.H; :•'■'■■■■ ■■' I ;•■■••/ • ;><(:;::::•,•::( •i';' '''■■.•■ 'I'" ; c !* :' ''' V ■'> ■ ' '■ ^■*'^ >^ ",. -r^ X- "bo"' ^0°x. re ,<^^ <■ 0> -^rL . ^'^0?^.%^ ^ i-i' ^\^ \"^^ ^-S*^- ^ •^ , O N C ^ -/^ •:■ 4'- /-^. ,0- ,'' .0^ 0> -71, •\' c^ ^c*^- A^^ .A' X O- ■^oo^ .■^ ^^.. v^^ 'C-'i^ >^^. •X^^' V * .'N >>..»'•* < cP\%-..>.. -/ "->. '"^'-\.^' c, \-^i^^^ ^V A^^^'^/- aV ■' f. ,0-' N> % .-J>' " ^ ^0^ : ^ "^ .\^ ' -Si v> .^^ .^^^ ^ C- .;«'.>;/• '1^- ?^.^^^#- * « . ■ O- :-€Si^,/ '^. .o> . ,0^ TwnnMnriMiKT- /j.L» i c ,^.^«A'^•.-^.^-. VtKo^V CKirVtston, h.i., 1670 1783 THE CENTENNIAL OF INCORPORATION 1883 o z o H <; Oi CO O 00 Cm oo (^ '^ O ^ THE CENTENNIAL ADDRESS PREFACE. The preparation of an Address to be delivered on the One Hundredth An- niversary of the incorporation of the City of Charleston, 13th of August, 1883, was undertaken, at short notice, with a desire to use the occasion in directing public attention to the need of a connected and complete history of the city from the time of its settlement. The leisure which I could com- maud, in the face of my public and commercial engagements, was necessa- rily limited, and I speedily realized that I could not hope to do more than present in the Address a few of the many interesting matters connected with Charleston's foundation, rise and progress. The impressions derived from desultory reading during a number of years were confirmed by the closer examination which was undertaken for the purposes of the Centennial Ad- dress, and I risk nothing in saying that, in the history of the people who lived and live within the territory that may be seen from the belfry of St. Michael's Church, there is material for as interesting a chapter as can be found anywhere in American annals. A part of the Centennial Address was published in The News and CouRiEK, and the favorable comments at the time, and the suggestion that it be amplified for publication in permanent form, induced me to undertake the labor of making it as full and thorough as my opportunities would per- mit. In its present extended shape the sketch of the history of Charleston is no longer a simple Centennial Address, and will be found to contain much that is entirely new, or has not heretofore been accessible to the general reader. Forming part of the Year Book for 1883, it will, I hope, find a place in public libraries throughout the United States, and be welcome in the homes of our people. If it shall elicit such interest as shall lead to the real- ization of my life-long hope and desire for a complete history of Charleston, I shall be amply compensated for the labor and thought I have bestowed upon the introductory work. It is with great pleasure that I acknowledge the courteous attentions of the Secretaries of State, the Treasury, War and Navy, and of the Postmaster- General and the Attorney-General of the United States, who have sent me from the departments at Wa.shington valuable documents which I required, and who, in several cases, have given me even, more information than I asked for or expected to obtain. Similar assistance has been rendered by Gen. Eaton, Superintendent of Education, and Mr. Dwight, the Librarian of the State Department. From the Hon. J. N. Lipscomb, Secretary of Stale of South Carolina; Col. Sloan, Clerk of the House of Representatives of South Carolina; Mr. Speaker Simons; Hon. Ch. Richardson Miles; Commander iv Preface. Merrill Miller, U. S. N., Light-House Department ; Langdon Cheves, Esq. ; Gen. W. G. DeSaussure; J. P. K. Bryan, Esq.; Hon. T. W. Glover and John Lucas, Esq., Orangeburg, S. C. ; Eev. John Johnson ; Col. W. L. Tren- holm; J. L. Sheppard, Esq. ; Daniel Heyward, Esq. ; Dr. G. E. Manigault; Mr. Winsor, Librarian of Harvard College ; Mr. Jervey, Librarian Charleston Library Society; F. Peyre Porcher, M. D. ; Major Willis; Eev. C. C. Pinck- ney ; N. Levin, Esq. ; Eev. D. J. Quigley ; W. G. Hinson, Esq. ; J. Barrett Cohen, Esq. ; H. B. Horlbeck, M. D. ; Professor F. A. Porcher ; Jos. T. Dill, Esq., and many others, I am indebted for the use of rare books, and for valuable papers placed at my disposal. Strange as the statement may seem, the fact is so, that eighteen years after the close of the war between the States, there is no correct official infor- mation of the Companies in the service from Charleston, and their numbers. To Gen. Edward McCrady, who has for years been interested in making a record, and to Major E. C. Gilchrist and Eev. C. E. Chichester, I am indebt- ed for tlie statement herein made. It is a pleasure to acknowledge here the courteous and continnous atten- tions of Mr. W. Noel Sainsbury, of the Public Eecord Office, London, to whom I am greatly indebted. For much intelligent and laborious clerical assistance I am under obliga- tions to my young friend Mr. Normand M. Porter. W. A. C, Charleston, S. C, January, 1884. TlIK NKVVS AND COURIER BOOK PRESSES, 19 Bkoau Street, Charleston, S. C. INDEX The Centennial of Incorporation — Page. Initiatory Proceedings g Selection of Orator and Poet lo Acceptance of Mayor Courtenay 1 1 Correspondence with Mr. Ilayne 13 Letter of Rev. John Johnson '. 14 Mr. Valentine invited to visit Charleston 14 Centennial Salute of One H mdred Guns 14 Officers of .State and other guests 15 The Prayer by Chaplain Johnson 16 Opening Address of Alderman Thayer 17 The Mural Tablet 18 The Bust of Hayne 19 Lines upon its Unveiling 20 The Portrait of Wm. Enston 20 Presentation of Bust of J. L. Petigru 21 The Centennial Ode 23 The Centennial of Charleston — Hayne and Petigru — from The News and Courier 26 Evening Exhibition — The Pyrotechnics 28 Charleston — 1670-1783-1S83— The First Settlement 34 The First Lord Proprietor 35 The Second Lords Proprietors 36 Hilton's Voyaje — 1663 38 Sandford's Voyage — 1665 40 The Embarkation of August, 1669 46 Names of the First Colonists 47 The Vessels arrive at Kingsayle, Ireland 49 Arrival at Barbadoes 49 Sailed thence 26th February, 1670 51 The Cassique of Kiawah 52 The First Election in Carolina 52 The Want of a Clergyman 55 The First Attempt at a Parliament 56 Death of Gov. Sayle 57 Population and its Sources — English and Irish, the First Settlers 58 The First German in Carolina. 59 Settlers from Barbadoes 59 vi Index. Population and its Sources — Page. Population in 1670 60 Several Families Arrive from England 60 The First Dutch Settler> 60 The First Negro Slaves, 1672 61 The Oyster Point Settlement 61 Arrivals from Ireland 61 Arrivals of French Refugees 62 Four Huguenot Settlements in 1785 63 Lord Cardross' Scotch Colony 63 The Quakers or Friends 64 The Quaker Lot 65 The Population in 1685 66 The Settlers at Dorchester 67 Growth of New Town 67 Settlers from the Palatinate 68 Settlers from Nova Scotia • 68 The First Jewish Families 6g The Irish Settlers — 1784-1809 70 The First Mass in Charleston 70 " St. Mary's " the First Catholic Church ... 71 The First Roman Catholic Bishop 72 The St. Domingo Refugees 72 Earliest Benevolent Societies 73 Population — 1790-1880 74 Early Crops and Commerce — The Potatoe, Maize and Tobacco • 74 Turpentine, Tar, Rosin, &c 75 Skins and Furs Exported 76 The Culture of Rice . 76 First Machine for Husking Rice 77 Gov. Smith's Rice Planting 77 The Remarkable Results in Rice. 78 Planting the River Swamps 79 Indigo Growing in 1680 80 Miss Lucas Cultivates it and Prepares it for Market — 1742. . 81 Indigo a very Profitable Crop 84 The First Col ton Goods 85 The Silk Industry — 1699-1840 85 Ante-Revolutionary Period — Charleston a Prosperous Town, 1731 87 Statistics of Population, 1731 88 Quantity of British Shipping, 1731 . 88 Articles of Export, 1731 88 The Cheapness of Provisions, 1731 89 Josiah Quincy's Views, 1773 Sg Index. vii Ante-Revolutionary Period — Page. Wm. Gerard de Brahm's Views Sg His Mention of Exports 90 The Increase of Cattle 91 The Stamp Act of 1765 91 Fac-simile of a British Stamp 92 The Capture of Fort Johnson '. 92 The People Refuse to Drink Tea— 1774 93 Supplies Sent to Boston^ 93 Sacrifice of Material Interests in Charleston — Trade Flour- ishing in Boston 94 A Sunday Meeting at St. Michael's Church 94 Receipt of the News from Lexington 94 Gov. Campbell goes aboard the " Tamer " 94 Roll of Provincial and Royal Governors 95 The First Hostile Shots Fired 95 A New Council of Safety Elected 95 The First Republic in the New World Founded at Charles- ton 96 Battle of Fort Sullivan 96 Close of Revolutionary War — Evacuation of Charleston 97 Embarkation of Whites and Slaves 97 Moultrie's and Horry's accounts of Re-occupation of Charles- ton 98 Posi Revolutionary Period — The Opening of a New Century 99 Wm. Hutson— First Intendant 100 Commercial History — Re-establishment of the Chamber of Commerce, February, 1784 loi Autographs of the Founders 102 Vessels Sailing Outward, 1784 102 Vessels Sailing Outward, 1882 103 Upland Cotton in India 103 Upland Cotton in Central America 104 Upland Cotton in Mexico 104 Upland Cotton in West Indies 105 Upland Cotton in North America 106 Sources of England's supply — 1781-89 106 Early Exports from Charleston 107 Prices of Cotton— 1790-1801 108 Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin 109 South Carolina pays $50,000 for its use 109 Annual Cotton Products, 1SS3, $200,000,000 no Exports in 1791 no viii Index. Commercial History — Page. Exports in 1S82 Iio Long Staple Sea Island Cotton ill The First Crops iii Utter Ruin of the Sea Islands — 1861-65 112 Statistics — 1805-1882 113 The Tobacco Crop J14 Lucas' Rice Mills — The First Mill Built 1787 116 The First City Mills 117 The Export of Paddy 118 The Largest Rice Crops 118 Co.N]MERCIAL CHANGES — Great Prosperity — 1 790-1 807 Iig Non-Intercourse Acts 1 19 The Embargo — Ruin of the Times iig Steam Navigation 120 The Wonderful Changes by it 121 Improvements in the Marine Engine 121 Iron Hulls for Steamers 122 Phosphate Mining and Manufactures 123 Progress of Railroads — Stevenson's Early Locomotive 124 The South Carolina Railroad — 1830 125 The Second Period Locomotive 125 The Third Period Locomotive 125 Freight Cans — Passenger Coaches 126 Railroad Tracks 127 Steel Rails 128 Bridges — Running Trains 129 Standard Time 131 The Modern Railway and Marine Engine 132 The late M. F. Maury's Advice 133 The Post Office — Early Postal Charges 134 Charleston Post Office Receipts — 1783-18S2 135 The Health of Charleston— Comparative Mortality — 1830-80 136 Colored Mortality Compared 137 New Dispensary Service and Free Medicines 137 Fe6eral Officials in Charleston — 1 783-1 882 — Judges United States District Court 138 Attorneys United States District Court 138 Collectors of Customs 139 Postmasters 139 Assistant Treasurers 140 Index. ix TOPOGRArHY OF CHARLESTON — Page. Description of Old Town 140 Early Lot Owners 141 Social and Industrial Features 142 Oyster Point, or New Town, Settled 143 Original Boundaries of New Town I44 Dr. Ramsay's Description of Charleston 145 Boundary Street the Northern Limit 147 Wards of the City— 17S3 148 The First Wardens Elected 149 Wards of the City — 1S09 149 The Wardens Elected— iSio 150 The Mayor and Aldermen Elected — 1836 150 The Wards of the City— 1849 151 The Mayor and Aldermen Elected— 1850 151 The Wards of the City— 1883 151 The Harbor — Lrs Forts— Lights — jETTiiis — Harbor Fifteen Miles Square 153 Fort Johnson — 1704-1S83 153 Fort Moultrie — 1776-1883 159 Castle Pinckney — 1794-1883 162 Fort Sumter — 1S27-1883 164 Roster of Officers Commanding Forts Johnson, Moultrie, Sumter and Pinckney — 1860-65 168 Port and Harbor Lights — 1673-1883 170 Present Lights in the Harbor 173 Jetties — the First on Sullivan's Island — Captain A. H. Bow- man's Report 174 Changes in Shore Line, Sullivan's Island 175 The Prevailing Winds 176 Changes in Shore Line Morris Island 179 General Gilmore's Jetties 179 Hog Island Channel Widening iBl Pumpkin Hill Channel— 18S3 182 Harbor Appropriations — 1852-82 183 Noted Events in the Century — Washington's Visit — 1791 184 Citizen Genet's Visit — 1792 T90 Sloop-of-War " John Adams '' — 1798 191 The Embargo and War — 1812-15 192 Monroe's Visit — 18 19 194 Lafayette's Visit — 1825 196 Nullification — 1832 I98 The Palmetto Regiment — 1846 202 Origin of Charleston Company. ... 20i Roll of Charleston Company 203 a2 X Index. Noted Events in the Century — Page. Calhoun's Funeral 205 Honorary Guard over Remains 206 Slavery in Province, Colony anh State — Treachery to the Indians — 1520 208 Killing Old Indians Unavailable for Slaves — 1 712-16 209 The Dutch Land Slaves in Virginia 209 The Gain to England of Slave Trading 210 The Crown Refuses to Stop the Trade 210 Custom House Tariff on Slaves — 1775 ■ ... 210 Association of 1774 Votes to Discontinue the Slave Trade.. . 21 1 The Council of Safety, 1776, Forbids it 211 Legislative History on this Subject 211 Horrid Diseases Imported with Slaves 215 Slave Traders — Old and New Englanders 2i6 Governor Grisvvold, of Connecticut, Defends the Slave Trade, 216 Jonathan Edwards a Slave Owner 216 Incorporated into the Constitution of the United States by North and South 217 Slavery not Abolished in Connecticut until 1S48 218 President Lincoln's Views in 1861, 218 Senator Sumner's Views in 1S61 218 Resolutions of Congress, July, 1861 218 Slavery Exists in Kentucky, Maryland and Delaware until 1866... 218 The Last Half Century of Slavery 218 Compromise Measures and their Repeal — Senator Clay's Compromise — 1850 222 Ninety-five Per Cent, of the Voters in 1852 Endorse the Settlement of 1850 222 The Repeal of the Compromise Acts 222 Armed Settlement of Kansas 223 John Brown's Raid — 1859. ." 223 Lincoln's Election — Secession 223 Troops Furnished by the City of Charlesion — Militia in Service November, i860 — April, 1861 224 Volunteer Companies in the Fire Department 225 Troops For the War 225 For^y-three Companies from Charleston 226 South Carolina's War Records 229 Charle-ston's Home Defence — An Iron-Clad Battery in 1861 230 Armored Vessels'of War 231 Mr. Eason builds Two Iron-Clads 231 The State Marine Battery Commissioners Thank Mr. Eason for his Services 233 Index. xi Charleston's Home Defence — Page. Rifled Cannon and Projectiles 234 C. K. Piioleau's Rifle Cannon 234 The First Workmen to Rifle Cannon 235 Submarine Torpedoes 235 F. D. Lee, Dr. St. Julien Ravenel and Tiieo. Stoney Develop these New Weapons 237 Attempts to Destroy the " Ironsides " . . 237 Destruction of the " Housatonic" 237 Blockade Running — The First Outward and Inward Cargo 23S List of Blockade Steamers 238 List of Blockade Sailing Vessels 240 Exploit of Capt. E. C, Reid 241 The " Margaret and Jessie," Capt. Lockwood 241 The " Hattie," Capt. Lebhy 242 Flush Times in Nassau and Charleston 243 Prices of Blockade Goods— 1863 244 The Post Bellum Period— The End of the War — Bayonet Rule 245 Emancipation — Reconstruction 245 The Illegal Overthrow of a Civilized State 246 A Civil Government Administered by Soldiers 247 Disfranchisement by Means of an Oath 247 Ignorance and Corruption Overthrown — 1876 . 248 Charleston's Welcome to Hampton — 1877 249 Conclusion — " Battery Wagner," July to September, 1863 253 Proceedings of the City Council- Resolutions of Thanks— To Rev. John Johnson, Chaplain 254 To Middleton Michel, M. D 254 To Paul H. Hayne, Poet 254 To A. Loudon Snowden, Esq 255 To Mrs. Mary M. Hutson 255 To Capt. F. W. Wagener 255 To Capt. B. Mantoue 255 To Hon. Wm. A. Courtenay 255 Acknowledgments of the Mayor 256 Letters — From P. H. Hayne , 257 From A. L. Snowden 258 The Centennial Medai 258 ILLUSTRATIONS. ^i. Page. A Map of Charleston, 27x27, showing Old Town and the Early Farms on the West 13 ink of the Ashley ; the Present Site of the City, up to near the Clements' Ferry Road, with all Lines of Fortifications and Historic Points. (Frontispiece.) / 11. The Geeat Seal of the Second Lords Proprietors op Carolina, to which are attached their Autographs in Fac- simile 37 »/ in. Fac-simile of an Old Map of Carolina, showing the Set- tlements on the Cooper and Ashley (previous to 1 700) 57 ^ IV. Fac-sibiile of a British Stamp — Under the Act of 1765.. . 92 / V. Fac-simile of an Old Map, giving the British account of the Battle of Fort Sullivan 28th June, 1776 — List of Casualties, &c. 96 >^VI. Fac-simile of the Autographs of the Seventy Early Members of the Charleston Chamber ofCombierce. 102 ^ VII. Fac-simile of a Bill of Lading of the Last Century, with Curious Phraseology 119 ; w J J v) VIII. Plats A, B, C, showing Locations of Fort Johnson — 1704-1865. 153 ■i IX. Plats D, E, showing Locations of Fort Moultrie— 1 776 -1865. . . 159 y" X. Plats F, G, showing Location of Castle Pinckney — 1794. 162 J XI. Plat H, showing Shape and Area of Fort Sumter — 1828 164 J XII. Fac-simile of Eelics Found in the Corner Stone of the Old Light-House, built in 1767 — George III, Rex 172 THE CENTENNIAL OF INCORPORATION. INITIATORY PROCEEDINGS. At the regular meeting of the City Council, held on April lOth, 1883, Alderman Dingle offered the following: In view of the approaching Centennial of the Incorporation of the City of Charleston, on the 13th of August next, Resolved, That a Committee of five Aldermen be appointed by the Mayor to consider and report to the City Council the most appropriate manner of cele- brating said Centennial. Alderman Aichel moved that the Mayor be added to the Committee. This amendment being accepted, the resolu- tion was then adopted. Aldermen Dingle, Thayer, Ufferhardt, Sweegan and John- son were appointed as the Committee. At the regular meeting of the City Council, held on the evening of April 24th, 1883, the special Committee of Coun- cil appointed to recommend the most appropriate way of celebrating, on the 13th of August next, the Centennial of the Incorporation of the City of Charleston, reported as follows : The Committee recommend : 1st. That a Centennial Address be delivered in honor of the occasion. 2d. That on that day the marble bust of the late Hon. Robert Y. Hayne and the mural tablet ordered by Council be unveiled. 3d. That a bronze medal be struck, the obverse of which shall present the full seal of the City of Charleston, with appropriate commemorative inscription on the reverse. 4th. That the celebration be closed in the evening with a display of fire- works. Respectfully submitted, ! G. W. DINGLE. E. F. SWEEGAN. A. JOHNSON. WILLIAM THAYER. WM. UFFERHARDT. Adopted. WM. A. COURTENAY, Mayor. 2 lO The Centennial of Incorporation. At the regular meeting on May 8th, "The Committee on the Centennial " asked leave to report : ■ That they have considered the matter, and suggest that his Honor the Mayor be requested to deliver the Centennial Address on August 13th, 1883, recom- mended in our first report. That our distinguished townsman and poet, Paul H. Hayne, be requested to write the Centennial Ode. The Committee ask for further time to report on the further details of the celebration. G. W. DINGLE. WILLIAM THAYER. E. F. SWEEGAN. WM. UFFERHARDT. A. JOHNSON. Which was unanimously adopted. The Mayor said : Gentlemen of the City Council — The action of the City Council in arranging for the observance of the 13th of Augu.st, the one hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of Charleston as a city, has my hearty concurrence. The occasion in itself is worthy of commemoration, for Charleston on that day will mark off her first century of municipal life. But it shouUl not be forgotten that there are one hundred and thirteen years of history previous to 1 783, and so it would be most appropriate to take advantage of these approaching Centennial ceremonies to direct public attention to a subject whicli should be of primary interest to every home in Charleston. Seven generations have lived on this historic peninsular, and as yet no connected narrative has been written for the information of the community. Twenty-five years ago that noble citizen, the late James L. Petigru, in his address before the South Carolina Historical Society, said with a manner and tone of voice expressive of regret and never to be forgotten by those who heard him : " It is a very general complaint that our people are care- less of records. The materials of history are treated very much like the noble forest, not to be surpassed in beauty, with which Carolina was once covered. It is delivered, without mercy, to the havoc of the axe or the ravages of Initiatory Proceedings. 1 1 the devouring flame. The supply is supposed to be inex- haustible, and the process goes on until the recklessness of waste is checked by the alarm of approaching scarcity. We would interpose to protect the remnant of that noble forest which is threatened with extermination. We would be happy to lend our aid in preserving the memory of things remarkable or interesting, in our country, which are begin- ning to lose their hold on living memory. The labors, the trials, and dangers that have proved the endurance, or ex- ercised the virtue of our countrymen, are in our eyes of sufficient interest to be preserved from neglect. We would inscribe with a name the battlefields of Indian and British hostility ; and zvoiild fain prevent the soil that has been luatercd with blood poured out in behalf of the Commonwealth, from being confounded with common earth .^ " * * * * * By the action of our Historical Society in the years just preceding the war between the States, much valuable in- formation was collected, and the knowledge obtained where the most complete and authentic material was accessible for our Colonial History. Since i860 an additional volume of glowing history has been enacted, but it, too, is yet un- written. Another generation of boys and girls are growing up to manhood and womanhood in this historic city as ignorant of the story of its eventful life as their fathers and mothers, their grandfathers and grandmothers before them. I have had the thought for many years that on some appro- priate occasion I would make the effort at least to direct the attention of our citizens to that most desirable acquisi- tion, a complete history of our city. Quoting further from Mr. Petigru's address : "Perhaps the opinion is tinged with partiality, yet, after making due allowance for such bias," I think I may say that in the circle of vision from the belfry of St. Michael's there has been as much high thought spoken, as much heroic action taken, as much patient endurance borne as in any equal area of land and sea on this continent. Shall more than two centuries of such achievement remain longer in disjointed and con- fused records and traditions? There can be but one answer 12 The Centennial of Incorporation. from every intelligent citizen, and that is that this desirable work should be undertaken at the earliest date. The ex- tent of it is now so great, by long neglect, that private en- terprise will not undertake it. The collection of data, the selection of material, &c., will now of necessity have to be done by the city. It will be trifling in outlay if done in small annual appropriations. This will largely reduce the cost to the citizens, and insure to all who desire to have copies, a reliable historic work at a moderate price. It will be money well spent ; such a work projected on a broad basis would have a sale all over the Union, for much of Charleston's early history is the history of the Colony of Carolina. In accepting the appointment to address you on Centennial day in August, I do so in the hope that, by pre- senting the outline and some incidents of that history, I may be able to elicit a general public interest in this essen- tial work ; and the present City Council, in my opinion, could now give no better evidence of their public spirit and their appreciation of the historic past of Charleston than to initiate this good work by a moderate appropriation, and the selection of a committee of citizens who would direct its proper expenditure to the accomplishment of this great re- sult in the near future. I leave this subject with you for your consideration and future action, only remarking in con- clusion that, when our people are able to read the grand history of Charleston, it must result in their having a higher appreciation of their home, for no city, ancient or modern, affords examples more fitted to elicit ennobling emotions. Alderman Thayer introduced the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted : Resolved, That the address of the Mayor accepting the appointment of orator for the Centennial celebration in August next be spread upon the journal. Resolved, That so much as relates to an appropriation for collecting material for a history of Charleston be referred to the Committee of Ways and Means. At the regular meeting of the City Council on May 22d, the following correspondence was read and ordered to be published with the proceedings : Initiatory Proceedings. 13 City of Charleston, Executive DErARTMENT, ) May 9th, 18S3. \ Paul H. Hayne, Esq. : My Dear Sir — As you are doubtless aware the one liundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the City of Charleston occurs on the 13th of August proximo, and the City Administration has taken measures to celebrate the occasion with appropriate ceremonies. At a meeting of tlie City Council held last evening, the committee of arrange- ments sul)mitted tlie following report, which was unanimously adojjted : " The Committee on the Contennial beg leave to report that they have con- sidered the matter, and suggest that his Honor the Mayor be requested to de- liver the Centennial Address, 13th August, 1883, recommended in our fnsl report; that our distinguished townsman and ]5oet, l^aul II. Hayne, be re- quested to write the Centennial Ode. The committee ask for further lime tf) re]iort on the further details of the occasion. G. W. DINGLE. A. JOHNSON. WILLIAM THAYER. E. F. SWEEGAN. WM. UFFERIIARDT." It now becomes my duty and great pleasure to convey the .same to you, trust- ing it may not be incompatible with your time and engagements to comply with the request made. In thus levying upon you for an offering to this interesting occasion, it is tit we should call on one regarded as " our own " — one though 'mid time's muta- tion is not now with us, but of us, and still held in high regard as a favored son of the " Old City by the Sea," whose Centennial could not be more honoied than by his graceful pen. I hope that at an early date I shall have the gratifi- cation of conveying to the City Council your affirmative resjionse to the request. With assurance of high regard and esteem, I am, my dear sir. Yours, very respectfully, Attest: WILLIAM THAYER, W. W. Simons, Mayor pro tern. Clerk of Cotwcil. Charleston, S. C, May 12th, 1883. To Hon. William Thayer^ Mayor pro (evi. : My Dear Sir — I received your communication of the gth instant, on behalf of the City Administration of Charleston, together with the report of your Cen- tennial Committee, in which I am re(]uested to compose a Centennial Ode for the r3th of August, 1883. It will afford me great pleasure to comply with your request. Most respectfully, PAUL H. HAYNE. 14 TJie Centennial of Incorpo7'ation. Rectory St. Phiijp's Parish, ) Charleston, S. C, July 3r, 1883. \ Mr. G. W. Dingle, Cliairnian Cenlcnnial Com mil tec : Dear Sir. — Your letter of 25lh inst., inviting me to officiate as Chaplain on the Centennial Day, 13th August next, has been duly rejeived. Your jiartial- ity is gratifying to me as the representative of this historical Parish of our city, and I can only reply with acceptance of the Committee's invitation. With sentiments of esteem towards yourself and the Committee, I remain your obedient servant, JNO. JOHNSON. At the regular meeting of the City Council held on the evening of August 2d. 1883, Alderman Dingle, with appro- priate remarks, ofifered the following, which was unanimously adopted : On receipt of the marble bust of the Hon. Robert Y. Hayne, executed by Mr. E. V. Valentine, sculptor, of Virginia, Resolved by the City Council of Chm'lcston, That the City Council, highly appreciating the chaste and elegant manner in which this bust has been finished, congratulate the distinguished sculptor on the eminently successful completion of his work. Resolved, That his Honor the Mayor be requested to extend to Mr. Valen- tine an invitation to be present as the guest of the city on the unveiling of the bust at the approaching Centennial. Council then adjourned. W. W. SIMONS, Clerk of Council. PUBLIC OBSERVANCE OF THE DAY. " The public observance of the Centennial of Incorpora- tion of the City of Charleston took place on Monday, August 13th, 1883. The day dawned clear and bright, and was ushered in by the chimes of St. Michael's and a Centennial salute of one hundred guns, fired from Marion Square, by the German Artillery, Captain F. W. Wagener, and the Lafayette Artillery, Lieutenant C. VV. Stiles. The early morning trains brought a large number of visitors from the Public Observance of the Day. t 5 country, and the display of bunting was general on all the business streets and among the shipping in the harbor. This anniversary happening at the warmest season of the year, and being entirely a civic occasion, it was deemed best not to have a military parade or out-door celebration during the heat of the day. The ceremonies were, therefore, ap- pointed at the Council Chamber, City Hall, on account of the proposed unveiling of pictures and statuary which were in future to adorn this apartment. The committee of arrange- ments, of which Alderman Dingle was the Chairman, did all that ingenuity could suggest to utilize the capacity of the Chamber and the adjoining apartments to the best pos- sible advantage. The desks and aldermanic chairs were all removed and sever.d hundred chairs placed in all the avail- able spaces. By half-past four o'clock the guests of the occasion and the citizens generally began to assemble, and by the hour fixed for opening the ceremonies the Chamber, galleries and the Maycjr's and Clerk's rooms were well filled. Every pre- caution had been taken to secure perfect ventilation, and the pleasant South wind which swept through the rooms kept the air delightfully cool and pleasant during the pro- ceedings. The officers of State and other invited guests having assembled in the Executive ofifice, at five o'clock Mayor Courtenay entered the Chamber escorting his Excellency Hugh S. Thompson, Governor of South Carolina ; Alder- man Thayer followed with Lieutenant-Governor John C. Sheppard ; Alderman Dingle with the Honorable James Simons, Speaker of the House; Alderman Rose with Rev. John Johnson, Rector of St. Philip's, as Chaplain of the day; Alderman Ufferhardt with the Sculptor, Valentine, of Virginia ; Alderman Barkley with the Artist, StoUe, of Dres- den — the first having executed the bust of Hayne and the last the portrait of VVm. Enston, the unveiling of which were included in the interesting programme of the after- noon. Then followed the other members of Council with the following guests: Attorney-General C R. Miles, ex- 1 6 TJie Centennial of Incoj-poration. Mayors P. C. Gaillarcl and G. I. Cunningham, Recorder Pringle, General Ed. McCrady, General C. I. Walker, Colo- nel W. L. Trenholm, Senator G. L. Buist, Representatives C. J. C. Hutson, a grandnephew of the first Intendant, Charles Inglesby, J. F. Britton, John Gonzalez, M. F. Ken- nedy, ex-Alderman Bernard O'Neill, and many others, who occupied seats on the platform." Alderman William Thayer, acting as Mayor for the occa- sion, opened the ceremonies by introducing the Chaplain of the day, the Rev. John Johnson, Rector of St. Philip's Parish, who offered the following impressive prayer: O Lord, our Heavenly Father, the high and mighty Ruler of the Universe, who dost from Thy throne behold all the dwellers upon earth, we humbly be- seech Thee to behold with Thy favor this assembly of our people. Our elders and our youth are gathered together to tell how our fathers came out from the Old World into the New ; how they declared unto us the noble works that Thou didst in their days, and in the old time before them. And, now, we praise Thy Name, O God, for that upon this broad land, from ocean to ocean, the Sun of Righteousness hath arisen with healing in his wings, and the pure offering of a great people's worship goeth up continually to be accepted in Thy beloved Son. On this memorial day, do Thou, O Lord, draw nigh to us as we draw nigh to Thee. Remember us in mercy, not in wrath, hide not Thy face from this city for all the evil that it hath done, but save our people from the reproach of sin. May it please Thee henceforth to bless our rulers and magistrates, giving them grace lo execute justice and to maintain truth. May it please Thee to give our citizens an heart to love and fear Thee, and diligently to live after Thy commandments. Bless our institutions of learning, charity and medical reliel ; raise up friends to endow them, and make us all rea ly to sustain them. Pros- ' per us now according to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Finally, make us to remember that wiiile Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fall, we are but sojourners here upon earth, as all our fathers were. They hoped in Thee, they trusted in Thee, and Thou didst deliver them. Be Thou with us, as Thou wast with them, our Ruler and Guide, through the pil- grimage of earth to the rest of Heaven; through the wilderness of this world to the shining and Eternal City, whose builder and maker is (.lod. Grant these our petitions, for the worthiness of Him who ever liveth to make intercession for us, Thy Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen. Acting Mayor Thayer then said : Gentlemen of the City Council, Ladies and Gentlemen — We close to-day our first one hundred years of corporate city life. In commemoration thereof there has been erected in our Council Chamber a beautiful mural tablet inscribed with the date of settlement, 1670, the date of inco'-poration, 1783, and a roll of the Intendants and Mayors who have occuoied the Executive office during the century just past. Public Observance of the Day. 17 It is a complete record; even the military Mayors of 1868, for the truth of history, are inscribed thereon. And not this alone. The long deferred obligation of a worthy memorial to our great townsman, Robert Y. Haync, is this day consummated in the imposing marble bust by Valentine, of Virginia, while the features of our great pub- lic benefactor, William Enston (preserved to us in an oil portrait of great merit by the artist Stolle), as also those of our city's first Intcndant, Hon. Richard Hutson (in a por- trait hallowed by age), adorn our walls and grace the occa- sion. '1 hese works of sculptor and artist will now be un- veiled. Numismatic art also makes its beautiful offering in memorial bronze, which will transmit to posterity the record of the event we this day celebrate. Poesy, too, adds her tribute in the beautiful commemora- tive ode, which will be read in your hearing, from the grace- ful pen of our own townsman and poet, Paul H. Hayne, Esq., and our laborious and efficient Mayor will address you on the history of "The Old City by the Sea." This, in outline, fellow-citizens, is the programme for the celebration of our city's Centennial of Incorporation. To your Excellency, the Chief Executive and the civil and military officers of State, and other gentlemen represent- ing the various departments in our city, the clergy, ladies and citizens who have honored us with their presence on this interesting occasion, in behalf of the City Council and our citizens I extend greeting and bid you welcome. Just as these words were pronounced, the veils which hid from view the memorial tablet, the portraits of Enston and Hutson, and the bust of Hayne, by the sculptor Valentine, were deftly removed, and as these beautiful works of art were disclosed to view a burst of applause gave evidence of the admiration of the audience. THE MURAL TABLET. This tablet occupies a position in the North wall of the Council Chamber, and is the work of Mr. T. H. Reynolds, the marble-worker of this city. The tablet is a handsome piece of work, of pure white marble. At the top, upon a The Centennial of Incorporation. raised scroll, appear in gilt letters the words: "City of Charleston. Founded 1670 — Incorporated 1783." Beneath the scroll appears the following roll of the Intendants and Mayors of the city from the date of its incorporation down to the present day : INTETV DA-TV TS. MIAYOllS. 