Battle of Beaufort

The Battle of Beaufort, also known as the Battle of Port Royal Island, February 3, 1779, near Beaufort, South Carolina, was considered an American victory that, along with the Battle of Kettle Creek, Georgia, exactly one month later, on March 3, 1779, was a shot in the arm for American forces in the south. As in the north with the Battle of Harlem Heights, September 16, 1776, inexperienced American soldiers stood toe to toe with British infantry on open ground. Shot for shot was fired and when faced with the dreaded bayonet, local farmers and merchantmen held firm, forcing their enemy to blink first and retreat; thus awarded the honor of maintaining the field of battle.

Since the war’s opening salvos and the failed British attempt to capture Charleston, South Carolina on June 28, 1776, the rebellion south of Virginia for the most part, had been relatively quiet. The region was under tight control by patriot partisan militias; the only enemy were hastily organized local Loyalist groups and incursions by East Florida Loyalist Rangers. All that changed when British strategy shifted the war to the south.  On December 29, 1778, a British invasion force of over three thousand hardened regular veterans captured Savannah, Georgia. The American Continental forces defending the city were routed with many captured, leaving a path open for England’s goal to regain her southern colonies. At the Battle of Beaufort, the fact militiamen did not run, but stood their ground, plus the particularly high number of British casualties, would show England that their southern objectives would not come quite so easily.

British Forces Consolidate Georgia and Begin Recruiting Loyalist Militia

When Lt. Colonel Archibald Campbell landed outside Savannah, Georgia, on December 23, 1778, with 3,100 regular troops from New York City, he was to be joined by Brigadier General Augustine Prevost’s forces marching up from St. Augustine, East Florida. He was to wait for Prevost before assaulting the city’s defensive works. He soon discovered that Major General Robert Howe, of North Carolina, commander of the American Southern Army’s Continental Forces, was weaker than expected. Under Campbell’s command was the 71^st Regiment of Foot, Fraser’s Highlanders; at one thousand hardened veterans, they were the largest regiment in the British arsenal. Also, a corps of Light Infantry under Sir James Baird, a man known for his brutality in war. A siege that had been planned to last weeks, barely took one. On the 29^th, the Americans were routed and Savannah fell into British hands.

When General Prevost arrived in mid-January, 1779, he assumed command and on January 22^nd, sent Lt. Colonel Campbell up the Savannah River with his Highlanders to Augusta, Georgia. There, the colonel was to begin one of the major goals Secretary of State for the American Division, Lord Germain, hoped to obtain. Brigadier Provost was instructed to recruit large numbers of Loyalist militiamen to aid British troops in reclaiming the American southern colonies, one by one.

By the end of January, 1779, Major General Benjamin Lincoln had arrived to take command of the remnants of the southern army, formerly under Major General Robert Howe. So too, he began recruiting patriot militia from the Carolinas and Georgia. He set up headquarters at Purrysburg, South Carolina, across the Savannah River from British General Prevost’s headquarters at Ebenezer, Georgia, some twenty miles upriver from Savannah. Both sides kept a close eye on each other, sending out scouts to keep track of troop movements.

British Detachment Sails North

While Campbell recruited Loyalists inland, Prevost decided to test the waters along the northern coast and planned to send a detachment of regulars to Port Royal Island, at the mouth of the Broad River, South Carolina; forty miles up from Savannah and about sixty miles south of Charleston, South Carolina. There, they were to capture the town of Beaufort and, like Campbell in Augusta, begin recruiting the large number of expected Loyalists.

A week after Campbell left for Augustus with his Highlanders, Prevost set his plan in motion. On January 29, 1779, the HMS Vigilant, commanded by Lt. Hugh Christian (formerly of HMS Kingfisher), sailed north along the coast from Savannah. It was then towed by long boats through the lengthy channel that separated Hilton Head Island from the mainland; this channel emptied onto the mouth of Broad River, across from Port Royal Island. Built as a merchantman, the former Grand Duchess of Russia was purchased by the Royal Navy and converted into a transport. Later, armed with 20 guns, it was used as a floating battery, having seen action on the Delaware river during the bombardment of Fort Mifflin in the fall of 1777. The smallish, 122-foot vessel, manned by 120 sailors, armed with multiple 24-pounder cannon, was considered unseaworthy and only saw action in coastal rivers.

