Re: Revolutionary soldiers from Midway

["John S. Quarterman" <jsq@quarterman.org>]

> There are many references to the revolutionary spirit of the Midway
>church yet I have never seen a listing of society members that fought in
>the revolution. Does such a list exist?

Good question.

I think the revolutionary spirit manifested itself early on in
Midway or St. Johns Parish sending a representative to the First
Continental Congress even though Georgia at large did not.

During the war, Col. J.M. Prevost invaded Georgia from Florida in 1778.
The first action recorded by Stacy in his Records was on Nov 19:
``Thursday, 19th. An Army of about 40 Horses met with John Way,
son of Capt. Moses Way, took him Prisoner, and went to the house
of Captain Way, where by a Kind Providence a Party of about twenty
of the Battalion happened to have lodged the night before, who defended
themselves in said house and kept the Enemy off, who wounded two of said
Battalion, took a number of horses and retreated; An alarm was fired and
a small body of, I suppose, about 60 men collected who following their
track, found at South Newport bridge, on the line of this Parish, (or near it)
of St. Johns, a large body of men encamped, which by the best accounts we
now have, this 23rd November, consists of 500 men or thereabouts.''

Stacy gives a day-by-day account including many names of specific people
and what they did, until Midway church burned on Nov 27, 1778.
So part of your list is in Stacy's Records.

(You may recall the discussion back in April on this list about Col. White
fortifying Midway Church and thus probably making it a legitimate target
of war:
 http://www.quarterman.org/book/archive/msg00237.html
)

Stacy says that after the church burned many settlers returned to S.C.
This he named the Dispersion of Midway Society, which lasted until 1782.
(The present church was built in 1792.)

During the Dispersion, the theatre of war for our ancestors reverted to
their old haunts around Dorchester, S.C.  A Col. Moultrie led the resistance.
He formed up at Dorchester in 1778, was beaten back, and formed up again in
1779.  The British burned the Dorchester S.C. church Apr 13 1780.  A Col.
Lee took Dorchester back on 14 July 1781.  And finally Gen. Nathanael Green
defeated the British Dec 1 1781.  (Source: McIlvaine)

Another part of your list is probably in various S.C. records.

The British being defeated, Midway people returned to Midway, and the
Dispersion ended.

>Hugh Tucker

John S. Quarterman <jsq@quarterman.org>
[ This is the Quarterman book discussion list, book@quarterman.org
[ To get off or on the list, see http://www.quarterman.org/booklist.html