(We fight, get beat, rise and fight again –Quote from General Nathanial Greene)

The joy of my homecoming was certainly tempered by the arrival of Rolfe. It was my fault he was lying upstairs hanging onto life by a thin thread. We nursed him around the clock, Claudy, Aunt Clarissa, Tripper and me. Tripper scoured the woods bringing in all kinds of things, tree bark, moss, wild herbs. It was full spring and his ingredients were plentiful.

Rolfe developed a fever after two days and that’s about the worst thing that can happen. We spooned Tripper’s special tea into his mouth. We spooned broth made from stringy chickens into his mouth. But with all our attention he lay there flushed with fever and weakening by the day. I had this horrible dread inside of me that he was going to die and I didn’t think I could stand it if he did.

Aunt Clarissa’s household consisted of seven slaves. Except for three of them they were all house servants. How she managed to feed all of them when the British were in residence I do not know. I do know she is much reduced. The field help is gone, the cotton crop is gone. She’s managed to plant corn with the help of the Beatty family, who are refugees from Charleston and reside in a neighboring plantation. One day an old woman arrived on a mule. She belonged to the Beatty’s and they’d sent her over to see if there was something could be done for the injured patriot.

Tripper was fascinated by her. She called for certain things and he’d run off to find them for her. For three days she sat by Rolfe’s bed. I would stop by the door sometimes and hear her mumbling something over him. Tripper said she was a healer but he didn’t understand her language.

On the third day he rallied. His fever broke and the old woman packed up her trinkets and ‘medicine’ and left. He was going to live.

“A bed,” he said looking up at me from his hollowed out eyes.

“Yes,” I  wanted to cry. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired,”

“You were tired before you got shot. What happened to you?”

“I ran into the army when they were retreating. Got caught up in it.”

“I’m so sorry, so sorry.”

“Did…did you and Tripper have any trouble?”

“We were chased for awhile but…no trouble.”

“I need to get up and get out of here…get back to it.”

“Not for awhile. You have to heal, Rolfe. I’m so sorry I brought this on you.”

“I been shot before. Not your fault, Mari-Lee.”

“But it is, all of it. If I hadn’t insisted on coming here.”

“If you think about, you know, they probably would have hung you.”

“I don’t want to think about that. I just want to think about you getting well.”

“I’ll get there. Where’s Tripper?”

“He was outside with my girls when I came up. Do you want him?”

“Yeah, I probably do.”

His strength returned to him quickly and I believe it was the infusion of food that helped him along. He got the best and the most of what we had. Aunt Clarissa doted on him and I think she was quite enamored with him. That wasn’t hard to do. He’s a very personable young man

“You’re going to leave aren’t you?”

“I’m as fit as I have been in a long time. There’s nothing to keep me here…except you and you and I both know that would never work out. I got nothing to offer you, Mari-Lee. I’m a soldier until there ain’t nothing left to fight.”

“I know…how well I know. I’m afraid for you I couldn’t stand it if…you have to take care of yourself, Rolfe. This country can’t fight forever…someday-“

“Someday? That’s a good dream to hold onto. Maybe someday when all this is over and…I can find you…but don’t be waiting on me. Somebody comes along that can take care of you and give you the things you deserve…give you back your life, well, you’d better grab onto him. I doubt I’ll ever be that kind of man. I’ve never had anything and my prospects don’t look too good right now.”

I leaned over and softly kissed him. “It’s not what a man has, it’s what he is that counts in my heart. You remember that. You keep that in your mind someday…when you come looking for me.”

Did I love him? Yes, and when he kissed me back I wrung every last thing I could out of it. Oh…oh, how I hate this war. And damn Francis Marion for needing him and all the redcoats that want to kill him.

We packed their horses with everything we could spare. I’d been out there and I knew what was important. Food, coffee, tea and warm bedding.

“Good bye, Mari-Lee.” Tripper took my hands. “I hope we meet again someday.”

“So do I, but not when we’re on the run. I don’t know what to say, Tripper. You’ve given so much. I don’t have words…there aren’t enough words. Take care of yourself and look out for Rolfe.” We hugged and kissed and he mounted his horse. They rode out together on a fine spring morning.

Aunt Clarissa and I consoled each other for she’d grown very fond of both of them. “I don’t know what we’ll do now,” She said wiping her eyes.

Later we were sitting down with a cup of tea and she said, “You know that Tripper has the makings of a fine doctor.”

“It won’t ever happen, Aunt Clarissa. No white person would let an Indian tend to them. We know better, don’t we.”

“Yes, Mari-Lee, we do. Will you see Rolfe again?”

“I don’t know… maybe…someday. I spent two months in their company and no two finer men have I known.”

Things were happening with the war. We went over one night to have dinner with the Beatty’s. Their son was home on medical leave. He told the most wonderful tale about the siege of Fort Motte.

General Marion and Light Horse Harry Lee had set the siege. The fort was a mansion house belonging to Rebecca Motte. When the redcoats came they put her out of her house and commenced to building a fort with trenches and balustrades surrounding it.

She moved to a farm house on her plantation much as I had done at Belmont. With Col. Watson and Rawdon on the move they knew there wasn’t time for a prolonged siege. They thought of constructing a tower such as they’d used at Fort Watson but it wasn’t practical. Lee and Marion decided to burn it down but first thought to consult with Mrs. Motte.

(When Mrs. Motte was a very old lady her grandchildren remembered she kept the quiver hung on the back of her rocking chair for her knitting needles)

She was all in favor of burning the house down if it would rid her of the redcoats. She found an east Indian bow and some arrows that belonged to her husband and suggested using them to light the roof on fire. A combustible material was lighted and shot toward the roof but it fell short. Finally a flaming arrow was shot from a musket and hit the roof immediately catching it on fire.

The redcoats came spilling out and climbed up to the roof to try and put out the flames but a 6 lb gun kept them from their task. There were 140 British and Hessian regulars garrisoned there under Lt. Daniel McPhearson. After a brief fight they surrendered the fort. Lee and Marion paroled the soldiers and sent them on their way to Charleston.

General Greene was moving. General Greene was on his way to Ninety Six.