Accompanying the Vigilant, was the armed merchantman, 14-gun HMS Georgie Germaine, purchased by East Florida Governor Patrick Tonyn the previous year, it was captained by Lieutenant John Mowbray. The ships carried one howitzer to be landed with the British Light Infantry. The gun was manned by a sergeant and two artillerymen of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, along with six Royal Navy seamen. Note: The armed merchantman HMS Vigilant is often confused with the 64-gun HMS Vigilant, ship-of-the-line, which was not present at the Battle of Beaufort; the vessel later converted into a prison ship.

Along with the navy ships, there were four transports of 200 regular troops. They would land on Port Royal and capture Beaufort, the island’s main settlement. These were detachments from General Prevost’s previous command at St. Augustine, East Florida, who had accompanied the general north to Savannah. Led by Major Valentine Gardiner of the 16^th Foot, the 200-man landing force was composed of three light infantry companies; one from the 16^th Regiment of Foot, under the command of Major Colin Graham, a company from the 60^th Regiment of Foot, 3^rd Battalion, under the command of Captain George Bruère, and another from the 60^th Regiment of Foot, 4^th Battalion, led by Captain Patrick Murray.

Will the Real Commander of the British Landing Force Please Stand Up

As previous mentioned, the 200 regulars who arrived from St. Augustine, Florida was commanded by Major Valentine Gardiner. However, a flurry of internet articles and historical texts that identify different commanders of the detached landing force to Port Royal. A full search of 18^th and 19^th century British rosters for the 16^th and 60^th Foot, as well as cross referencing the various names in other regiments reveal some interesting information:

• Major William Gardner (Gardiner) of the 60^th Foot. He did not exist in 60^th Foot British rosters until 1801. There was a William Gardner (Gardiner) in the 45^th Foot, he was aide to General Howe in New York, wounded at Monmouth, he soon after returned to England.
• Major William Gardner (Gardiner) formerly of the 20^th Regiment of Connecticut Militia Loyalists, sent to Georgia, commissioned a Major in the British Army in time to command the British regulars. This is far-fetched. A British major’s commission is purchased after years of service in His-Majesty’s forces, not awarded to a colonial militiaman. There is no documentation to back up this claim.
• Major James Gardner (Gardiner) of the 16^th Foot. The only James Gardner was a lieutenant of the 4^th Regiment of Foot, not present at the battle.
• There were two Gardiners present at the battle. Incorrect. Any other Major Gardiner besides Valentine of the 16^th Foot did not exist or was serving in another unit.
• Major William Gardner (Gardiner) of the 16^th Foot. No William on the 16^th Foot rosters, but there was a Major Valentine Gardiner of the 16^th Foot, commissioned in August, 1776.
• Lastly – some credit Major Gardner (Gardiner) as leading the 16^th company of light infantry landing party. This company was commanded by Major Colin Graham.

American Fort Lyttleton Abandoned

Fort Lyttleton, named for Royal Governor of S. Carolina, William Henry Littleton, was built by the British in 1758 to protect the river approach against the Spanish. It was situated on Spanish Point, Port Royal Island, two miles south of the settlement of Beaufort. It was a triangular tabby horn work; a fortified wall with one bastion and two half-bastions (the ‘horns’). The fortification was 400 by 375 feet, with barracks, a magazine, and placements for cannon.

The fort was guarded by a detachment of Continental soldiers of the 4^th South Carolina Regiment of Artillery; commanded by Captain John Francis DeTreville. The small garrison consisted of Lieutenants John Brown and Richard Brown, along with nine men manning one field piece, a 2-pounder cannon. Local militia on Beaufort and Hilton Head Islands comprised two companies from the Beaufort District Regiment, led by Captains Edward Barnwell and Captain John Barnwell. This regiment included a mixture of Scotch-Irish, German Immigrants, a small Jewish population, and several African Americans – freemen and slaves.

On January 31^st, 1779, Captain DeTreville learned that a considerable British force was approaching along the south coast. He hastily spiked the cannon and blew up the main bastion before abandoning the fort.  When the American militia arrived on February 2^nd, they discovered that the fort remained largely intact, much of the stores were salvageable, and the cannon were lightly spiked, which could easily be restored for action using pincers to remove debris in the touchholes.