7'^3- 785 786- 788 791- 792- 794 795- 797 799 801 802- 803- 804- 805- 806 808 8io- 812 8r4 815- 818 820- 821 822- 824 825 vS26 827 830 831 833 —Richard Hutson. —A. Vanderhorst. —J. F. Grimke. —Rawlins Lowndes. —A. Vanderhorst. —John Huger. —John B. Holmes. —John Edwards. — H. W. DeSaussure. — Thos. Roper. —John Ward. —David Deas. —John Drayton. —Thos. Winstanley. — Chas. B. Cochran. —John Dawson, Jr. —William Rouse. —Thomas McCalla. —Thos. Bennett. -Thos. Rhett Smith. — Eltas Horry. —John Geddes. — D. Stevens. — Elias Horry. —James Hamilton, Jr. —John Geddes. —Samuel Prioleau. —Joseph Johnson. —John Gadsden. —James R. Pringle. — H. L. Pinckney. — E. W. North. 1836- 1837- 1840- 1842- 1846- 1850- 1852- 1855- 1857- 1865- -ROBERT Y. HaYNE. -H. L. Pinckney. -Jacob F. Mintzing. -John Schnierle. -T. L. Hutchinson. -John Schnierle. -T. L. Hutchinson. -W. PoRCHER Miles. -Charles Macbeth. -P. C. Gaillard. Military Appointments. 1868 Gen. W. W, Burns, U. S. A. Feb'y gth — March 7th. Col. M. Cogswell, U. S. A. March 7th — July 6th. G. W. Clark, July 6th — Nov. loth. 1868— Gilbert Pilsbury. 1 87 1— John A. Wagener. 1873— G. I. Cunningham. 1877— W. W. Sale. 1879— Wm. a. Courtenay. Public Observance of the Day. 19 THE BUST OF IIAYNE. The chaste and beautiful bust of Robert Y. Haync, the first Mayor of Charleston, was placed to the right of the stand on a temporary pedestal. It was executed by the sculptor Valentine, of Richnnond, Va., for the City Council, and was made from a small engraving. The bust is slightly above life-size, and the work is finished with exquisite taste. The neck and chest are covered with classic drapery, and the artist has written the character of the man in the face. The head is turned slightly to the left and the poise of the head and the cast of the features give the appearance of one whose attention has just been attracted. There is in the turn of the head and neck that fine, noble bearing, and in the face that force of expression, softened by the gentle, genial smile so characteristic of the man. The full force of his broad, noble brow and full mouth are strikingly deline- ated. The pedestal upon which the bust rests has been elabo- rately carved by Mr. Reynolds, of King Street, and bears this inscription : ROBERT Y. HAYNE, Speaker of the House; Attoiney-Geiieral ; Uiiiteel Slates Senator; Governor of South Carolina ; First Mayor of Ciiarleston. His last public service was his effort to open direct Railroad communication with the vast interior of our Continent. " Next to the Christian religion I Icnow of nothing to be compared with the influence of a free, social and commercial intercourse, in softening asperities, removing prejudices, extending knowledge, and promoting human hap[iiness.'' — ■ //ayne. Born November 10, 1791 — Died September 25, 1839. This completed memorial is conceded by all to be one of the most elegant in the Union, and reflects great honor on the present City Council who, after the lapse of forty-four years, have so handsomely redeemed the pledges of a pre- vious creneration. 20 The Centennial of Incorporation. Lines upon the Unveiling of the Bust of Gen. Robert V. Hayne, in the City Hall of Charleston, S. C, ijth August, i88j ; zvritten by Paul H. Hayne, and read by Middleton Michel, M. D. 1. Behold this grave, bold, knightly head, so graced by power and sweetness, — A cordial dome of thought and will, curved to a calm completeness ; With mouth pure-lipped, clear-clefted chin, and brow exalted, regal. And heightening all, that air which girds the aspiring Alpine Eagle ! II. Knightly ! — his faith was Sydney's own, — as selfless, reverent, loyal ; Few of earth's Kings have owned as crown, a soul so largely royal ; Yet soDie durst call our Galahad false ! Ah Christ ! what magic leaven Could sweeten that foul charge before the unbribed Courts of Heaven ? III. False ! Traitor ! On the watch-tower's height he stood serene, unquailing, — When many a slanderer's lip was hushed and coward's face was paling ; Nor deigned to lower his golden helm, his torch of fiery warning, Until the stormy night waves ebbed beyond the reefs of Morning ! IV. False! Traitor! On some future day — victorious and gigantic. The Demon of his dread* 7nay stalk along the waste Atlantic, Or, sneer beside Pacific tides, to view the wise oblation Which throttled State by State to gorge your Titan, styled — the Nation ! V. Meanwhile, with reverent love we gaze on this, his sculptured jiresence, Whcse soul so long hath breathed above our mortal evanescence ; His life-web brightly woven within Fame's tapestry of wonder, What Power can dim the splendid warp or rend the woof asunder? THE ENSTON PORTRAIT. On the right of the Centennial Tablet was placed the portrait of the late William Enston, by Stolle, arti.st of Dresden, Germany. The portrait i.s a life-like likeness of Mr. Enston, and represents him sitting in a cliair attired in a dark black coat with white vest, high standing collar and black stock. The portrait is framed in a heavy and hand- some gilt frame, and takes the place in the Council Cham- *Consoli(lation ! Centralism ! Piiblic Observance of the Day. 21 ber of an inferior portrait, which is still preserved, however, in the treasury department. On the left of the tablet was displayed the portrait of the Hon. Richard Hutson, the first Intendant of Charles Town, which was kindly loaned for the occasion by a lady of Orangeburg, in the possession of whose family the por- trait has been for nearly a hundred years. It is in a re- markably fine state of preservation, and said to be a capital likeness of the original. A GRATIFYING SURPRISE. Alderman Thayer having paused for a few moments, while the audience inspected tiie works of art \\hich had just been unveiled, continued his remarks as follows : I have been charged with a pleasant duty, and I ask your indul- gence while I read the following letter, which indicates more fully and better than words of mine, the duty so enjoined : 25 Lynch Stkket, August 13th, 1883. Gentlemen of the City Council — At the opening of the piescnt year it occurred to me that some token of acknowledgment, however inadequate, was due f.om me for the generous support, the constant and cheerful co-operation, which I have received, not only from you, hut from all classes of the community, in the efforts I have made to improve the condition of our city, and which have been continued up to this time. In thanking you, Messrs. Aldermen, and through you the whole body of my fellow-citizens for their confidence and good-will, I have felt that I could not more appropriately mark my gratitude than by asking your acceptance, in be- half of the city, of a work of art which, while adding to the attractions of this beautiful Council Chamber, will preserve to posterity the features of a Io\H;d citizen, and keep in perpetual remembrance the grand characteristics of his noble life. It has been said, and with truth, that when heroism in moral or jihysical things is to be commemorated, the real thing celebrated is not the thing accomplished, but the effort to accomplish it. Success can always dis- pense with praise, i>ut earnestness and fortitude, even to self-sacrifice, are the better subjects for contemplation, if we are to derive profitable lessons from the memories of the past. In choosing my subject I have selected a citizen of such placid endurance, undaunted trust in the rightfulness of his opinions, such nobility and indepen- dence of character, that unselfish devotion, all through his long life, was like the steady and constant flame of patriotism which the ancients used to keep, as a symbol, on their altars. In January last I sent a commission to Mr. Harnisch, 22 The Centennial of Incorporation. the sculptor, at Rome, for a marble bust, in the classic style, of James Louis Petigru, that on the auspicious occasion, when we would commemorate the Centennial of our civic life, we might also fitly mark and commemorate one of the loftiest examples and highest types of civic life and duty and fortitude within that cycle. No words can better paint this high, brave soul, in his great fortitude, than those of his just, generous eulogists, uttered when the roar of cannon on the very issue of difference was still breaking on this beleaguered city. Said David Ramsey, at the Bar Memorial Meeting, in March, 1863 : " From the date of man, through all history, interwoven with the very thread of time, is an eternal right. Seldom does it fall to a purely legal activity to vindicate essential principle ; but that which is placed upon this height, whatever else the waters of oblivion may overwhelm, is far above their surge. The greatest jurist of the past, who linked his name with the greatest Code in human law, had in his remote age to choose between right and life. He sealed his testa- ment with blood, preferring the wrath of Caracalla to the accusation of inno- cence ; and long as remains language, will vibrate through its various channels the dying jurist's undying answer : 'Qua facta Icedunt pietatein existimationeni, verecutidiam, et, ut generaliter dixerim, contra bonos mores fiunt, nee nos facere posse credendiivi! James Louis Petigru laid ' an offering of age upon the altar of Justice,' as unquenchable lustre. " When the Sequestration Act required the confidence of clients to be be- trayed, the trusts of imbecile age, incapable infancy, irresponsible lunacy, the defence of widows and hopeless women, the ties of nearest kindred and sacred gratitude, all to be abandoned, his was the voice that gave denial to the delator's search. His last effort was truly the coronation of his work. Who can forget liis voice, so long eloquent for others, then pleading for himself as to the ques- tion why he made refusal, as he answered with a despairing accent, 'Because I was free born.' " [Alderman Thayer paused a moment while Governor Thompson, of South Carolina, at the request of the donor, unveiled the bust.] The sculptor's work is before you. As out of this pure white marble, as if it had been buried within it — at the bidding of the artist, and under his creative inspiration, has come forth the cheery face and commanding brow of our great fellow-citizen, so may those who govern here, and all his people, kindled by the associations of his memory and by the inspiration of affection and reverence, make this enduring marble symbolize high thought and true feeling, and conse- crate for themselves yb;^^z'^r /^^re" the abiding truth that the life that is loyal to the promptings of conscience and duty outlasts the fickleness of public opinion, the violence of revolution and the slow decay of time. Very respectfully, WM. A. COURTENAY. THE BUST OF PETIGRU. All eyes were turned in the direction of this new work of art, the presentation of which, to every one present, was a Public Observance of the Day. 23 complete surprise. The bust is of heroic size and massively executed in the classic style. Those who knew Mr. Petigru well, say that the likeness is a good one, and even to those who have only seen his portraits the likeness is strongly ap- parent. The long hair falling nearly down to the shoulders and partly covering the brow, the peculiarly shaped eyes, the massive, full mouth and large broad nose, are all charac- teristically portrayed. At the proper elevation the bust will appear to even better advantage than in its present tempo- rary position, and it will always be a work of art which will arrest attention and strike the observer at a glance as worthy of close study. Mr. Harnisch, the artist who executed this bust, is a young American residing in Rome, where he is fast acquiring a reputation, and has been for some time at work on the bron/.e statue of Senator Calhoun for the La- dies' Monumental y\ssociation, soon to be erected on the Calhoun Street front of Marion Square in this city. CENTENNIAL ODE. Alderman Thayer next introduced Middleton Michel, M. D., who had been requested by the committee to read the Centennial Ode contributed by Paul H. Hayne, " the poet-son of Charleston." This agreeable duty was dis- charged in a very graceful and effective manner. Poem upon the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Incorpora- tion of the City of Charleston, S. C. Pallid, yet pnnid she stood that day, half sad, half joyous hearted, As one who hears far-off the roar of thunder-clouds departed ; — The war-bolt on her brow had left scarred furrows, hot and gory ; — But lo ! her calm exultant smile ! — her dark eyes flushed with glory ! II. She saw the hands of heroes weave her crown of civic honor — She felt the hands of patriots place that priceless crown upon her, And all her veins were filled with fire of strong and sweet emotion ; — Ah ! best beloved of loyal souls .... ah ! stainless Maid of ocean ' 24 TJie Centennial of Incorporation. III. Since then an hundred years have told their story harsh, or tender, — , Our Maid hath ripened to a Queen on heights of loftier splendor ; Heights held through steel, and fire, and blood, till all men hailed with wonder This new Athene, throned above the bolt, the flame, the thunder ! IV. Three wars have raged al;out her home, and writhed their waves of slaughter, — But still serene in thought, as mien, our Jove's unconquered daughter. Each dark death mound hath formed a round whereon her zoill wa.s planted ; — And up the mountain-wall of fame her firm feet rose enchanted ! V. And what if power too strong to foil, with all her sheer endeavor, Once hurled her from her "vantage coign " and seemed to hurl forever ; — She nerved her torn and Ijafiled limbs, and in her heart upyeaining, God kept the crystal Lamp of Faith divinely bright and burning ! VI. Though ruffian buffets smote her cheek, and hell was round her ringin ;, Above, a hymn of rescue semed to pour it^ prescient singing ; She saw beyond the hail of hate, the rage, and bitter scorning, A rose-bud Hope, whose petals fold the perfect Rose of Morning ! VII. Then rushed a Hero to her side ! one of earth's stateliest scions, — His aitn an eagle's aim, his heart a bold Numidian lion's ; He pealed a bugle note so loud, it shook the sea-born fountains, And sowed its fruitful echoes far, 'mid the dee]3-cfefted mountains ! VIII. We know the issue ! all unsmirched, with passionate gratulation. She rose, she towered ! for who could touch her soul with degradation. The cruel fire that singed her robe died out in rainbow-flashes. And bright her silvery sandals shone above the hissing ashes ; — IX. But now the times of blood are passed ! put by the vision dreary ! Away with hate and scorn and strife ! hush, hush your misetere ! Your sea-winds blow their clarions clear across the restless spaces. And every sea-wave hurls a hint oi action in your faces ! X. Away ! away, both night and day, with thoughts by grief o'er freigliled ; — Have ye not borne and toiled and bled? have ye not prayed and waited? A golden Day has dawned at last ! a morn of cloudless vision ; Up gallant Hearts ! and crown the dream with full and fair fruition ! Public Observance of the Day. 25 XI. Up gallant Hearts! your Leader's here ! no guide that guideth blindly — ( Methinks our Lady's softening eyes rest on him sweetly, kindly) — Your civic chief so firmly wed to harsh and rugged Duty. I vow his kiss hath almost flushed her homely face to beauty ! XIL Your civic chief is here to lead ! who, who will blithely follow? Be sure ye shall not find the path beneat*h your footsteps hollow ; — This man, I deem, would gladly fall in Labor's armor breathless, — If deeds, or death of his could make his city's glory deathless ! XIII. O, City of my Fathers' love ! beside whose streamlets straying, My boyish feet, to jocund tunes, have gone so oft " a-Maying" O, City of ancestral graves! — ^each clod a Sacred treasure, — What marvel that one mournful chord wails through this dying measure? XIV. The sea-songs come, the sea-songs go across thine ocean reaches, The sea-tides ebb, the sea-tides flow far up thy glittering beaches ; Not mine to draw a new-born hope from waves so brightly glowing, Not mine to hear in deepening winds a trump of onset blowing ! XV. Ah no! ah no! across the flow, half welcome, half appalling, I catch the voices of the dead from twilight-verges calling ; — The shadows grow more gray that shroud this strange, outworn existence ; And still those yearning voices call from out the sea-bound distance ! XVI. Quaint City of my youth, farewell ! no more these eyes may quiver. Dazed by the glint of surf and sail on flickering bar or river. No more these weary limbs may own the soul's imperious order, To bear me where the sun-caps flash beyond thy billowy border ! XVII. Brave City of my youth, farewell ! When safe from midday riot Kissed by the slumberous star that sways her lotus-land of quiet, I still shall see thro' half-closed lids thy moonlight beauty beaming, And hear St. Michael's mellowed bells swoon down the tides of dreaming ! 4 26 The Centennial of Incorporation. THE CENTENNIAL OF CHARLESTON— HAYNE AND PETIGRU. " A hundred years ago Charleston was already a century old, but she then first acquired corporate existence and be- came the senior city of the United States. On Monday the Centennial of this event was appropriately celebrated, and our columns this morning are full of the ceremonies of the day and the brilliant pageant of the moonlit night. The address of Mayor Courtenay is a treasur)' of noble records and of suggestions pregnant with hope and promise for the future, a work of intellect and industry in every way worthy of the day, the theme and the incomparable admin- istration of which he has been for four years the head and moving spirit. The occasion was further signalized by the unveiling of a bust of the Hon. Robert Y. Hayne, which the City Council has erected, to its own honor and to the adornment of its new hall. The tribute of remembrance and gratitude thus rendered to the illustrious Carolinian by a generation to whom his name is only a tradition, but who are inheritors of his fame, is also an act of homage to the virtues and services of a long line of civic magistrates. Of these Hayne was most eminent, not only in being the first to wear the title of Mayor, but also in having brought to the municipal chair the trophies of the Senate Chamber and the highest honors of the Commonwealth. He had served the State as soldier, orator, statesman and Chief Executive during a period of unexampled trial, and in 1833 he filled the public eye as a character of heroic proportions ; yet such was the genuineness of his patriotism, so pure was his singleness of purpose, that he assumed the modest functions of Mayor at the call of Charleston, and spent in the effort to enlarge her commerce and extend her influence all the riches of his ex- perience and all the resources of his untiring energy. From the Mayoralty he passed, with the same high aims and pur- poses, to the helm of the then newly launched scheme of Public Observance of the Day. 27 railroad extension to the West, and fell at his post, a martyr to the service of his State and of Charleston. It was but an incident in the brilliant career of Hayne that he was Attorney-General of the State; but it was an epoch in the laborious life of Petigru, two years Mayne's senior, to succeed him in that honorable office, when Hayne was called to a higher field of activity. The Mayor, under an inspiration of reverent appreciation that does him tlie highest honor, has presented to the city a bust of the Hon. James L. Petigru, and the unveiling of that was also part of the proceedings in the Council Cham- ber yesterday afternoon. It is remarkable that these two men should have been thus associated in public remem- brance just half a century after the great contest in which they stood confronted as opposing chiefs in the fiercest political strife ever known in the history of South Carolina. The passionless marble which recalls their features indicates the spirit in which we should revive the story of the conflict into which they were plunged when life was hottest in their veins and the forces of conviction impelled them with equal energy to contrary conclusions. Champions of the unlike sides of a still ambiguous shield, who shall say now that either was wrong? Alike in vigor of mind, in fidelity to principle, in force of character, Hayne and Petigru were in strong contrast in relation to all other things. Hayne had begun life on a high plane, and was a conspicuous char- acter before he attained his majority. He came to the great struggle in 1832 flushed with triumph on every field of per- sonal and political achievement, the pride of a cultivated and fastidious society, the idol of the people, glittering with a renown that shone over the whole Union, arrayed in gubernatorial dignity and wielding the force of a united and enthusiastic people. Over against this imposing figure, barring its imperious way, stood Petigru, without fame, fortune, influence or ma- terial force, armed only with uncompromising dissent and equipped with nothing but the impassioned eloquence of earnest dissuasion. The end is written in the memories of 28 The Centennial of Incorporation. his friends and foes, and its pathos is still fresh after fifty years. Defeated and ostracised, he resumed with patient labor the practice of a profession which called him often without reward, to be the shield of the defenceless and a refuge for the weak, but opened to him no avenue to fortune or distinction. Yet when the storm was over, Petigru and Hayne, vanquished and victor, united with equal and most rare magnanimity to calm the passions it had lashed to fury, and to mend the friendships which had been shattered by its violence. It is well for us that their effigies shall henceforth stand forever side by side, in enduring marble, to remind us that they both belong to us, that it is peculiarly our privilege to reverence their memories, to learn by their example and to emulate their characters. Our children will thus ever pos- sess the highest types of contrasted greatness as models for their conduct, whether it be in success or failure, in glory or obscurity, in fortune or in poverty. If our youth may light at Hayne's shrine the torch of exalted ambition, they may also learn at Petigru's how even defeat may be ennobled by tenacity of principle in the scorn of consequence." — The Neivs and Courier^ August i^, iS8j. EVENING EXHIBITION— THE PYROTECHNICS— A VAST MULTITUDE AND A GRAND DISPLAY. " So far as the general public was concerned, especially the youthful portion of the public, the display of fireworks which was announced to close the day was the main and all- important feature of the celebration. People who had boats began to haul them to the Lake early in the afternoon, and by 5 o'clock the rippling bosom of that now beautiful sheet of water was covered with a fleet of over a hundred boats of all descriptions — skiffs, yawls, gigs, punts, bateaux, canoes, outriggers and Whitchalls. Almost every boat had a pole rigged up in stem and stern with lines stretched Public Observance of the Day. 29 across for hanging lanterns, and during the afternoon many of them were gaily decorated with flags. The weather was delightful, and the small boy was out in force long before 5 o'clock watching the preparations with the most intense and eager interest. Two enterprising Greek merchants had caught an inspiration and transported their peanut and soda water stand bodily to the scene. They will retire from business bloated bondholders. At 6 o'clock the small boys had fringed the three sides of the concrete wall of the Lake, and thousands more of them were lolling around the Lake sporting on the grass. As early as 7 o'clock the crowd of growr persons began to get underway for the Lake. They came in groups of three, four, five and more, many groups consisting of papa, mamma and all the children. The only available line of railway was the Rutledge Street line, and for three hours before the time appointed for the commencement of the display the cars were taxed to their utmost capacity to transport the crowd. Many people brought camp stools with them, and those who didn't have camp stools brought chairs. At fifteen minutes past 7 o'clock, an hour and a quarter before the time announced for the opening, there were five thousand persons at the Lake, and every street leading to it was thronged with people wending their way thitherward. The seats put up and railed in by Von Santen, 600 in number, were filled an hour before the show began. People came on foot and on horseback and in vehicles, and as the darkness increased the crowd increased and swelled and swelled until when the little boats on the Lake began to light up their lanterns and the lights in the windows of the surrounding houses began to twinkle in the deepening shades there were not less than 15,000 persons on the grounds. The three sides of the Lake were densely packed with people of every shade of color, sex and condition of life, while the roadways were equally crowded with vehicles of every description loaded with people. The windows and piazzas in the vicinity were also crowded. The invited 30 The Centennial of Incorporation. guests of the city were provided with seats in the enclosure and had a fine view of the display. As darkness came on the fleet of boats on the Lake began to light up their Chinese lanterns and occasionally to give an amateur display of fireworks in the shape of various colored Bengal lights. Now and then a lantern would take fire and the event would be hailed with cheers from the boys on shore. Then the band began to play, and as the strains were wafted across the water to the boys in the boats they would cease rowing and keep time to the music by clapping their hands very much after the fashion of boys at a matinee. And so the crowd waited patiently and good humoredly for the hour which came at last. At precisely half-past 8 o'clock the first "detonating mortar" was fired, and the 15,000 people at length settled themselves down to the business of the evening, which commenced soon after. THE FIREWORKS BEGIN. If we except a few ordinary rockets sent up by some impatient ones from the boats on the lake the first display of any consequence was a striped and fiery balloon which rose majestically and floated off toward the North, followed by thousands of eyes, as it changed from striped to red, then white, and exploded, letting fall a shower of brilliant sparks, and continued floating, floating, ever higher and higher, till the feelings of the spectators were aptly ex- pressed by a little darkey, who called out, " Deh, now ! he done tu'n into a star!" Another balloon of equal splendor followed, changing as it rose, from red to green, from green to white. Large colored rockets arose, exploding and falling to earth in the form of what the programme calls " peacock's plumes," "silver streamers," "golden clouds," "eagle's claws," and a great many other romantic things, but which, in reality, looked like a huge chandelier, depended from mid- heaven, or like an aerial fountain of fire. On the bosom of the Lake changing fires burned and glowed, lighting up the watery depths, the fairy-like boats, and the immense throng Public Observance of the Day. 31 of humanity packed in masses along the three sides of the Lake, with sheets of flame blue, crimson and golden. Then to the extreme delight of the small boys, manifested in their squeals and hoots of ecstacy, fiery porpoises began to leap and plunge and disport themselves with unexpected play- fulness in the water. They leaped, they darted along the surface of the Lake ; they dove, they circled over and over through the air, and finally sought a watery grave. The first set piece was "The Sunburst," quite successful, yet we doubt whether even the most appreciative knew exactly the terms in which to describe what they saw. The uninitiated, and especially the childish mind, merely gathered a general impression of indescribable magnificence, and knew not that tile whirling fires were " rayonet fires, marooned." Indeed it was quite impossible to follow out the programme or to guess which were the " salvos of aerial saucissons," &c., but nevertheless to the mind unsurfeited by spectacles the scene was one of rare beauty and richness. One of the most suc- cessful of the set pieces was " The Peruvian Glory," which whirled and spun, in dazzling perfection, without, a wheel of silver, encircling a smaller atar of gold, which held within its centre a tiny brilliant wheel, which spun on in determined fashion when the other portions of the splendid fabric hao fallen away in tragmentary glory. The moon, meanwhile, was no unnoticed participant in all this beauty, seeming to veil her splendor while each exhibition went on and then shining forth serenely to fill up the gaps between the more exciting because less familiar performances. The "Casket of Jewels" showed an arrangement of what well may be called " gems " against the dusky sky, and the showers of sparkling spray added to the wonderful spectacle. The fun grew fast and furious as fiery serpents frolicked through the sky and then fell curving into the Lake, and fiery globules of every hue flew hither and thither through the air. The " Jewelled Cross of Malta " was really perfect, stand- ing in compact brilliancy while a rain of gold and silver fell before it. Instead of growing weary of such lengthy ad- miration the crowd manifested its pleasure and delight by 32 The Centennial of Incorporation. ecstatic though low-toned murmurs, which grew louder and more gleeful with each successive display, till they culminated in a sort of wild roar of delight over the " Charles Town, 1670," which appeared worked in jewelled letters against the dusky setting of the skies. This made the spectators hungry for more set pieces, and they hardly looked at the "display of bombshells in great variety" which intervened between this and the " Fort Moultrie, June 28, 1776." Again the sky was lighted up by meteoric rockets of every hue, and the waters illumined by changing fires. And finally the climax to all this magnificence was reached when there appeared against the sky "Charleston City" in letters of flame, flanked by the dates 1783 and 1883, with two monuments or pillars of diamonds, with gushing foun- tains on either side. This was virtually the closing, for everybody made for home, seeing the ''Gigantic aerial bouquet " only over their shoulders ; but every one was loud in admiration and praise of the grand success of the evening's entertainment and their own special enjoyment. When the last Roman candle had sent up its last fiery ball and darkness once more pervaded the Lynch Street side of the Lake the crowd began to disperse. Notwithstanding the numerous avenues of exit in all directions, locomotion in any of the streets was very slow. In Broad Street the pedestrians occupied the entire width of the street, sidewalk as well as carriage way, and not until the crowd reached Logan Street had it sufficiently thinned out to render the sidewalks sufficient for the purposes of locomotion. THE ELECTRIC DISPLAY. The Electric Light Company celebrated the Centennial by a brilliant illumination of King Street from Broad Street to Calhoun Street. For sometime past the company has been at work adjusting lamps at the intersection of the streets along the route named, and last evening the lamps were lighted and King Street was as bright as day. Al- though many of the lights were a square apart the in- Public Observance of the Day. 33 termediate spaces were brightly illuminated and the effect gave a fair idea of the comfort which pedestrians will enjoy when the public thoroughfares of the city are lighted with electric lights. AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION. During the afternoon the Board of Firemasters sent a steam engine to Lynch Street to wet down the shavings and other combustible material in the yards of the saw and lumber mills in the vicinity. The engine was kept on duty until II P. M. ih order to guard against even the remote contingency of an accident." 