It had been a wonderful evening and it was good to see someone from Charles Town. We had many mutual friends. We arrived back at Fairfield about nine in the evening in the farm wagon that served for transportation. We noticed the front door was open when we came up onto the porch.

“Claudy?” I called as we entered.

She came out of the dining room all drawn up and shaking and stopped in the hall.

“What’s wrong with you, Claudy?” Aunt Clarissa asked taking off her bonnet.

Claudy rolled her eyes toward the dining room but was silent.

My heart gave a thud in my breast. Out of the doorway stepped a redcoat.

“Which one of you is Mrs. Belmont?”

“I am,” Aunt and I both answered at the same time. I looked at her and shook my head.

“I’m Mrs. Belmont. How can I help you, Sir?”

“Mrs. Belmont, I’m here to arrest you and return you to Charles Town where you will stand trial for treason.”

My mouth fell open. “You must be joking.”

“I assure you,” said the bored young officer, “that this is no joke.”

“I…I won’t go. You can’t do this, I’m not a traitor. I have children here. I can’t go…I won’t go.”

He pulled out a roll of paper and read the charges against me of which I was guilty and emphasized the last few words of his warrant. “By force if necessary.”

I couldn’t believe this was happening. I turned and looked at Aunt Clarissa. Her chin was quivering and her eyes were on fire.

“General Cornwallis himself gave me protection in my house here at Fairfield. Nothing was to befall me or my family. Mrs. Belmont is my niece and that, sir, constitutes family. I ask you to leave my house immediately.”

“This warrant supersedes anything else you might have been told. Mrs. Belmont will accompany us willingly or we shall take her by force and your house will be burnt to the ground and the question of protection will be irrelevant.”

I took Aunt Clarissa’s arm, “I’ll go…I’ll go. I’m sure it’s all a misunderstanding and I’ll be back soon. Look after my girls for me.”

“Can she at least take a girl with her to help? She’s partially crippled, Lieutenant.”

“Not Claudy,” I said quietly. “You need her. Send Mauney with me.”

“What infirmities have you?” He asked.

“I cannot use my right arm.”

“Very well, you may take a servant.”

I went upstairs to tell my daughters good-bye. I know what they do to traitors and I reckoned this was the last time I’d ever see them. I told them how much I loved them and that I had to go back to Charles Town. They would have to stay with Aunt Clarissa.

I dried my eyes and packed a few things in a canvas bag. One last walk down the hallway and I stopped at the door to the room where Rolfe had slept. I lay a hand on the door for a moment and then slowly made my way down the stairs. Aunt Clarissa and I hugged and cried a little.

Claudy hugged me and brought Mauney in with her things tied up in a rag. She was wild-eyed with fear; a scrawny little thing of about fourteen years. I was escorted out where probably a half dozen mounted redcoats were waiting with a mount for me. How tiresome it was that they had to help me onto the horse. Mauney was sat behind me.

We rode to the fort at Camden where I was put in an outside pen and locked up for the night. Mauney and I had neither blanket nor water. We curled up together next to the wall. We were fed bread and watery tea for breakfast before mounting for a long ride. I never saw Rawdon and never saw the young officer who came for me again. I was in the company of a loyalist militia.

(Congaree River)

Chapter 12

The village of Granby was located on the Congaree river. It was an important trading post and nearby was a large general store owned and operated by James Chestnut and Joseph Kershaw. After the fall of Charleston the British seized the store, threw up earthworks around it and otherwise equipped it as a military fort. In February, 1781. General Sumter lay siege to the fort but the arrival of Lawdon’s troops from Camden  caused him to retreat.

The fort was held by General Maxwell, a Maryland loyalist. He had under his command about 60 Hessian dragoons and the rest were primarily his Maryland Prince of Wales regiment. Maxwell was more interested in collecting plunder from the surrounding area than military matters.

Fresh from the capture of Fort Motte, Lt. Col. Light Horse Harry Lee proceeded toward Fort Granby.

During this time Andrew Pickens and Elijah Clarke were laying siege to Augusta. This was the second attempt by Clarke to take the fort. General Greene was on his way to Ninety-Six. He would lay siege to the fort on May 22. Sumter had been harassing Fort Granby for some time.

I knew not where I was headed and had ceased to care. I felt I was going to my death and where it happened did not matter to me. We arrived at Fort Granby and I was taken to a room and locked up. An old Tory woman brought me food which was quite edible. I shared it with Mauney. I guess they thought slaves didn’t eat.

(This is a reconstructed Ft. Granby as it stands today as a museum in the Cayce Municipal Complex)

Lee moved his troops up under a cover of fog in a wooded area next to the fort. When the fog lifted he was discovered and began firing his 6 lb artillery. His men sent volley after volley of fire into the fort and called for a surrender. Maxwell finally agreed if he might be allowed to take his plunder with him. Lee agreed and two wagon loads of goods were taken. Sumter was not pleased that he’d allowed the Loyalist Maxwell his plunder. Lee’s troops took what was left which was a considerable amount of ammunition and other goods. (Sumter took his men and left for the High Hills of Santee and wrote a letter to Greene complaining about the plunder. To appease him Greene allowed him 200 slaves that were taken. He sold them and paid his men for 10 months service.) The loyalist POWs were taken to Charles Town to be exchanged for Patriot POWs.

The guns had finally stopped firing. Mauney and I were huddled in a corner of the room covered by a wooden door we found propped against a wall. We moved the door and came out as the door to the room opened. I was in such a state that I screamed at the sight of the uniform. It was green and I thought Banastre Tarleton. It wasn’t Tarleton of course but I was rattled from gunfire.

The man stood there looking at me a moment and I had Mauney behind me shaking like a leaf.

“Who are you?” I asked.

He gave me a name and then I heard Lt. Col. Henry Lee’s name. I breathed a sigh of relief. They were not the enemy.

“How do you come to be here?” he asked.

“I was a prisoner…treason.” I shrugged.

“British prisoner?”

“Yes.”

“Wait here.”

Later I was brought downstairs where men were hauling things out of the doors. A man came up to me.

“I understand you’re a British prisoner of war. What’s your name?”

“Mari-Lee Belmont. They came and got me from my home in Fairfield and were taking me back to Charles Town to stand trial. I was brought in here last night.”

“Who came and got you?”

“A redcoat, a Lieutenant, I don’t know his name. They took me to Camden and then down here.”