American Force Prior to Battle

Lincoln was cognizant of Prevost’s intent to attack Port Royal Island at the mouth of the Broad River. Upon receiving intelligence, he immediately dispatched Brigadier General William Moultrie, the hero of the Battle of Sullivan Island, June 28, 1776, had repelled a British Invasion. His force from Purrysburg would march north and at Port Royal Island, would join regional South Carolina militia and militia that had marched south from Charleston. This force consisted of:

• S. Carolina 3^rd Regiment Rangers. Detachment led by Capt. Edward Richardson
• S. Carolina 5^th Regiment Riflemen. Detachment commanded by Capt. George Jervey. (British Capt. Murray of the 4^th Battalion, 60^th foot wrote in his description of the invasion, that the riflemen were from Virginia. Historian Young recorded the same. Brothers George and Thomas Jervey served in the 5^th NC Regiment – Thomas under Brigadier Hager.)
• S. Carolina 1^st Brigade State Militia led by Brigadier General Stephen Bull. 300 men in six companies of the Charleston (Charlestown) District Regiment
• S. Carolina 1^st Brigade State Militia Charleston Artillery led by Col. Bernard Beekman
• S. Carolina Colleton County Regiment of Militia led by Capt.; Thomas McLaughlin
• S. Carolina Upper Craven County Regiment of Militia commanded by Capt. Henry Council
• S. Carolina Beaufort Dist. Regiment – 1 companies Capt. Edward  Barnwell
• S. Carolina Beaufort Dist. Regiment Light Horse – 1 unit of fifteen troopers led by John Barnwell
• Only Continental Soldiers in the Gen. Moultrie’s force: SC 4th Regiment of Artillery detachment led by Capt. John Francis DeTreville, with Lt. John Brown and Lt. Richard Brown and nine men, one 2-pounder.
• Note: Two signers of the Declaration of Independence were in Brigadier Bull’s Charleston 1^st Brigade Artillery:  Captains Thomas Heyward, Jr. and Edward Rutledge.

British Arrive at the Mouth of Broad River; Shell and Destroy Plantations and First Skirmish

The British force arrived at the mouth of the Broad River on February 1^st. Troops under Major Gardiner landed at Hilton Head Island and was immediately fired upon by a detachment of the Beaufort Militia under Captain James Doharty’s (he would later be given command of Fort Lyttleton after the battle). The British pursued Doharty’s men and burned the two houses they had been occupying.  Meanwhile, the flotilla of British ships sailed up the Broad River and anchored opposite Bull’s Plantation on Port Royal Island. Another landing force was sent ashore near Beaufort to burn patriot plantations. Little if any fighting took place till after the British returned to their ships at which time the local Beaufort Militia began to fire on the British ship with small arms, causing little if any damage.

The next day, February 2^nd, HMS George Germaine bombarded the house of Brigadier General Stephen Bull, forcing the defending militia into the open. The Germaine landed a British force near the loyalist Andrew Deveaux’s Plantation; it is believed that Deveaux acted as a British guide. Shortly after, the British chased the militiamen into the nearby woods. Meanwhile, Capt. Patrick Murray was ordered to go ashore and burn the plantations of the owners who had fled. He torched the first plantation they came to, belonging to Capt. Thomas Heyward, Jr. (signer of the Declaration of Independence and with the Charleston Div. Militia of Artillery). Both British forces on Hilton Head and Port Royal Islands received intelligence that the patriots had destroyed their garrison at Fort Lyttleton. Major Gardiner and his subordinates agreed that the time was right to seize all of Port Royal Island.

General Moultrie’s Force Arrives; Reinforced by Militia and Artillery from Charleston

General Moultrie arrived at the Port Royal Ferry on the evening of January 31^st. He found a large number of regional militiamen, including General Bull’s Charleston Dist., encamped near the ferry. Among the Charleston militia were the well-equipped and well-trained Charleston artillery. Among them was Capt. DeTreville’s small contingency of continental troops and a two-pounder cannon; who had recently spiked cannon and partially destroyed Fort Lyttleton. On February 2nd, this force numbering around 300 men crossed over to Port Royal. His men marched to and camped outside Beaufort. The next day, Feb. 3^rd, Moultrie inspected the fort and discovered a cache of arms and supplies could be salvaged. Before he could begin doing so, he received word that a considerable force of British regulars were five miles away. Moultrie immediately assembled his men and marched to met him.

Battle Lines Drawn

At daybreak of February 3^rd, the three British companies were taken ashore, with a howitzer manned by two artillerymen and six sailors. After marching about two miles, they exchanged shots with some local militia and fired the howitzer at some retreating cavalry, to no effect. This was about halfway between the island ferry and Beaufort; placing the British between the ferry and the Americans. At this stage, the British were unawares that they had occupied the ground that General Moultrie had hoped to position his men. It was on a rise called Gray’s Hill, about three miles south of the ferry and in the middle of the island. Capt. Murray, in his report, claimed this position spanned “along the road to the entry of Rhodes’ Swamp, where…on the crest of the Pina Barren beyond the swamp where the trees were felled but not cleared off.”

