Charles & James Hargrove in the American Revolution By Steve Compton Virginia
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| South Carolina Militia As the American War of Independence wore on, the British public and parliament began to question the conflict’s cost in lives and treasure. Unable to defeat Washington’s Continental Army in the north and mid-Atlantic states, frustrated British commanders shifted their strategy to the south. They believed that Loyalist support there could be roused for a sweep north to overwhelm Washington and his stubborn Patriots. At first, the British plan seemed to be working, as they and their Loyalist allies took the port city of Savanah and swept through Georgia. In May 1780, Charleston, South Carolina fell to the British with a loss of more than 5,000 Patriots, killed, wounded, or captured. But when the Redcoats brought their campaign of terror into the Carolina backcountry aiming to crush local resistance, they inadvertently stirred up a hornet’s nest. Mel Gibson’s movie The Patriot (2000) attempted to depict the brutality of the British backcountry campaign. But South Carolina historian Walter Edgar has remarked that the movie would not have passed the rating board if it had shown what actually happened. The Hargrove family had arrived in South Carolina by 1780 and after the fall of Charleston in May of that year, both Charles and his son James joined the South Carolina Upper Ninety-Six Militia as privates under Captain Robert Anderson. Anderson served as a captain under Col. Andrew Pickens until April 18, 1781, when Pickens was promoted to Brigadier General, and Anderson was made a colonel. James Hargrove’s South Carolina militia pay records indicate that he served as an “armourer,” a “cutlier,” and for “shoeing horses.” It seems that James served as both a gunsmith and a blacksmith for the militia, responsible for repairing and maintaining firearms and edged weapons, as well as shoeing horses. Col. Anderson led the Upper Ninety-Six Militia in several named battles, including the 1781 Siege of Ninety-Six, Tugaloo River #2, Eutaw Springs, and Indian Villages, along with many more skirmishes. The actions at Tugaloo River #2 and Indian Villages were fought primarily against the Cherokee, who had allied with the British. Charles and James Hargrove may have been involved in any or all of these actions. The Siege of Ninety-Six in the summer of 1781 was one of the last battles in the South Carolina backcountry. Col. Anderson’s Regiment was part of a Patriot force under Gen. Nathaniel Greene that surrounded the British who were dug into a star-shaped fortification just outside the town of Ninety-Six. The siege lasted 28 days, ending on June 18, 1781, when the Patriots withdrew as 2,000 fresh British reinforcements were about to arrive. Despite this tactical victory, the British abandoned Ninety-Six a month later and began to pull back toward the coast. By this point, the British army, worn down by the tenacity of colonial resistance and sick of the Carolina summer heat, was becoming disillusioned with the war. On September 8, 1781, Nathaniel Greene quietly gathered a force of Continental Army regulars and Patriot militia fighters to attack a large encampment of British and Loyalist troops at Eutaw Springs just as they were just sitting down to breakfast. Militia units, including the Upper Ninety-Six, were in the thick of the fight, led by the infamous “Swamp Fox,” Francis Marion. Patriot and Loyalist losses were fairly equal, and both sides claimed victory. But the fierce fight undoubtedly encouraged the British to continue withdrawing toward the coast with their rear under constant attack from Patriot snipers. A month later, George Washington and the Continental Army triumphed at Yorktown, Virginia prompting British army commander Gen. Cornwallis to surrender. In South Carolina, skirmishes between Patriot militias and Loyalist holdouts continued for another year. The last shooting in the state took place at James Island near Charleston on November 14, 1782. The following month the last British Loyalists abandoned South Carolina. The American War of Independence officially closed when the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 13, 1783. At the end of the war, South Carolina Patriot fighters were instructed to present monetary claims for their military service as well as for supplies and other contributions rendered during the conflict. Once the claims were audited, interest-bearing certificates called “indents” were issued in payment and were often used to purchase land. On June 23, 1785, Charles Hargrove received an indent for £8, 17 shillings, 1½ pence [about $1500 today] in recognition for “Duty in Col. Anderson…” of the South Carolina Militia. His indent stub is the only record we have of Charles Hargrove’s service in the war. He signed it with his mark, a bold “C.H.” On the same date, James Hargrove received indent for £10, 6 shillings, ¾ pence [about $1800] for work as armorer and cutler, and for shoeing horses. His original claim may have been £72, 2 shilling, 6 pence, [about $13,000] for which he may have already been partially reimbursed. A family story about James Hargrove’s Revolutionary War service was passed down and recorded in a biographical sketch for his grandson Joshua Hargrove in Goodspeed’s Download 100 Kb. Share with your friends:
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