A few steps away from this man stood Lt. Col. Henry Lee listening to my answers.

I hoped to better myself. “I stole some maps and gave them to Gen. Marion. He said they were valuable and sent two men to escort me from Charles Town to Fairfield.”

“Were you working for General Marion?”

“Only the one time…when I took the maps. He came to me and asked me to get some information for him. I’m  Mrs. Mari-Lee Belmont from Belmont Plantation.”

General Lee spoke to me. “Mrs. Belmont, can you tell us anything about the activity in Camden?”

“There wasn’t any…well that I saw. I didn’t see Lord Rawdon,  I didn’t’ see any of them until some men that belonged to Col. Watson came and got us out of the pen where we were locked up. They brought us here.”

Lee spoke to the man beside of him and they walked away.

“Can you help me get home?” I asked the man in front of me.

“I cannot say what is to be done with you, Mrs. Belmont. Why don’t you have a seat.”

I did just that and  Mauney crouched beside the chair. “Wha’s gon happen us?”

“I don’t know, Mauney.”

Lee was in a hurry to depart Ft. Granby. He feared Lawdon may be on his way having heard about the capture of the fort. It had been a near bloodless encounter for his troops. Only one slightly injured and nothing to keep him from speeding toward Augusta to assist with the siege.

I was told I was free to go. “Go where?” I asked. “Where is it you expect me to go?”

“Miss Belmont,” Lee explains. “Were it in my power to see you safely home I would surely do it but as it is we must leave this place and attend another battle.”

“I came from Fairfield is it safe for me to travel back there?”

“That I cannot say for certain but I would advise against it. I believe Lord Lawdon has departed from Camden and is on the move over that territory.”

Let me say that General Lee is a handsome man with a riveting blue gaze but he was all business and no ladylike charms from a bedraggled Mari-Lee was going to influence him at all. “I don’t suppose you might provide me with an escort.”

“I cannot, Mrs. Belmont but I will give you a mount and one for your girl.”

I was given provisions and two horses. As we rode away the fort was torched.

It is impossible to ride side saddled on a regular saddle. As soon as we were safely away from the fort I came upon a store and the owner was standing out watching the smoke rise.

“What’s afire?” He asked me.

“Fort Granby has just been captured by General Lee.” I saw a smile cross his face. I was speaking to Wade Hampton who had been living and operating his store under Maxwell’s protection. He also served under Sumter and Marion.  I introduced myself and asked a favor of him.

“Mr. Hampton, I’ve just been released as a British POW. I haven’t any money but I sorely need a pair of breeches. If you might have such a thing in your store I really would appreciate it. I cannot ride in my skirts on this saddle.”

He rubbed his chin. “I don’t know that I have any that might fit your person but I do have a side saddle I’d be glad to trade.

The switch was made and he added a couple of blankets. My horse and I had to get used to each other and this new saddle. I asked him for directions to the Broad river and we set off. I didn’t know what else to do. We crossed the Congaree at Friday’s Ferry and headed north west. My only hope was that Lawdon either had already passed that way or that somehow I might slip through. We stopped once so that I might tear a strip from my petticoat and Mauney wrapped it around me securing my arm at my waist. Even before we got to the great road I realized I was on the wrong side of the Broad river. It is not misnamed. I thought there surely would be a ferry near the great road. As we approached my heart stopped. Rawdon’s army was on my side of the river and still coming across on the ferry. I panicked and set off on a blind run but there were horses coming after me and so I slowed and waited.

Two redcoats circled around me. I didn’t recognize them but one of them recognized me. He’d been with the riders that took me from Fairfield. We were escorted back to the line of British cavalry men. The lieutenant was not pleased to see me again so soon.

“Mrs. Belmont, we meet again.” He smiled. “How is it you’re on the road today?”

“I thought I’d go home.”

His smile disappeared. He called someone over and then chose three men, one of whom was injured. They were instructed to escort this prisoner to Charles Town and if I should try to escape I was to be shot.

I wanted to tell him that Fort Granby had fallen that very morning. I wanted to tell him I’d already been shot. I wanted to say a lot of things to him but I kept silent. Sometimes it’s better to swallow words when they can’t help you.

We crossed the Saluda river at Amicks Ferry. The redcoats were not following the rivers and I knew why. I so hoped they’d run into Lee’s brigade for he was going to Augusta and our paths would cross.

The soil is sandy and the terrain is hilly. It’s hard going for awhile until we come to the road to Orangeburgh. (Old spelling). I don’t know if Mauney had ever ridden a horse before but she handled it pretty well bouncing along on the saddle. She would have a sore backside tonight. I tried not to think what lay ahead. The redcoats had nothing to say to us. One rode in front and two on either side of me. Mauney brought up the rear and sometimes her horse wanted to lead and the leader said something harsh to her. I know she couldn’t control the animal.

One thing I know about the British army. They are disciplined and professional. Not once did I see any of them other than straight in the saddle with their shoulders squared and that included the man who rode on my right with a bandage showing beneath his hat.

I watched the sky trying to think how long we’d been riding. I remembered what Tripper had taught me about telling time. I thought it to be around 3 or 4 o’clock. Except for convenience breaks we had not stopped since we left the army. Scattered about were farm houses made of logs. It looked to be an industrious land as the fields were planted but I don’t know what had been planted. Maybe an hour later we turned up a rutted road that led to a farmhouse. The leader, I call him that because he wants to ride in front, went up to the door and requested food and lodging for the night. The householder could not refuse.

The woman was made to cook for us. They did not speak good English and I determined it might be German. I sat down on the benches next to a long table with the redcoats. I don’t know what kind of meat it was but I asked the man next to me if he’d cut it for me. He obliged.

“What happened to your arm?” He asked.

“It was shot.” I replied and offered no explanation. I surely did not want them to know I’d ever met Francis Marion.

This old map was drawn in 1779.The dotted line shows the roads that were in existence and that Mari-Lee traveled from her encounter at Broad River to Charleston. The area around Saxe Gotha (Now Lexington) to Orangeburgh was settled by Swiss and German immigrants. These were not elite planters who owned large plantations. They were common folk who farmed and raised livestock. The early settlers of this region were encouraged to immigrate by the offer of free land and promises of riches to be gained. The real reason the British wanted the settlers was to provide a buffer between the large plantations and the Indians. By the time the Revolutionary War began the Indians had been pushed back and no longer a threat to the planters.