According to Captain Murray, who afterwards filed a detailed report of the battle, Major Gardiner faced the Americans with 160 men that included six sailors who manned the single howitzer. This was about a two to one advantage for the Americans. As the patriots approached, Major Gardiner deployed his regular troops into nine platoons, three from each of his three regiments, around sixteen men per platoon. The men of the 16^th Foot, commanded by Major Graham, being the senior regiment, formed on the right. Each regiment had its commanding officer’s platoon placed in the center. These were, from right to left:

• Right – 16^th : Lt. William Calderwood, Major Colin Graham, Lt. John Skinner.
• Center – 60^th 3^rd Bat.: Lt. Plumer, Capt. Bruere, Lt. Finley.
• Left – 60^th 4^th Bat: Lt. Hasleton, Capt. Murray, Lt. Baron Breitenbach
• The howitzer was placed in the center.

Upon arriving, Moultrie discovered that Major Gardiner had deployed his forces near the top of the hill at the edge of a wooded swamp, which he had hoped to claim. He therefore lined his militia along the road in the open near the Halfway House, 200 yards from the British force; just outside of musket range. The small contingency of Continentals, twelve including officers, were positioned center of the American right, with their 2-pounder cannon. The Charleston artillery, two 6-pounders, positioned in the center of the line and middle of the road, where present day Trask Parkway now exists.

Battle

Three reports on the battle to superiors have been resourced in historical contexts. One by American General Moultrie. It is short; however succinct, revealing interesting aspects about the battle. Two are by the British to Brigadier General Prevost; Major Gardiner and Captain Murry. The later presents the most detail of the battle itself, though somewhat skewed to place the companies of light infantry in a better light. As such it remains the main source for what occurred once the first cannon belched its rage.  All agree the battle was joined at near to 4PM. That it lasted forty-five minutes but not more than an hour. That both sides began to withdraw when they ran low on ammunition. And that the British left the field first. Yet Murray must add, almost as an afterthought, the British retreated only after they had driven the Americans back; to which there is no mention of this in any other account. 

Murray states that he and Major Graham did not want to attack the American militia, as they believed it to be too large. Gardiner was determined to make a show; displaying the usual low opinion of militia that believed Americans would not stand before regulars with fixed bayonets. In a show of obstinance or perhaps to encourage his troops, Gardiner rode forward to Moultrie’s line with a white handkerchief fixed to his drawn sword. Captain Francis Kinlock rode out to meet him. Gardiner ordered the patriots to lay down their arms. Ignoring the usual romantic anecdotes that early historians wrote to glorify such occurrences, leave it to say that Captain Kinlock reminded Gardiner that his command was outnumbered and that he should be the one to lay down arms.  

At that early stage in the battle, Capt. Murray wrote that the British line advanced to within 120 yards of the enemy when the Americans opened fire with their six-pounders. At the same time, the Americans advanced their two wings nearer the swamp. After opening volleys, the firing became hot and general. Another version has the British firing first; the howitzer’s bursting shell killing Lt. Benjamin Wilkins of the Charleston Artillery. The Americans responded with their 6-pounders and the second shot struck the howitzer gun carriage. It is reported that the sailor carrying the matchstick fled, leaving the howitzer out of action for the rest of the battle. Of this, Moultrie mentions only in his after battle report: “…our second shot from the field piece-had disabled a Howitz, which they had fired but once.”

While Moultrie had extended his line to try and flank the enemy, so too did the two wings of British regulars. The British right, forty men under Lt. Calderwood, failed to get around an American left that outnumbered him and extended further beyond his line. The British far left, under Breitenbach, had difficulty negotiating felled trees. Captain Murray was able to form up his command of the left, but came under a great deal of musketry and cannon grape shot. So too, Major Graham, leading the right, was subjected to increased fire from the Charleston Militia whose larger numbers continued to extend their line.

Meanwhile, American guns, amply handled, raked the British with both solid shot and grape. Ensign Plumer in the center was struck down by the wind of a cannon ball that passed under Major Gardiner’s horse. On the British right, Major Graham was struck twice by grapeshot, and Lt. Finlay was killed. When Lt. Calderwood was killed, Lt. Skinner assumed command of the far right and repelled an attack by militia still trying to flank them. On the British left, so too the Americans advanced, continuing their attempt to get around the line, but was refused by Capt. Murray.

