' House, ordered him set at liberty ; asserting that the " law of the land gave the council not the least right to commit," and pointing out, with scarcely veiled irony, that it could not derive such right from an imagined identity with the House of Lords. He also, in the same Court of Common Pleas, that unsalaried court in which some of the best men of the province gave their time to their country, gave, in 1776, the first judgment pronounced in America against the Stamp Act, declaring it " against common rights and the constitution," and refusing to enforce it. For these offenses a frivolous charge was brought against him, and he was dismissed the bench. Of his services there, one of his colleagues, William Henry Drayton (afterwards chief justice of the State of South Carolina), writing, under the signature of " Freeman," a defense of himself and his brother judges, says: " A few years ago the bench of justice in this colony was filled with men of property, and if all of thfem were not learned in the law, there were some among them who taught their brethren to administer justice with public approbation; and one ( Rawlins Lowndes) in particular had so well digested his reading, although he had never eat commons at the Temple, that he was, without dispute, at least equal to the law learning of the present bench." By "the present bench" Drayton means the judges who had been sent from England to hold the office as soon as salaries were attached to it. He also says, " Mr. Lowndes and myself are the only two judges who have ventured (and with success, too) to charge juries in contradiction to the rest of the court." Later on, it was Rawlins Lowndes who proposed the erection of the statue of the great Chatham, which still stands in the city square of Charleston, in memory of the gratitude of a spirited people to the defender of its rights. Afterwards he was a member of the various Councils of Safety, etc., which engineered the beginning of the Revolution. Bat although a resolute and fearless man, he often in these councils provoked his more impetuous colleagues, Arthur Middleton, William Henry Drayton, and others, by the caution of his movements and his unwillingness to take steps which should render war inevitable if liberty could be secured in any other way. In the Council of Safety, Middleton and Drayton were the leaders of the " extreme party " Lowndes and Parsons (a distinguished lawyer) of the " Moderates," the latter representing the opposition. It was Arthur Middleton who moved to attach estates in case of the flight of the owner, and to excommunicate from all social privileges all persons who should refuse to sign the " Provincial Oaths," as the resolutions of non-intercourse, etc., introduced by the Provincial Congress, were called. William Henry Drayton says on this point, " Nothing has been determined upon but the tender of the oath to those people. I have twice pushed hard for the 'Resolution for attaching estates in case of desertion,' but have not been lucky enough to get a second; the matter, however, is not rejected only postponed. " Bawlins, postponator, declares the resolution not fit to proceed from the Committee of South Carolina, and so arbitrary, that only the Divan of Constantinople could think of promulgating such a law." This opposition was continued to the very end, for when the delegates to that Congress which signed the Declaration of Independence were elected, Mr. Lowndes pointed out the dangers to which they would be exposed. The opinions of the Northern Colonies were, he said, much more advanced than those of Carolina, inasmuch as they " denied the superintending power of Parliament, a doctrine which no one here admitted; and unless our deputies from this colony appeared in Congress with limited powers, they, being outnumbered, would be bound by votes upon points which they absolutely denied." The event proved the foresight of the objection. The powers were limited, and the outnumbered deputies from South Carolina hesitated long before signing the Declaration, not knowing if their people would support them. The English guns in Charles Town harbor, on the 28th of June, 1776, settled the question. It is evident that all these men disputed vehemently, but that they
acquiesced loyally when the vote was taken; sometimes deciding an
important measure by a majority of one! acting as became the sons of
Englishmen who had not lost their political birthright of good
sense. That Mr. Lowndes was in no way ashamed of this opposition is shown by
his alluding to it during the debates on the Constitution in 1788; when he
reminded his hearers how he had opposed a Declaration of Independence, but
had yielded it just observance when once adopted. His term of office was for one year only, and at the end of that time Mr. Rutledge resumed the position, with the title of " Governor " (instead of " President") and " dictatorial" powers, conferred on him by the legislature. Among all these public employments Mr. Lowndes had found time to marry three times. His first wife was the beautiful Amarinthia Elliott. She lived only one year, and he then married Miss Mary Cartwright, by whom he became the father of many sons and daughters. One little touch of sentiment softens and embellishes his somewhat stern character, for when his first daughter was born he named her, not after her own mother, but Amarinthia, for the young wife who had been buried with her baby in her arms. The second wife also was no sooner dead than he married the third, Miss
Sarah Jones, he being over fifty and she sixteen. A portrait
of this lady, in the possession of the writer, said to have been taken at
the time of her marriage, shows a dark-eyed, rosy-cheeked girl, more fit,
one would say, for the schoolroom than for the head of a household. .
Nevertheless, she did so well both as the wife of an old man and as the
mother of children as old as herself, that her stepchildren loved her, and
counted her son as one of themselves.