Chapter 13

Our hosts gave up their beds to the redcoats and climbed up into the loft with several children. I was given a blanket and the floor. I will admit that the thought of escape did not escape me as I watched them get ready for sleep, removing boots, weapons and coats. However, two slept while the other kept watch over their prisoner. I could not sleep although I was tired. I sat on the floor with my blanket around my shoulders and my back to the wall. I’d had Mauney unwrap my arm and it was sore and stiff.

As I said they did not talk to me. I thought they may have been under orders not to engage me or perhaps it was resentment for having to escort me. I did not know then that Rawdon, short of supplies, knowing his supply route to be in hands of the rebels, and being harassed by Marion and others had turned his army toward Orangeburgh. I believe these three soldiers knew we were followed down the Orangeburgh road. They set a leisurely pace and seemed not the least bit worried that we might be spotted.

My mind often wandered over the trip I’d made with Rolfe and Tripper from Charleston to Fairfield. How constant danger lurked behind every tree and how we at times moved like hunted animals through the forests. We now rode openly down the road through Loyalist controlled countryside.

It was May and the heat was oppressive on the open road. For the first time I noticed the injured man was not sitting quite so straight in his saddle. As far as I knew his bandaged wound had not been tended to since we set off. His fellow redcoats paid him no mind. I probably shouldn’t have but it’s not in my nature to ignore sickness and this man was sick. When he lurched in the saddle I spoke up.

“He’s going to fall, you know he’s sick don’t you?” The sick man tried to right himself in the saddle but the others had stopped and rode back to him. They spoke and then we rode on until a house came into view.  Here he was got down off his horse and carried inside. It amazed me how they expected the people to lay aside for them. The house contained one woman and three children. They lay him on a bed curtained in one end of the room. I believe the ‘leader’ of our little party tried to get the woman to tend to their comrade but she was frightened and spoke no English. I stood back during this exchange and then went to the man. He was burning with fever. One of them came over to make sure I wasn’t going to do the sick fellow some harm.

“Loosen his  clothes.” I required for I could not do it. I asked for a pail of water and a cloth and I bathed his face and then had a look at his wound. He’d lost part of an ear and what remained was swollen and red. I sent Mauney into the woods for some bark. I tried to remember other things that Tripper had gathered but I could not.  I felt sorry for the man as one human to another and I did the best I could for him. His breathing was labored and the sounds in his chest led me to believe he’d been sick before the injury.

“How long has this man been sick?” I asked.

“I do not know. Half the regiment is sick.” He took off his hat and rubbed his face. “It’s this damnable place. I have never felt such heat.”

“It will only get worse. This is only May. You wear the same clothes you wore in winter.”

Mauney arrived with bark and a cloth filled with other things and she made a poultice. Someone had been paying attention to Tripper.

“How vile.” He said leaning over my shoulder.

“It is rather vile but I know from experience that it will help his wound to heal.” Mauney and I wrapped a clean bandage around his head made from the woman’s sheets. Mauney held his head up while I encouraged him to drink the tea. “It may take a few days but I think he may survive.”

“We do not have a few days.”

I looked up at him and said, “Is my impending death so important that you would leave your fellow to die?”

“I have my orders, Mrs. Belmont.”

“So you have.” I said quietly and continued to bathe the poor man’s face. He was pockmarked and had already suffered smallpox. He opened his eyes and looked at me. I could see the resignation set in.”

“I’m very sorry.” I whispered and left his bedside.

We tarried there only a few hours. I tried to explain to the woman how to care for the man but whether she would…I didn’t know.

Once the silence had been broken the ‘leader’ began to talk to me. “Where is your home, Mrs. Belmont?”

“The only one I can call home now is Fairfield. I’ve lost three since the occupation.”

“I’m sure all your properties will be returned to you once this rebellion is settled.”

“I have little faith that I will ever see anything of mine again. You forget, Sir, that I am bound for the gallows. I pains me to think that my two little girls will be left destitute. I’ve already lost my husband and only brother. I’ve lost everything and now I am going to lose my life.”

He looked at me strangely and became quiet. He was somewhere in his mid twenties, I surmised. He was a professional soldier and if told to put me against a tree and shoot me he would not hesitate. I longed to find out what lay beneath that façade if it were. Was there a thinking, feeling human being somewhere beneath that red coat he wore? I recalled the young men who occupied my home at Belmont. They longed to be home with their families.

“Do you have family?”

“Yes.”

“How long since you’ve been home?”

“Too long.” He rode ahead of me to discourage any further conversation.

We picked up the pace as he wanted to reach Orangeburgh. The officer took me down from my horse and I could not stand. Hours of riding in the heat with tepid water to drink had taken its toll on me. Rather than call for help he carried me inside and up the stairs. We were in a house and I was given a bedroom with an actual bed. He then set Mauney to care for me. I lay limp and useless.

When I think back now, I do believe he was not unaffected by my situation. Snippets of conversation come back to me that he exchanged with other officers at the garrison. The hanging of a woman, even though she be a traitor, was not common and they looked at me with concern.

I was given two days to recover. By then Rawdon’s army had arrived. Lord Rawdon was ill as was most of his army. He remained at Orangeburgh with the sick and the ones able to continue rode with us to Charles Town.

During this time General Brown’s hold on Augusta had fallen. Pickens and Lee along with Clarke and Marion had been successful. Brown retreated to Savannah. They now turned their attention to Ninety-Six where Greene had laid siege on May 22.

The British had held Ninety Six since 1780 after the fall of Charles Town. It was a wooden fort built in the shape of a star and called Star Fort. It was surrounded by redoubt and abitis. Lt. Col. Cruger commanded 550 experienced loyalist; some came from New Jersey and New York.