5 34 TJie Centennial of Incorporation, rilAKLKSTON 1670-1883. 'I'liL- Ship of the Period. The first permanent English set- tlement (Ml this continent was made at Jamestown, Virginia, May 13th, 1607, when one hundred and five colonists hinded from three ships. Sixty-three years after, in the month of A})ril, 1670, Governor William Sayle with his colonists landed at Albemarle Point, on the West Bank (.A Ashley River, opposite what is now Charleston. It was an eventful era in the world's history; "the air of Europe was filled with the romance of primeval forests, dusky figures and feathered crests along the new Western horizon," and so it came that in those sixty- three years. Englishmen, Irishmen, Hollanders, PVench Huguenots, Scotchmen, Germans, Swiss, Swedes, and other Europeans, were landing in a steady immigration (jn these American shores. No ships of state convey- ed them over the ocean; *' they came in coarse cloth- ing, not in raiment of velvet and gilded armour." They came to stay — alive in every fibre, with an exultant life, and they ste[)ped ashore with freshly awakened activities. A broad territory was to be subdued, and with crude imple- ments; with axe, hoe and plough they were to conquer a wilderness, and they may have felt, too, that the century they represented would be more illustrious by their action. From Plymouth to Charles Town, with a daring spirit they set up their banners of conquest, and as they bivouac- cd by the murmuring shores of the Atlantic, they realized that there was no land behind them to which to retreat ; a broad ocean was rolling in their rear. Under such condi- tions they and their children were to be actors in the vast CJiarhsiou — idjo-iSSj. 35 iiiirolding of a continent, which they then little knew was to be ultimately fashioned into the form of many free com- monwealths. THE FIRST LORD PROPRIETOR. Twenty-four years after the landing at James Town, and eleven years after the landing at Plymouth, "Charles I, by the Grace of God, of England, Scotland, France and Ireland — KlN(;, Defender of the haith,"&c., initiated measures, which were prompted by the stir and fervor of the period, and which he hoped would lead to a new and prosperous settle- ment adjoining the James Town Colony on the South. This royal thought found expression in what is known as Sir Robert Heath's Patent, which seems to have been draft- ed and made of record on the 4th of August, 163 1, and sub- sequently confirmed to him "at Westminster the 30th Octo- ber " in the same year, being the 5th of the Reign. "The King to all to whom these pr'et'es,* &c., greeting — Whereas our beloved and faithfuU subject and servant, Sir Robert Heath, our Attorney-General, kindled w'th a certaine laudable and pious desier, as well of enlarging the Christian Religion as our Empire, and increasing the trade and commerce of this our Kingdomc," the King generously conveyed to his beloved subject for these high purposes, "a certaine Region or territory, in the jiarts of North America betwixt one and thirty and thirty-six degrees of Northern latitude inclusively pla- ced, yet hitherto until'd, neither inhabited by ours or the subjects of any other Christian King, Prince or State, &c.," an imperial domain, including what is now part of North Carolina, all of South Carolina and Georgia, and extending to a rather indefinite distance Westward ; " he beeing about to lead thither a Colonye of men large and plentiful!, pro- fessing the true Religion, sedulously and industriously ap- plying themselves to the culture of ye sayd lands and to mer- chandising, to be performed by industrye at his own charges, * Present Letters. 36 The Centennial of Incorporation. and others by his example." Sir Robert was further created " Sole Lord Proprietor," and it was also stipulated that he was to pay for the lands, " in chiefely Knights Service, and by paying for it, to us, our heirs and successors, one circle of Gold formed in the fashion of a crowne of the weight of 20 ounces, with this inscription ingraved upon it — Deus coronet opus suum ;" and further, " by the fulnes of our power and Kingly authority for us, our heirs and successors, we doe erect and incorporate (these lands) into a Province, and Name the same Carolana or the Province of CarO- LANA, and the fores'd Isles Carolany Islands," &c. So royal a gift under such auspicious environments, which promised so much, was doomed to disappointments. In the years immediately succeeding the issue of this royal patent of broad acres and great privileges, I find no evidence that any worthy effort to colonize was made; and nine years after the date of Sir Robert Heath's Patent, Oli- ver Cromwell begun to figure in England's history as a mem- ber of Parliament, contesting Cambridge with the Poet Cleveland, a zealous loyalist, defeating him, it is said, by one vote — and eliciting from the defeated candidate the remark that "that single vote had ruined both church and kingdom." THE SECOND LORDS PROPRIETORS. The political struggles in England in the ensuing years seem to have diverted public attention from the settlement of "Carolana" — and the next movement we find was under the authority of a grant by Charles II, in 1663, by his letters patent under the great seal of England, to the Right Hono'ble Edward Earle of Clarendon, Lord High Chancellor of England ; George Duke of Albemarle, Capt. Gener'l of all His Ma'ties forces in the Kingdom of Eng- land, Scotland and Ireland, and Mast'r of the Horse; Wm. Lord Craven; John Lord Berkeley; Antiiony Lord Ashley, Chancellor of the Excheq'er; Sir George Cartrett, Vice Chamberlain of His Ma'ties Household; Sir Wm. Berkeley, O Q CJ q: O -C o DC _l cr CQ =3 ich the settlers were then familiar. Stock raising was an early and very profitable employment, and the noble primeval forests presented an inviting field for industry ; masts, spars and ship timber of superb material were easily obtained, and pipe staves for the contiguous West India markets were in active demand and in plentiful supply. Turpentine, tar, rosin and pitch are frequently mentioned in the early exports. A "Complete description of Carolina and the natural advantages thereof," published in London in 1682, thus enlightens us as to the export of tar: " Tarr, made of the Resinous Juice of the pine, they make great quantities yearly, transporting many tuns to Barbadoes, Jamaica and the Caribbee Islands ; when boyl'd to a thicker consistance it is Pitch." Governor Archdale's account of the Province (i/O/j men- tions the arrival in England "of 17 ships from Charles Town, laden with Rice, Skin's, Pitch and Tar." It appears by the Custom House entries, 1730-31, that there sailed within one year from Charles Town two hundred and seven ships which carried, among other goods, 10,754 barrels of pitch, 2,063 of tar, and 1,139 ^^ turpentine — the first men- tion I can find of the latter article. In a pamphlet entitled "The Importance of the J^ritish Plantations in America to the Kingdom," printed in London, 1731, I find, in reference to Carolina, that "the making of Pitch and Tar was often thought impracticable, though now we know where to be "](> The Centennial of Incorporation. supplied with these two necessaries at a less price than the Danes and Swedes made us pay before that art was taught us." Beaver, bear, deer, fox, racoons, wild-cats, and other animals, whose skins and furs were valuable, received early attention. Considering the times, the circumstances and the difficulties of transportation with the vast interior, it is surprising to know that as early as 1710, 70,000 deer skins were exported; in 1731 250,000, and in 1748 the seemingly enonrious quantity of 600,000. The value of a deer skin then was thirty cents, and the value now about four times that amount ; about equal to the difference in the value of money then and now, so that in deer skins the market can be reported steady for two centuries of time. A gentleman long resident in South Carolina (173 1) states that "Charles Town traded with eight thousand Indians, and yet nine hundred hogsheads of rum was the most they ever imported in one year for home consumption and trade with these eight thousand Indians." Evidently the relation of the rum to the volume of trade was considered quite dis- proportionate. THE CULTURE OF RICE. In a bill of lading (1671) from London, per Ship William and Ralph, Wm. Jeffreys, Master, bound for Charles Town, Ashley River, there was among other articles in the cargo " a barrel of Rice." In the curious pamphlet of 1731, previously referred to, but without date, we find " Dr. Woodward's " name mention- ed as receiving a parcel of seed rice from " Madagascar," in Charles Town, which was planted and harvested, but he was ignorant for some years how to clean it for use. It is likewise "reported that DuBois, Treasurer of the East India Company, did send to Charles Town at an early date a small bag of Seed Rice, some short time after Dr. Woodward's planting of Rice, from whence it is reasonable enough to suppose might come those two sorts called Red Rice — from the redness of the inner husk — and White Rice, thoui^h thev both clean and become white alike." Early Crops and Commerce. 77 Twenty-one years after the first landing, there was an Act of Assembly (September 26th, 1691) conferring a reward on Peter Jacob Guerard, inventor of a pendulum engine for "husking rice," which was superior to a)iy inachinc pre- viously used i)i the Colony. This proves on high authority that among the grain planting experiments rice had a very early place, and it is more than probable that these, perhaps small plantings, led the way for a better knowledge of the plant, its more general cultivation, and the improvement of its preparation for market. It shows also that the ingenuity of our people had been at an early day at work to find a way to clean the seeci. The true date of this machine is probably 1685, and the date of the earliest rice planting must have been previous, and perhaps nearly coeval with the settlement, as Dr. Woodward, it will be remembered, was the first Englishman to reside in Carolina, and was the immediate representative of Shaftesbury. Dr. Ramsay gives substantially this account of rice cul- ture in Carolina, which is clearly after its introduction : Governor Thomas Smith had been in Madagascar before he settled in Carolina, and had observed that rice was planted and grew in low moist ground. Having a small area of such land in the garden adjoining his residence on East Bay, at thecorner of what is now Longitude Lane, he was satisfied that rice would grow there if seed could be obtained. By a singular coincidence a vessel in distress from Madagascar put into Charles Town harbor in 1694, and the master hav- ing known Governor Smith in the island from whence he came, inquired for him. In the interview that took place Governor Smith expressed a wish to obtain some seed rice to plant as an experiment. A small quantity was secured, and was in due season planted in his garden, where the Com- mercial Cotton Press now stands, or very near that locality towards Church Street. It grew luxuriantly, and this little crop was distributed by Governor Smith among his planting friends, and from this thoughtful beginning, the first great staple commodity of South Carolina took its rise, and soon thereafter became the chief support of the Colony, furnish- 7 8 The Centennial of Incorporation. ing cheap food for man and beast, and an annually increas- ing quantity for export. When it was introduced there were few negroes in the Pri^vince, the government unsettled, and the soil, cultivation, and other circumstances most favorable to its growth were unknown. The ravages of pirates on the coast for the twenty years succeeding its first cultivation made all exporting so hazardous as to somewhat limit rice production ; but in 1724, after all the adverse cir- cumstances of the period had been surmounted, the home consumption was amply supplied, and eighteen thousand barrels of rice were shipped abroad. In 1760 the surplus over consumption exported had risen to one hundred thous- and barrels, and in 1770 to one hundred and twenty thous- and barrels, with a value of $1,530,000 — or about $13 per package, and, as near as can be ascertained, selling for about three cents per pound. Let us pause and consider the details of this certainly remarkable result. Rice was then grown on inland swamps, and also on high lands as in many Eastern countries. Ex- perience with succeeding crops demonstrated that the low grounds agreed better with this culture, and so the inland swamps were extensively cleared to increase the crop. In the process of time as these fields became too grassy and stubborn, they were abandoned for new clearings; and so on, until at length the superior advantages of the tide lands and the more complete facilities for irrigation afforded by their location were discovered. Those of us who have visited a modern tide swamp rice plantation, with its improved drainage, thrashing imple- ments, pounding mill, and labor-saving contrivances, will realize the magnitude of the work done in the Provincial and Colonial period ; when it is recalled that the then crops were raised with imperfect facilities of irrigation, that the flail in the hands of the laborer was the only means of sep- arating the grain from the sheaf, and the chaff taken off by grinding in a crude wooden mill ; that a rude mortar made of a pine stump, to contain a bushel or less of the grain, with a pestle of seasoned lightwood in the hands of a laborer, Early Crops and Couiuicrcc. 79 was the only contrivance in use through long years to clean the grain for market. That so slow was this crude process that the task for a male laborer was six pecks a day, and for a female laborer four pecks a day, with their half acre field-task. Consider also the putting up and transportation of this bulky crop ; grown largely on interior swamps at a distance from this port and market. In every rice neighbor- hood or large plantation there was a cooper shop. The pine staves and oak hoops were cut and split near by, made into barrels, the rice packed in them, hauled on wooden sleds by oxen to the nearest water-course, loaded in sloops and sent to Charles Town. When these then available means are compared with the grand result of a large local consumption supplied, and over one hundred and twenty thousand barrels exported from a single crop, that in seek- ing European markets for this new Carolina rice, it had to meet there in competition the rice of India, China, and the Asiatic Islands, Africa and Southern Europe, and did so successfully, the people who achieved this marvelous work cannot very well be classed as indolent, or wanting in force of character, in surmounting the great difficulties by which they were surrounded, or in intelligence to direct the labor of unskilled Africans. The rice culture on inland swamps was continued with steadily increasing results, through nearly three-quarters of a century of time; from its small beginnings it had spread over a great breadth of territory in lower South Carolina. Few planters failed of acquiring an independence, and many made fortunes, large for the time and circumstances. The aggregate of thought and work to make these swamps availa- ble and productive was arduous, and at some points pre- carious; subject as they were sometimes to an excess of water, and to a want of it at other times when most needed. I have made extended inquiries as to the date of the earliest successful experiment in reclaiming river swamp land for rice culture, and find that Mr. McKewn Johnstone the Elder, raised a crop on such land at the " Estherville " plantation on VVinyah Bay as early as 1758. A most inter- 8o The Centennial of Incorporation. esting and instructive chapter in the agricultural history of the State, can be written of the great change in the rice culture from the inland swamps to what was at first thought and afterwards proved to be the hazardous venture of river land under bank, and even the flattering results obtained from these rich alluvial soils accomplished it very gradually. Governor Wright, the last of the Royal Governors of Georgia, commissioned in 1760, was a rice planter, and was prominent in encouraging its culture, and bringing into use and value the "tide swamp land," but the complete change was delayed by imperfectly constructed banks and trunks, in general use, through many subsequent years, and it was not until the close of the century that the very general abandonment of inland swamps occurred. There were a great many plantations for inland culture as late as 1820-25, when the Izard family gave up the cultivation of the " Elms " and " Izard Camp," two inland rice plantations near Otranto on the Northeastern Railroad, and it should be mentioned that some inland rice fields were in use as late as i860, as for instance Mr. Trenholm's " VVythewood " plantation in St. Thomas Parish, and to-day there are still such fields cul- tivated, but the area has long since been very limited. Durii g this period, 1 758-1 800, the great breadth of inland rice swamps was abandoned, and the thought, experience and labor, were gradually transferred to the river swamps, to enter upon a new and wider career of prosperity, with a complete system of irrigation, improved culture, and a wonderful advance in mechanical contrivances for economiz- ing and perfecting the preparation of this crop for market. As we sometimes journey through this section of the State it is with surprise and wonder we still see the evidences of the old culture, as we look upon the lands now lying waste. But there is equal surprise and wonder in contemplating what has been done since in the new fields on the rivers. INDIGO. In Samuel Wilson's account of Carolina (1682), he says: " Indigo thrives well here, and very good hath been made ;" Early Crops and Commerce. 8i but I can find no mention of it as an article of export, or of its extended growth, in the Colony, until many years after this date. That laborious and painstaking writer, Dr. Ramsay, in his history, says of this culture, " it proved more really beneficial to Carolina than the mines of Peru and Mexico to old or new Spain." As the Colony was indebted to the intelligent use of a chance opportunity availed of by Governor Thomas Smith for the initiation of rice culture, which so rapidly supplied cheap food for man and beast, and added so largely to the wealth of the people, so fifty years afterwards it came about that a young lady, by her intelligent observation and diligence, was the originator of Carolina indigo culture. The following narrative reads like a romance, and illustrates how much can be accomplished by a single person towards achieving a large result. In 1739 Lieutenant-Colonel George Lucas was Governor of Antigua, one of the Leeward Isles, noted in history as having been discovered by Columbus in 1493. His family had resided many years there, when in that year the health of Mrs. Lucas requiring a change of climate, " Colonel Lucas removed his family to Carolina, where he had a landed estate of some value, with the intention of making it their home for the future ; but the breaking out of the war with Spain soon after his arrival obliged him to return to Antigua, while his wife remained with her children in the Province for the benefit of as much winter as the year in this latitude affords. "The feeble state of Mrs. Lucas' health threw the whole care of the family and the superintendence of their affairs into the hands of the eldest daughter, then only eighteen years of age; her youth, however, did not prevent her ap- plying herself at once in the endeavor to increase the re- sources of the new country to which she had come, and to introduce the culture of those plants for which the climate appeared to her adapted. Though by birth a West Indian, she had been educated in England, and had brought with her to America the industry, the habits of observation, and 11 82 TJic Centennial of Incorporation. the .strong love of nature, for which well educated English women have been always remarkable; but in no country would it have been common to find a woman at that early age, busied in plans for improving the conditions of things around her, fulfilling her arduous duties with cheerfulness and fidelity, and preserving with rare skill the due propor- tion among those duties. The judicious manager of her father's estates never degenerated into the mere manager. The love of literature and science continued to characterize her to the last. It was her pleasure to assist by every means in her power by collecting for him plants and animals, and by her ready and intelligent sympathy was pleasantly known to one of our earliest Botanists, Dr. Garden, the friend and correspondent of Linnaeus." Hindcostan is the native field for the growth of indigo, but transplanted to the West Indian Islands it was found to naturalize readily, and proved a profitable crop in its new home. In 1741-42, Colonel Lucas, owning a plantation near the confluence of VVappoo Creek and Stono River, where his family were then residing, encouraged his daughter Eliza's fondness for planting, by sending her seeds and fruits to be tested in this new English Colony. Among other contribu- tions of this sort was some indigo seed as a subject of ex- periment. The record shows, that without particular in- formation as to the season for sowing or the most desirable soil, she undertook the experiment of indigo culture. The first seed was planted in March and was destroyed by a frost; the next in April was cut down by worms; a third and later planting succeeded. Upon Colonel Lucas hearing of its growth he sent a Mr. Cromwell from the Island of Monserrat, one of the most healthful and pleasant of the West India Islands, with a soil adapted to the growth of sugar, indigo, coffee and fruits, who was versed in indigo culture, and in the intricate process of its preparation for market, and gave him high wages to develop this new crop in Carolina. Under his direction the first indigo vats, built of brick, were erected on this plantation, and the first Caro- Early Crops and Couinicrce. 83 Una indigo made. It was of inferior quality, and this was attributable to the indigo maker, Mr. Cromwell, who was so impressed with the piomise of this experiment as to give expression to regrets that he should have to do what he believed would certainly ruin a similar industry in his own land. He attempted to make a mystery of the work of preparation, but Miss Lucas by close observation got an in- sight into the complex process, which required fermentation by submerging the plants in cisterns of water, and a tedious and continuous attention to many details of preparation, and was subsequently rewarded by improved results. In 1744 the whole crop was saved for seed, and given away in small parcels to a great number of planters, and through this liberal action the growth of indigo became plentiful in the Colony. Just about this time the arrival of several Frenchmen, who had some acquaintance with the details of indigo prepara- tion, it having been brought to great perfection in France, were instrumental in producing still more satisfactory re- sults. To extend the culture, every new item of information on this subject was published in the " Gazette " for the general information of the people. Indigo is described as " a light and beautiful crop, and the process of changing it from the weed into the matured dry lumps was a very nice and critical one, requiring untiring attention during night and day. A periodical change of hands was required throughout the work of preparation, with the exception of the indigo maker, who could no more leave his post of responsibility than could the captain of a ship on a lee-shore." This culture was urged with so much industry and success that as early as 1747 a considerable quantity of it was sent to England. The offering of" Carolina indigo " on the Eng- lish market attracted great attention. Great Britain was consuming annually six hundred thousand pounds weight of French indigo, paying for it one hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling, and the statistics showed an annual increase of consumption. It was easy to see the gain in drawing 84 The Centennial of Incorporation. this indigo supply from their own Colony, and so in 1748 Parliament passed an Act allowing a bounty of six pence per pound on indigo from the British Colonies. This stimu- lated the Carolina production, and every planter applied himself with vigor and spirit to the cultivation of the article, and they vied with each other in both the quantity and quality produced. Some years elapsed before they realized the perfection of preparation, which had given French indigo the preference, but this was finally accomplished, and large profits accrued as the reward for :heir labors. Dr. Ramsay says that the indigo planters in Carolina doubled their capital every three or four years, which was certainly an unexampled planting prosperity. The cultiva- tion of the plant as well as the preparation of the cake for market, was brought to such a degree of perfection as not only to supply the mother country, but also to undersell and supplant the French indigo, previously in control of the markets of Europe. Ten years after that general distribu- tion of seed in 1744, the export of indigo from Charles Town amounted to two hundred and sixteen thousand nine hund- red and twenty-four pounds, and shortly before the Revolu- tionary war the export had risen to one million one hundred and seven thousand six hundred and sixty pounds. An incident will show the value of the prepared indigo. When Mr. Peter Sinkler was captured by the British, and his property burned at his plantation in St. Stephens, among the items of loss we find twenty thousand pounds of pre- pared indigo, valued at $30,000, or $1.50 per pound. The stocks of indigo which had been saved during the War of Independence found a market in Charleston, when its commerce was resumed, but there was no longer the pro- tection of 6d. a pound in Great Britain, and various other causes operated to reduce the production. The figures of export show a steady decline, and its abandonment as a leading crop is foreshadowed by the statement that between 1770 and 1794, patches of cotton were grown in Carolina, some of which was of the black seed variety, and despite the difficulties of securing the lint, the necessities of the Early Crops and Commerce. 85 times developed domestic fabricators of the wool, until about the latter year, when the practice of using home spun cotton goods became common in many localities. The yarn was usually spun at home and sent to the nearest weaver. The Irish settlers in Williamsburg County had a manufacturing establishment at Murray's Ferry, which turned out large amounts of cotton goods, and had for several years a re- munerative trade in the surrounding country. The spread of this new crop will be referred to subsequently. Here and there in several counties adjacent to Charleston indigo was grown and prepared for use at home, and in this city Caro- lina made indigo in little cakes could always be purchased up to 1867. SILK. Samuel Wilson, in his account of Carolina (1682), says: " There is in Carolina great plenty of mulberry trees, such as are by experience found to feed the silk worm very well, yea, as well as the white mulberry, but there is of that sort also, which are propagated with a great deal of care ; a stick new cut and thrust into the ground, seldom failing to grow, and so likewise the seed if there be sown." Governor Archdale speaks of silk in his description of Carolina: " Since I wrote the former part I understand that silk is come into great improvement, some families making forty or fifty pounds a year, and their plantation work not neglected ; little negro children being serviceable in feeding the silkworms; and I must give Sir Nathaniel Johnson the reputation of being the principal promoter hereof, and of a considerable vineyard also. I further understand that the inhabitants work silk up into druggets mixed with wool, which is an excellent /vear for that country." For a century and a half these efforts to produce silk were continued not only in Carolina, but in all the Colonies, and just after the landing at James Town, the enthusiasm for silk worms caused the mulberry tree to be planted in England, and the king himself engaged in this attractive business. 86 The Centennial of Tneorporation. There seemed to be a sort of infatuation for silk culture everywhere. Sir Nathaniel Johnson " called his Carolina plan- tation Silk Hope, and sent silk to England in 1699," but fifty years after the export "had reached a climax of only one hundred and eighteen pounds." Some public spirited Charleston ladies of high standing substituted the winding of silk from the cocoons, for the tamer recreations of needle- Avork, and the playing of the harpsicord, and as many as three silk dresses had an existence in Charleston, one of which I learn still survives. There were no real difficulties in the way of the production of silk in the Colonies, but the economic fact remained, that people could make twice as much money at other employments, and this explains its extended failure everywhere in America. One hundred years after those three silk dresses were made in Charleston from native grown silk, I remember as a boy, seeing sev- eral acres of land located West of Rutledge and North of Spring Street in this city, planted with mulberry trees, and a large two story frame building thereon, filled with all the appliances for growing silk worms and winding silk ; I have myself wound the fine thread of silk from the cocoons, little thinking then that the economic result awaiting this large in- vestment had been already ascertained in a preceding cen- tury — for the disappointing experience of the Swedes on the Delaware, the Swiss at Purysburg, and the Saltzburgers of Georgia, was the fortune of the enterprising Charleston gentlemen, Messrs. Teasdale, Hopkins and others, who had projected this scheme less than half a century ago. A similar narrative could be prepared in regard to attempts to cultivate the vine, but it is hardly necessary to do so here. ANTE-REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD— 1725-1775. Having presented in brief narrative some account of the early voyages on our coast, the early settlers, their suffer- in<7s, losses, and hardships, the sources of population and early religious development, the early crops and commerce Antc-Rcvolutionary Period — ij2^-iy'j^. 87 of the Province, we find Charleston in this period one of the most, if not the most prosperous town of the Colonies. Planted under the auspices of the English constitution, its citizens had bcLMi nursed in danger, and made vigorous by years of strife and suffering, but wealth and great prosperity had been achieved in spite of trials, and in the half century between 1725-75 the population had largely increased. From a pamphlet entitled " The importance of the British plantations in America to this Kingdom, London, 1731," — pages 62-63, — I quote the following account of Charles Town and its vicinity: " I shall now speak of our plantations on this Continent ; anci shall begin with South Carolina, which is capable of being made the most valuable Province in North America ; it is now the largest, being seventy leagues front on the sea from Cape P'ear, the Northernmost bounds, to the River May, where was an English P'ort, built by order of General Nicholson. The climate is so good, that for eight months in the year no place exceeds it ; the other four months, Mar, /iiiii\ July and August, are very hot and produce much thunder; yet no place is more healthful. The soil in general is sandy, out of which is produced all manner of English grain, in great perfection, as well as rice, Indian corn, &c. Nor doth any place exceed it for fine fruits. Near the banks of rivers there is strong rich land which produces hemp in as great perfection as any in the world. Mulberry trees of all sorts grow in vast quantities, and arc of prodigious quick growth. So that it has already been shown by many people that no place is capable of produc- ing better silk, and with more ease. The chief of their ex- ports, at present, are rice, deer-skins, pitch, tarr, turpentine, beef, pork, tanned leather, cedar wood, deal boards, pipe staves, timber of all sorts, masts, yards, etc. And some few ships have been built there, and those as good as any that ever were built in America. It must be allowed that no place is more capable or convenient for building of ships ; for the countrey abounds with fine timber, and has so many jfine rivers as any part of the known world." 