Rare Revolutionary Letters Recently Acquired
 For American patriots, it was a disaster. But to the British, it was a milestone in their campaign to control a rich but unruly colony.
The often-ignored British perspective on the 1780 siege of Charleston, S.C. and other actions in the Carolinas is richly described in two new letters recently acquired by the S.C. Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum.
In May 1780, British Capt. Charles Campbell wrote a letter to his father detailing in depth the siege of “Charlestown,” commenting that “I have been an actor in two of the most obstinate and most successful contests that the British arms have experienced this war; the defense of Savannah and the reduction of Charlestown.”
In his letter, he references the Ashley and Cooper rivers, as well as Drayton Hall and Fort Sullivan, and describes how the capture took place. A week later Campbell led British soldiers in an attempt to apprehend Thomas Sumter, the "The Carolina Gamecock" who commanded the South Carolina milita. Although he could not be found, Campbell carried out the order to burn Sumter’s home. This event reinvigorated the Patriot cause, leading to a series of raids on the British supply lines. Lord Charles Cornwallis, British Commander in the South, sent the infamous Banistre Tarleton after the patriot guerillas, and his forces surprised and routed Sumter at the Battle of Fishing Creek on August 18, 1780. Captain Campbell was struck and killed by a bullet during the assault.
 On August 20, Major Archibald McArthur penned a letter to Campbell’s father to notify him of his son’s death. McArthur described Campbell’s death in the letter, stating that he “received a musquet [sic] ball in his breast & instantly expired.” This letter is now on display at the SC Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum. Transcripts of both letters will soon be available on the museum's website (www.crr.sc.gov).
These unique letters provide a fascinating viewpoint on the events surrounding the capture of Charleston and details about the man whose actions inadvertently helped revive the Patriot troops, ultimately leading to his own death.
“These letters represent the high-water mark of the British Campaign in the South during the American Revolution,” said Museum Director Allen Roberson. “Following a succession of rapid British victories at Charleston, Camden, and Fishing Creek, the Patriot militias rallied to tie Cornwallis down in the South, allowing George Washington to strengthen his army, win victories in the North, and attract French military support that led to the final surrender of Cornwallis and the British Army at Yorktown. In a sense, the death of Captain Campbell on the battlefield presaged the ultimate defeat of the heretofore invincible British Army at Yorktown.”
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
|