(The fort as it looks today)

So far every attempt made by Greene had been thwarted by Cruger. They built a tower, as used by Marion at Fort Watson. Cruger countered by filling sand bags and raising the height of the fort. They cut off the water supply and Cruger dug a well. They tried sending flaming arrows over the sides and Cruger removed the rooftops of all the buildings. The arrival of Lee, Pickens, Sumter and Marion did little to help the situation. Greene tried to dig a tunnel under the fort with intent to blow it up. (Parts of the tunnel still remain) .When Greene heard that Rawdon had left Orangeburgh with intent to relieve Cruger of his siege he attacked. In the end he was forced to retreat having lost 130 men. He withdrew his troops to the High Hills of Santee for the rest of the summer.

Lord Rawdon

Rawdon arrived after Greene had left. All supply routes from the coast were now closed with the loss of the forts. Without ammunition to mount another defense and without provisions for their army they abandoned the fort after burning it and the nearby village to the ground.

They marched toward Charles Town leaving the up state to the patriots. His army was much reduced by the time he reached Charles Town. Many of them succumbed to fevers and heat exhaustion. Rawdon suffered from malaria.

Meanwhile I was in Charles Town. Charles Town, as anybody knows who lives here, is not the place to be in summer. There are those who haven’t anywhere else to go who live here year round. Malaria is rampant in the city and there have been cases of smallpox.

When an officer is taken prisoner he is given parole and signs an oath, if he wants parole, that he will not take up arms again. If he does and is caught the penalty is death. Pickens, Washington and Sumter are among the men who were in Charles Town when it fell to the British. However there are those who still walk in Charles Town adhering to the oath they took.

I took an oath of allegiance. In their eyes I committed treason when I took the maps to General Marion. My reasons for doing so matter not to anyone who has interviewed me since my arrival. I was at first frightened that I would end up on a prison ship. They had no other female prisoners at the time and due to the ‘enormity’ of my crime they didn’t quite know what to do with me. But I was a lady and in delicate health and should not be subject to the rigors of the jail. I am a prisoner in a house occupied by a Col. Barclay.

I’m confined to a third story room and waited on by Mauney who is allowed out of the room. The window is open constantly but allows little relief from the heat. I’m told they are waiting on two people that have been called to sit in judgment. Every day they delay is another day for me in this room. I have been given a lawyer who is paid by the British. He is  a kindly man and is in sympathy with me but of course he has a duty to perform. The outcome of this mock inquiry is already written. They must go through with it to show that they tried everything in their power to find me not guilty. I’m sure there will be long faces at my hanging but it will be a good show and certainly put the fear into the populace as they intend.

It is the middle of June and I’m told my trial will take place tomorrow. I’ve asked if I could go to church and pray. This they will allow me accompanied by my lawyer. Mauney begged some clothes for me and so I’ve done the best I could with my appearance. It’s important for me to appear at my best. I am not vain but I do know I have a certain beauty. If I looked like I felt the people of Charles Town would not care if I were hanged. It is the way of folks.

The church is empty save for myself and my lawyer. It’s late, after nine o’clock and only two tapers burn. I went down on my knees and prayed harder than I’ve ever prayed in my life.  After a while I rise and turn slowly taking in the old church where I’ve spent so many hours in my life. I turn to face the aisle, the doors…I see…a…vision in the darkness. “Jack,” I sighed and swooned.

I came to myself in his arms. He’d carried me to a pew in the darkened church. My lawyer was there holding smelling salts and I waived them away. Was he real, oh, yes, he was real.

“My darling, Mari-Lee, what has become of you?”

I cried all over him. It seems I am forever washing him with my tears. He held me and rocked me like a child. Through sobs and periods of sanity I told him what had become of me. He said he’d only come in that morning and had just learned why he had been summoned to Charles Town. It was an outrage…of course it was. Col. Rankin would have his pound of flesh and truth being, there was not much more of me than a pound.

“It will not stand.” He said quietly. “I will not allow it.”

I didn’t know what he could do. He was to sit as a judge and what he was doing right now was irregular but then he’d never cared much for regularity where I was concerned.

“I never thought to see you again.”

“In all probability you wouldn’t have if not for this. Myself and Captain Ramsey have been brought in. I know now why I was chosen. It is a slap against me by a very weak and vain man. He will not prevail, Mari-Lee.”

“You know I’m guilty of stealing the maps.”

“Yes…a foolish thing for you to have done but I understand the why of it. Ah…I should have got you to Fairfield myself. It is impossible now. If I knew where to take you I swear I would secret you away.”

“I am so very sorry, Jack, so sorry that you’ve been brought into this. It’s not fair for you to suffer on my account.”

“Shh, nothing is fair…nothing.” He kissed me then.

I heard my lawyer clearing his throat somewhere in the church and I knew it was time I went back to the house-prison. I whispered, “If God should smile on me he would secret me away to Mt. Pleasant. It is an indigo plantation on the Hobcaw. It’s the first one you come to about a mile up the creek.”

He did not comment but he held me close and kissed me once again. We stood up and he walked me to the door where my lawyer waited. I turned and looked at him and then left the church.

I was brought into the court in shackles which shows you just how ridiculous this whole thing had become. My ankles were so small they drug the ground behind me. My lawyer protested and after a bit they were taken off. Outside the door of the courthouse a small contingent of Charles Town residents had gathered to protest the trial. I could hear their voices raised.

This was my first look at General Alexander Leslie. He’d taken over the command of the southern region and Charles Town when Cornwallis went to Wilmington. It appeared to me that this whole thing was distasteful to him. He looked at me for some time. I tried not to look at Jack. I did not want to compromise him but when I did look he was looking at me and I gained some strength from that. General Rawdon, looking quite yellow and frail, took a seat. Col. Barclay was also at the table as was John Watson.

The charges were read and my lawyer pleaded not guilty of treason. Rankin had his say and he accused me of spying and  using Abraham as a messenger. It all sounded very convincing. The only truth was that I had in fact taken the maps to the ‘enemy’.

My lawyer refuted the statement about me using Abraham. He really did the best he could under the circumstances. Jack’s face was red and set. He questioned Rankin and accused him of being negligent in securing the maps as was his duty. There erupted a heated exchange between the two of them with Rankin making accusations  about Jack’s personal interest in the prisoner.

It became a melee of words with Rawdon jumping in and accusing Jack of something he knew nothing about. Finally Leslie adjourned the court until the following morning to allow some discussion amongst the judges and for tempers to cool down.

I emerged from the court to cheers from the onlookers and was taken back to my prison-room under escort.