Mr. Lowndes was chosen a delegate from St. Bartholomew's and did his best to attend, but did not arrive until the assembly had begun its debates. He was reprimanded for want of punctuality, and answered "that he had used due diligence, but that the enemy having carried off all his horses, and he being helpless with the gout, he had been forced to harness six oxen to his coach ; hence his slow progress. Mrs. Horry, of South Santee, had met him on the road, and could testify." It helps one to recognize how short a period our history covers, to know that the present writer has heard this scene described, by one who saw it. Mrs. Horry's little daughter, who, looking from the window of her mother's chaise, saw the coach with its clumsy steeds the oxen swaying from side to side, the negro drivers running and shouting, and the old gentleman bowing his powdered head, and apologizing for interfering with Mrs. Horry's progress. The assembly sat in safety, though not without apprehension. It had really been summoned to Jacksonborough (which was a little village on the Edisto Eiver, about thirty miles south of Charleston, and twenty from the coast), as a sort of manifesto of renewed possession of the low country. But, in truth, the danger was great: the country was intersected by navigable streams, the village was within easy reach of the British galleys, and Greene kept vigilant watch on the approaches. John Eutledge, writing on the 29th of January, says: " The assembly has been sitting every day since the 18th, and has received no interruption from the enemy. I hope they will give us none. Indeed I don't think they will attempt any." An opinion based somewhat on Sutledge's indomitably hopeful disposition, and also on the knowledge that the nearest British outpost had been captured some nights before. The assembly did its work, discussed among other things the subject which was to be a burning one for many a day, the punishment to be meted out to Tories and evil-wishers, and adjourned in peace. By the time that the little William Lowndes was ten months old (December, 1782), the British finally departed, leaving the State, as it was now to be called, to bind up her wounds, count her losses, and set about repairing them. The losses were indeed heavy, especially to the planters along the coast, whose slaves had been carried off by hundreds, generally to be sold in the West Indies, and whose houses and barns had been burned. But it was not only the coast that had suffered ; every region of Carolina had borne its part. In the letters to the delegates to Congress already quoted, Governor Butledge writes, wherever he goes, of the trials of the people. From the very northern portion, near the border of North Carolina, he says:
... It is said (and I believe it) that of the prisoners whom Brown took at Augusta (Georgia) he gave up four to the Indians, who killed 'em and kicked their bodies about the streets; and that he (Brown) hung upwards of 30 prisoners." This was in tie extreme west of the State, and in Georgia. In the same letter comes: " Davis says Tarleton is in quest of Marion, and doing much mischief in burning houses on Santee" [which is in the southeast portion of the country]. There, too, were felt the cruelties of Major Wemys; who, when captured by Sumter, had in his pocket such a damnatory list of houses burnt along the Pedee and in Williamsburg County that he was forced to throw himself upon the mercy of his captor, and implore his protection against the vengeance of the infuriated militia; while the atrocities perpetrated in the middle and upper country by Cunningham, "the Bloody Scout," probably surpass any ever committed by a white man on this continent. With these things fresh in their memories it was not strange that the cry should be for retribution; but it must not be supposed that revenge alone filled the hearts of the victors. Justice, it seemed to them, was on their side, and demanded that their losses should be repaired. They were poor and ragged, homeless and hungry, the army which had fought so gallantly was unpaid, and despairing of ever being paid, there was literally no money, and no present way of raising any; while the Tories, active or passive, were comparatively rich. The assembly, accordingly, passed acts of confiscation, banishment, amercing, etc. [not, it may be feared, without laying itself open to charges of injustice and partiality] ; and besides these acts, affecting property alone, wild justice was sometimes done to those ruffians who had incurred personal enmity by their barbarities. Yet, on the whole, considering the provocation, the acts of violence were surprisingly few, owing chiefly, it is said, to the great and wholesome influence of Marion, who, fiercest in the fight, was most forgiving when the fight was done. Even the fines were less numerous and less heavy than might have been expected. For a time, indeed, it was hard to interfere in behalf of the sufferers without being accused of being a " dumb Tory " or a " British sympathizer," but gradually the feeling arose that the country could only be a country by the free assent and well-being of all, and that to keep a class of suffering and proscribed people among them would be a horrible element in the body politic. The party of mercy finally prevailed, the greater part of the exiles were permitted to return, their fines were lessened, and half a million pounds sterling, actually in the possession of the State, was returned to them. What precise part Mr. Lowndes took in all this controversy there is no way of telling. Probably, as he had opposed confiscation at the beginning of the war, he opposed it still, but it is not recorded. Mr. Bancroft indeed has said that after the fall of Charles Town he had himself taken British protection, but Mr. Bancroft has nowhere given his authority for the statement, and the most diligent search fails to discover it. It can only be supposed that he has in this been confounded with his brother Charles, who did so shelter himself. His name is on no list of fine or confiscation, and he was at once called to the public service. From fragments of his correspondence (only fragments remain) it is clear that he strongly upheld the principles of business integrity, in the vexed question of the payment of debts due to " the other side," and that he exerted himself to secure those due to his personal friends. There are several letters thanking him for his kindness in this respect. The following from Mr. Robert Williams (of whom I know nothing but that he was one of the first pewholders of St. Michael's Church) is interesting, as showing the feeling in England over " the long invocated peace."