88 The Cejitennial of Tncor potation. At pages 64-65, we find the accompanying commercial review, which is most interesting, as showing the progress made during this half century: "The number of white people— men, women and child- ren — in the year 1724, was about 14,000; the slaves (most of which are negroes)— men, women and children — included about 32,000, and, no doubt, they are now encreased, for there has been many negroes imported there since. In the year 1723 the imports to this Province amounted to the value of one hundred and twenty thousand pounds sterling, first cost in goods and merchandize, and had not been less yearly, for four years before. This estimate was made from the country Collector's Books, who received a Duty of two and a half per cent, on all Goods" imported ; so that if any Fraud was committed by false Report, the Imports were so much more. The quantity of British Shipping employed by means of this Province is not less than 8,000 Tons. England hath received annually from this Colony only in Skins, Furs, Rice, Pitch, Tarr, Turpentine, Pipe Staves, &c., exclusive of all Bounty, to the value of 200,000/. Sterling. The Freight of such Shipping would not amount to above 24,000/., and there is Profit upon that, at least ten per cent. i. e. 2,400/. So that if I were to state the account between South Caro- lina and Britain, it would stand thus — Imported from Carolina to Great Britain of their Produce annually. .;^ 200,000 In Cash, admitting sixty ships, each ship to bring but twenty pounds. 1,200 201,200 (roods sent to Carolina annually from this Kingdom . .100,000 The real Expence of S.ooo Tons of Shipping for such Voyage. 21,600 121,600 The whole gain to this Kingdom by Carolina will be annually 79,600" These two items are also most interesting: " All manner of Provisions are extremely cheap in South Carolina, insomuch that the shipping at Charlestown are sup- plied all the year round with Beef at less than Seven Shil- Ante-Revolutionary Period — t'/2^-iy'/^. 89 lings Sterling per lumdred Weight ; and it would seem in- credible should one relate the prodigious quantities of Fish, and the cheap rate at which that market is supplied with them. In short the whole Country is capable of vast Im- provement ; there seems to be nothing wanting but People to make it much the most considerable settlement his Ma- jesty hath on the Continent oi America." — Page 68. " There are hat makers in South Carolina. I have seen , as good hats made there in all respects as those we buy in England at from 10 to 25 Shillings." — Page 80. It will now be interesting to show how, in the years just preceding the Revolutionary war, wealth had further ac- cumulated here, and how general was the prosperity. Mr. Quincy, in his journal written in 1773. gives his im- pressions on entering the harbor: "The number of shipping far surpassed all I have seen in Boston." " I was told there were then not so many as com- mon at this season, though about three hundred and fifty sail lay off the town, which struck me very agreeably, and the new Exchange which pointed the place of my landing made a most noble appearance." * * * * Again: "This town makes a most beautiful appearance as you come up to it, and in many respects a magnificent one. I can only say, in general, that in grandeur, splendor of buildings, decora- tions, equipages, numbers, commerce, shipping, and indeed in almost everything, it far surpasses all I ever saw, or ever ex{)ect to see in America." From William Gerard de Brahm, Surveyor of the South- ern District of North America, I quote, of date 1773 : " The City of Charlestown is in every respect the most eminent, and by far the richest City in the Southern district of North America; contains about 1500, and most of them bigg houses, arryed by stright, broad, and regular streets, the principal of them is seventy-two foot wide, call'd Broad Street, is decorated, besides many fine houses, with a State- house near in the center of said street, constructed to con- tain two rooms, one for the Governor and Council, th' other for the Representatives of the People, the Secretarys 90 Tin Centennial of Incorporation. office and a Court-room ; opposite the State-house is the Armory-house, item St. Michaels Church, whoose steeple is 192 foot high, and seen by vessels at sea before they make any land ; also with a new Exchange on the east end of said street upon the bay ; all four buildings have been raised since the year 1752, and no expence spared to make them sulide, convenient, and elegant. " The City is inhabitated by above 12,000 souls, more than half are Negroes and Mulatters ; the City is divided in two parishes, has two churches, St. Michaels and St. Philip's, and six meeting houses vidt. and Independent, a Presby- terian, a French, a German, and two Baptist ; there is also an assembly for Quakers, and an other for Jews; all which are composed of several nations, altho' differing in religious principles, and in the knowledge of salvation, yet are far from being incouraged, or even inclining to that disorder which is so common among men of contrary religious senti- ments in many other parts of the world, where that pernic- ious spirit of controversy has laid foundation to hatred, per- secution, and cruel inquisition, in lieu of ascertaining thereb)' how to live a godly life. A society of men (which in relig- ion, government, and negotiation avoids what ever can dis- turbe peace and quietness) will always grow and prosper! so will this City and Province, whoose inhabitants was from its beginning renound for concord, compleasance, courteous- ness, and tenderness toward each other, and more so towards foreigners, without regard or respect of nation or religion." '• This Port is very extensive, contains within the bar to the west end of the city in both rivers, Cooper and Ashly, sixteen square miles, sunds all over (the bar's channel ex- cluded) from nineteen to sixty foot at low water." -X- * ■;<- * * * * " The annual export of Carolina rice amounts to above 100,000 barills of which two containe iioo weight, so that the whole makes out above 55 million weights ot neat rice, worth in Carolina ;^275,ooo sterling, next to which is indigo, whose exportation comprehends no less than 600,000 Ante-Revolutionary Period — ij2-;-iy'/'j. 91 weight, worth in Caroh'na i^ 150,000 sterh"ng, and the whole annual exportation may be valuaded ^^637,000 sterling." -X- -:f -;v -X- * * * " The cattle in this Province are thus increased, that all pains would prove in vain to number them ; yea, the Pro- vince is rather overstocked, and in order to make room for the yearly immense increase, great herds from 3 to 1500 heads have been driven from this into the neighbouring Province of Georgia, there spread between Savannah and Ilogetchee streams ever since 1757, and kept in ganges under the auspice of cowpen keepers, which move (like unto the ancient Patriarchs, or the modern Bodewins in Arabia) from forest to forest, in a measure as the grass wears out, or the planters approach them." * -X- * * -S- vr * The recklessness of British authority, the selfishness of its officials, lack of wisdom in all, soon gave provocation and forced the crisis upon the country, which under different auspices might have continued to acknowledge the sovereign of Britain fifty years longer ; and so it happened that Charlestown had reached that period in its history when it was to pass through the fiery furnace of revolution in its progress to a complete condition of civil liberty and self- government. The Stamp Act of 1765 was the signal for general opposi- tion, and here in Charlestown resistance to it was openly declared, without waiting for consultation with any other town or Colony. The action taken here spread through- out Carolina, and was not limited to resolutions. On the arrival of the stamped paper in the harbor, the temper of the people forbid its landing, and the stamps were stored at Fort Johnson, a garrisoned post of George III in the harbor. As the obnoxious stamps never came into use, it is interesting to know what they were like and what was to be the expense of their use. Herewith is a fac-similie of the little scrap of paper that cost England her American Colonies, and a copy of the table of prices: 92 The Centennial of Ineorporation. Parchment. Skins — 18 in by 13 at Four pence. 22 by 16 at Six pence. 26 by 20 at Eight pence. 28 by 23 at Ten pence. 31 by 26 at Thirteen pence. Stamp Office, Lincoln's Inn, 1765. A Tabic of the Prices of Parc/i/iicitt and Paper fo Pie scri'ice of America. Paper. Horn at Seven pence. Foolscap at Nine pence. Do., with printed notices for / indentures. ) Folio Post at One Shilling. Demy — at Two Shillings. Medium — at Three Shillings. Royal — at Four Shillings. .Super Royal — at Six Shillings. .o> Paper for Printing , News. Double Crown at 14s, Double Demy at 19s. J W Almanacks. Book — Foolscap at 6s. Od. Pocket — Folio Post at 20s. Sheet— Demy at 13s. i-<^ J W Lossing says: ^'Having resolved on rebellion, the people of CJiarlestozvn zvere not afraid to conn/tit acts of legal treason^ Three companies of volunteers proceeded from this city to James Island, captured the fort, hauled down the British flag, run up "a blue flag displaying three silver crescents," and the stamps were reshipped to England ; thus was begun the American Revolution. In the midst of the excitement of the period there was a brief calin ; the news of the repeal of the Stamp Act reached Charles Town, via Barbadoes, on the third day of May, 1766, and as the agreeable intelligence be- came known, joy pervaded the community; salutes were fired, the town illuminated, and the day closed with mirth, and Mr. Pitt wa- honored by loyal toasts "to our worthy friends in England." The Commons House of Assembly ordered a marble statue of Lord Chatham, and after many Ante-Revohitionary Period — i'/2^-iy'j^. 93 vicissitudes illustrating the changes of public opinion, this relic of the Colonial times still stands in our midst, recalling " his services to his country in general and to America in particular." Next came the duty on tea, which was resisted ; the first consignments were stored and finally rotted in the ware- houses ; the second was thrown overboard in broad daylight, \vithout disguise. This happened on the third day of Novem- ber, 1774; the Proprietors, by themselves and agents, in the presence of the Committee of Inspection, stove the chests, and from the vessel then riding in the stream of Cooper River, threw all their contents into the same, amidst the acclamations of the people who crowded the wharves on the occasion. Then came the Boston Port Bill, and the sympathetic re- sponse from Charles Town was expressed substantially in liberal gifts of money and provisions. It is as well to make record here of these supplies, and no one can read this statement without being impressed with the earnestness of the men of Carolina. South Carolina — 712 '^ casks and 370,463 lbs. rice, and cash ^1,403.12.3^. Of the rice, 580 casks and 259,814 lbs. were sold in New York, realizing i^ 1,304.19.03^, making a total of say ^,"3,150. By way of comparison the contributions of a neighboring Colony are also stated : ' New York — 44 bushels wheat and 6 of rye ; 394 bbls. and 714 cwt., 3 qrs., 2 lbs., corn flour; 5 hhds. and 30 cwt. In- dian meal ; 24 tierces and 50 cwt., 2 qrs., 3 lbs., ship bread ; 22 bbls., 34 cwt., 3 qrs., 9 lbs., rye flour; io>2 bbls. pork ; 28 firkins and 1,669 't)^- butter; one pipe and 123 galls, brandy; 3 tons nail rod iron ; i ton bar iron. After the first years the theatre of war was South of New England, and the history of the times shows that New Eng- land was mostly exempt from the privations of the struggle. Mr. Sabine says that " during the most distressing periods of the contest, useless articles of luxury were imported into Boston. Extravagance in living in the }xar 1782 94 The Centennial of Incorporation. would seem to have exceeded anything of the kind previ- ously known in Massachusetts;" and " Saml. Adams was filled with serious misgivings at the state of things which then prevailed." In the "Independent Chronicle" of Boston, 17th June, 1779, " Coffee, Sugar, Windward Rum, Mollasses and bags of Cotton Wool," are advertised for sale ; all foreign articles it will be noted, indicating an extensive commerce. On the 6th of July, 1774, one hundred and four delegates from all parts of the Province, assembled in Charles Town, and voted a " non-importation " Resolution, which was con- firmed by all the Colonies, through delegates assembled in Philadelphia in September of that year. This sacrifice of material interests was made and contin- ued to the bitter end. The extent of it may be seen in the statement that Philadelphia exports amounted to ^700,000 a year, yet scarce ^50,000 of this trade was with England — while Charles Town had almost her whole trade with Eng- land, and it was absolutely ruined by this measure of resis- tance to illegal taxation. On Sunday, 14th August, 1774, Rev. John Bullman preached a sermon in St. Michael's Church, which it was thought reflected on the popular proceedings. At the con- clusion of the services, the congregation by vote dismissed him, saying: " Now shall we see who are the Enemies of the Country." The effect of the news from Lexington (19th April, 1775,) was stimulating in the last degree; "a fierce spirit swelling for freedom was burning in every heart, all allegiance was considered as repealed — all ties sundered, as men reflected on the bloody plains of Lexington." On September 15th, 1775, Fort Johnson was a second time taken possession of, regularly garrisoned, and Colonel Moultrie devised for it a flag — -a blue field with a single silver crescent in the upper corner; and this symbol was worn on the caps of the first and second regiments. The next day Governor Campbell fled to the shelter of the " Tanicr^' carrying with him the great seal of the A ntc-Rcvolntionary Period — JJ^^-ijIj. 95 Province, and so ended the lonij line of Proprietary and Royal Governors, who had resided in Charlcstown one hun- dred and five years. For convenient reference I record here their names and dates of service. Under the Proprietary Government. 1670- 1671- 1671- 1674- 1682- 1684- 1684- 1684- 1685- 1686- 1690- 1692- -William Sayle. -Joseph West. -John Yeamans. -Joseph West. -Josepli Moilon. -Josepli West. -Richard Kiik. -Robert Quarry. -Joseph Morton. -James Colleton. -Seth Sothell. -Philip Ludwcll. 1693- 1694- 1695- 1696- 1700- 1703- 1 709- 1710- 1712- 1716- 1719- 1719- -Thonias Smith. -Jose])h Ulake. -John Arclulaic. -Joseph Blake. -James Moore. -Nathaniel Johnson. -Edward 'I'yne. -Robert (iihbs. -Charles Craven. -Robert Daniel. -Rol)ert Johnson. -James Moore. Under the temporary Repitbliean Government. 1719 — Arthur Midilleton. Under the Royal Government. 1 721 — P'rancis Nicholson. 1725 — Arthur Middleton. 1730 — -Robert Johnson. 1735 — Thomas Brout^hton. 1737 — William Bull. 1743 — James Glen. 1756 — William H. Littleton. 1760— William Bull. 1762' — Thomas Boone. 1763— William Bull. 1766 — Charles G. Montague. 1769 — William Bull. 1775— William Campbell. The first hostile shots fired in this harbor occurred on the nth November, 1775, when the " Tamer'' and " Cherokee^' sloops-of-\var, and the '' Defence."' exchanged shots with effect — Fort Johnson taking part in the affair. The war of independence in South Carolina dated from that day, and the action was quite spirited. On the i6th November a new Council of Safety was elect- ed — Henry Laurens was chosen President ; and with the immediate prospect of a war with Britain, there was not a 96 TJie Centennial of Ineorporation. piece of gold or silver in the treasury, and there was i^ 1 26,500 of paper currency out. In March, 1776, the ^r^-/ government of any of the American Colonies was formed in Charles Town, and "the die of Revolution was thus solemnly cast, and the usual baptism of free States, that of blood and fire, was shortly to be tried." Carrington, in his "Battles of the Revolution," says: " South Carolina thus boldly led the way to general inde- pendence by asserting her own, under John Rutledge as President, with Henry Laurens as Vice-President, and Wil- liam Henry Drayton as Chief Justice. An Army and Navy were created ; Privy Council and Assembly were elected, and the issue of six hundred thousand dollars of paper money was authorized, as well as the issue of coin ; and the first Republic of the New World began its life. - - * Massachusetts had began the year with substantial freedom. South Carolina put all the machinery of a nation into oper- ation with the opening spring." Early in May accounts were received announcing a Brit- ish fleet off the coast, under Sir Peter Parker, and it is only necessar}'- to mention that the memorable engagement of Fort Sullivan on 28th June, followed — with the complete repulse of the British fleet. I append a map of the localities, showing the position of fort and fleet, and an account of this engagement from an English source, which is not readily attainable elsewhere, and will prove interesting. THE CLOSE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. The pen of the historian has recorded the principal events in the great drama of war, of which this city was the cen- tre, from the day when Moultrie's guns, antedating the Declaration of Independence, sent answering signal back to Lexington and Concord, down to those closing days in 1782, when the British garrison retired to their ships. The public spirit, the endurance and the sacrifice of the men ftol, Commo }eriment live - ebay IS quartered 2 aptain Morri his right arm I, but none o\ d of the direi ve of much < (led, that it h that the fqua orts offered t : Tick. Th€ r. Chambers, Trapher to I X" n r .■,L.U.#l I yJmi\ 'ify5^''. •v.\>\\u?k" \ I \, # r/r- / 1 ! i 1 / — — ' /•* f «r:^ Ij. '4. A wl- 'J *^ ^ VT. T O 9. l.\ '^^ >. .\ '^r];,.„,,r/,„r •y/r,.. ^{^^1 77' LIST of his Majcfty's Squadi-on commanded by Commodore Sir Peter Paricer, Knt. &c. on the Expedition agai.ift Fort SuKvanin South Carolim. t Comm Aflive Solebay ; Sir PtUr Parker, Knt. ^[fxander Scott. ffiUimi Williami. TlOTMJ Symms. Chnjlophr Alkm. Syren - - Sph) nx Friendlhip jm d Ranger Hoop Tlmndei- bomb St. Lawrence fclic Tobias Furmaux. Anthony Hunt. Charki Hope. Roger Willi. Jamti Rnd. Lieut. John Grand. XhefoHmiing Account of the Attack o/'Fort SutivAH « ixtraSlcd from the Letters of Commodore Sir Peter PARKER, Knt. and Lieut. General Clinton, to the Lorhfll>' ■^'''""'''''y- THE Commanders on the American ftation dcemin-. i[ expedient to make an attcm] in South Carolina, the fleet failed from Cape Fear on ihc iftof June, and on the 4th Town Bar. The 5lh founded-theBar, and bid down buoy, nfeparatoiy to the intended cnt The 7th all the frigates and nioft of the tranfports got over the Bar into Fiv C;;n;.»landcd on Long-Illand with about four or five hundred men. The to horedoffChatk intended entrance of the harboui i-Fathom Hole. The gih Gencr; h the BriHol cot over the Bat wit fomcOifGculty. The 15th the Commodore gave the Captains oflhc fquadtoi of the batteries on Sulivan's Ifland, and the next day he acquainted General CI, The General fixed on the 13d for their joint attack, but the efieA. The a5Ch the Experiment arrived, and next day made for the attack. The 28th, athalf^n hi arrangement for the attack that the ihips wc;e ready. ,d provmg unfavourable prevented its talcing over the Bar, when a new arrangement was 11 the morning. General Clin informed by fignal that the fquadron was going on the attack. At half an hour after ten the fignal was made to weigh ; •nd about > quarter after eleven theBriftcl.Experim.n'.'J'aive, and iolebay. brought up jvsamrt .he Tor,. The Thunder Bomb covered by the Friendlhip armed v.IT,!. brought the fil.ant Angle of the call baftion 10 h«,r N W bv K. and Colonel Jam» threw feveral (hells aliule before and during the engagement in a vcrv ^ H-,efl ion -n^ Spbvnx, Aaxon, and Sy.cn were to have been to the weftward, to preven t fire Ihip, good dirca^l^. T h« "P'-r"''' , n,i^ ,„„„d, to enfilade the works, and. if the rebels Ihould be driven or other ""^^ «,-;; f^^..", ."^ ^offible! This .aft fervice was not performed, owing to.the ignorance from them, ,0 cut oft their retrep^ TheSphynx and Syren got off in afewhours, but the AatCl cVftft Im the «xt horning, when the Captain and Oficers thought proper t, fcuttle and let her on lire. ^^^ Captain, Officers, and Company, of the Acla;on, and they were A Court-martial was ordered 011 ^^^ ^^ ^^^ fq^jdron being a-breaft of the fort, which wis near ten hours, honourabty acquitted. """"8 ' = ' ;,,, ;„„„ j,, and tlicy had the fatisfaaion, after b.ing engaged two > brift fire "» '"'" "l" '^ „ V .Lr fi.e very much. Largepart.es were drove fov.-ial limes out of the hcs. .0 oblige the 'f -° "»;,t::stm the »In. About h'alfin hour after th™. a confArable rein- fort, whict were repU«d by >««" '™_^^_^ „„ a tree a. the back of the fort, and it was imasined tliat the ftarainent from Wount PleafanI hung ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^_^ ^^ _^^^ ^^^^^^ fjeoced, and evacuated for near one fame party tan away about an h»" ■ „„,j ^^^ j^^^ polTeffion, about fix o'clock a con- hour and an half 1 hut the rebels findn.g tn LONDON : P"o«d and Sold by ^VILLIAM FA DEN, Succcfibr to tiie lale M . fiderablc body of people re-entered the fort, and renewed the firing from two or three g«n!. 'I" "" '"'"E. we fuppofe, difmountcd About nine o'clock, it being very dark, great part of our amnuni"™ expended, the people fatigujd, the tide of ebb almoft done, no profpeS from the Eaftward, and »pol''l|''"y "' ""'■ being of any farther fervice, the Commodore order'd the fliips to withdraw to their for* moorings. General Orawn lauded his troops on Long llland, which had been reprefentcdtohim aitommunicaung with .Sulivan's llland by a Ford, palTable at low water ; but he found the channel which was itfO'W' "' °"' ''"° eighteen inches deep, to be! fcven feet deep j which circumftancc rendered it impoOibltlo' *'"""'' '" f" that air.rtance to the «eer in the attack m.ide upon the fotttcfs, that the General intenM '" *' ""'. the attack, the Briftol had the whole of her mizen and half her main mail (hot away, ajj"" ™'" °" '''°' the Experiment, Capt. Scott, was almoft unrigg'd, which with the Brillol had fcverM" '■^""i" .' lida, and their colours (hot in pieces : the Sphynx had her bowfprit Olot away, and tl< »'"''' '"" reccivetl conn Jerable damage. ' ' T„=B,mo,, Commodore's (hip ""^ " "" "f ""ro.'^'' r^e Experiment - _ j6 The Aaive . . . ." " ^^ ' 6 The Solebay _ _ _ ' " g lan who was quartered unded. Captain Morj voundcd in bis right arr Noto lafter V thebcginning of the aflion on the BrilW'f^'" '''''"^f^P"' being loft his right arm, and received other «"«* '"'' " '"'"" ^"^^ • '■^' irm, but will recover the ufe of I'r • tb,. Cioi'"'''" received feveral con- tuuons at uitterent times, but none of them were dan-eious Lord W' I'L CWpl«">= V"'"""^""" board the Bi.ftol, who accepted of the J ireflion.of fome guns on the lower ,m d«k. '«''•"' ^ "'"'■J'';'-' on hi: left fide, but d,d not proveof much confequence. Cant Scott of .he FxoerimMt. loft hi, left arm, and was otherwife fo much wo.iided, that it is feared he will not ricover -L^uf pCf ■« ^aive was killed. Whin It was known that the fquadron had many men too weak to come to I""""' '''""'* all the feamen bclnnging to the trjnfports offered their firvicc with a truly BtiiKh foirit up""*'"'''.' ""= accepted to fupply the place of the lick. The maftcrs of many of the trmrpoits attended w*""!' boats during the attack, pa.ticul..rly Mr. Chambers, the mailer of the Mercury-. ^oM.^s Jf-rrLuvs, Geographtr (o the KING, lie Coiner of JH UaTm\IJ><'-'^'^'''i-Crefi. aasr ZT •1 f.-nrj^il ■=*»!?*- *-^ I Tsn iJ: ■<'-"-jrW''*-^ ^^tTT^ifV^ar ■ I t^ ^ Close of the Revolutionary War. 97 and women of Charleston were not excelled, if equalled, by any other community, tested in that struggle. A volume might be written of these things, but this occasion does not permit. After the dungeon .md the prison-ship had done their worst, and the " insolence of office " had been heroical- ly borne, the day of deliverance finally came, and for many reasons the portrayal of this closing scene should have place in this day's record — that joyous occasion, when, after thirty- one months of captivity and of disgraceful cruelties, the people of Charles Town, surviving all, witnessed on the 13th and 14th December, 1782. the slow embarkation from Gads- den's Wharf of over 9,000 civilians and slaves, and also the British soldiery, aboard three hundred sail of ships, stretch- ing in a far reaching semi-circle around the great circuit of our spacious harbor. The most significant feature of that occasion is the character and destination of the people mov- ing under " the meteor flag of England " — 3,794 whites and 5,333 slaves. (Exeter Hall had not been erected and occu- pied in 1782.) These figures of the exodus as here given are preserved among the manuscripts of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Return of People Embarked from South Carolina, ijth and i^th Deceviber, IJ82. To WHAT Place. Men. Womem. Children. Blacks. Total. Jamaica 600 300 378 2,613 3.891 East Florida 630 306 337 1,653 2,926 East Florida 166 57 iig 558 goo England 137 74 63 56 330 Halifax 163 133 121 53 470 New York 100 40 50 50 240 St. Lucia 20 ... .... 350 370 1,816 910 1,068 5,333 9.127 The narrative of the re-occupation of Charlestown is told by eye witnesses. General Moultrie states that at 3 o'clock the same after- noon (14th) General Greene, Governor Matthews, himself 13 •98 The Centennial of Incorporation. and others, with a few citizens and a guard of dragoons, rode into Charlestown, and halted in Broad Street near the spot where we are now assembled. "There we alighted," he continues, "and the cavalry dis- charged to quarters; afterwards every one went where they pleased ; some in viewing the town, others in visiting their friends." " I cannot forget," adds the General, " that happy day when we marched into Charlestown with the American troops; it was a proud day to me, and I felt mystlf much elated at seeijig the balconies, the doors and windows crowded with the patriotic fair, the aged citizens, and others, congratulating us on our return home, saying ' God bless you, gentlemen ! You are welcome home, gentlemen ! ' Both citizens and soldiers shed mutual tears of joy." So, also. Colonel Peter Horry, of Marion's Brigade, who accompanied the advance corps into the city, describes somewhat fervently the scenes of the occasion and the sen- sations he felt : "On the memorable 14th of December, 1782," he writes, "we entered and took possession of our capital, after it had been two years seven months and two days in the hands of the enemy. The style of our entry was quite novel and romantic. On condition of not being molested while em- barking, the I3ritish had offered to leave the town unhurt. Accordingly, at the firing of a signal gun in the morning, as agreed on, they quitted their advance works near the town gate, while the Americans, moving on close in the rear, followed them all along through the city down to the water's edge, where they embarked on board their three hundred ships, which, moored out in the bay in the shape ' of an immense half-moon, presented a most magnificent ap- pearance. The morning was as lovely as pure wintry air and cloudless sunbeams could render it, but rendered far lovelier still by our procession, if I ma}- so call it, which was well calculated to awaken the most pleasurable feelings. In front were the humble remains of that proud army, which, one and thirty months ago, captured our city, and thence, Post Retohitionary Period. 99 in the drunkenness of victory, had hurled menaces and cru- elties disgraceful to the British name. And close in the rear, was our band of patriots, bending forward with martial music and flying colors, to play the last joyful act in the drama of their Country's deliverance, to proclaim liberty to the captive, to recall the s.\'>ile on the cheek of sorrow, and to make the heart of the widow leap for joy. Oh ! it was a day of jubilee indeed ; a day of rejoicing never to be forgot- ten. Smiles and tears were on every face." POST REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. Having thus presented the closing scene in the Revolu- tionary war history of our city, we are brought to the threshold of a new era, when she was to put on municipal robes and enter upon a new career. "A mighty hand from an exhaustless Uin Fours forth tlie never-ending flood of years Among the Nations ***** * * * * On their foremost edge And there alone is life." As we stand here, looking back over the track of the wonderful century, closing for us to-day, what an illimita- ble field of thought and reflection opens before us. What great events, wonderful inventions, and progress in the useful arts we may enumerate, and the successful applica- tion since of invention and science to them ; of the tri- umphs of the spinning-jenny, the spinning-frame and the power-loom — hundred-handed, like Briareus and his giant brothers of old ; the use of water for power instead of hand ; the steam engine, the cotton gin, steam navigation, rice mills, the telegraph, by land and sea; night turned into day by the hurtless lightning, and of the Michigan Telegraph Boy, to whom " God lent so divine a vision, that he has seen and measured, and has harnessed to our service L.ofC. lOO The Centennial of Incorporation. the subtlest forces of nature, and we look on in wonder, as at Edison's command dumb matter speaks the word that died away weeks ago upon the empty air, and falls upon the ear again, -with a living voiced This, then, is the Century, upon whose wonderful stream of progress and performance our city was commissioned to act her part. Let us scan the record of the hundred years since, and tell at Jeast some portion of the story of Charles- ton's first Century of municipal life. THE FIRST INTENDANT. The Act of the General Assembly which incorporated Charleston August 13th, 1783, was from the pen of Richard Hutson, whose name stands /?ri-^ on the roll of Intendants, and the memorial tablet you this day unveil could record no worthier name in our City's history. The mention of it calls up the lawyer, soldier, legislator, chancellor, who, the better to aid his country in her arduous struggle for liberty, passed from the possession of large wealth to indi- gence and poverty. General C. C. Pinckney said of him, that he knew of no single citizen to whom Carolina was more indebted for active zeal and perpetual sacrifices in her behalf, bearing even a severe captivity in a prison-ship at St. Augustine with uncomplaining patience and fidelity to the end. It should make us feel prouder of our city, that this true citizen in war should have had full recogni- tion when peace was proclaimed, and should have been awarded the first place in the City government at the first election. In this new station, as our annals tell us, he had to deal with many turbulent spirits, intent to disturb the peace of society, the natural sequence of war. Mobs ap- peared, some mischief was done and a good deal contem- plated, but by his zeal, firmness and activity he finally put down all irregularities and preserved the public honor and the public peace. South Carolina, too, was not unmindful of Richard Hut- son, having called him, with John Rutledge and John Ma- thews, to the Bench in 1781, as one of the three first Chan- ^^^. ^?~l.^.^^^ i^X^^i>^i^^cy . <^^5>^ ^rr^ ^^^x^er^-t-^'"'^^ ^^-^!^-^^^^^ i/^^^^?-g>6.^X^^t>t^ / (3^:^(^^^^^ J^^tMj. i/i^/^/^/i^ ■^^x ^^^^^-^^7-^V^^Ke^ V^^^' ^a^u^o^^. j^^/i^^i^ ,^^^y -y^ y ..