Mauney misunderstood and began thanking Jesus. I told her not to thank him yet that it wasn’t over. I don’t know what damage Jack may have done to himself. I prayed it would not stay with him. The miracle of his being there stayed with me. Without him I would no doubt be in my grave that very night.

Chapter 14

My small windows faced the back of the house. There the kitchen building stood along with stabling for horses and above the stables were the servant’s quarters. Downstairs they were having a dinner party. I’d seen a lot of activity back and forth from the kitchen. There was a back stairway that the servants used. It was narrow and steep. Mauney used this to go in and out. She used it tonight to fetch me a pitcher of cold water. She came back without the water.

“Miz Mari-Lee, dar’s a mon down dere. He say for yo t’come.”

I looked out of the window but I couldn’t see anybody. “Who is he?”

“I dursn’t know. He be sailor mon.”

My heart gave a leap. Down the stairs I went making not a sound.

“Mrs. Belmont?” He was a sailor but it wasn’t Jack. I nodded.

“I’m to take you to the boat.”

I didn’t question a thing. I grabbed Mauney’s hand and we walked quickly through the back alleys. We didn’t go to the main docks where the ships were in port. Farther down laying against an old dock was a boat fully manned with oarsmen. I was helped into the boat along with Mauney. I full well knew what was taking place.

“May I ask of Captain Aubrey?” I asked the man who’d come for me.

“He’s having dinner with Col. Barclay, Ma’am.”

The air smells different when you’re free. The sailors had stores for me and they brought it all down the long winding road. We walked in the moonlight saying little. They were a little concerned when we came to the house. I think they thought it was a real house they were taking me to. I led them away from it and down a dirt path to the old slave quarters. I chose the largest one that had once belonged to the houseman.

“Thank you, thank you all so much.” I hugged each of them.

When they left Mauney said to me, “Well, Miz Mari-Lee what we gonna do now?”

I laughed. The first time I’d laughed since I’d left Fairfield. “We’re going to hide out here…we’re going to live after all.”

I have no way of knowing what happened in Charles Town. They did not have a woman to hang and I have a feeling that the mood of the city was in my favor. They would have put down any rebellion and I’m glad it did not come to that. I can imagine that they blamed my escape on my ‘rebel friends’. I hope and pray that’s the way it happened. I know one thing…one thing I know for sure. God answered my prayers the best way He could.

In the morning Mauney and I opened up the packages of stores. Food, coffee, tea, sugar, cheese, a whole hogs rump and leg. There were biscuits and jellies and everything we could want at the time. We set about making a home for ourselves. We went around to all the cabins picking up what was there. Cooking pots and utensils. The mattresses were all gone now, rotted away. We used the canvas that the packages from Jack were wrapped in and filled them with leaves. We would have to learn to live off the land and there was plenty of land.

After two days of industrious activity I wandered to the old ruins just after daybreak. One room and part of another remained intact. I stood in the middle of the room and tried to imagine what it must have been. Someday…someday I would rebuild the house. Someday when the war was over.

I walked out to the front and found another package that must have come in the night. I went for Mauney to bring it around.

“I cain’t carrys dis. It be too heaby.”

“All right let us open it here.”

We tore open the canvas wrappings saving the ropes and all materials. There were two bolts of fabric, needles, more food and a separate canvas bag. I took it aside and sat down to open it. It was full of money and a letter.

(Jack’s Letter to Mari-Lee)

“Oh,” I covered my mouth and began to cry. It took me some time to read it. I know full well what he means by tearing open an old wound.

“Miz Mari-Lee, dey done sent some guns. Dey sends knives. Wat we gonna do wid dem?”

I was rescued by a rebel…I truly was.

“I don know wat dis ting be.”

A thorny bush…what an accurate description.

“I tink we gwine be carryin’ dis all day.”

Forever in love with you, Jack.

“Miz Mari-Lee?”

After I recovered myself I took his warning to heart. “Mauney, we’ve got to hide everything he’s sent us and not all in one place. We spent the day covering our tracks. It would be inconvenient for awhile but we’d just have to live that way. We made ourselves little canvas bags with straps to hang across our bodies and kept them with us as we moved around. We never slept in the same cabin twice in a row. The bags held blankets and a folded canvas. There was thick undergrowth beyond the cabins and we dug holes to keep our treasures out of sight. Some we put in the burned out house. Anyone riding up wouldn’t see anything.

We were visited one day. I do not know who they were but they camped out in front of the burned out house. We spent the night in the woods well away from the house.

We stayed in the woods long after they’d left. I’d learned a few things from Rolfe and Tripper about hiding. That was the way we lived through the summer. I never saw anyone else but fear kept me alert.

We trapped rabbits for meat about once a week. We also fished in the Hobcaw. We ate all the edible things we could find in the fields and woods but we were both hungry most of the time. Jack’s largess was rationed out as long as it lasted. I had money but nowhere to spend it. There were deer in the woods but I was afraid to risk a shot that might be heard.

It had been over two months since I came to Mt. Pleasant. No one had revisited us but I was not content to relax my guard. I recalled quite vividly the redcoats in Aunt Clarissa’s house three months after I left Belmont.

The Americans had virtually taken control of South Carolina by mid- summer of 1781. The British disillusioned and sick with summer heat gathered at Orangeburg. Rawdon had given command to Col. Stewart and returned to England. Col Stewart pulled his army of 2300 out of Orangeburg for the march to Charles Town.

Sumter (The Fighting Gamecock)

General Greene had spent the summer up in the High Hills of Santee and there gathered a force of about 2,030 men to march on Orangeburgh. Greene received word that Cornwallis was in Yorktown and  that Washington intended to surround the British. The Americans were near starved, mostly shoeless and half naked but they were ready to push the British back to the sea. He had with him, Lee’s brigade, Marion, Sumter, William Washington, Pickens, Wade Hampton and others. Greene wanted to make sure no southern aid reached Cornwallis.

Early September Stewart’s men camped near the shady, gushing, cool water of Eutaw Springs. They were well equipped but unaware Greene was close on their heels.

Greene arrived on September 7 and camped on the River Road at Burdells’ Plantation.

They were seven miles from Eutaw Springs. Strategy for the attack is credited to Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox, who knew every foot of the Santee area.