American guns and musketry drove the British to seek cover behind brush on either side of the center road. At this stage, Captains Murray and Bruere rallied troops on the left of the road and Major Gardiner and Lt. Skinner did so on the right. With men falling all around him, Gardiner decided to call a general retreat. He sent Corporal Craig of the 16^th across the road to the left to deliver the order. Murray and Bruere declined to retreat, saying they could not do so safely. Also, since their men had taken to the brush and woods for protection, they believed they was finally driving the Americans back. Of this action in the battle, General Moultrie would later write in his February 4^th report to Lincoln. “…This action was reversed from the usual way of between the British and Americans; they taking to the bushes, and we remaining upon the open ground…”

The British left continued to press the American right who fell back. Bruere’s men worked their way into range of the American cannon, and appeared to silence them. However, according to General Moultrie, his cannon were running low on ammunition. At that point, nearly 45 minutes into the battle, Bruere was struck in the ribs and made his way to a log house in the rear that had been converted to a makeshift hospital.

With both sides beginning to run low on ammunition, Capt. John Barnwell, commanding his troop of 15 light horse, saw an opportunity to strike. He and his men had remained on the edges of the fight, relaying messages back to the American line on British movements. By now the field would have been engulfed in thick smoke, ‘the fog of war’; perfect for a cavalry charge. The Americans swept down on the British line. Gardiner fled before the onslaught cutting him off from his men. Barnwell carried on and reached the log house where Bruere, two sergeants, and 12 privates had gathered, most wounded. These Capt. Branwell captured, though eight escaped. Moultrie explained in his memoir: “a party of the enemy having rallied in their retreat; retook the captain, one sergeant, and six men; the remainder, however, he [Barnwell] brought off with twelve stand of arms…”

About forty-five minutes in, the battle reached its peak. Both sides suffered from physical exertions and lack of ammunition. General Moultrie’s report best explains the closing minutes:

“After some little time, finding our men too much exposed to the enemy’s fire, I ordered them to take trees; about three quarters of an hour after the action began, I heard a general cry through the line, of ‘no more cartridges;’ and was also informed by Captains Heyward and Rutledge,[both signers of the Declaration of Independence] that the ammunition for the field pieces was almost expended, after firing about forty rounds form each piece; upon this I ordered the field pieces to be drawn off very slowly; and their right and left wings to keep pace with the artillery to cover their flanks, which was done in tolerable order for undisciplined troops. The enemy had beat their retreat before we began to move, but we had little or no ammunition, and could not of consequence pursue. They retreated so hastily as to leave…their dead lying on the field.”

Moultrie would inform General Lincoln of his pleasure in how well the militia performed that day, hinting that the will to fight is there, but the need for training, writing: “It makes me happy to inform you that our militia has that spirit which they always have been allowed to possess; nothing but discipline is wanting to make them good troops.“

Casualties

From Captain Murray’s report we gather that the British held together only 70 rank and file by the end of the battle and that about half of the force (total strength was close to 160 men) were casualties. General Bull shared the following information in a letter to Moultrie dated February 12, 1779: “Yesterday seven sailors, deserters from the Lord George Germain ship of war, were brought in by a party from one of our picquets; they say that the fleet is on their way to Savannah; that their land troops lost, in the with us on Port-Royal, forty killed and wounded…”

Of the Americans, Moultrie, in his after-action report to Major-General Benjamin Lincoln, stated that there was 1 officer mortally wounded, 3 other officers wounded, “with six or seven privates killed in the field, and fifteen wounded.” Moultrie particularly mentioned killed, Lt. Benjamin Wilkens of the Charleston artillery, and officers wounded, Capt. Hayward of artillery in the arm, and Lieutenants Sawyer and Brown of Light Infantry. Of British prisoners, besides those taken by light horse, Moultrie added: “Two officers we have found and seven men; they fought from behind the bushes.“

Aftermath

Major Gardiner was criticized by Brigadier Prevost for the mauling his detachment received because he strayed too far from his boats. On the heels of this stunning victory of American militia over British regulars on an open field of battle, was the Battle of Kettle Creek, Georgia, March 3^rd; a devastating defeat of Loyalist militiamen trying to reach the British at Augusta, Georgia. Both served to strengthen the American resolve and embolden moral for troops still reeling from the loss of Savannah.

Of note: this was the only engagement in which two signers of America’s Declaration of Independence fought side-by-side in battle, Edward Rutledge and Thomas Heyward, Jr.    Of the fifty-six signers of the Declaration, only twelve fought in battle during the Revolutionary War.