^^^^y^^^^O^ i4/yi/y2i ^^J^ Q^Oi'tU^ci ^!d^^a^^ a^y^^ Wiuc^x^w^^ i^4/^ (ytu^iUu^ i Conintercial History. lOi cellors. Wc enjoy the freedom he gave his all to secure ; we do well to carve his name first on the snow-white cen- tennial marble, that his name and his example may be per- petuated to coming generations. The war of the Revolution had prostrated Charleston, commercially and financially, and the glowing narrative of her wealth and commercial importance in 1773 had given place to poverty and hardships ten years later. The Fede- ral Union, the State and the city were in the shadow of bankruptcy, disorganization was general, and the people were brought face to face with a gloomy condition of affairs. The readjustment of commercial and social bal- ances, after such a strain of the body politic, was a slow and trying process, and it took years to reach a stable con- dition. The first sign of revival was when our harbor was whitened with the sails of commerce, " that enlarger of the human mind, binding the ends of the earth together in golden chains," which brought bustle and movement on the water front, and renewed activity to our local industries. COMMERCIAL HISTORY. An association of merchants, under the name of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, existed here in the Colonial times. In Wells' Register and Almanac for 1775, the charges on protested Bills of Exchange are printed, as the action of the Chamber. It will be a satisfaction to all of our guild to know this, and to learn that within six months after the incorporation of Charleston the Chamber was again brought into existence. Quoting from the original Minute Book, still preserved as a valued memento of a hundred years ago by this useful and venerable Society, it appears that at meetings held 4th and 6th February, 1784, eighteen rules for the government of the Chamber were adopted, and a preamble, which re- cites that " the advantages arising from commerce to every State are so universally acknowledged that it has been an I02 The Centennial of Incorporation. object of constant and utmost attention ; hence any at- tempt to extend commerce, encourage industry, and adjust disputes relative to trade and navigation, must deserve the approbation of every well-wisher of his country. With these views, mercantile societies have been formed in trading cities, and proved equally beneficial and useful. In order to effect in this city an institution of the like nature, a con- siderable number of merchants met," &c. What will be regarded as of great interest is the preser- vation, through the vicissitudes of a century, of the auto- graph signatures of the first seventy members, which are re- produced herewith. The perusal of these names will recall many noted citizens, who, with their descendants since, have been prominently identified with the commercial fortunes of our city. This brief mention of the Chamber of Commerce, soon to commemorate its centennial, suggests a consideration of the tonnage of the port in that first business year after inde- pendence had been fully achieved. The principal articles of export were indigo, rice, tobacco, naval stores, timber and skins. Twelve ships, one bark and two brigs arrived during that year from the coast of Africa laden with slaves, each vessel averaging two hundred persons, total about three thousand slaves ; mostly tonnage from Old and New England. List of Vessels Sailing from the Port of Charleston for the year ijS^. 8i ships — total tonnage say 28,000 tons: 60 sailed for European ports, 9 sailed for W^est India, 7 sailed for Phila- delphia, 5 to Savannah for orders. 139 brigs — total tonnage say 2i,oco tons: 53 sailed for European ports, 42 sailed for West India, 15 sailed for Philadelphia, 1 1 sailed for Wilmington, 5 sailed for Boston, 5 sailed for New York, 5 sailed for Savannah, 3 sailed for Rhode Island. 226 schooners — total tonnage say 23,000 tons: 39 West India ports, 27 Northern ports, 160 to the neighboring ports of Wilmington, Savannah and St. Augustine. Couimercial History. 103 160 sloops — total tonnage say 10,000 tons: 3 foreign ports — London 3, Antwerp i ; 35 Northern ports, 47 West India ports. 75 to Wilmington, Savannah and St. Augustine. Aggregate tonnage 82,000. A total of 606 vessels, with an average tonnage of only 135 to each. Only one bark-rigged vessel arrived in 1784, and that was a slaver. In 1882 there were 1,076 clearings, with an average ton- nage of 625 each, equal to 672,500 tons. This comparative exhibit of ship arrivals shows at a glance the growth of commerce at rhis port for the hundred years. It is not possible to furnish a particular account of the value of the exports and imports as a whole, the coastwise cargoes not being entered at the Custom House in value, but the state- ment of tonnage will suffice for illustration of the increase of commerce at this port. UPLAND COTTON. In considering the wonderful growth of cotton in the Southern States within the last century, we call up an at- tractive topic. Before alluding to its marvellous develop- ment in its relation to Charleston, it will be interesting to note its place and progress in the world. Herodotus, four hundred years before Christ, tells us that the wild trees of India " bear fleeces as their fruit, surpass- ing those of sheep in beauty and excellence, and the Indians use cloths made from thes- trees." Nearchus, the Admiral of Alexander the Great, reports a machine, equivalent to a roller gin, in use among the Hindoos, which separated the lint from the seed, and describes trees in India bearing as it were bunches of wool, out of which the natives make gar- ments, wearing a shirt reaching to the knee, a sheet folded around the shoulder, and a turban folded around the head. The Greeks and Romans early used cotton goods to a limited extent as articles of exquisite luxury before they were acquainted with silk. " Sixty-three years before Christ, cotton awnings were used in the theatre at the Appollina- rian games, and Csesar covered the whole Roman Forum 104 ^^^^ Centennial of Incorporation. and the VlA Sacra from his own house even to the ascent of the Capitoh'ne hill, which appeared more wonderful than the gladiatorial exhibition itself." The culture of cotton commenced first in the East, and has been handed down for thousands of years, for I find that cotton was cultivated in gardens from remote antiquity in Chiria, yet this ingenious people never turned it to any account until the end of the thirteenth century, when it was first manufactured. In Central Africa cotton has also been a staple growth time out of memory; it is also of indigenous American growth. On the first landing of the Spaniards in Mexico they found it in considerable perfection, and the Mexicans seemed to be dependent upon this product, the wool of rabbits, feathers, and a fibrous plant called maguei, for their clothing materials, having neitlier wool, hemp or silk, and their flax was not used for these purposes. The able Clavigero says: "Out of cotton they fabricated nets of exceeding tenuity and as delicate and pure as those of Hol- land, and their cloths were interwoven into beautiful figures with the soft wool of rabbits ; mantles, bed curtains and carpets they finished elegantly with mingled cotton and feathers." When Cortez entered the City of Mexico in 1 5 19, Montezuma honored him " with gifts of finest cotton fab- rics," showing not only that this plant was cultivated in that country, but that they had knowledge of weaving nearly three centuries before the mechanical inventions of Hargreaves, Arkwright, Compton, Cartwright, Whitney and Watt multiplied for us the production and uses of cotton. Cortez sent to Charles V, of Spain, " cotton mantles, some all white, others mixed with white and black or red, green, yellow and blue, waistcoats, handkerchiefs, counterpanes, tapestries and carpets of cotton." Columbus found it wild in Hispaniola, and on the continent of South America, where it had already grown into an article of use for clothing and other purposes, the Brazilians making beds of it. Magellan and Drake make the surprising statement that cotton was one of the articles of dress among the American savages on their finding of the country. Commercial Histoi'y. 105 Schoolcraft, in his " History of the Indian Tribes," gives this exceedingly interesting statennent : " Spinning was practiced to a considerable extent among the Caribs, and the aborigines of all the West India Islands, even where little or no clothing was used. On landing on Guaguhana, Columbus found the inhabitants perfectly nak- ed ; and yet the women, he observes, had abundance of cot- ton yarn, and would exchange balls of it weighing twenty- five pounds, for the merest trifles. Of this they made their beds, which were suspended between two posts, and named hamacs, a name adopted by and in universal use among sea- men. In the same year (1492), he found the women of Cuba had a slight covering of netted cotton ; and in their houses large quantities of yarn, both wrought (woven or netted) and unwrought. In St. Domingo a chief gave to each of the Spaniards a dress of cotton. In his third voy- age, the inhabitants of the Gulf of Paria were observed with bands or fillets of cotton about their heads, and colored cloths of the same about their loins. "On another part of the coast, these cloths were beauti- fully wrought with various colors, so as to look like silk. In Yucatan similar embroidered garments were seen. These things were frequently offered for barter, but it does not ap- pear that any of the discoverers thought it worth his while to record the processes of their fabrication. It was the plates of gold worn by the men that stimulated inquiry, not the simple occupations of the women ; and hence not a syl- lable seems to have been put on record by the conquerors respecting native spinning and weaving. " It is really surprising how the numerous quantities of thread consumed in ancient Mexico, were ever made by so slow and awkward a process. The men were well clothed, and the women appeared to have been as comfortably dress- ed as country people with us are. Then there were ham- mocks, bedding, and constant demands for the warriors to be provided. A few items from the tax tables, given in the paintings, will show how heavy were the demands which spinsters had to meet in addition to those of their own fam- 14 To6 The Centennial of Incorporation. ilics. Cotton in bales, in yarn, and in blankets or mantles, caps and other parts of warrior's dresses, were regularly con- tributed. By single towns, four hundred bales of cotton wool was a common tax. A single town twenty-four hun- dred bundles of mantles (ponchos or blankets)," &c. It may be thought out of place to introduce this informa- tion about cotton in the far off past, but it will prove new and interesting information to most of my readers. A still more curious fact is, that objects of stone and clay, resembling spindle whorls, have been found in the Indian mounds of the West, supposed to have been built before the Christian era. The early discoverers of the Mes-cha-cebe, or Mississippi, and its tributary streams, claim to have seen cotton growing wild and in great plenty. In 1726 cotton was a staple pro- duct of Hispaniola, and in 1753 Jamaica exported 2,000 bags. In 1740-48 the average annual export from Barbadoes for the eight years was 600 bags. In the 1781-89 period, just previous to the advent of American cotton, England imported 150,000,000 pounds, or an average of 16,000,000 or 17,000,000 pounds per annum, and the sources of these supplies are seen in this exhibit for one of these years: From British West Indies 5,800,000 lbs. French and Spanish Colonies 5,500,000 " Dutch Colonies 1,600,000 " Portuguese Colonies 2,000,000 " Smyrna.or Turkey 5,000,000 " 19,900,000 " To protect and encourage the English carrying trade from those countries, there was a stipulation in Jay's Treaty (1792) against the importation of American cotton into England, but this was stricken out by the United States Senate. This is mentioned to show how little importance was at- tached by Mr. Jay to American cotton at that date. In contrast with the present condition of cotton let us look at the plant in our own country in the seventeenth Commercial History. 107 and eighteenth centuries. Cotton was first cultivated in America in 162 1, and " tlieir plentiful coming up was a sub- ject of interest in America and England." In Carroll's His- torical Collections mention is made of its growth in 1666, and the plant was found to grow well on the Ashley in the first years of the settlement there (1670-71). In 1748, among the exports from Charles Town were " 7 bags of cotton wool," valued at about $16 a bag; in 1770 three bags more were sent to England. In the year 1784 John Teasdale, a merchant of Charleston, shipped from this city to J. & J. Teasdale & Co., Liverpool, eight bags of cotton. When the vessel arrived out the laughable incident occurred of the cotton being seized on the ground that it could not have been grown in America, Upon satisfactory proof, which had to be furnished, it was released. This cotton shipment was the first ever made from the United States to a European port. To show the obscurity of this plant, Mr. T. Coxe, of Philadelphia, writing in Rees' Encyclopedia, says: " Not a single bale of cotton was exported from this country of native growth before 1787," and in Smithers' History of Liverpool the eight bales above referred to are claimed to have been received from the Spanish Main, or the West Indies, and reshipped at Charleston. The export of cotton to Europe was: In 1785 (Charleston) 14 Bags. 17S6 6 " 17S7 109 " In 1788 3S0 Bags. 1789 842 " 1790 81 " It is evident that there was a failure of the American crop in the last year. I have no means of knowing what effect was produced on the Liverpool Exchange, but it may be supposed that cotton speculation started then. How much was taken by " speculators," how much for " manu- factures," or how much for "export," has never been re- corded. Of the fourteen bags sqnt to Europe in 1785, ten bags were shipped by John Teasdale, who, it was said, had bought the year before the first bag of American cotton ever grown in South Carolina. io8 The Centennial of Incorporatioii. The prices of cotton at United States ports in 1790-1801 were as follows : 1790 I4>^ 1791 26 1792 29 1793 32 1794 33 1795 ' 36K 1796 Z^Yz 1797 34 1798 39 1799 44 1800 28 1801 44 In 1 8 14, on account of the war, it had declined to 15 cents; 1815, 21 cents; 1816, 29^ cents; 1817, 26^ cents; 1818, 34 cents; and again declined to 15 cents 1824, and in 1825 rose to 21 cents. For the ten ensuing years the price averaged about 10 cents. We have now to point out the marvellous development of cotton culture. This plant, always suited to our soil and climate, but limited by the difficulty of separating the seed from the fibre to uses purely domestic, and a culture so small as hardly to be estimated, rose at once after Whitney's invention of the cotton gin to the highest commercial im- portance. The immense areas of uncultivated land in the South seemed provided for the accommodation of this great crop. Its introduction energized the Southern people and opened a wide field for exertion ; indigence might now hope for cotnpetency, and competency aspire to wealth ; new labor was introduced from abroad or transferred from sur- rounding States, and under the impulse thus given to in- dustry, wealth and refinement spread through the land, and that progress which is ordinarily the slow result of years was realized immediately. The great factor in this wonderful growth was that mar- vellous invention to which is justly attributable the found- ing of what has come to be called the Empire 01 Cotton. It has rarely, if ever, occurred that the invention of a single machine has given employment to so many millions of people, and has added so much to the substantial wealth and resources of the world. Those of Arkwright for spin- ning cotton, and Fulton for propelling vessels by steam can Commercial History. 109 alone in these respects be compared with it ; here is the simple story : Mr. Eli Whitney, a native of Massachusetts, a gentleman of liberal culture and great mechanical talent, was gradu- ated from Yale College in 1792, and went to Georgia to teach in the family of Mrs. Miller, a sister of General Greene. In her house he met many planters, all of whom regretted that so valuable a product which Georgia could produce so easily should be useless because of the difficulty of separating the cotton from the seed. He there noticed the difficult operation of picking the seed from the lint by hand. He studied the subject, and the result was the saw gin ; his whole work was perfected in Mrs. Miller's house. I have before me a copy of the " Letters Patent," dated 14th March, 1794, to Eli Whitney, attached to which is the de- scription of the machine and a complete set of illustrations. Soon after the patent was granted the machines were put upon the market, eagerly sought for, and their use initiated that great development which is so fully illustrated in the statistics which accompany this narrative.* To the honor of South Carolina let the record be per- petuated ; the General Assembly paid the great inventor $50,000 for the free use of the gin in South Carolina. North Carolina and Tennessee made some compensation for similar rights, but the State where the benefits from this machine were clearly the greatest, not only withheld remuneration, but opposed it in the Federal Courts. It was the good fortune of a South Carolinian, Judge William Johnson, of the Supreme Bench, after thirteen years of costly litigation to the plaintiff, to preside on Circuit, and decide in Mr. Whitney's favor. In his charge to the jury, he did full justice to the original inventor, as well as to the *A pateiil for a cotton gin was issued under date of I2th May, 1796, to Hog- den Holmes, which was operated by water-power on Mill Creek, Fairfield County, S. C, in the mill house of Mr. Kincaid, and is reported to have worked well. Eli Whitney's patent was contested in the United States Court, in the Georgia District, for thirteen years, during which protracted period I can find no trace of the Holmes patent, while the final judicial decision was in favor of Whitney, whose machines were then universally in use. no The Centennial of Incorporation. great importance and utility of the invention itself. To South Carolinians such an association with this wonderful instrument is properly a subject of pride and satisfaction. The hand-loom was in use until 1813. The secret of the power-loom was so well kept in England, that the crude efforts to reproduce it in this country from the recollections of operatives from England, were not successful until 1822; and the first statistics of cotton manufacture were not re- ported before 1840, and now the American mill product aggregates $200,000,000 a year. The following statistical exhibit will show the marvellous work accomplished through the instrumentality of Whit- ney's cotton gin, the spinning-jenny and the power-loom ! There were exported in 1791 of all kinds of cotton, 189,316 pounds, equal to 473 bags of 400 pounds, for all the ports. Whitney's gin came into use in the year 1794, and in 1795, 5,276,306 pounds, equal to 13,191 bales of 400 pounds, were exported. In 1838, 595,952,297 pounds, equal to 1,489,880 bales of 400 pounds each, were exported, while in a recent year, 3,150,000,000 pounds, equal to 7,875,000 bales of 400 pounds each, were grown in a single crop, of which 274,500,000 pounds, equal to 685,000 bales of 400 pounds each, were shipped from this port alone, and the wants of the world now require 6,000,000 to 7,000,000 bales of American cotton. To-day there are 1,619,000 acres of land in South Carolina devoted to upland cotton culture, with a product of more than half a million bales of 500 pounds weight. The introduction of cotton into Europe, and its manu- facture, are events which have had amazing results, exert- ing, it is difficult to say, how large an influence on society and governments. The wealth and power of Great Britain, acknowledged and felt by all the world, have a nearer con- nection with the cotton plant and cotton manufacture than with any other plant or industry whatever. McCulloch says: "The influence of the stupendous discoveries of Hargreaves, Arkwright, Compton, Cartwright and others, have overcome all difficulties ; neither the cheapness of Commercial History. Ill labor in Hitidoostan, nor excellence to which the natives had attained, have enabled them to stand the competition of Ens^land's purchase of their cotton, and after carrying it 5,000 miles to he manufactured, transporting the goods back, and sellin;^ them to the growers ; a grand triumph of mechanical genius, and accomplished in a very few years. LONG STAPLE COTTON. Between the Ashley and the Savannah Rivers the coast of Carolina is lined with what are known as the sea islands; the largest and most numerous are around St. Helena Sound and Broad River. In area these islands represent 500 square miles, exclusive of salt marsh ; but of this area there were only 23,887 acres, equal to about 37^ square miles, in cotton cultivation in 1879. Here is grown those fine grades of cotton which have made the Charles- ton market famous in the world. Less than one hundred years ago one bag of sea island cotton was the export. This was grown on St, Simon's Island, Georgia, in 1788, from seed brought from a West India island. Mr. Kinsey Burden, of South Carolina, obtained some of this seed and planted without result, and it was not until 1790 that Mr. William Elliott was successful with a small crop grown on the Northwest part of Hilton Head Island, said to be the spot where Ribault landed the first Colonists from France in 1562. This cotton sold for twenty-one cents per pound. Subsequently, in 1805, Mr. Burden began selecting seed, and through this process, noting results year by year and keeping his secret, he was enabled to improve the staple, and in 1825 he sold a crop of 60 bags at $1.16 per pound, and continuing his careful attention to seed selection and cultivation, he sold in 1828 two bags at $2 per pound. From that date the secret became generally known that the fineness of the cotton was due to skillful selection of seed, and careful cultivation, and to such perfection has the staple been brought by this means that entire crops have 112 The Centennial of Incorporation. been sold, not by samples, but by the brand on the bag, as the finest wines are sold. To prevent frauds hi marks, many planters placed cards, with their names and the name and locality of the plantation, and the brand printed on them, in the bag while being packed ; and some planters in packing their finest grade cottons also covered the inside of the coarse bagging in which it was packed with close-tex- tured cotton goods to protect the contents from dust in transit. There was great pride in those days among the sea island planters as to the market results of their crops, as it indicated the degree of perfection in their culture. The war of 1860-5 brought utter ruin to these splendid planting operations during its continuance. Ihe seed car- ried to the interior deteriorated in quality in a different soil and climate, and so scarce was choice seed from this cause in 1865-6, that Mr. Jos. T. Dill at one time had, in an ordinary letter envelope, the seed from which all the present fine long staple cottons have been since derived. This seed had been saved by the late Capt. George C. Hey- ward, and given to Mr. Dill, with the assurance of its great value. From this small beginning, and under the old per- fecting process of seed selection and careful culture, the sea island cottons are once again produced up to the best grades of earlier years, although from many causes the demand for these extra fine grades is so limited as not to warrant more than the preparation of a small percentage of the whole crop. The proportion of lint to seed cotton has since 1865 been increased ; formerly, one pound of lint cotton to five pounds of seed cotton was regarded satisfac- tory. Thanks to Mr. Clark, of James Island, a fine variety of long staple cotton has been produced in late years, which yields one pound of lint to three and a half pounds of seed cotton. Despite the sweeping disaster of the war, the sea islands have since been developed to a considerable extent. For convenient reference, I give the sea island cotton crop figures at Charleston for the 1842-83 period, furnished by Mr. Jos. T. Dill, of tjjis city; Commercial History. 113 1842 20,461 1843 24,291 1844 19.136 1845 28,472 1846 30,201 1847 21,105 1848 21,925 1849-50 28,833 1S50-51 28,362 1S51-52 29,990 1S52-53 32,814 1853-54 39.686 1854-55 40,841 1855-56. 45.512 1856-57 45.314 1857-5S 40,566 1858-59 47.592 1859-60 46,413 1S60-61 War 1S61-62 War 1862-63 War Bags. 1863-64 War 1864-65 War 1865-66 19,015 1866-67. • • •, 33,326 1867-68 20,927 1868-69 17.956 1869-70 ^ 27,018 1870-71 21,348 1871-72 15,922 1872-73 26,289 1873-74 19,912 1874-75 17-027 1875-76 14,996 1876-77 17,823 1877-78 22.3S8 1878-79 19,900 1879-80 27,077 1880-81 36,815 1881-82 36,960 1882-83 36.143 The following .statement is compiled from DeBovv's Re- view ; and for a portion of the period the prices are given, all of which will be useful for reference: Exports of Sea Island Cotton from i8oj to 18^2. Year. Quantity — Lbs. 1805 8,787,659 1806 6,096,082 1807 8,926,011 1808 949,051— Emb'rgo 1S09 8,664,213 1810 8,604,078 iSll 8,029,576 1812 4,367,806— War. Year. Quantity — Lbs. 1813 4.134.8491 1814 2,520,388 s I8I5 7,449.951 1816. . . 9,900,326 I8I7 8,101,880 I81S 3,080,838] 1819 3,442,186 1820 6,020,101 C War. From So. Ca. only. Year. Quantity — Lbs. Price. Average 1821 11,344,066 l2>^@3od. ^l%A. \'?i'2.l 11,250,635 10 @2Sd. I9d, 1823 12,136,688 II @24d. I7>^d. 1824 9,525,722 ii«4:@27d. 19/4^ (•• 1825 9,655,278 15 @42d. 28>^d. 1826 5,972,852 10 @3od. 2od. 1827 15,140,798 9^@2od. I4^d. 15 Price. Average 10 @22d. l6d. 9 @2ld. I5cl. Il^@20d. i6d. 9>^@i8d. i3Xd. 9>^@i8d. isHd- 10>^@22d. i6Xd. i3K@26d. iQ^d. 14 @33d. 24Kd. 14 @36d. 25d. 12 @4od. 26d. T14 77^ in same proportion for increased weights. By the Act of 1792 the following postage rates by land were established. It will be noticed that the distance was a factor in the rate of postage : Cents. For every single letter not exceeding 30 miles 6 For every single letter over 30 miles, and not exceeding 60 miles 8 For every single letter over 60 miles, and not exceeding 100 miles 10 For every single letter over 100 miles, and not exceeding 150 miles I2|4 For every single letter over 150 miles, and not exceeding 200 miles 15 For every single letter over 200 miles, and not exceeding 250 miles 17 For every single letter over 250 miles, and not exceeding 350 miles 20 For every single letter over 350 miles, and not exceeding 450 miles 22 For every single letter over 450 miles 25 For every double letter, double the said rates. For every triple letter, triple the said rates. For every package weighing one ounce avoirdupois, to pay at the rate of four single letters for each ounce, and in that proportion for any greater weight. There have been frequent successive reductions of rates and extensions of distances, until at this date an ordinary letter can be sent across the continent for two cents. As likely to prove interesting I give the revenue of the Charles- ton Post Office at intervals for eighty years past. It will be noticed that the high rates and the multiples for dis- tances in 1803 brought $13,010.79 for gro.ss revenue, while on the basis of three cents for all distances the figures of 1882 are $76,227.32. 136 The Centennial of Incorporation. Statement of the Receipts of the Post Office of Charleston, S. C, for the calendar years noted. Year. Net Revenue. Gross Receipts. 1783 Incomplete 1793 1803 1 9.582.03 $13,010.79 1S13 13,845.72 17,252.21 1823 22,305.61 26,829.71 1833 30,250.24 35.390-35 1843 45.395-10 53.393-94 1853 29,712.97 40,261.28 1873 •• 43.157-03 56,083.93 1882 62,449.51 76,227.32 THE HEALTH OF CHARLESTON. The report.s, more or le.ss currently published, indicating the ratio of mortality in Charleston as being extremely high, and such statements being prejudicial to the good name of the city, has induced the preparation of the ac- companying table, which covers a period of fifty years, and embraces Northern cities in comparison with our own white population. COMPARATIVE MORTALITY. Ratio per 1,000 Whites in the City of Charleston, S. C. Cities. 1830. 1840. ' 1850. I 1860. ! 1870. | 1880. ' ^^^^' '^^'i" ^^^ Philadelphia j 20.90' 17.78 19-63 19.18' 22.72' 20.91121.12 20.18 Charleston ! 25.65! 18.94 18.68 17.70 23.69 22.01 126.67 21.11 Boston 20.00j 22.19 24.59, 2468: 24.30 23.53139.29 23.21 Baltimore 22.82 20.04, 24.91I 22.91! 27.09 27.16144.94 24.15 New York 1 25.66I 25.16! 30.701 28.19! 28.84I 26.47,165.02! 27.50 It is a source of great regret that since 1865 the colored race in the South has shown so high a rate of mortality in Southern cities. Prior to that date they were carefully reared and were the recipients during life of watchful medi- cal attention ; and, furthermore, had wholsome food and The Health of Char/csion. 137 comfortable homes. Under these conditions the ratio among the colored people was in 1830, 24.85, iw 1840, 27.60, in 1850, 20.98, or an average of about 24.47. I'"" 1870 it had risen to 41.01, and in 1880 to 41.08. Comparing Charles- ton's mortuary statistics of colored population with other Southern cities we have this exhibit for 1880: Nashville, Tennessee 35-23 Norfolk, Virginia 37 -06 Charleston, South Carolina 41 .08 New Orleans, Louisiana 44-49 Savannah, Georgia 45-47 In this connection it is proper to mention that Charleston has ever since 1865 maintained an extensive hospital and dispensary service for the sick poor. The extent of this ser- vice is best understood by this statement, that in the period of 1871-80, covering ten years, there were i 14,592 cases of (iisease treated at the public expense in hospitals and by the dispensary physicians. Of this large aggregate, averag- ing 11,459 cases per annum, the proportions are, whites 27,826, or 2,782 per annum ; colored 86,766, or 8,676 per annum. With a view of reaching more effectively the sick poor a larger outlay of money has been made in this department for 1883, than in previous years, including a larger distribution of medicines. The public attention is directed to this important matter, and whatever can be done will be done in the future, as in the past, to mitigate the condition shown by the above statistics. The great difficulty, however, in the case is the careless- ness and improvidence of living, among many of the colored people. Under the new dispensary system or- ganized in January last, which went into operation February 1st, the statistics of the Registrar's office show that for four months 5,659 patients were treated, of which 864 were white and 4,795 colored, and 18,961 visits attended to. Upon this ratio for the balance of the year the aggregate of medical attention to the sick poor will be very much larger than ever before, pointing to more activity in the Health Depart- 18 138 The Centennial of Incorporation. ment, and we shall hope therefore for a lower mortuary rate per 1,000 as the result of these labors among this class of population. FEDERAL OFFICIALS IN CHARLESTON. Interwoven with the commerce of this port are the several departments of the Federal government. It is under the authority of the Union that Charleston is a port, and that it has authorized relations with the commerce of the world. The Federal Courts, Custom House, Post Office and Treas- ury are necessary to the city's life, and so, it must be inter- esting to know who has represented the Federal govern- ment in these various positions during the past hundred years. I have, therefore, taken some pains to secure a cor- rect roll of Judges, Attorneys, Collectors of the Port, Post- masters and Treasurers, by whom appointed, and the dates of their public service, which is presented herewith : Judges of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. 1789 — 26th September Thomas Pinckney President Washington. 1789 — iSth November William Drayton President Washington. 1790 — 14th June Thomas Bee President Washington. 1801 — 3d March Jacob Read President Adams. 1812 — 17th March Thomas Parker .President Madison. 1812 — 7th May John Drayton President Madison. 1823 — 17th February Thomas Lee President Monroe. 1839 — 30th October R. B. Gilchrist President Vati Buren. 1856 — I2th May A. Gordon Magrath President Pierce. 1866 — I2th March George S. Bryan President Johnson. Attorneys of the United States for the District of South Carolina. 1789 — 26th September John J. Pringle President Washington. 1792 — 2 1st November Thomas Parker President Washington. 1821 — 7th February John Gadsden. . . President Monroe. Federal Officials in Charleston. 139 1825 — loth January John Gadsden President Monroe. 1829 — 2d March John Gadsden President J. Q. Adams. 1831 — 28th February Edward Frost President Jackson. 1831 — 25th July Robert B. Gilchrist President Jackson. 1835 — 28th December Robert B. Gilchrist President Jackson. 1839 — 6th November Edward McCrady President Van Buren. 1844 — 7th May. Edward McCrady President Tyler. 1848 — i6th May Edward McCrady President Polk. 1850 — 26th October William Whaley President Filmore. 1850 — 13th November J- L. Petigru President Filmore. 1853 — 17th March Thomas Evans President Pierce. 1857 — 2ist April James Conner President Buchanan. 1866 — 23d May John Phillips President Johnson. 1867 — 28th March D. T. Corbin President Johnson. 1871 — 24th March D. T. Corbin President Grant. 1875 — 25th March D. T. Corbin President Grant. 1877 — 26th September Lucius C. Northrop President Hayes. 1881 — loth May Samuel W. Melton President Garfield. Collectors of Customs for the District of Charleston, S. C. 1791 — 2ist March George Abbott Hall President Washington. 1791 — 7th November Isaac Holmes President Washington. 1797 — 4th July James Simons President Adams. 1806 — 2ist January Simeon Theus President Jefferson. 1819 — 22d February William Johnson President Monroe. 1819 — 23d August James R. Pringle President Monroe. 1840 — 2ist July Henry L. Pinckney President Van Buren. 1841 — 9th August William J. Grayson President Tyler. 1853 — 19th March William F. Colcock. .... .President Pierce. 1865 — 2d June Albert G. Mackey President Johnson. 1869 — 26th June George W. Clark President Grant. 1873 — 30th June Henry G. Worthington . . .President Grant. 1877 — 15th December Cyrus H. Baldwin President Hayes. 1882 — 15th February Thomas B. Johnston President Arthur. Postmasters appointed at CJinrleston, S. C, since lySj. 1783 Thomas Hall' President . 1794 — 1st January Thomas W. Bacot President Washington. 1834 — 19th December Alfred Huger President Jackson. 1867 — 5th April Stanley G. Trott President Johnson. 1873 — i8th March Benjamin A. Boseman President Grant. 1881— 6th May William N. Taft President Garfield. * The records of the department show that Thomas Hall was in possession of the office as Postmaster July ist, 1783, but do not give the date of his appointment. It is also shown that he was reappointed February i6th, 1790. Prior to the year 1836, all Postmasters were ap- pointed by the Postmaster-General. 