September 8^th dawned fair and hot. The Americans advanced toward the springs in the early light and took up their position. The British were at breakfast but hastily formed a line across the road in a heavily wooded area; leaving their uneaten breakfast. Behind them in cleared fields stood a brick house with a high walled garden.  The woods and waters of Eutaw Creek were to the north. The air soon crackled with fire. At first the American line fell back while the flanks fought separate battles. Green brought up Sumnter’s North Carolina Continentals and the whole British line began to fall apart.

Col. Stewart brought up his left flank reserves forcing the Americans to retreat. The encouraged British began yelling and running at the Americans in disorder. Greene then brought up his strongest force the Virginia and Maryland Continentals and the Delawares, and William Washington’s South Carolina Calvary with devastating results. Only Majoribanks of the left flank was able to keep his unit in order as he’d pushed far back into the woods.

The British fled in every direction and the Americans fell onto their camp. The starving soldiers ate up the breakfasts and drank up their whiskey. They were celebrating a battle won. Greene tried to bring some order and his leaders pressed their men as they plundered the camp. Majoribanks saw the disorder in the camp and took advantage.

William Washington

Col. Sheridan sought refuge with his men in the brick house. Col. Stewart took a position in the woods and began picking off soldiers and officers. Greene sent William Washington’s calvalry to deal with Majoribanks. He decided to encircle the wooded area  to rout them as it was too dense for horses but he exposed himself to dangerous fire. His horse was shot from under him and he was wounded. His company was practically ravaged. Hand to hand fight developed and a Britisher poised his sword over Washington. His hand was gallantly stayed by Majoribanks.

More than four hours they fought and the blood was at times ankle deep on the battle field under a merciless sun. Casualties were high with the field strewn with dead and dying. Both sides had enough.

Greene collected his wounded and returned to Burdell’s  Plantation. Steward remained the night at Eutaw Springs but hastily retreated the next day toward Charles Town, leaving behind many of his dead and unburied, seventy of his seriously wounded. The gallant Majoribanks wounded and on his way to Moncks Corner died in a slave’s cabin on Wantoot Plantation.

The total casualties came to 1,188. Many were buried where they fell. This was the last  major battle in South Carolina and it completely broke the British hold in the south. The British were confined to their port in Charles Town and in Savannah. Greene kept them in  Charles Town.  It stopped  the needed aid to the north. Six weeks later Cornwallis succumbed to Washington at Yorktown.

Chapter 15

One night we were awakened by the sound of horsemen riding through the plantation. We were scared and huddled in a corner of one of the slave cabins. The horsemen did not stop and seemed to be in a hurry. When daylight came we cautiously went outside. I recalled Marion’s men taking me though here and wondered if that’s who it had been. They followed the same track as near as I could tell. I followed their hoof prints to the edge of the woods.

I was more isolated then I’d ever been at Belmont and there were times I thought I might lose what mind I had left. Our days were spent foraging for food. I have to tell this. We’d pretty much gone native. Our clothes were mere rags now. Mauney was barefoot and in truth we were half naked. I’d kept the bolts of fabric hidden away in a storage building where we’d once kept indigo. It was mid September and the nights were cooling down. It was time to bring out the fabric and see what sort of clothes we might fashion for winter. We spread it out in the one standing room in the house because it had a floor. I could not hold a needle with my right hand and although I’d become pretty good with the left I couldn’t sew. I could make patterns.

We were thus employed when a lone rider appeared. I did not hear his approach and when I saw movement outside I froze.

“Mauney…shh…somebody”

We scooted across the floor to a wall holding our breath. I could hear him moving around  He hadn’t come down the road or I would have noticed him sooner. I looked across the floor and saw my scissors lying there. I thought I could use them if we were attacked. I had no qualms about killing now. If a redcoat came for me he’d have to kill me before I’d let him take me away. This was no redcoat. I had a glimpse of him as he rode by the window opening. It sounded as though he’d moved away from the house and I chanced a peek out of the window opening.

He must have sensed something for he stopped and turned. For a moment I thought there was something familiar about him. I ducked down quickly but he caught the movement.

He’d drawn his gun. “Come out of there.”

That voice…?

“Come out of there, whoever you are.”

“There’s only one of him and two of us. Grab those scissors, Mauney.”  We presented ourselves at the window opening.

“Who else is here?”

“There’s only us…Mauney and me.”

I saw the tip of his gun drop. “Mari-Lee?”

I looked then. “Rolfe?”

I know I didn’t look like Mari-Lee in my half skirt ripped off at the knees, no underclothes at all. My shirtwaist was merely a suggestion with a front and back tucked into the skirt. I’d taken to wearing my hair in a long plait down the middle of my back.

He dismounted and stood there by his horse for a moment. He shoved his gun in his belt. I was still trying to focus and realize this was not a vision.

“Mari-Lee, what in God’s name are you doing here?”

“Rolfe…oh…Rolfe.” I came out of the ruin and ran up in front of him. “I’m trying to survive.”

Slowly he held out his hands for mine and I went straight against him. The solid real feel of him. He didn’t know where to put his hands as I was half naked. We went over to the brick steps and sat down.

“Two days after you and Tripper left the redcoats came for me with an arrest warrant for treason. They took me to Camden and then to Fort Granby. Fort Granby came under attack and General Lee gave me freedom and a horse. I was caught again at Broad River and brought to Charles Town for trial. Captain Aubrey was there and he secreted me out and his sailors brought me here. That was the middle of June. What is it now?”

“September 15^th. You’ve been here since then?”

“Yes.”

“All this time I kept thinking about you safe at Fairfield.”

“That seems like another life now.”

He put his arm around me and held me close against him. “We came through here a couple of nights ago. I thought I smelled smoke. That’s why I came out here today. Lordy, Mari-Lee.”

“We heard the horses. We…Mauney and me, have been living in the slave cabins. You’re the first person I’ve talked to since the middle of June.”

“What have you…how do you eat?”

“We had plenty of stores to begin with but they ran out and we’ve been living on what we could find in the woods. We fish and trap. Tripper taught me how to make a trap. Where is he?”

Rolfe looked at me and shifted his eyes. “We lost him at Eutaw Springs. Killed in the battle.”