African Americans

Several African Americans fought alongside the American militia. There is no account that specifies if they were freemen, slaves, or both. One whose pension application long after the war gives us some insight. Jim Capers, a slave on the Caper Plantation, served alongside his master’s grandson, Captain William Caper, of Bull’s Head Plantation on the upper Wando River that flowed into the Charleston Harbor.  He served better than seven years in the army as a Drum Major. He saw action at the battles of Savannah, Port Royal, Camden, Eutaw Springs, and Biggins Church.

At the Battle of Eutaw Springs, often described as the bloodiest battle of the Revolutionary War, Capers reported that he received four wounds; two saber cuts to his head, one to his face, and a shot that passed through his side, killing the drummer behind him. At the end of his service, he was at Yorktown and witnessed the surrender of British Forces to the patriots.

After the war, Jim returned to Christ Church Parish along the upper Wando River. At some point he was granted or paid for his freedom. He married and after a time, he and his wife, Milley (who remained a slave) moved to Alabama where he lived out the remainder of his life, dying on April 1, 1853 at the incredible age of 111.  

In 1849, Jim Capers appeared in the Pike County, Alabama Probate Court to file his Revolutionary War pension application to receive the benefits of a pension law passed by Congress in 1832. When questioned as to why he had waited so long to apply, he responded that he did not know a free man of color was entitled to receive a pension.  At the time of his pension application, Capers was living on the Norman McLeod plantation. His wife Milley was one of McLeod’s slaves. It is reported that McLeod assisted in Caper’s efforts to receive a pension; however, ultimately he was denied. McLeod, a local legislator, continued his efforts. On Feb. 3, 1853 – exactly 74 years to the day after the Battle of Beaufort, by an act of Congress, Caper’s name was allowed on the pensioner’s list. He would never live to see any of his due pension, dying two months later. However, his wife Milley is shown to have received $265.00 in back pension.

YOU TUBE VIDEO OF THE BATTLE OF BEAUFORT by Island Packet

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ MORE ON THE SOUTHERN WAR OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, CHECK OUT THESE FREE PREVIEWS ON AMAZON

SIMILAR ARTICLES ON REVOLUTIONARY WAR JOURNAL

RESOURCE

“Battle of Port Royal Island Parts 1, 2, 3.”  Dec. 28, 2010:   A Miniature History of the American Revolution

Cannon, Richard.  Historical record of the Sixteenth, or, the Bedfordshire Regiment of Foot…  1848:  Parker, Furnivall, & Parker, London, UK.

Commager, Henry Steele & Morris, Richard B.  The Spirit of Seventy-Six. The Story of the American Revolution as Told by Participants.  1958: 1967: 1975: Da Capo Press, Inc., New York, NY.

Ford, Worthington Chauncey.  British Officers Serving in the American Revolution 1774-1783. 1897: Historical Printing Club, Brooklyn, NY.

Hartley, Cecil B.  Heroes and patriots of the South; comprising lives of General Francis Marion, General William Moultrie… 1860:  G. G. Evans, Philadelphia, PA.

Gascoigne, John & William Faden  “A Plan of Port Royal in South Carolina. Survey’d by Capn. John Gascoigne”  1776: Jefferys & Faden, London, England. Preview and image on the Donald A. Heald rare book website. 

Graves, William T. Backcountry Revolutionary.  2012: Woodword Corporation, Lugoff , S. Carolina.

Miles, Suzannah Smith.   “Heroes – The Two Jim Capers.” Feb. 12, 2020.  Moultrie News. 

Moultrie, William Major . GeneraMemoirs of the Revolution as far as it Related to the States of North and South Carolina. 1802: Printed by David Longsworth, New York, NY.

Norton, Louis Arthur. “Battle of Beaufort”  May 7, 2018:  Journal of the American Revolution. 

Rowland, Moore Rogers. The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina: Volume. 1, 1514-1861. 1996: University of South Carolina Press, Columbia S.C.

Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements & Rosters. https://revwarapps.org/

Wallace, Nesbit Willoughby.  Regimental Chronical and List of Officers of the 60^th or the King’s Royal Rifle Corps… 1879: Harrison Publ., London, UK.

William Moultrie, Memoirs of the American Revolution so far as related to the States of North and South Carolina and Georgia, (New York: NY, printed for the author by David Longworth, 1802, 2 vols.), 1:292-93.

Young, Peter.  The British Army.  1967: William Kimber Publ., London, UK.