140 The Centennial of Incorporation. Assistant Treasurers at CJiarleston, 5. C. The office of Assistant Treasurer of the United States at Charleston, S. C, was created by the Act of Congress, ap- proved August 6th, 1846: * 1846— 2Sth August William Laval President Polk. 1849 — 2ist June ...William M.Martin President Taylor. 1853 — iStli April Benjamin C. Pressley President Pierce. 1S66 — 25th July Alexander McDowell President Johnson. 1866 — 20th October Joshua D. Giddings President Johnson. 1874— 13th April Cyrus H.Baldwin President Grant. Mr. Baldwin was the incumbent up to the time when the office was abolished by the Act of Congress, approved August 15th, 1876. TOPOGRAPHY OF CHARLES TOWN. With the transcripts of the Shaftesbury papers, are several plats giving authentic information of localities at and near "Old Town" and "New Town"; this has been carefully transfered to the new map of the city published herewith, and the reader will find much interesting information, not before accessible to the general public. With this map to refer to, it is easy to follow the narrative, and that which will first attract attention is the description sent by " the Council to the Lords Proprietors under date of 22 March, 167-^," about eleven months after the arrival of the Colony : " We have with much adoe, our people being weake by reason of scarcety of provisions, pallasadoed about 9 acres of land, being a point, whereon we first set downe for our better security and mounted seaven great Gunns, all the other carriages having been lost with the ship Port Royally and when the people have done planting shall proceed to finish all, being very forward in our pr'paration * * '" * for the land being interwoven with great Creekes and *The United States Treasury Department has no record of the officers of the United States Bank at Charleston, S. C. Topography of Charles Toxvn. 14I Marshes and sometimes a neck of land running between two Rivers, &c. When we arrived here we thought it most conducing to our safety to build a town, where we are now settled, it being a point with a very convenient landing, and safe!}' fortified, being almost surrounded with a large marsh and Creek, and after the first joint planting, upon our arrival, w'ch necessity had soe put upon us; That the people might have sufficient land to plant, and keepe a small stock, and that we might keepe as neare together as we could for the better security of this place, we were forced to grant them towne lotts containing eleaven poles or thereabouts p'r head and Tenn acres p'r head to plant as aforesaid ; which tenn acre lotts were and are laid out to them and about the Towne from the South, Westwards to ye North, by w'ch we humbly conceive we shall pr'vent any sudden surpriz, all this we were forced to exercise at first for our better defence and speedy concourse to the Towne, not knowing what use we might make thereof before our people did arrive. And now more people are come we find that if they be not suf- fered to choose their own conveniencys, it may prove a great retarding of a speedy peopling of this country; for non omnibus arbusta jiivant ; some delighting" to be near the sea and others from it." A visitor to-day might find " Old Town " by this descrip- tion ; it was a very small area, where the dwelling houses were located, and selected for security by the natural ad- vantages, and from this protected locality they went forth to their planting lands adjacent. The oldest list, embracing sixty-two lots and owners, I hereto append, but presume, from some of the names, that the record was of a little later period than the first Colony : Lot I to Edward Mathewes. I Lot 8 to Ralph Marshall. Lot 2 to Ensign John Boone. Lot 3 to Lieut. Henry Hughes, Lot 4 to Christopher Portman. Lots 5 and 6 to Capt. Florence O'Sul- livan. I Lot 13 to Richard Batin. Lot 7 to John Williamson. 1 Lot 14 to James Jours. Lot 9 to Capt. Joseph Bayley. Lot 10 to Maj. Thomas Gray. Lot II to John Foster. Lot 12 to Capt. Gyles Hall. 142 The Centennial of Incorporation. Lot 15 to ffenry Wood. Lots 16 and 17 to Wm. Kemis. (Sold to Capt. Geo. Thompson.) Lot 18 to Ensign Hugh (Carteret. Lot 19 to Richard Deyas. Lots 20 and 40 to George Beadon. Lot 21 to Philip Comerton. Lot 22 to Sir John Yeamans. Lots 23 and 32 to William Owen. Lots 24 and 25 to Capt. Stephen Bull. Lots 26 and 27 to Capt. Florence O'SuUivan. Lot 28 to Priscilla Burke. Lot 29 to John Coming. Lot 30 to Capt. Henry Braine. Lot 31 to Samuel West. Lot 33 to Thomas Turpin. Lot 34 to Timothy Briggs. Lot 35 to John Culpepper. Lot 36 to John Pinkard. Lots 37 and 54 to Maurice Mathewes. Lot 38 to Michael Smith. Lot 39 (not delivered). Lot 41 to Thomas Smith. Lot 42 to Richard Cole. Lot 43 to John Marewik. Lot 44 to Joseph Dalton. Lot 45 to Joseph Pendarvis. Lot 46 to Charles Miller. Lot 47 to Capt. John Robinson. Lot 48 (not delivered). Lot 49 (not delivered). Lots 50, 51, 52 and 53 to Lords Pro- prietors. Lot 55 to Thomas Thompson. Lot 56 to Ensign Henry Prettye. Lot 57 to James Smith. Lot 58 to Thomas Ingram. Lots 59 and 60 to Capt. Nathaniel Sayle. l,ot 61 to Thomas Hurt, for his wife. Lot 62 to The Lords Proprietors, The planting lands were South, West and North of " Old Town," occupying the river fronn Wappoo to the bend op- posite the Atlantic Phosphate Works, and extending West- ward some distance ; a reference to the map will show how well these several farms were located, and the first thought was evidently to occupy this section of the river front, which would leave only the West side to be defended. On the map will be found the owners names, the amount of land in each farm, and the several locations, all correctly transferred from the original plats, received last year from the London Record Office. It will be noticed how few names have sur- vived the two centuries of time. The views of the Proprietors as to the social and indu.s- trial state of the Colony are shown in the instructions issued to Governor Sayle and his associates ; the arrange- ments for lands were as follows : " A hundred and fifty (150) acres of land were to be granted to every freeman who went out at his own cost, with an addition of one hundred and fifty for every man servant and one hundred for every woman servant whom he might transport. A hundred acres Topography of Charles Town. 143 were to be granted to all servants at the expiration of their term of service. These quantities were to be diminished in the next year to one hundred acres and seventy acres re- spectively, and after that date to seventy and sixty. " The poorer class of settlers were to be supplied with food, clothes and tools as a loan out of the common store. Every freeholder was to have, in addition to his country estate, a town lot of one-twentieth the extent of his whole domain." The natural advantages of Oyster Point had not escaped even the first Governor, for Secretary Dalton tells us, that " there is a place between Ashley River and Wando River, about 600 acres, left vacant for a town and fort, by the direction of the old Governor Coll. Sayle, for that it com- mands both the rivers ; it is, as it were, a key to open and shut this settlement into safety or danger." It is very apparent that there was an early intention to change the location of Charles Town from the West bank of the Ashley to the present site of this city, and there is a reasonable inference, from the perusal of the early records, that there were land owners and houses at Oyster Point soon after the landing at Albemarle Point, and before the new town was ordered surveyed and laid out officially. In the Council journal of date 21st February, 167!^, ten months after the first landing, this entry is found : " Mr. Henry Hughes came this day before the Grand Councill and voluntarily surrendered up the one halfe of his land nere a place upon the Ashley River knowne by the name of the Oyster Poynt, to be employed in and towards enlarging of a Towne and common of pasture there intended to be erected. " Mr. John Coming, and Affera his wife, came likewise before the Grand Councill and freely gave up one halfe of their land nere the said place for the use aforesaid." There was by this, a clear ownership of land on this side of the river, a few months after the Sayle Colony landed, and its acceptance by the Council from the owners for the laying out of a town, is a matter of public record. 144 TJie Cente7inial of Incorporation. On the 23d April, 167!^, is this entry, which is very inter- esting : " Upon the consideration this day had of the better set- tling of this Province according to the Lords Proprietors' directions, it is advised and resolved by the Grand Councill that warrants be forthwith issued out to the Surveyor Gene- rail for the laying out of three colonies or squares of twelve thousand acres (that is to say), one collony or square of twelve thousand acres about Charles Towne, another about James Towne, and a third upon a place knowne at present by the name of the Oyster Poynt." It is known that the James Town settlers early aban- doned their location and joined the other settlers, and it is possible this may account for the growth of " Oyster Poynt." for in the Council journal of date i8th June, 1672, I find the following order, which presupposes some numbers in the then resident population on this side of the river. " That all the inhabitants on the other part of the river called the Oyster Poynt doe repaire to the plantation there, now in the possession of Carterett Cooper, and being soe embodyed doe march forward to the plantation now in the possession of Mr. Thomas Norris or Mr. William Morrill which may be thought most safe and useful! for that designe under the command of Mr. Robert Downe, there to re- maine and exercise such orders and rules as the Grand Coun- cill shall thinke fitt to be prosecuted for the better safety of that part of this settlement. "And that all the inhabitants in and about New Towne doe repaire to New Towne aforesaid and there remaine under the command of Mr. Richard Conant, according to such rules and instructions as the said Richard Conant all- ready hath and from time to time shall receive from the Grand Councill for the better preservation of the safety of the said Towne." The original boundaries of " New Towne " were from Oyster Point on the South up to a line now represented by Hasell and Beaufain Streets on the North, and between Ashley and Cooper Rivers; as first laid out there was a Topography of Charles Toivn. 145 fortified section, bounded by vvh;vt is now Meeting Street on the West ; a line from East Bay Street, a little North of the present St. Philip's Church, formed its Northern boundary, and Water Street was its Southern extremity. The plan of this town was known as the "Grand Model." At this distance of time, it is curious to read Dr. Ram- say's description of the topography of the present city a century ago, South of the line of what is now Ilasell and Beaufain Streets. If any one is curious as to the disposi- tion of the ballast from arriving ships the past two centu- ries, he can possibly have it all accounted for after examining the new map, reading the accompanying narrative of Dr. Ramsay, and finding that the bold creeks and borders of marsh, the ponds and mud-flats of that period are alni()st entirely obliterated, and are now occupied by some of the most attractive residences ami places of business in our city. A plan of Charles Town from a survey of Edward Crisp, Esq., in 1704, published at page 242, City Year Book, 1880, may further assist the reader in determining localities. "The site of Charles Town in its natural state, was a slip of land stretching Southeastwardly between two rivers, and projecting into the harbor formed by their junction, and divided into a number of peninsulas by creeks and marshes indenting it on three sides, so as to leave but little unbroken highland in the middle. The first buildings extended along East Bay Street, and had a marsh on their whole front. A considerable creek, named Vanderhorst Creek, occupied the foundation of Water Street, and passing beyond Meeting Street, sent out a branch Northward nearly to the Presbyterian Church. Another creek stretched Northwestwardly nearly parallel to East Bay Street, from the neighborhood of MacLeod's lots, through Longitude Lane and to the North of it. The same kind of low ground ran up Queen Street, then called Dock Street, beyond the French Church, and through Beresford Alley, (Chalmers Street,) till it approached Meet- ing Street. The North end of Union Street (State Street) was planted with rice about the middle of the eighteenth 10 146 The Centennial of Incorporation. century. Another very large creek occupied the site of the present Central Market and extended Westwardly be- yond Meeting Street, which diverged Southwardly almost to the Independent Church, and Northwardly spreading extensively and then dividing into two branches running to the Northwest and to the Northeast, so as to cover a large portion of ground. Besides the marsh and these creeks which nearly environed three sides of the improved part of Charlestown, there was another creek a little to the Southward of what is now Water Street, which stretched Westwardly over to Church Street, and another which ran Northwardly up Meeting Street, and then ex- tended across Westwardly nearly to King Street. A creek ran from the West near where Peter Smith's house now stands, and nearly parallel to South Bay, till it approached the last mentioned creek, and was divided from it by King Street and a slip of land on each side; six other creeks ran Eastwardly from Ashley River, three of which stretched across the peninsula so as to approximate to King Street. There were also ponds and low grounds in different parts of the town. One of these extended on the East side of King Street, almost the whole distance between Broad and Tradd Streets. This was granted to the French Church in 1701, but being useless in its then state was leased out by them for fifty years. In the course of the period the tenants improved and built upon it. There was also a large body of low ground at the intersection of Hasell and Meeting Streets. The elder inhabitants often mention a large pond where the Court House now stands. It is believed that this was artificial. It is probable that the intrenchments attached to the Western fortifications of Charles Town, which extended up and down Meeting Street from the vicinity of the Independent Church to the vicinity of the Presbyterian Church, were dug so deep as to cause a constant large collection of water at that middle part of the lines. It was the site of Johnson's covered half-moon, and of a draw- bridge, over which was the chief communication between the town and the country. No prudent engineer would TopograpJiy of Charles Town. 147 erect such works as these in a pond, though when they were erected in the moist soil of Charles Town they would be very likely to produce one. Such, with some small alterations, was the situation of Charles Town for the first seventy years after its settlement." Along the Eastern line of the marsh referred to as in front of East Bay Street in the early years, there had been built in 1762 a sort of sea wall, as shown in the view of the city published in the Year Book 1882, at page 341. This extended from about Market Street to Water Street, and had projecting angles for mounting guns for defence ; from this base the present docks and piers have been projected, previous to which vessels anchored in the harbor and dis- charged and loaded in lighters. In 1696-7, what is now Queen Street is described as "a little street that leads from Cooper to Ashley River," and East Bay as " a street running parallel with Cooper River from Ashley River to the French Church." The early town was not wanting in coast defences. Towards Cooper River were Blake's bastion, Granville bastion, a half-moon, and Craven bastion ; on the South Creek (about Water Street) were the Palisades and Ashley bastion ; on the North a line, and facing Ashley River were Colleton bastion, John- son's covered half-moon with a draw-bridge in the line, and another to the half-moon, with Carterett bastion next to it. In 1769 Boundary Street was laid out from Anson to King Street, and in 1770 as far West as the open pond at Smith Street. Upon the lands now known as Marion Square, the town-gate of the Revolutionary war was erected, covered by a tabby or shell-horn work, a remnant of which is still standing, and has been recently surrounded with an iron railing. As late as 1792 the remains of the military works erected during the Revolutionary war were visible around the circuit of the city. Boundary, now Calhoun Street, was nominally the Northern limit of the city, but the habitable portion fell short of it. Old records mention the existence at that date of clay houses on Boundary Street, which had the merit of cheapness, but the " specifications " 148 TJie Centennial of Incorporation. for such constructions have not been preserved. There was no further change in boundaries until the annexation of the territory North of Calhoun Street in 1849, which embraces the present city limits. WARDS OF THE CITY— 1783-1S83. The Act of incorporation divided the then city South of what is now Calhoun Street into thirteen Wards, each of which was represented by a Warden, and from among the thirteen so elected the Intendant was chosen to serve the term of one year. Starting from Wilkins' Fort, at the South end of Church Street, a point about West of the Holmes' house on East Battery, Wards i, 2, 3 and 4 composed that section of the city lying to the East of the present Church and Anson Streets ; Wards 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 lay between Church and Anson Street on the East and King Street on the West ; Wards 10, 11, 12 and 13 composed all that then was of the city lying West of King Street. The following are the particular boundaries, as described in the Act of incorporation : Ward I — From Wilkins' Fort, East side of Church Street to the South side of Tradd Street, Easterly to the Bay. Ward 2 — North side of Tradd Street, to the South side of Queen Street Easterly. Ward 3 — From the North side of Queen Street to the South of Ellery Street Easterly (about Hayne Street). Ward 4 — North side of Ellery Street up to Meeting Street, and along the same to the West end of Quince Street, and along Quince Street through Anson Street to Boundary Street Easterly. Ward 5 — South end of King Street to the South side of Tradd Street Easterly to Church Street. Ward 6 — From the North side of Tradd Street along King Street, to the South side of Broad to Church Street Easterly. Wards of the City — iy8j-i88j. 149 Ward 7 — North side of Broad Street along King Street, to the South side of Queen Street, Easterly to Church Street. Ward 8 — North side of Queen Street along King Street, South of Hasell Street, Easterly to join the Ward No. 3. Ward 9 — From Hasell Street along King Street to Boun- dary Street, and to join Ward No. 4 Easterly. Ward 10 — South end of Legare Street, including the West end of Tradd Street, Easterly to King Street. Ward II — North side of Tradd Street to the West end of Broad, Easterly to King Street. Ward 12 — ^North side of 13road Street to the West end of Ellery Street, Easterly to King Street. Ward 13 — North side of Ellery Street, West to Boundary, Easterly to King Street. At the first election the following citizens were chosen Wardens: Ward 1, James Nelson ; Ward 2, Thomas Bee; Ward 3, A. Alexander ; Ward 4, B. Beckman ; Ward 5, Joshua Ward ; Ward 6, Thos. Heyward ; Ward 7, John Matthews; Ward 8, George Flagg ; Ward 9, Thomas Rad- cliffe, Jr. ; Ward lo, ; Ward 1 1, Richard Hutson ; Ward 12, J. L. Gervais ; Ward 13, . Hon. Richard Hutson was selected as the first Intendant. This division seems to have remained unchanged ui til, under an Act of the Legislature passed December 19th, 1809, requiring the Intendant and Wardens of Charleston on or before the first day of August, once in every seven years, to divide the city into four Wards, an Ordinance was ratified July 23d, 1810, defining the following Wards: Ward I — Bounded by Cooper River, South Bay and Ash- ley River, West by the centre of Meeting Street, North by the centre of Queen Street. Ward 2 — Bounded East by the centre of Meeting Street, South and West by Ashley River, North by the centre of Queen Street. Ward 3 — Bounded East by Cooper River, South by the centre of Queen Street, West by the centre of Meeting Street, North by Boundary Street. 150 The Centennial of Incorporation. Ward 4 — Bounded East by the centre of Meeting Street, South by the centre of Queen Street, West by Ashley River, North by Cumming's Creek, Boundary, Vander- horst and Hudson Streets. In this division of the city each Ward had representation in the City Council on the basis of its population, and the Intendant was elected as such by ballot with the Wardens. At the first election in 1810 the following ticket was chosen: Intendant, Dr. Thomas McCalla. Wardens: Ward 1, George Gibbes, John Dupont, William Wightman ; Ward 2, Peter Smith, Dr. P. Moser ; Ward 3, Lewis Roux, Wil- liam Hall, John Strohecker; Ward 4, Thomas Bennett, Stephen Thomas, Peter Freneau, Stephen Bulkley. There had been no change in Ward representation up to 1836, when the title of Intendant was changed to Mayor, and that of Warden to Alderman, and the following ticket elected : Mayor, Robert Y. Hayne. Aldermen: Ward i, Dr. T. Y. Simons, James Hamilton, John S. Cogdell ; Ward 2, M. C. Mordecai, H. W. Peronneau ; Ward 3, George Henry, B. J. Howland, G. H. Ingraham ; Ward 4, H. W. Conner, S. P. Ripley, Jno. C. Kerr, R. W. Seymour. By an Act of the Legislature, ratified December 19th, 1849, " to extend the limits of the City of Charleston," it became the duty of the Commissioners of Cross Roads to divide into four Wards, as they might deem most advisable, all that part of St. Philip's Parish lying between the present limits of the city (then Calhoun or Boundary Street), and a line to be drawn due West from Cooper River to Ashley River by the junction of Meeting and King Streets. Under this Act the following four Wards were added to the four last given, making in all eight Wards : Ward 5 — Bounded East by Cooper River, South by the centre of Calhoun Street, West by the centre of King Street, North by the centre of Wolfe and Amherst Streets. Ward 6 — Bounded East by the centre of King Street, South by the centre of Calhoun Street, West by Ashley River, North by the centre of Cannon Street. Wards of the City — iy8j--i88j. 151 Ward 7 — Bounded East by Cooper River, South by the centre of Wolfe and Amherst Streets, West by the centre of King Street, North by the Northern boundary of the City of Charleston. Ward 8 — Bounded East by the centre of King Street, South by the centre of Cannon Street, West by Ashley River, North by the Northern boundary of the City of Charleston. The first election at which the voters of the four new Wards participated was in 1850, when the following citizens were elected on a general ticket : Mayor — John Schnierle. Aldermen — Ward i, Jas. Chap- man, Alex. Gordon, John Drummond ; Ward 2, P. J. Por- cher, W. A. Hayne ; Ward 3, W. H. Gilliland, W. M. Mar- tin, Wm. Kirkwood ; Ward 4, Dr. John Bellinger, B. F. Scott, Henry Cobia, T. G. Simons, Jr.; Ward 5, John H. Honour; Ward 6, F. C. Blum; Ward 7, J. M. Eason ; Ward 8, O. Reeder. It is curious to notice, that there were thirteen Wards a hundred years ago, and one Warden elected from each Ward, and at the coming election in December the division of the city is into twelve Wards, each electing one Alder- man, and a second elected on a general ticket by the vote of the whole city, making the number in the City Council twenty-four, and the Mayor. By the Act of 21st December, 1882, the boundaries of the twelve Wards were fixed as follows : Ward I — All that portion of said city lying South of Broad Street and East of King Street. Ward 2 — All that portion lying South of Broad Street and West of King Street. Ward 3 — All that portion lying North of Broad Street, South of Hasell Street and West of King Street. Ward 4 — All that portion lying North of Broad Street, South of Wentworth Street and West of King Street. Ward 5 — All that portion lying North of Hasell Street, South of Calhoun Street and East of Kins Street. 152 The Centennial of Incorporation. Ward 6 — All that portion Ijnng North of Wentworth Street, South of Calhoun Street and West of King Street. Ward 7 — All that portion lying North of Calhoun Street, South of Mary Street and East of King Street. Ward 8 — All that portion lying North of Calhoun Street, South of Radcliffe and Bee Streets and West of King Street. Ward 9 — All that portion lying North of Mary Street to the city boundary, East of Nassau Street up to its inter- section with Amherst Street, East of Hanover Street. Ward 10 — All that portion lying North of Mary Street, West of Nassau Street up to its intersection with Amherst Street, and from Amherst Street West of Hanover Street to the city boundary, and East of King Street. Ward II — All that portion lying West of King Street, East of Rutledge Avenue and North of Radcliffe Street to the city boundary. Ward 12 — All that portion lying North of Bee Street to the city boundary, and West of Rutledge Avenue. To present the numerous interesting matters properly noticeable in describing the topography of the city is clearly beyond the time and space permitted to me. but the new map accompanying this will be found most interesting. It is a pleasure to mention that our laborious townsman, General DeSaussure, has collected a considerable amount of information on this subject, and I trust it will be printed in a permanent record at no distant day. s,v\v^.^^^- Hwer PLAN a/ii/i. cnc^hsed fya/tery Jrr Ua/it Orrrhc, fil-c/wsed- to St AtiU an. //le (JuJiUf ^'r.rtds onJ/ames^iaTtd' , The Harbor — Fort Johnson. 153 THE HARDOR-ITS FORTS, LIGHTS AND .lETTIES. Few cities have a more safe or spacious harbor than Charleston ; tlie area of the tidal basin, as computed from the Coast Survey Chart and Mills' Atlas of South Carolina, is about fifteen square miles; only a few miles Eastwardly from the city, the ocean is in full view, and vessels have been known to sail into the inner harbor and anchor oppo- site their piers without other assistance than their own sails. So far as anchorage capacity is concerned a thousand sail could be acc(jmniodated. The shore line on either side as you enter, attracts attention on account of the historic events which have occurred at different [)oints, and a brief reference to the forts properly belongs to this occ.ision, and while it is not possible to go into details, enough can be siid to show how valuable and interesting a complete histoiy of each would prove ; on the series of plats herewith presented the locations of the original and subsequent forts are shown, which I trust will tend to invite further attention to this subject. FORT JOHNSON. 1704. The first fortification ever erected for the defence of this harbor was at the Northeast point of James Island, in 1704, to meet the exigency of a threatened invasion by a French fleet under M. DeFebourne, and was named in honor of Sir Nathaniel Johnson, Governor of the Carolinas under the Proprietary government. It was but a small work, and with the ordnance then in use, could not have been a sure defence against vessels intent on entering the harbor, as the distance to be covered by the small cannon of the period was over two miles to the Southwest point of Sullivan's Island ; and for the class of vessels then in use, a depth of water was available out of reach of such guns. 1759. A second fort, built of tapia, was probably an en- larged and improved permanent work, on the site of the first ; this was the fort of the Revolutionary period ; it was 20 154 T^^^^ Centennial of Incorporation. close in advance of and to the Northeast of the Post Revo- lutionary work : in plan triangular, with salients bastioned and priest-capped, the gorge closed, the gate protected by an earth-work, a defensible sea wall of tapia extended the fortification to the West and Southwest. 1705. Ill this year a noted event occurred here which has passed into history, and has made Fort Johnson a favored locality. A sloop-of-war had arrived in Charles Town har- bor with a supply of stamped paper ; casting anchor under cover of this British military post the stamped paper was landed and stored here ; there was great excitement in Charles Town, which resulted in a public meeting of the citizens, at which a committee, consisting of Daniel Cannon, Wm. Williamston, Ed. Weyman and others, were appointed to devise means to defeat the use of stamped paper in this Colony. Three companies of volunteers were organized of about fifty men each, under Captains Marion, Pinckney and Elliott, fully armed, and on the night of the second day after the meeting they embarked in boats at LamboU's bridge, at the West end of South Bay Street, effecting a landing on James Island, after midnight, between Styles' plantation and the fort ; the battalion marched promptly, crossed the bridge leading to the fort without opposition, and took pos- session of it — the garrison was placed under guard, and the stamped paper was secured. Preparations were then made to defend the fort against any attack which might be made upon it by the sloop-of-war, when the commanding officer at day-break should find out what had taken place. Every cannon was loaded and manned, and a flag displayed show- ing a blue field and three white crescents — this was the first form of the present State flag. At day-light a boat was sent from the sloop-of-war to ascertain the meaning of so unusual a display. The naval ofificer was taken into the fort and shown the complete and sufficient preparations made to defend it, and was told that it was the fixed determination of the volunteers to burn the stamped paper, unless the officer in command would pledge his honor to receive it on board and forthwith depart from the harbor ; notice was u '?. B '^ ll^^ Ul «j B q w "Remairkb Von S 3Z"-w. 1, a-wo-nk was e-1-ect-sci in tine Ec !vxlte-i sen . da .3.3IO°\'if is iuno-bhe-rlcnoll. ... . a «-i,ui/iit;-r n n oil , on w hi oh isa" ...d. S.,-1W stood t>.:^eetit::*^e\.ctet ■ " -iioNv nrtivel.v -r-uinarl ' eiecl.ea -, n the. .iti-|'e\y rxiinad 43:t2^^,.ds N.74°E.-^oFo-PtKfo -^Sja ^ a-ras ]M.3(3-°'W: to Fori Pi t S^iA y,*,-.'as No-i"^ bo Fo,-t Ms 3.K noli call tioTi = dBx,nl< ... Hi 11 o-n«hl on U a-hou.se occ-up ed !>.> C a,pta.i 1 on Sen wliioh 1 f , the E 5a f"i ce-r - tJTa,t of th e VV£LS, SOTn State, iLes-ol-LLti . StLrHva,ii'!5Ma.Tiia . on SiTata's Foils- in C h a-T"! e sto-n . f^ . Repairs were found necessary to preserve Fort Johnson, and were made by the United States government this year. 1800. A breach was made in the sea wall, East of the fort, by the violence of the great gale of this year, and so serious was the inroad of the seas as shown in Plat marked B, that the fort was temporarily abandoned. 1807. In April of this year Lieut.-Col. John Williams reported as follows : " Nothing has been said as to the pres- ent state of Fort Johnson, as the subscriber does not per- ceive that any part of the ruins can be brought into use, unless it be by forming a mass in front to prevent the fur- ther depredations of the sea." 1812. In view of the threatened war with England, Gen. J. G. Swift reported to Gen. Pinckney that the survey of Fort Johnson would be hastened, and that two batteries would be ready for service in a short time. 1815. Lieut. James Gadsden, United States Engineer, in @ CHARLESTON HARBOH.Som'H CAROLINA Surve>edbeh.een Mai ch 7'J' & May J0"']0fa5 undfi Ihc'dncclion IIKEVET MAJOR GENERAL R DBLAFIEIiD CHIEF ENGINEER U S.ARMY. Srale JOU fbei to One ■ Siirvryttf -Sprit 30?JS6S. The Harbor — Fort Johnson. i t^y this year reported to Gen. Swift that " Fort Johnson is little better than a battery in ruins, the gale of 1813 having nearly destroyed it," and he recommended the abandonment of the site and the construction of a new work, to mount twelve guns, a short distance in rear of it. 1821. A survey made this year, with plan of the work by Capt. W. T. Poussin of the 'iopographical Engineers, show- ed the work to be in ruins, and in 1821 it is agafn referred to by the United States Engineers, as follows : " The North- east point of James Island, projecting into the harbor about midway between Sullivan's Island and the city, is the site of the few remains of old Fort Johnson;" in 1827 scarcely a vestige remained, and subsequently it does not appear in the list of works, which it was deemed advisable to preserve as accessions to the proposed system of defence ; but later two permanent buildings for ofificers and men, and a Mar- tello Tower, to the Southwest, were built, and remained standing until after hostilities began in 1861, in the war be- tween the States. l.SGl. To aid in the reduction of Fort Sumter, a mortar battery was located at this point, and at four o'clock on the morning of April 12th, 1861, a shell from a mortar was ex- ploded over Fort Sumter, and this was the signal for the bombardment of that post. Capt. James was in command of the mortar battery on that occasion. Subsequent chang- es, and improvements, of this locality, in the 1861-65 period, made Fort Johnson, with its outposts. Battery Simpkins on the Southeast, Battery Glover on the West, at One Hund- red Pines, and Battery Wampler, near the old Martello Tower, an extensive entrenched camp of considerable strength and capacity. The fort proper mounted twenty guns and mortars, of which eight were of the heaviest cali- bre — eight and ten inch columbiads, and six and seven inch rifles. Battery Simpkins and its adjacent works mounted besides three heavy guns and three mortars. In 1865 the United States government made a survey of this localit}-, and the map prepared is presented herewith marked C. 18G4. On the 3d day of July an attacking force of two 158 TJie Centennial of Incorporation. regiments of infantry and sixty artillerists, coming in boats from Morris Island, under the command of Gen. Gurney,* of New York, attempted to land between Battery Simpkins and Fort Johnson, but were quickly repulsed by the Con- federate infantry and artillery under command of Lieut.