Re: Revolutionary soldiers from Midway

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

On pages 48-49 of the second edition of Paul McIlvaine's
The Dead Towns of Sunbury and Dorchester there is a list
of the 202 prisoners taken by British General Prevost when
Fort Morris at Sunbury surrendered on January 10, 1779.

They had also captured some continental officers at Savannah.
``Among these was Colonel George Walton of the First Georgia militia.
At Savannah, his leg had been broken by a musket ball.  He was captured
when he fell from his horse.  Walton was considered such a prize,
the British asked for a Brigadier General in exchange.  None being
available, he was exchanged for a Navy Captain in September 1780.''

He had been the third Georgia signer of the Declaration of Independence,
and later was twice governor of Georgia, a Judge of the Superior
Court of Georgia, and a U.S. Senator, among other offices.
 http://ngeorgia.com/people/walton.html
 http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/walton.html
 http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=W000114

>A Col.Lee took Dorchester back on 14 July 1781.  And finally Gen. Nathanael Gr
>een
>>defeated the British Dec 1 1781.  (Source: McIlvaine)
>>
>This may sound dumb, but I want to be sure I have the facts straight--Col. Lee
> took Dorchester back for the Colonists, right?  Not for the British?

Here is the cast of characters as presented by McIlvaine on pp. 80ff.
I've also added a few URLs for ancillary material.

Capt. Francis Marion, commanding two companies of soldiers was garrisoned
at Fort Dorchester, in November 1775.  He was later known as the Swamp Fox.
 http://www.lpitr.state.sc.us/marion.htm
Mel Gibson modelled his character in the movie, The Patriot, on Marion.

General William Moultrie, Marion's commander in 1775, in May 1778
formed his army at Dorchester.  ``A year later, he stopped at Dorchester
again to reform his troops before moving to Charleston to help defend
that city.''
 http://www.lpitr.state.sc.us/moultrie.htm

Sir Henry Clinton, British General and commander-in-chief, laid siege
to Charleston in Feb 1780.
 http://www.clements.umich.edu/Webguides/Arlenes/C/ClintonH.html
Charleston at the time was the fourth largest and richest city in the colonies.

British Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton led cavalry up the Ashley River and
captured Dorchester on 13 April 1780.  Dorchester at the time was a small
town of 40 houses.  Charleston fell a month later.
 http://www.patriotresource.com/people/tarleton.html
It was Tarleton who first called Marion the Swamp Fox.
Tarleton was the model for the antagonist character Col. Tavington
in the movie, The Patriot, although there were objections from Britain
that Tarleton was not as bad as that character.

Colonel ``Light Horse Harry'' Lee reoccupied Dorchester on 14 July 1781.
Lee had come down from North Carolina after the British had been defeated there.
It was Light Horse Harry who wrote the famous words when Washington died:
``To the memory of the Man, first in war, first in peace, and first
in the hearts of his countrymen.''
 http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/nbk/bios/01pwash.html
Lee later had a son who became even more famous: Robert Edward Lee.

The British returned to Dorchester (date and leader not mentioned).

General Nathanael Green and Col. Wade Hampton drove them out for good
on Dec 1, 1781.

>-Connie

John S. Quarterman <jsq@quarterman.org>
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