I am with the sincerest regret,
Dear Sir, Your Most Obdt. humb. Serv. South Carolina had been remarkably fortunate in her clergy. Sent out by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, they appear to have been selected with care, and were, with few exceptions, men of character and merit. Some, such as Commissary Garden and the Rev. Mr. Clarke, were far above the average, and it was undoubtedly due to this cause that the attachment to the Established Church was so strong as to outlive the establishment, and keep so many of the congregations in the ancient ways. It was perhaps even more remarkable (considering that almost all of them were Englishmen born) that the great majority of the clergy should have taken the side of the colonists and cast in their lot with the new State. " Out of twenty," says Dalcho, " only five adhered to Great Britain and left the country." Of these five, however, two were men of importance, the rector and assistant rector of St. Michael's. The assistant, Mr. Bullman, had not been very long out from England, when quite in the beginning of the troubles he preached a vehement political sermon, proclaiming the supremacy of the government, and warning " silly Clowns and illiterate mechanics not to censure the conduct of Princes and Governors." This was in 1774, when things were becoming stormy, and it was no great wonder that Mr. Bullman was desired " no longer to officiate at St. Michael's Church." The case of the Rev. Robert Cooper was a more serious matter. He had been in the colony for a long time and had married there, officiating first as assistant minister of St. Philip's. When the present St. Michaels was built in 1759, the congregation desired to have a new clergyman sent over from London. They would like one, they said, " middle-aged and of a grave deportment, and with a good audible voice," very judicious and reasonable requirements surely, and, one would suppose, easy to find when a comfortable house and a salary of £112 sterling were offered withal. No clergyman came, however, and after some delay the congregation "called" Mr. Cooper from St. Philip's. From this time (1761) he officiated regularly, and seems to have been
much liked, so the distress must have been great when early in the morning
of June 30, 1776, almost before the guns of Fort Moultrie were hushed, the
vestry of St. Michael's was hurriedly convened because its rector had
refused to take the oaths to defend the Constitution of South Carolina
established in the March previous. The vestry promptly ordered that there
should be no divine service that day, nor until they had time to inquire
into it; whereupon Mr. Cooper declared that he considered himself
dismissed, and left the country. Doubtless he thought of himself as of a
non-juror of Charles's or James's time, and comforted himself with the
great companionship of Sancroft and Sacheverell. His martyrdom was neither
long nor painful, for when he reached England he was given a pension of
£100 as a loyalist, and various preferments, becoming eventually rector of
St. Michael's, Corahill. "I have only to repeat my bare but sincere Thankfulness to you for the Continuance of your never-to-be-forgotten services; and ever shall approve of and admire, the well timed and satisfactory Compromise, accomplished Sir, by your kind Exertions ; but must refer you for the just Reward of Goodness so generous and so diffusive, to the Delight and Joy of your own Heart." Of all the valuable citizens lost to Carolina in these years, none seem to have been as gently considered and much regretted as Dr. Garden. He was by birth a Scotchman, but had lived for over thirty years in Charleston, practicing medicine and studying the sciences more especially botany. " He never," says Ramsay, " complained that the climate was too hot for study;" and when one remembers the woods and swamps, in which his specimens must have been sought, the simple statement becomes expressive. His botanical learning gained him the coveted F. R. S., and also the friendship of Linnaeus, who has embalmed his name in the beautiful flower, Gardenia. He was also a great favorite socially, and his skill as a physician was highly esteemed. The letters of the time are full of allusions to him; "Our good Dr. Garden says " "The good Doctor and Mrs. Garden beg to be remembered to you " "Doctor Garden is as ever most kind and considerate." Still, he too, like Dr. Cooper, was British born, and some natural anxiety must have been felt as to what part he would take if the crisis should really come. In May, 1775, Henry Laurens writes to his son John, then studying law in London :
Events were to carry both the Laurenses faster and farther than they knew. The father was very soon to be the President of the Congress defying the king, and the son to lose his life fighting against him. Dr. Garden, as befitted his birth, was more consistent. He remained in Charleston after the surrender, and probably declared himself a British subject, for he went to Europe at the time of the evacuation, as many loyalists did. The general feeling towards him seems to have been friendly, but still he came under the head of those who had abandoned the country, and his property was confiscated, more especially a house which had belonged to Mrs. Garden. Very soon after the close of hostilities Mrs. Pinckney wrote to say that, " as soon as her son (Colonel Charles Cotesworth Pinckney) returns to Carolina, he will make every effort for the recovery of Mrs. Garden's house." The house had been declared " public property," and as such had been occupied by the then governor Governor Mathews. Mr. Lowndes and other gentlemen exerted themselves in the matter, and,
not without great trouble, got the house returned.
This note, written in a beautiful hand, is copied on the back of the
letter answering it; a long account of bad crops, broken rice banks, and
low prices, which goes to the heart of a planter, but protests too much,
and is rather shuffling withal.
Whether poor Mrs. Garden ever received her money we have no way of knowing. Dr. Garden certainly never did, for he died in London in the year 1792. |
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