-Col. J. A. Yates, First South Carolina Artillery. Col. Hoyt and one hundred and forty of the command and five barges were captured. On 17th February, 1865, this fort was evacuated, and the works have been allowed to go to decay. It will be interesting to record the number and calibre of the guns in position here, when abandoned, as the records of the United States War Department are incorrectly given. Under date of July 28th, 1883, Col. Yates, who commanded this part of the harbor defences, states: "The list below shows the bat- teries and guns as we left them ; this is accurate, as through the kindness of Dr. Rob't Lebby, Jr., some of the guns lying there have been measured. The heavy works around Fort Johnson were built by myself, with labor loaned by Mr. Geo. A. Trenholm and Mr. Theo. D. Wagner, after the attack of 3d July, at which time there was only a light earth-work. First. Battery Glover, near 'One Hundred Pines,' oppo- site Charleston. Four 32-pound smooth bore. Second. Battery Wainpler.w&d.x o\6.y\.A.x\.Q\\o^ov^Q\\ One 7-inch Brooks, banded and rifled gun ; one lo-inch smooth bore columbiad. Fort Johnson. Two lo-inch rifled and banded columbi- ads ; two lo-inch smooth bore. Battery Simpkins. Four 8-inch columbiads, smooth bore ; two 8-inch mortars. Rifled Battery, on the beach between Battery Simpkins and Fort Johnson. One 6-inch banded Brooks gun (rifled). Small Battery inside of lines at Fort JoJinson. Two 30-pound rifled Parrott guns captured near same (no name); one 42-pound rifled and banded ; two 8-inch mortars. Battery one mile above Fort Johnson {Cheves), on East coast of James Island. Four 8-inch columbiads mounted on na- val carriages." *Gen. Wm. Gurney, commanding the forces, failed to land. ■TTza^mj r^ >-*7xf /^i$y^ , ^ u^r^>-t^-Z^ ^t^^^^i-u^ /J^ J^S^ Cic^^^ f^;:^ ^ ^ ^■^^ / .. at^^ ■^" -=^^e^ cXifc^^C^ J^ ^^'4."//^^ 4.^/Zc^-^>^ / '~^"' D '^m/z. r£f. nJ (M{/M &i2/?r^^ma:^ ^^0', The Harbor — Port Moultrie. 159 FORT MOULTRIE. 1770. There have been three different forts erected on or near the site of the present Fort Moultrie. On January loth, 1776, a facine battery was ordered to be constructed, and soon after " Fort Sullivan " was built of palmetto logs, by Col. Wm. Moultrie. The plan of this fort was square, with bastions at the salients, constructed of a crib-work of palmetto logs sixteen feet thick, filled in with sand ; merlons of palmetto logs, filled in with sand to the same thickness, and ten feet above platform. On the 28th June the work was only finished on the front, the Northern half was then raised to a height of only seven feet, when Sir Peter Parker made his attack; the flag used was a blue field, with one crescent and bearing the word Liberty. The armament consisted of thirty-one guns, chiefly 26° and 18**. Since this victory of 28th June the fort has borne the name of its he- roic commander. 1780. On the 9th April of this year, Admiral Arbuthnot, co-operating with Sir Henry Clinton in the siege of Charles- ton, took advantage of wind and tide, and passed Fort Moul- trie, Col. C. C. Pinckney, commanding, without stopping to engage it. The fleet suffered in casualties and injuries to hull and rigging; one ship getting aground was fired on from Haddrell's Point and abandoned. On Sir Henry Clin- ton's Map of the Siege of Charleston, Year Book 1882, page 360, it is noted that this fort, with the half-moon battery for eighteen guns on the West of it, surrendered on terms, the 4th May, to the seamen and marines of the fleet. This was eight days before the surrender of the city. 1790. It is believed that the temporary character of the early structure, and the action of the tides, soon destroyed the first palmetto log fort ; in this year, the government secured from the State a reservation of about four acres, and laid the foundation of the second fort. The tracing marked D, herewith, shows the plan, which was pentagonal, with obverse salients to the channel — the armament consisted of ten 24° and six 12°. In a storm of some severity and high i6o The Centennial of Incorporation. tides of October ist and 2d, 1803, the glacis fronting the harbor was destroyed, and the counter scarf ruined. 1807. In April of this year Lieut. -Col. John Williams of the Engineers, reported "that the land reserved for the fort, originally less than four acres, is in fact already washed into the sea, the counter scarf and glacis obliterated, the revet- ment of the parapet, which was of brick, is in most part gone, and some of the guns have pitched forward, and leav- ing their broken carriages behind them, lie in the debris ; even the furnace for heating shot is now only visible, as part of it projects from the sand of the beach, when not covered by the surf ; there is nothing in this whole work- that can be considered in any other view, than a heap of rubbish of no other value than the bricks that might come in use again." 1809. In June of this year, Major Alexander McComb, Engineer Corps, presented a plan for the third fort, as shown herewith on Plat marked E, which appears to have been approved, for on December 10th, 181 1, the Secretary of War, Hon. Wm. Eustis, informed the Chairman of a Con- gressional Committee as follows: " Fort Moultrie, situated at the entrance of the harbor, is of an irregular form, built of brick, filled in with sand, presenting a battery of three sides on the sea front, with ramparts, parapets, &c., mount- ing forty guns ; the magazine is brick, dry and calculated to hold five hundred barrels of powder; the barracks are of brick sufflcient for five hundred men and ofificers ; the gar- rison is fixed at three hundred and ninety men." 1820. The Engineer's report of this year speaks of Fort Moultrie as a work of some strength, but by no means ade- quate to its object, its battery being weak, and the scarf so low as to oppose no serious obstacle to escalade. Col. J. G. Totten's report confirmed this condition ten years afterwards. This is the fort now standing — its site was much endangered in 1839 ^Y '^^^ advance of high water- mark. 18(»0. On the 26th December of this year, an event oc- curred which led directly to a disastrous war. Major Rob- -NMMMM* lid^BHlw^iiMwaui* . w h/i i> n • nil J^^^eli^^mi oirOUT MOlJI^TRIi: ^n,G/u^i^.,^ Q)i/kru/ ^ Us^ J^a/cUux^^ cf (bX'^:'MrU:^^.^&\-^^ TJic Harbor — Fort Moultrie. ]6i ert Anderson and the garrison at this post, contrary to orders from the Secretary of War, in violation of the un- derstandings and agreements between the State and Fed- eral authorities, at the suggestion of an officer not of the garrison, removed to Fort Sumter during the night, spiking the guns, burning the carriages, &c. This unexpected and unauthorized act brought on the war between the States. The armament at that time consisted of sixteen 24*^, fourteen 32°, ten 8-inch columbiads, five 8-inch sea coast howitzers and seven field pieces. It was immediately occupied by the Marion Artillery, Capt. J. G. King, fifty men — Lafayette Artillery, Capt. J. J. Pope, fifty-five men — Washington Artillery, Capt. Geo. H. Walter, fifty men — German Artillery, Capt. C. Nohrden, fifty men — under com- mand of Lieut. -Col. W^ G. DeSaussure, First Regiment Vol- unteer Artillery, Fourth Brigade South Carolina Militia. Subsequently, it was put in order and ni uch strengthened, guns remounted, and under the command of Col. R. S. Ripley took a prominent part in the reduction of Fort Sumter on 12th and 13th April, 1861. It was permanently garrisoned, during the war, by the First South Carolina Infantry, Col. Wm. Butler, command- ing, and on the memorable 7th April, 1863, was vigorously engaged with Fort Sumter, in the complete repulse of the iron-clad squadron under Rear Admiral Dupont — -eight hun- dred and sixty-eight shots having been fired from this post in this action. After Gen. Gilmore's descent upon Morris Island, July loth, 1863, it took part at long range in the defence of that island until its evacuation, September 6th, 1863. On the 8th September, Fort Moultrie, supported by most of the batteries on Sullivan's Island, was heavily engaged with the iron-clad fleet, and particularly the '■'Ironsides''' frigate. 1865. Shots continued to be exchanged with the moni- tors at intervals until 4th February, 1865, when, according to Judge Advocate Cowley, United States Navy, the last shot was fired at the squadron from this post, which struck 21 1 62 The Centennial of Incorporation. the monitor Canonicus. At the evacuation the same month the armament was twelve guns and mortars, among them four lo-inch columbiads, two 8-inch columbiads, and three rifled guns (42^ and 32^). Since the war great changes have taken place, and its armament comprises twelve 15-inch guns in barbette and four 13-inch mortars. The entire space inside the fort is now an extensive bomb-proof for the pro- tection of the garrison when engaged with an enemy. The garrison in future will be quartered outside the walls, and occupy the fort only when engaged with an enemy. CASTLE PINCKNEY. 1794. The site of this work was selected in 1794, on a shoal known as Schultes' Folly Island, by Paul Hyacinthe Perrault, under orders from the Secretary of War, April iith of that year, in pursuance of the directions of Presi- dent Washington to fortify the port and harbor of Charles- ton, and to act under the orders of the Governor of South Carolina. The work, however, being on a scale supposed too extensive for the funds appropriated, was not attempted until 1797; between this time and 1804 a work was erected on this site, the character of which, however, is unknown. 1806. On February i8th of this year, it was reported that the severe gale of 1804 had left this work a ruin, and in April the following year Lieut.-Col. Williams reported that the fort could not be effectually repaired, without taking it down to the foundation, and sawing off the renmants of the heads of piles at low water-mark. 1809. On January 6th a new masonry work was reported by the Secretary of War as commenced, and in a rapid state of progress, and two years afterwards it is described as fol- lows: "This new work of an elliptical form, built of brick, has two tiers of guns, of which thirty are mounted — eight in casemates and the remainder en barbette ; a good maga- zine and quarters for two hundred men and officers.'" The work at that date was considered the most important in the harbor. A plan of the fort, showing the height to which it 1 1 v 1 1 i ' i 1 ■ 1 1 1 • • f •'""'"'*' Y,K t$mmmlimtmmmmHm t- b O D n q p o o 1. On the 12th and 13th April of this year it was bombarded by troops of the State of South Carolina, under Gen. Beauregard, and surrendered by Major Anderson, United States Army, on the latter day. The United States flag was saluted, and the United States garrison evacuated on the 14th, and embarked aboard steamships and proceed- fe.'-' 1»» V^ V«^'^ ^t^^ SKETCH or SHUre'S rOLLY ISLAND BY CAPT eUASON 1833. From.Mie jiearosf, Point of {Vie City 850Y.'^*«S -^< '2?°?i^<:o«.. >•«'•'■ / »»» 2V--,- .Erom^.XJie,JieBIie_si_Pmnt_ofthe_Ci^ J'tOS^Y;^ _ _ "^~"-— -.Af ■' W,i i im i< i ii U" i H i|ii H''« i |< i|i' H «i na iB**—^^ A* The Harbor — Fort Sumter. 165 ed North. Lieut. -Col. R. S. Ripley, Confederate States Army, was ordered to occupy Fort Sumter upon its evacu- ation, proceeding to Fort Sumter witli Capt. Hallonquist's Company, First South Carolina Regular Artillery. The Palmetto Guard, Capt. G. B. Cuthbert, was ordered over from Morris Island, same day. On the 15th the Palmetto Guard were relieved by Capt. Alfred Rhett's Company, seventy-five men, First South Carolina Regular Artillery, with Lieuts. Mitchell and Blake ; soon after, Capt. Hallon- quist was ordered to report to Gen. Bragg at Pensacola, and Capt. Alfred Rhett assumed command. 1803. On the 7th April of this year its armament was : in casemates, thirty-five guns of 8-inch, 42° and 32", and in barbette, thirty-seven guns of lO-inch and 8-inch rifled, 7-inch rifled and 42°; total, seventy-two guns, and four lo-inch mor- tars. On that day the fort was commanded by Col. Alfred Rhett, of the First South Carolina Artillery, and bore the brunt of the attack by the iron-clad squadron under Rear-Ad- miral Dupont, United States Navy. This squadron num- bered eight turreted vessels, carrying sixteen guns of i i-inch and 15-inch calibre, and one frigate, the new Ironsides, carry- ing fifteen ii-inch guns and one rifled gun of 8-inch calibre. In two hours and a quarter the entire squadron retired com- pletely worsted, after firing one hundred and thirty-nine shots from twenty-three guns. More than half the vessels were badly damaged, and one went down early the next morning. Less than half of the guns of the fort were engaged, firing eight hundred and ten shots. The masonry in a few places was much injured, but the efficiency of the fort to renew the combat was but little impaired. On the loth July Gen. Gilmore, commanding the United States troops, in conjunction with Rear-Admiral Dahlgren, United States Navy, made a successful descent upon the Southern end of Morris Island, menacing batteries Wagner and Gregg, the outposts of Fort Sumter, on the Northern end of that island. Fort Sumter took part in the defence of these works until 17th August, on which day Gen. Gil- more opened his breeching batteries of the heaviest rifled 1 66 The Centennial of Incorporation. cannon upon Fort Sumter, at unprecedented range, from the distance of 3,428 to 4,290 yards, firing over the heads of the outposts, and actually demolishing Fort Sumter in seven days, although not silencing it until September ist — the sixteenth day of the bombardment. The part played by the United States Navy in the demolition of the fort was quite secondary, being limited to an occasional night attack. During the first seven days the land batteries threw against the fort five thousand and nine projectiles, of 100, 200 and 300 pounds, from fourteen parrot rifled guns. I append the following complimentary order of General Beauregard to the First Regiment South Carolina Regular Artillery : HEAD-QUARTERS, \ Charleston, S. C, ist September, 1863. \ General — The Commanding General has witnessed with genuine pride and satisfaction, the defence made of Fort Sumter by Col. Rhett, his officers, and the men of the First Regiment of South Carolina Regular Artillery — noble fruits of the discipline, application to their duties, and of the organization of tlie regiment. In the annals of war no stouter defence was ever made, and no work ever before encountered as formidable a bombardment as that under which Fort Sumter has been successfully held. Respectfully, your obedient servant, (Signed) THOMAS JORDAN, Chief of Staff. To Brigadier-General Ripley, Commanding First Military District South Carolina. On 6th September batteries Wagner and Gregg, the out- posts of Fort Sumter, after enduring an unprecedented fire from land and sea for upwards of fifty-four days and nights, during which time two assaults in force had been repulsed, were successfully evacuated on this night, and their garri- sons brought into the inner harbor for its defence. On 7th September Col. Rhett was advanced to the com- mand of the First Military District, including Fort Sumter and the city, and was relieved by Major Stephen Elliott, Confederate States Army, commanding Fort Sumter with a force of infantry. On the night of the 8th September a naval attack in boats carrying four hundred and fifty picked men, was easily i1 b PLAN or FORT SUMTER CHARLESTON HARBOR, sS, C. AS ORIGIN ALL Y DESIGN ED, AND A S COMPLETED IN J8€l . SCALE I /NCR TO SO FEET . TJie Harbor — Fort Sumter. 167 repulsed in twenty minutes, the officer second in command and one hundred and two others were captured. On 26th October, the second heavy bombardment was begun ; this time from the evacuated batteries — Wagner and Gregg — and others on the Northern end of Morris Island aided by the squadron, was continued without in- termission for forty days and nights, until December 6th. On the 1 3th October, by the falling of one of the East casemates, caused by a single shot from the enemy's batteries, eleven members of the Washington Light Infantry of Charleston were killed.* On the nth December an accidental explosion of the small arms magazine took place at nine o'clock in the morn- ing. The Commissary store-room being proximate, suffered severely in casualties, Capt. Edward D. Frost and his non- commissioned staff and several company sergeants then drawing rations were instantly killed. There were besides forty wounded in the upper and lower casemates, accessible by passage to the scorching blast of the explosion, many were sleeping in their bunks when injured, having just been relieved from night duty. The physical damage to the fort was so great, as to ^ause grave apprehensions for its con- tinued occupancy, and the fact that these serious disabili- ties were overcome and the fort held, is in keeping with the whole heroic defence throughout the war. 18G4. On the 24th May Lieut.-Col. Stephen Elliott, com- manding, was relieved, for active field service in Virginia, and promoted Brigadier-General, and Capt. John C. Mit- chell, First South Carolina Artillery, was assigned to the command. On the 7th July the third heavy bombardment com- menced, and reached its height on the 20th instant, when Capt. Mitchell, the commander of the fort, was killed on the Southwest parapet. *Capt. James M. Carson's Company A, Twenty-fifth South Carolina Vohm- teers. Killed — Sergeant W. Capers Owens, Sergeant J. Adger Stevens, Pri- vates Samuel C, Anderson, Samuel L. Burroughs, F. Marion Burroughs, Orville J. Burn, James Calder, Walter G. Gibson, J. Walker Jones, Laurence T. Lee, W. L. Patterson. 1 68 The Centennial of Incorporation. On the 2 1st July Capt. T. A. Huguenin, First South Carolina Infantry, succeeded Capt. Mitchell in command of the fort. The bombardment continued, with some decline of fire, until the first week in September, or upwards of two months; after this, desultory firing was kept up until the evacuation of the fort, on the night of the 17th February, 1865. ^ Fort Sumter mounted at that date four heavy and five light guns, and was stronger for defence than when destroy- ed as an artillery post one year and five months previously, having been garrisoned during this period by infantry. 1870. In January of this year the Board of Engineers, United States Army, submitted a plan for arranging Fort Sumter for a battery of barbette guns. This plan was some- what modified afterwards, and work has been commenced upon it, but not completed. In accordance with the latest modifications the armament will consist of twenty guns in casemates, ten 15-inch guns or equivalent en barbette, four siege or field pieces or gatling guns. ROSTER OF OFFICERS IN COMMAND OF FORT JOHNSON, FORT MOULTRIE, FORT SUMTER AJSfD CASTLE PINCK- NEY, 1860-65. Fort Johnson. iSfio — Dec Capt. Joseph Johnson 17th Regiment, S. C M. 1861 — April Capt. George H. James S. C R. A. 1861— May Lt.-Col. A. D. Frederick 2d S. C. Artillery. D, \ Lt.-Col. Jos. A. Yates, up to | o /- d a 186'; ■{ TTU ^o^- >• S. C K. A. -" ( February, 1865. ) Fort Moultrie. i860— Dec. 27th. . . Lt.-Col.W. G. DeSaussure. . ist Reg't Art., 4th Brig., S.C.M. 1861— Jan Col. R. S. Ripley. S. C. R. A. 1861 — April Capt.W. Ransom Calhoun. . S, C. R. A. 1861— Summer of. .Capt. Thos. M. Wagner S. C. R. A. 1861 C^pt. Jos. A. Yates S. C. R. A. 1861 — Nov Col. Jno. Dunovant S. C. R. I. 1862— Jan Lt.-Col. Wm. Butler S. C. R. I. 1862— June Maj. Thos. M. Baker S. C. R. I. The Harbor — Officers in Coininand of Forts. 169 1862— Dec Capt. T. A. liuguenin S. C. R. I. 1863— Aug Maj. Rob't DeTreville S. C. R. I. 1863— Nov Capt. Jacob Valentine S. C. R. I. 1S63— Dec Maj. Warren Adams S. C. R. I. 1864— Oct. to Jan.. Capt. C. H. Rivers S. C. R. I. 1864 — to Feb. 1865 . Maj. Warren Adams S. C. R. I. Fort Sumter. ( Lt.-Col. R. S. Ripley with Capt. liallonquist's Company of 1861 — April 14th, < 40 men, S. C. R. A., and the Palmetto Guard, Capt. Cuth- ( bert, as a garrison. fCapt. Alfred Rhett's Comjjany, 75 men, S. C. R. A., re- gg Aoril i6lh -! l'»^ved Capt. Cuthbert's Company. Capt. Hallonquist '^ ' I was ordered to report to Gen. Bragg, at Pensacola. Capt. [ Rhett remained in command until November. 1861— Nov Capt. Thos. M. Wagner S. C. R. A. lS62— Maj. Alfred Rhett S. C. R. A. • QA^ e . ->i \ t'apt. Stei)hen Elliott, of the Beaufort Artillery, iiromoted 1003 — hept. 7th.. -^ TIT • }. .. , 1 • I 1 r 1 '^ ( Major, C. b. A., and assigned to command of this post. 1864— May 24th. . .Capt. John C. Mitchell S. C. R. A. tca. t 1 „, ^ S ^^'ij- T. A. Huguenin, S. C. R. A., to Evacuation, lyth 1004 — July 2ist.. ■{ J , ,or- ^ -' ■' (1^ ebruary, 1865. Col. W. R. Calhoun, Commanding First Regiment South Carolina Regular Artillery, was in command of the fort at different times, but owing to the con- dition of his health, was much of the time in the city on sick leave. It is not possible to give a correct rosier of commanding officers with particular dates of service. Castle Pinckney. 1S60 — Dec. 27ih. . .Col. J. J. Petigrew 1861 — Jail Capt. Baker S. C. R. I. 1861— Capt. Jos. A. Yates S. C. R. A. Capt. H. S. Farley , S. C. R. A. Capt. C. E. Chichester Zouave Cadets. 1S62 — Maj. Ormsby Blanding. S. C. R. A. 1862— Capt. W. H. Perroneau S. C. R. A. 1863 — Capt. J. G. King to February, 1865 S. C. R. A. In closing this brief and inadequate record, it is proper to say, that while in a general way, accurate, as to the pe- riod, 1860-65, there is much necessarily omitted for want of correct official information ; what is here printed, has been obtained from private sources, and with the earnest hope that even this mere skeleton record, which omits many im- 22 170 The Centennial of Incorporation. portant posts, will serve to direct attention to the grand story of the wonderful defence of Charleston for four years against the persistent and herculean efforts of a government of unlimited resources, in men and material, commanding the inventive skill and the workshops of the whole civilized world. PORT AND HARBOR LIGHTS. As a subject most interesting in connection with Charles- ton's commerce, and about which little is known to the general public, I have thought it in order to speak of our port and harbor lights, and with a brief reference to the grand work of the Light-house Board of to-day, to show the origin of lights for maritime purposes soon after the early settle- ment of the coimtry, and the vast changes made in this department of the public service. There is little doubt but that the early colonists recognized the necessity for beacons, with which to guide the English and Dutch ships, which should make their landfall at night, the safe way to their harbors. The earliest records show that as far back as 1673 beacons were then lit, with " fier balls of pitch and ocum," which were burned in an iron basket on the top of these elevations. The first light-house built at the public cost in America was on Little Brewster Island, Boston harbor, in 171 5, and was supported by light- dues of one penny per ton, on all incoming and outgoing vessels, except small local vessels. The maritime Colonies followed the example of Massachusetts, and when the United States, by the Act of August 7th, 1789, accepted from the States the title to and joint jurisdiction over the light-houses on the coasts, and agreed to maintain them thereafter, they were only eight in number between Ports- mouth, N. H., and Charleston, S. C, a shore distance of about one thousand miles, and comprised the following lights, all of which are still in existence, though so greatly improved that they are the same only in purpose and location : Portsmouth (N. H.) Harbor Light ; Boston (Mass.) Har- TJic Harbor — Lights. 171 bor Light ; The Gurnet Light, near Plymouth, Mass. ; Brant Point Light, Nantucket, Mass. ; Beaver Tail Light, on Conanicut Island, R. L; Sandy Hook Light, entrance to New York ; Cape Henlopen, entrance to Delaware Bay ; Charleston Main Light, on Morris Island. In the thirty years that had elapsed (1820) since the lights had come under the control of the Federal government, the number had increased from eight to fifty-five, built to meet immediate local wants and without reference to any general system. Between 1820 and 1852, the number increased from fifty- fivc to three hundred and twenty-five light-houses, and thirty- five light-ships, and numerous other aids to navigation. The " fier balls of pitch and ocum " used in the open brazier in 1673, were succeeded by tallow candles in 1716, which gave place to fish oil, burned in spider lamps with solid wick, suspended from the dome of the tower, as late as 1760. This was succeeded in 181 2, by sperm oil burned in a sort of argand lamp, in " Winslow's patent magnifying and re- flecting lanterns," This illuminant was continued until the beginning of the latter half of the present century, when the reflector system, much as it was improved, was itself superseded by the Fresnel lenticular apparatus now in use. The highest scientific authority has been used in obtaining information as to illuminants. Analyses, quantitative and qualitative, chemical, photometric, etc., of sperm, whale, shark, seal, colza, olive, lard and mineral oils, have been made. In turn, " colza " and " lard " oils were used, but for some years the Light-house Board, after much experimentation in its own laboratory and workshops, succeeded in perfect- ing a mineral oil, and a lamp capable of consuming all the carbon set free, and this has been introduced throughout the Light-house establishment, except in seventy-three lights of the highest powers, in which there are still special reasons for using lard oil as an illuminant. The cost of mineral oil is about fourteen cents a gallon ; lard oil seventy-five cents a gallon. The cost of oil for the i^y^ 172 The Centennial of Ineorporation. Light-house establishment in 1871, was $115,197.50; in 1881, $32,889 ; this great saving is traceable to the use of mineral oil. The Board has watched the experiments made in other countries with the electric light as a light-house illuminant, and while it does not consider that this light can be seen farther than its own best lights, which are seen, located and identified, as far as the curvature of the earth will allow, still for want of an apparatus no electric light has as yet been placed in competition with the oil lights in use. The records of the Light-house Board show that Morris Island on which the Charleston main light, and the Morris Island beacons are located, was formerly divided into three islands, the Southerly one called Middle Bay Island, the central portion Morrison's Island, and the part nearest Charleston Cummings' Point, each of these islands being separated by a creek or inlet which is now filled up ; and that by an Act of the Legislature of South Carolina passed January 20th, 1790, Middle Bay Island was ceded to the United States for light-house purposes. At the date of this Act of cession there was a light-house on the land ceded, the date of the establishment of that light being 1767, whether it antidated this there is no means of knowing, but most probably it had at an early date been the site of a beacon. In the office of the Light-house Department in this city are two most interesting relics taken from the corner-stone of the old Colonial Light-house, erected on what was then called " Middle Bay Island," now a part of Morris Island — one is a tracing on a plate of lead about twelve inches square, showing the outline of a small octagonal tower, evi- dently arranged for the crude illuminants of that period ; the other is a copper plate of similar size, upon which an inscription is engraved. As objects of curiosity, I have had them reproduced \w facsimile and presented herewith. In 1837, the United States government established a range light in connection with the old light, and to the Eastward and Southward of it, to guide through the ship ^ ^ ^ Q ^ h s o g CO s o O i O w W o o Com/mimm&i^' o I — I pq (^' < ^ 1^ u. ft ° S o '^ The Harbor — Lights. 173 channel. These lights were destroyed during the war be- tween the States, and when they came to be re-established it was found that the ship channel had changed, and they were therefore placed at localities further to the South and West, to guide through the new channel. The Light-house Board was organized in 1852, and the following statement shows the character of the Charleston harbor lights in existence at that time, and the improve- ments that have been made in them since : 1852. 1883. Station. Location. Character of Illu- Character of Illu- minating Apparatus, minating Apparatus. f Rebuilt in 1857 ; fiir- I nislied with 2cl order of Charleston Morris Island. ..\ ^l '^'PP'^. f "^ni^hed J Fresnel Lens Rebuilt ' vith 2i-inch reflectors. | 1876, and furnished I with ist order Fresnel [Lens. Charleston Beacon Morris Island. . . ■{ O"*' '"'"Jlfflec'to^r ^ "'"'''' J D^foyed 1861 . Morris Island Beacon Morris Island. . . \ ^"''' .'^37- i lamp, j Reb'lt 1870 and 1872 ; ( each i6-inch reflectors. \ 5th order v resnel Lens. f f Rebuilt 1872. Front Sullivan's Island Beacon . . . .Sullivan's Island ( ^^'\ ^^''\ = !'-*'"?«' Light 6th order Fres- 1 each i6-inch reflectors, j nel Lens ; Rear Light t [4th order Fresnel Lens. Fort Sumter Fort Sumter Established 1855 5th order Fresnel Lens. Castle Pinckney Castle Pinckney . . Established 1855 sth order Fresnel Lens. «--0' Beacon Battery ) Established ,857. ) ^'^Distn JnTeTl^^"" ' Few of our citizens fully realize the magnitude of the work done in the erection of the new " Charleston Main Light-house " and its equipment. It is still situated on Mor- ris Island, and the accompanying description will be read with interest and will elicit a general appreciation from every citizen. The height of the light above sea level is one hundred and fifty-eight feet, and the height of the structure from its base to the centre of the lantern is one hundred and fifty feet, the light being visible eighteen and three-quarters nautical miles. The tower is a brick structure thirty-three feet in diameter at the base, and sixteen feet eight inches in diameter at the neck below the cornice, being conical in shape, and is pro- 174 The Centennial of Incorporation. vided with an iron staircase of nine flights. The lantern, parapet gallery, and its supporting brackets are all of iron. The tower rests on a foundation of two hundred and sixty- four piles, occupying a circle having a radius of twenty-two feet. Resting on the heads of these piles are two sets of capping pieces, forming a timber grillage eighteen inches in thickness. The spaces between the piles and the open spaces in the grillage are filled with concrete to the level of the upper surface. Upon the top of this is built a founda- tion of rubble masonry five feet six inches in thickness, which carries the brick work of the tower. The estimated weight of the superstructure is three thousand two hundred tons, and the weight sustained by each pile a little over twelve tons. The approximate cost of the entire work was $140,000.00 and of its outfit $10,000.00. JETTIES. The first jetties constructed in our harbor, were put down to rescue Sullivan's Island from then threatened destruction. As the report of Capt. A. H. Bowman, United States Corps of Engineers, contains interesting information, gathered from the earliest data, I quote from it to show the great changes which have taken place on that island in the last hundred years. It seems that soon after the foundation of Fort Sumter was begun, there were rapid changes noted in the shore line of Sullivan's Island — the waters having reached the wall of Fort Moultrie. In an elaborate and valuable report, under date of January, 1842, to ascertain the real cause of these changes, from which I make some extracts, Capt. Bowman says : "The preliminary survey of Drunken Dick Shoal being completed, I have the honor to submit herewith, for the consideration of the department, plans and estimates of the proposed dike. The objects to be attained are : First, ad- ditional security to Sullivan's Island and the site of Fort Tlie Harbor — Jetties. 