“No…no,” I covered my eyes and felt my face come apart.

“I miss him.”

“He saved my life…he saved your life.”

“Yeah, I reckon there was a reason for that.” He seemed to be making up his mind about something.

“Mari-Lee, this time I’m not leaving you unless you want me to go.”

“Go,” I grabbed his arm, “you can’t go.”

“You didn’t listen to me. I’m not leaving. A woman like you…can’t be left alone. I need to go back to camp and gather up some things. We just came from Eutaw. I’ll be back tonight.” He looked down at me in the crook of his arm and kissed me.

I don’t have words to express what I felt. I just know things are going to work out somehow. I danced a jig in the road after he left.

He came back just before nightfall bringing another horse loaded down with everything in the world he owned. I didn’t know but Rolfe didn’t have a permanent residence. He’d been in the militia before joining up with Francis Marion.

That night he told me about the battle at Eutaw Springs.

“I don’t know, Mari-Lee, but I’ve seen enough killing. Too many went down and never came back up. I’m not beholden to General Marion. Most of his men come and go at will. I’ve always stayed with him but I’ve had enough war. We’ve pushed the redcoats to Charles Town and I reckon they’ll stay there because Greene’s not letting them out.

“I brought all of Tripper’s belongings. Like me he traveled light. Might be something there you can use…a shirt or…something.”

I grinned and pulled the blanket around my shoulders. He’d brought some food too and  his part of the plunder from Eutaw. Instead of taking bottles of whiskey, he’d taken flour and sugar and tea. Things we hadn’t seen in two months.

“What is this place?”

“It’s Mt. Pleasant. It belong to my grandfather and his father before him. It burnt down about twenty years ago and then it was my brothers. My husband, James, and  Franklin planted indigo together here. When I was taken to General Marion we came through here. I thought about it when the opportunity came to say where I’d go if I could. That was the day before my trial. I know you thought bad about me and about my British Captain. You shouldn’t think that. I want you to read something…he wrote me a letter and it came with the last package of goods he sent to me.” I pulled out the letter and showed it to him.”

He folded it and handed it back. “If he’d been caught out he would have been hung.”

“I know and he knew it too. I once told you there was a man inside his uniform.”

“You once told me something else too. You said it didn’t matter what a man had . You see what I’ve got. I can’t ever give you fancy houses and fancy things like you’re used to.”

“Well, you see, I am and have been in reduced circumstances for some time.” I looked down at my hands with their broken nails. “I’m living in a slave cabin, Rolfe. You saw me at Fairfield and it’s true that’s the way I was brought up and the way I lived. You also saw me sleeping on a pile of leaves and a rolled up blanket. Whatever I have…is yours, if you’ll keep me. As far as I know the redcoats have not taken this place. I’m not sure they know it’s here.”

“I don’t think they’ll venture this far out of Charles Town. Listen, I mean to keep you. I don’t know what…I mean…what I want, Mari-Lee, is to marry you. It’s not the time for that. It’s not like I can walk into a church in Charles Town with you. I…I never had much dealings with church’s anyhow. There’s no way to know when we can do that. It could be years.”

“If you think I’m going to live here with you like a brother for…years, you’d better think again on it. Things may never be right. The perfect time may never come for us to be married. I say let’s marry ourselves. I know the words…at least some of them.”

“You’d agree to that? It won’t be legal.”

“Do I look like I care about that?”

We married ourselves the next day. I wore Tripper’s moccasins and one of his soft leather shirts over the only petticoat I had left. We held our little ceremony in the room at the house. Mauney was our witness along with God Himself.

I knew I loved this man from the beginning but it’s only now that the full force of that love has hit him. It’s hit me too. I can see past tomorrow with Rolfe.

Rolfe and I moved into the one standing room and made it our home. He’s very handy and he made us some beds. There’s a cotton plantation on the other side of the Hobcaw and Rolfe took one of those little boats and brought back enough cotton for us to stuff a mattress for our bed. He trapped some wild pigs and now we have pigs in a pen. I believe there is no limit to what he can do. Our quality of life here has certainly improved.

I showed him my money bag and he said not to touch it yet. We’ll need things later on for he believes it’s only a matter of time before the British leave our shores. He barters or steals whatever it is we need right now. I married a thief? No,  I married a man who does what he must to survive these times. It’s been a long time since he was paid in actual money. The script he was given is worthless now. I don’t know what this country will do for money. South Carolina is supporting all of Greene’s army and Rolfe said they are in pitiful condition.

General Marion knows we are here now and if they have anything to spare they drop it off. I have a gilded red velvet chair and a harp. Lord knows we needed that, ha, ha. But you know, Rolfe has dreams now of what we can do someday. He wants to rebuild the house. It was never a big house; only four rooms down and four up with a central hall that ran front to back. I believe he will rebuild it.

Rolfe asked me if I wanted to go and get my girls. As much as I’d love to see them and be with them I would not bring them to this place. I remember them in their pretty little dresses and would not want them to have to live as primitively as we do. I know my aunt would understand and they have become so much a part of her life I’m not sure she’d let them go. It is a sadness that I carry along with the other losses I have suffered. Someday when the world is right again I will go to them and explain their mother.

Mauney lives in the cabin we shared. It’s a warm cozy space. I don’t know what I’d do without her. I can recall back when we were scavenging in the woods for food how we’d laugh. I would have taken us both to make a soup pot. Rolfe is a good hunter and we do not want for food.

So far I have not conceived and I wonder if I can. Celia was three when James died and then there was Jack. It does not bother me for life is hard enough for us without a child. I still have Jack’s letter folded in a tin box. I pull it out and read it from time to time and it always warms my heart. I also keep Tripper’s beads in that box. I wish he’d lived. Life can be so cruel sometimes.

My name is Mari-Lee Middleton and I have survived the siege of Charles Town.

The British would not leave Charles Town until December,1782. Greene kept them confined to the city by picking off foraging details. There were still skirmishes over the state between loyalists and Americans but most of the loyalists sought refuge in Charles Town. Over 5,000 of them shipped out to Canada and Nova Scotia. After the treaty was signed in Paris in 1783 the loyalists were treated badly in South Carolina. Often stripped of lands and possessions if not hung. Gen. Marion was one voice that pleaded mercy for them.