The Death of Major Pierson by John Singleton Copley, 1782. Tate Britain
The American Revolution was a struggle for liberty, but not in the uncomplicated way we learned in school. The traditional story holds that Patriots fought to free themselves from arbitrary taxation by a tyrannical king, George III. In truth, the tyrant, if there was one, was the British Parliament, which passed the laws that angered the colonists. That was true enough. What is left out is that supporters of the British government also fought for liberty, but of a different sort. People on both sides viewed their actions as patriotic, even if they were sometimes self-serving.
Enslaved blacks fought to free themselves from slavery. The War for Independence, especially in the southern colonies, was also in part a war to to preserve slavery. Slaveholders feared that an arbitrary British government might grant their slaves freedom after Lord Mansfield declared slavery illegal in English law in 1773. In that sense the Revolution had more in common with the later Civil War than is generally acknowledged. Many white Loyalists supported the mother country because they believed that it was the best protector of their inherited liberties.
Charleston, South Carolina is famous as the place where the American Civil War began. Less well known is its significant role in an earlier civil war. For South Carolina, the American War for Independence was more truly a civil war than the conflict of 1861-1865. During the 1860s, South Carolinians were united in defense of their state. During the Revolutionary War, they were bitterly divided. South Carolina witnessed some of the most violent episodes of the conflict.
Remarkable Charlestonians of the American Revolution relates the stories of a spectrum of the city's residents during the is turbulent time. Its subjects were famous, obscure, rich, poor, black, white, men and women. Some supported the "Patriot" cause; others were loyal to the British crown, or tried to remain neutral. A few switched sides, one more than once. Collectively, their experiences highlight the often grim reality of the revolutionary era.
The public memory of the American Revolution is encrusted with layers of convenient forgetfulness, dubious facts, distorted legends, and outright myths. History, as Sir Lewis Namier wrote, is not a visit of condolence. Nor should it be. This book seeks to portray the complexity of a chaotic, turbulent, and fascinating time. Its pages provide, I hope, a nuanced sense of what it was like to live in Charleston during the American War for Independence, 250 years ago. It also, I believe, sheds light on the situation in the USA today.
For more information, visit Remarkable Charlestonians in the American Revolution – Arcadia Publishing $24.95