175 Moultrie ; Second, protection to the harbor of Charleston from the effects of Northeast j^ales. Before proceeding with details of the plans submitted, it is proper to enquire into the causes which have been for a number of years gradually destroying Sullivan's Island. The oldest map of this harbor to which I have had access, is that of Col. Steadman, Adjutant-General of the English Army, made in 1776. According to this authority, the Southwest point of Sullivan's Island then extended much farther than it now does, and terminated in a marsh. This fact, which is im- portant as indicating that during the period referred to, the shore was stationary, is confirmed by Col. Moultrie, who in his report of the defence of Fort Sullivan, speaks of a marsh in the midst of the fort. At a more recent period cypress stumps were standing on the beach in front of the fort ; and as this tree generally grows in marshy soil, it would indicate that the marsh extended beyond the limits of the old fort, which was far in advance of the present one. The first well authenticated account, which I have been able to find, of the encroachment of the sea upon Sullivan's Island, is that of Van Hoff. Upon the authority of this writer, it appears, that during the three years ending 1786, the sea carried away one quar- ter of a mile of the beach. From that time forward, till 1830, when it reached and destroyed a portion of the walls of the present fort, its pro- gress was more or less rapid in proportion as the storms by which its destruction was chiefly effected, were more or less severe. The works commenced during the year last mentioned for the protection of the site of Fort Moultrie, seem to have arrested the advance of the sea and have since caused an in- crease of the beach. First a comparison of the outline of the beach in 1830 with the map of Col. Steadman (A. D. 1776) already referred to, comprising a period of fifty-three years immediately preceding the commencement of Fort Sumter, will exhibit 1/6 The Centennial of Incorporation. a loss of several hundred yards in breadth. This period includes the three years mentioned by Van Hoff, when a quarter of a mile was carried away. It was also prior to the commencement of Fort Sumter that the first two forts erected on this point were carried away, together with that part of the island on which they stood. It has already been mentioned, that it is during flood tide with the wind on shore, that most injury is done to the beach ; it is therefore to the ocean, and not to the harbor, we are to look for the source of mischief. In general the stability of a particular point on the sea shore, depends more upon the contour of coast and the di- rection of the prevailing winds and currents, than upon the nature of the materials of which the coast is composed. In illustration of this truth, innumerable instances might be cited ; it will be sufficient for our purpose to refer to the Eastern coast of England and Scotland, which, although composed of high cliffs of chalk, oolite, magnesian limestone and even granite, have for hundreds of years been wasting away under the influence of the waves and currents from the German ocean ; while many points on the same coast com- posed of light sand and rounded chalk flints, by their more favorable configuration and position with relation to the prevailing winds and tides, have remained permanent or even increased. The prevailing winds here are from Northeast, and South- west. A diary of the weather kept at the United States Hospital at this port, since 1829 (omitting 1836-37-38 and 39), shows that during 2,555 clays the winds prevailed from the Southwest, and Northeast 1,645 days; that from South- west exceeding the Northeast twenty-five days. The wind from the Northeast acting against the gulf stream causes a high rise in the tides, and is always accompanied by a heavy sea, and a Southwest current. The South and Southwest winds which frequently blow as violently as those from Northeast, throw in a heavy sea on the beach, at the point where the greatest injury has been done. TJic Harbor — Jetties. 177 Assuming then, that the direction of the prevailing winds and currents, and the contour of the coasts (all other things being equal), determine their stability; I proceed next to the consideration of the best means of counteracting the in- fluence of those winds and currents which are believed to have caused the destruction of a portion of this island. Two plans have been tried in the works already con- structed for the protection of the site of Fort Moultrie with very unequal success. The first consisted in reveting the shore, along the line of medium tide, with a crib-work of palmetto logs filled with granite. This work was found efficient in preventing the effects of the waves in the region of high water-mark, but was manifestly liable to be itself de- stroyed so soon as the currents should begin to encroach upon the beach below the level of the foundation upon which it stood. The second plan consisted in the construction of grillages loaded with rough granite, in a direction perpendicular to the shore, and extending to deep water; the results pro- duced by these latter works, have been quite equal to the expectation formed of them ; whatsoever sand was detached from the beach about high water-mark or was borne by the current along the line of the shore, was arrested by the grillage which it first encountered. A proof is here fur- nished of the assertion above made, that the flood tide is the great moving power of the sand. The grillage nearest the sea, which of course first meets the flood tide, has caused such an accumulation of sand as to remove the line of high tide more than one hundred yards farther from the fort than it was before the grillage was constructed ; while that which lies nearest to Hog Isl- and Channel, and should, therefore, first receive and arrest all sand supposed to be detached by that current from the shore, has scarcely accumulated any during the two years that have elapsed since its location." It appears from this information : first, that Sullivan's Island may be stated to have washed and been reduced fully 23 178 TJic Coitcnnial of Incorporation. a third of a mile in its breadth, since the pahnetto log (1776) fort was built; second, that the stone jetties of Capt. Bow- man have not only arrested the further destruction of the island, but that there had been a gain of three to five hun- dred feet by the construction of the jetty in front of Fort Moultrie. The estimated cost of this splendid engineering work is stated in these papers at $178,201.18, and I should mention that the Secretary of War kindly enclosed elabo- rate drawings of Bowman's Jetty of date 1845-1850 and 1857, which attention I desire to acknowledge, although unable to reproduce them here. The following extracts from Gen. Gilmore's of^cial reports will prove interesting and instructive : " In 1878 the outer end of the Bowman Jetty was lower- ed to a level of two feet above mean low water for an ad- ditional thirty feet." * *' * " The results showed quite conclusively, that the shortening of the Bowman Jetty had not produced a wider channel at that point, but that the West end of Drunken Dick shoal approached Sullivan's Isl- and shore and the jetty, as fast as the latter was reduced in length, neither was the channel deepened by the shortcom- ing of the jetty ; on the contrary, the greatest depths on the smallest cross-section were less than existed on the smallest cross-section four or five years before." Subsequent to these experiments at Bowman Jetty, the beach of Sullivan's Island washed away to some extent, de- stroying a considerable amount of property. Having stated the great changes that have taken place on Sullivan's Island, I have high authority for the state- ment that Morris Island opposite, has washed to an equal if not greater extent during the same period. What effect this widening of the mouth of the harbor may have had on the changing of channels, or the shoaling between Fort Sumter and James Island, now so plainly visible, and which it is thought will, in a few years, enable one to walk dry be- tween these two points, I am not able to say, but this fact is established, that from natural causes, the shores of the islands, in the lower harbor, have receded nearly three- TJie Harbor — Jetties. \jg quarters of a mile, and there are numerous notable changes in the harbor. "The bar is essentially a drift and wave bar, produced in part by the upheaving action of the waves when they approach the shore, and are converted by break- ing, into waves of translation, and in part by drift material, carried along the coast by surf currents, especially by those produced by Northeast storms. The peculiar location of the bar, largely to the Southward of the gorge of the har- bor, and the conditions under which a very large proportion of the ebb-flow is diverted from its most direct path, and forced to skirt the main coast for several miles before it can find a passage to the sea, indicate the controlling power of these storms. The material composing the surface of the bar closely resembles that usually found on the sea shore, between high and low water, in that section of the country, being shells and fragments of shells, or siliceous sand or a mixture of them all; it is easily thrown in suspension by waves, and is moved by a moderate current." Having the highest authority for the statement, that the entrance to our harbor has been widened, at least three- quarters of a mile, in the last one hundred and seven years, by the washing of the shores of Sullivan's and Morris Island ; knowing also that the channels leading over the bar have shifted during the same period considerably to the South- ward by the action of the ocean currents and the washing of the island shores; finding in the early records mention of greater depths of water on our bar than we in the pres- ent century have known, I think it is a fair conclusion that the shoaling on the bar, in greater or less degree, is attribu- table to the broadening of the harbor opening, It will be most interesting to have these facts in mind in con- sidering the extensive works now going forward for the deep- ening of the entrance to our harbor, which are described by the distinguished projector. Gen. Q. A. Gilmore, U. S. Corps of Engineers, as " low or submerged jetties," which are not to obstruct too much the flow of the surface currents by which the harbor is supplied with tide water. The scouring effect of the ebb tide, and only the ebb tide scouring, is greatest, if not i8o TJie Centennial of Incorporation. altogether, during the last three hours of its prevalence; and the submerged jetties will confine this effect to the space between them. Quoting from the official reports: " It is proposed to construct two jetties, one springing from Morris Island and the other from Sullivan's Island, con- verging towards each other in such manner that the outer ends on the crest of the bar shall be one-half to five-eighths of a mile apart. The outer ends of the two jetties will rest respectively upon the shoals lying to the Northward and Southward of what is known as the North channel, that being the middle channel of the North group of three chan- nels, and having its line of deepest water located more nearly than either of the others upon the prolongation of the axis of deep water-flow tJirough the gorge of the harbor, between Cum- 7nings Point and Fort Moultrie^ It is of interest to add from the official reports, that the North Jetty starts from a point on Sullivan's Island, eighteen hundred feet East of the Bowman Jetty. The half next the shore is curved to a radius of about one and a half miles, the outer half being very nearly a straight line. The total length is fourteen thousand three hundred and sixty-one feet, and its general direction is Southeast. The South Jetty, having a total length of fourteen thous- and one hundred and nine feet, starts from Morris Island, at a point six hundred and fifty yards from Cummings' Point, its general direction being East. The shore end is curved to a radius of about three miles for a little more than one- half its entire length, while the half next the sea is nearly straight. It is regarded as certain that these stone jetties, if kept at proper heights, " will produce an ebb-flow through the gap able to maintain a deep channel through the bar." It will be perceived from the statements relative to the changes in the shore lines and channels from natural causes, given above, that the location of the jetties is in the direc- tion, not only of contracting the mouth of the harbor, but is also in a measure the rectification of early natural boun- daries. Their locations have been reached by the closest The Harbor — Jetties. i8i observation of the currents on the ebb and flow of the tide, and by scientific calculation, to so place them as to prolong the axis of deep water existing between Forts Moultrie and Sumter, Eastwardly to the ocean. In brief, the scheme of the jetties is to direct the ebb- flow in the prolongation of the deep water between these two points. Kecent soundings show that this deep water area extends Eastwardly in a long pocket into the channel between the jetties, and other changes are noted here, and are ascribed to the influence of the works thus far con- structed. It is not my purpose to do more than refer in a brief way to this great project which, if provided for b)' suitable annual money appropriations, must make the entrance of our harbor as attractive as any on the coast. This grand scheme is of the deepest consequence to Charleston, and it is earnestly hoped that plans so full of promise to a large section of the Union contiguous to our port may have ample support from Congress, and thus en- sure its early and successful completion. From the latest official records of Captain Bailey, United States Corps of Engineers, in charge of the harbor improve- ments, courteously placed at my disposal, I learn that an accurate survey of the outer harbor has been made, includ- ing the shore lines of Morris and Sullivan's Islands — over forty thousand soundings having been taken, covering twenty-four miles of hydrography, and ensuring for the first time an accurate map for use in computing changes and studying the effects of the jetties. A recent survey of Hog Island Channel compared with the Bache Map of 1823-5, the coast survey of 1849-64, and the United States Engineer Map of 1881, show the cutting" away near the point of Hog Island of three hundred and fifty feet in this period. Since 1881 the wear has been thirty-five to forty feet. Schulte's Folly Island shows a diminution on the North side and on the South side of two hundred feet in this period, while the East and West ends have enlarged one hundred and fifty feet. The channel widths off the point of Hog Island, measured 1 82 The Centennial of Incorporation. between high water, show a gain of five hundred anel sixty feet in the last tiventy years, and it is within this period that the long established line for the protection of the city water front has been altered and extended Eastward to promote private ends, followed by wharf extensions, which have served as jetties to turn the natural currents from their course along the city front through Hog Island Chan- nel. As a sequence, the engineer in charge thinks shoaling may result in the channel in front of the city wharves, and render protective work necessary. To the same causes is properly attributable the marked changes on the Mount Pleasant shore, which requires a system of jetties to prevent its washing. PUMPKIN HILL CHANNEL. "Since 1864 the West end of this channel has moved South eight hundred feet, while the Eastern end, in the vicinity of the outer 18-foot curve, is sixteen hundred feet further South. The point of the shoal just North of the East entrance to the channel has moved Southwest eight hundred feet, the shoal itself passing South six hundred feet and West three hundred feet. The 15-foot curve in this vicinity shows a Westerly movement of one thousand feet, and a 9-foot shoal South of this entrance has disappeared. The outer 18-foot curve of the bar shows an irregular movement West of six hundred feet; that of the 15-foot curve amounts to twenty-four hundred feet. The distance over the bar be- tween the 15-foot curves was forty-four hundred feet in 1864; at present it is twenty-four hundred feet. The shoalest sounding at mean low water was, in 1864, 12.5 feet; now it is 12.3 feet." HARBOR APPROPRIATIONS FOR CHARLESTON. I do not know how far the very conservative views of the public men of our State were enforced against receiving money from the Federal Union for internal improvements The FI arbor — Appropriations. i8 in the earlier years of the century, but they did consent to receive large sums of money, and used it for bank capital, for the State from that source less than half a century ago. From the information now available to me, I find that the following amounts have been appropriated for the im- provement of the harbor, subsequent to the outlays for the jetties on Sullivan's Island, already referred to, which weie primarily for military purposes, in the preservation of the site of Fort Moultrie : 1852 — 30th August $50,000.00 1S71 — 3cl March 13,000.00 1S72 — lOth June 38,700.00 1873 — 3d March 5,000.00 1874 — 23d June iS,ooo.oo 1S75 — 3d March 10,000.00 1876 — 14th August 10,000.00 $94,700.00 "The first appropriation of 1852 was applied to improv- ing the Beach Channel, by dredging, but no substantial re- sults were obtained. The appropriations from 1871-76 were expended, for the greater part, in taking up at various points of the inner and outer harbor the wrecks of fourteen iron- clads and wooden vessels sunk during the civil war, and their removal was of benefit to commerce." In 1878 the jetties were projected, for increasing the depth of water across the bar to twenty-one feet, the greatest depth then being eleven and one-half feet, and for this purpose the following appropriations have been made by Congress : 1878 — i8th June $200,000.00 1879 — 3d March 200,000.00 1880 — 14th June 170,000.00 1881 — 3d March 175,000.00 1882 — 2d August 300,000.00 $1,045,000.00 For small jetty work on Sullivan's Island $5,000 was specially appropriated on 14th June, 1880. These sums exhibit all the outlays at Charleston harbor, as far as I can ascertain, and will be convenient for reference hereafter. 184 The Centennial of Incorporation. NOTED EVENTS IN THE CENTURY. 1791. Washington's Visit. — The most prominent social event in the annals of Charleston is the visit of President Washington on 2d May, 1791. From an old newspaper cutting I am able to give the proceedings of the City Coun- cil in anticipation of his coming: " Wednesday, 27th April, 1791. — The Hon. Arnoldus Vandeihorst, In- tendant ; Col. Mitchell, Mr. Morris, Mr. Corbett, Dr. Harris and Mr. Mar- shall, Committee to make the necessary arrangements for the reception and entertainment of George Washington, Esq., President of the United States, on his arrival in the City of Charleston, reported, and the said report being read, Ordered, That the said report be taken into consideration imme- diately, and the same being again read, was agreed to, as follows, viz : The Intendant and Committee appointed to make the necessary arrangements for the reception and entertainment of George Washington, Esq., Presi- dent of the United States, on his arrival in Charleston, recommend that the house of Thos. Heyward, Esq., in Church Street, at present in the occupa- tion of Mrs. Rebecca Jamieson, be taken for the use of the President during his residence in this city, together with the furniture, for which the sum of ;^6o be paid, it being the lowest rate at which the said house can be procured. They recommend Mrs. Frances Ramadge for House-keeper, and Margaret Daniel, with other necessary servants for the house, to be paid by the Corpora- tion. Major Peter Bocquet having offered his Barge and Mr. Paul Pritchard agrees to lengthen and put it in thorough repair, gratis, for the purpose of con- veying the President of the United States from Haddrel's Point or Hobcau Ferry to the city. Capt. Cochran and twelve other masters of American vessels, viz : Jacob Milligan, Geo. Cross, Charles Crawley, John Connely, Henry Lau- rence, Thos. Kean, Jeremh. Dickenson, Luke Swain, Thos. Blundel, Wm. Conyers, James Rea, John Drinker, to be handsomely dressed at their own expense, will serve as a volunteer crew. The Committee advise that their offers be accepted, and that the Recorder in his Robes be directed to attend and present the Barge in the name of the Cor- poration, to the President at Haddrel's Point, for his accommodation and con- veyance to the city ; they also advise that the Custom House Barge and the Fort boat be procured to assist in bringing over any gentlemen who may accompany the President, and that a temporary pair of stairs be placed at such wharf as may be appointed for his landing. The Intendant and Committee recommend that a Dinner be given to the President, and such other gentlemen as the Council shall think proper to invite. Mr. Williams of the Coffee House, having ma'de proposals to provide a good Dinner, for six shillings for each person, with a handsome Desert ; the best Madeira wine for 5s. per bottle, and other Liquors as usual, but that he cannot find Tables, Seats and .Sconces or Candlesticks; it is recommended that his Noted Events — Washiiigtoiis J^isit. 185 proposals Ijc accepted, and tliat the Excliange lie suitably fitted up\\ith Tables, Chairs, Benches, Sconces and ^Vwnings. It is further recommended that the City Hall be put into proper order, for the purpose of giving a Ball to the President, and the Ladies of the city, with such gentlemen as the Council shall think proper to invite, and that a genteel Supper be provided on the occasion. The Intendant and Committee further recommend, that a proper stock of liquors, groceries, and provisions, be laid in for the use of the President and his suite, while in the city, and that his horses be properly provided with stables, hay, corn and oats. They further recommend, that the Bells of St. Michael's Church be put in repair, and proper persons employed for the purpose of ringing a Peal, on the approaching joyous occasion, to be paid by the Corporation. As amark of distinction to the Intendant and Wardens, it is recommended that handsome black varnished Wands three-quarters of an inch diameter, and si.x feet long, be provided. The Intendant's Wand to have a gold head, anJ the Wardens silver heads, with the cypher C. C. L. on each to be used on this and other public occasions.* Lastly, they recommend, that the expenses which may i)c incuned in carry- ing the foregoing or any other necessary arrangements into execution, may be defrayed by the Corporation." The President had journeyed by hind, stoppin"'-^- Owners. Cai-tains. Steamer Margaret and Jessie J. Fraser & Co K.W.Lockwoof] Steamer I'et A. R.Chisolm& others. Foley. Steamer Calyjiso Consolidated Co. . . . Black. Steamer Ella ai.d Annie Bee Company Carlin. Steamer General Moultrie Ravenel & Co H. Tilton. Steamer Hattie Collie & Co II. S. Lebhy. Steamer Fo.\ J. F"raser i\: Co Brown. Steamer Badger J. Fraser & Co D. Mnrtin. Steamer Leopard J. Fraser & Co Peck. Steamer Lynx J. Fraser & Co E. C. Reid. Steamer Presto J. Fraser & Co J. Horsey. Steamer Sumter J. Fraser & Co E. C. Reid. Steamer Rattlesnake W. G. Crenshaw Vzini. Steamer Wm. Lamb ]. Fraser & Co T.J. Lockwood. Steamer Hopt J. Fraser & Co Wm. Hammer. Steamer Ruby Collie Company A. Swasey. Steamer Let Her Be Chicora Company. . . . H. Holgate. Steamer Lei Her Rip Chicora Company. . . .A. O. Stone. Steamer Republic J. Fraser & Co F. M. Harri>. Steamer Nina Ravenel & Co Relyea. Steamer Emily Bee Company Egan. Steamer Isabel J. Fraser & Co A. Swasey. Steamer Elizabeth J. Fraser & Co T.J. Lockwood. Steamer Juno (.^ S. Government . . . Porcher. Steamer General Whiling .Consolidated Co S. Adkins. Steamer Syren Cobia & Co J. [ohnson. Steamer Nashville J. Fraser & Co Pegram. Steamer Theodora J. Fraser & Co Maffett. Steamer Kate J. Fraser & Co T.J. Lockwood. Steamer Beauregard J. Fraser & Co H. Holgate. Steamer Fanny Bee Company D. Dunning. Steamer Alice Bee Company Kennedy. Steamer Caroline Bee Company C. Barkley. Steamer Dream Collie Company Lockwood. Steamer Secret Collie Company I. Davis. Steamer Druid Palmetto Company.. .H. Tilton. Steamer Emma Hutchin. Steamer Raccoon J. Fraser & Co F. M. Harris. Steamer Banshee , Collie & Co Speed. Steamer Herald Collie & Co Randall. Steamer Maryland . Combs. Steamer Fannie T. Moore. Steamer Brittanic Zachison. Steamer Stonewall Jackson Peck. Steamer Thistle M. Murray. Steamer Julia Cobia Company .Swan. Steamer Gem , Cobia Company J. Johnson. 240 TJie Centennial of Incorporation. Names. Owners. Captains. Steamer Prince Albert Steamer Lillian D. Martin. Steamer Columbia Hutchinson. Steamer Coquette Coombs. Steamer Big Scotia Swan. Steamer Little Scotia Swan. Steamer Little Hattie '. Steamer General Clinch Murphy. Steamer Cecile Carlin. Steamer Stag D. Vincent. Steamer Pearl Steamer Florine Steamer Stono Steamer N imoo Steamer Owl C. S. G. W Maflett. Steamer Little Ada Steamer Jupiter. ... Steamer Falcon Sailing Ship Emily St. Pierre J. Fraser & Co Wilson. Bark Echo, known as Jeff Davis. ...... .Hall & Co Coxetter. Bark Etiwan J. Fraser & Co J. vStephens. Brig West Indian Arnot. Schooner Beauregard . . Hayes. Scliooner Sallie ' Lebby. Schooner E. Waterman , Hawes. Schooner Savannah C, S. Privateer Baker. Schooner Dixie T. Moore. Schooner Major E. Willis W. M. Hale W. M. Hale. Schooner Kent W. M. Hale W. M. Hale. Schooner Ben Schooner Palmetto A. Swasey. Schooner J. W. Ladson Mordecai & Co Stone. Schooner Etiwan .... I. Hertz & Co A. O. Stone. Sloop Swallow Adams & Willis C. Gould. Pilot Boat Petrel Perry and others Perry. Pilot Boat Charleston Wm. Hone Wm. Hone. Pilot Boat Chicora, afterwards Chace Pilot Boat Leitch Pilot Boat Pride Street & West T. Bennett. Total 67 steamers and 21 sailing vessels — 88. The fate of the large proportion of these vessels may be in- ferred. Some succumbed to the perils of the deep, some were run ashore and wrecked to avoid capture, some became prizes to the Federal fleet. It will be seen that some of the vessels ran into four different ports, and it may be added that Blockade Running. 241 a number of them made from six to eighteen voyages. It was rare that a craft was captured on her first voyages, and it could be pretty safely figured that she would make two trips and this generally paid for her cost and voyage ex- penses and left a handsome sum in addition. Among many daring and successful exploits was that of the steamship Sumter, Capt. E. C. Reid, with a cargo, con- sisting of two Blakely guns, each weighing, with their carri- ages, &c., thirty-eight tons — these, with two hundred rounds: of ammunition, was all she had aboard — the length of the guns necessitated their being loaded in an upright position in the hatchways, for a voyage across the Atlantic, and the steamer at sea had the appearance of having three smoke stacks. Capt. Reid boldly ran her, in broad daylight, through the fleet, into Wilmington, N. C, despite a shower of shot and shell. These two guns were presented to the Confeder- ate government by Messrs. John Fraser & Co. One of these enormous guns was mounted at White Point Garden, and was never near enough to the enemy to be fired. In Feb- ruary, 1865, at the evacuation of the city, it was burst, to prevent its falling into the hands of the Federal army, and this explosion damaged some of the surrounding property. A fragment of this gun, weighing five hundred pounds, is lodged now in the rafters of the roof of Gen. Siegling's resi- dence on East Battery. The Margaret and Jessie, Capt. R. W. Lockwood, was one of the most successful "runners" of the war and paid her owners ten times over. One night in May, 1863, having a very valuable cargo of arms and munitions sadly needed by the Confederacy, she laid a straight course for Charleston. There were five Federal blockaders off the bar and the night was fine. The steamer ran straight in for the fleet, and as soon as her character was known every blockader opened fire. It was estimated that one hundred and fifty shots were fired, some from a distance of less than two hundred feet, and yet strange to say the steamer got into port without having a man wounded. She was struck in five or six places, but with no serious results. 31 242 TJie Centennial cf Incorporation. On the I ith of November, of the same year, the Margaret and Jessie attempted the same bold dodge at Wihnington. She was here beset by three blockaders, shot through both wheels and hit in a dozen other spots, but managed to turn about and get to sea and lead five Federal vessels a chase of twenty hours before she was compelled to surrender. The steamer Hattie, Capt. H. S. Lebby, was the last runner in or out of Charleston. She was a small vessel, Clyde-built, furnished with powerful engines, and she made more trips than any other vessel engaged in the business. I asked men in Charleston who knew all about her to estimate the value of the cargoes taken out and brought in by this one vessel, and their figures were enormous. On several occasions she brought such munitions of war as the Confederacy was in pressing need of, and at least three battles were fought with munitions for which the Confederates' had waited, and which she landed safely in their hands. Plot after plot was formed at Nassau to get hold of the Hattie, but none of them were successful, She slipped in and out like a phan- tom, taking the most desperate risks and being attended by a spirit of good luck quite extraordinary. The last entrance of the Hattie into Charleston occurred one night in February, 1865. The Confederacy was then in extremis, and the Federal fleet off Charleston number- ed eighteen or twenty sail. It was a starlight night and at an early hour that the Hattie crept forward among the fleet. She had been freshly painted a blue white, her fires made no smoke and not a light was permitted to shine on board. With her engines moving slowly, she let the wind drive her forward. There were eight or ten vessels outside the bar, and as many within. Those outside were success- fully passed without an alarm being raised. The Hattie ran within three hundred feet of two different blockaders without her presence being detected. To the naked eye of the look-outs she must have seemed a haze or mist moving slowly along. The little steamer was quietly approaching the inner line of blockaders when a sudden fire was opened on her from a Blockade Running. 243 gun-boat not two hundred feet distant, and the air was at the same time filled with rockets to announce the runner's presence. At that time the Federals had the whole of Morris Island, and Fort Sumter had been so battered to pieces that monitors took up their stations almost within pistol-shot of it. As soon as the Hattie was discovered she was given all steam and headed straight for the channel. She ran a terrible gauntlet of shot and shell for ten minutes, but escaped untouched. Then came the real peril. Just belo\v Sumter, in the narrowest part of the channel, the Hattie encountered two barge loads of men stationed there on picket. Her extraordinary speed saved her from being boarded, but the volleys fired after her wounded two or three men and cut three fingers ofif the hand of the pilot holding the spokes of the wheel. Two hundred yards ahead lay a monitor, and she at once opened fire and kept her guns going as long as i\\t Hattie could be seen, but not a missile struck. This was marvel- ous, considering that the steamer ran so close that she could hear the orders given on the monitor. Charleston was being bombarded, many of the business houses closed, and all could see that the end was drawing near. The Hattie was in as much danger lying at the wharf as she would be outside, and a cargo was made up for her as quickly as possible and she was made ready for her last trip. Just before dark the sentinels on Fort Sumter counted twenty-six Federal blockaders off Charleston harbor, and yet the Hattie coolly made her preparations to run out. Just before midnight, with a starlight night and a smooth sea, the lucky little craft picked her way through all that fleet without being hailed or a gun fired, and she was lying at Nassau when the news of Lee's surrender was received. The following gives an idea of the magnitude of the busi- ness, and a glimpse at the reckless and wasteful manner of living in those times: " I never expect to see such flush times again in my life," said the captain of a successful blockader-runner in speaking of Nassau. " Money was almost as plenty as dirt. I have 244 '^^'-^ Centennial of Incorporation. seen a man toss up twenty dollar gold-pieces on 'head or tail,' and it would be followed by a score of the ' yellow-boys ' in five seconds. There were times when the bank vaults would not hold all the. gold, and the coins were dumped down by the bushel and guarded by soldiers. Men wagered, gambled, drank and seemed crazy to get rid of their money. I once saw two captains put up five hundred dollars each on the length of a certain porch. Again I saw a wager of eight hundred dollars a side as to how many would be at the din- ner table of a certain hotel." The Confederates were pay- ing the English importers and jobbers at Nassau large prices for goods, but these figures of cost were multiplied enor- mously in the Confederacy. The price of cotton was not increased in the same ratio, and this large difference in val- ues between imports and exports gave the enormous profits, which induced these ventures. Ten dollars invested in qui- nine in Nassau would bring from four hundred dollars to six hundred dollars in Charleston. It was come easy go easy. As an item of curiosity, indicating the prices of imported goods in Confederate currency, I copy the following bill of purchases from a blockading company : Major E. Willis : To HENRY COBIA & CO., Dr. 1863. October 15. For i Box (K) containing 400 doz. Coates' Spool Cotton, K^ $12}4 per doz $ 5,000.00 " 17 Rolls Sole Leather, H. E., W'g 3204 lbs., @i $9^ per lb 29,637.00 •' 5 Rolls Sole Leather, H(W)C, W'g 575;^ lbs., (gi $9^ per lb 5.323-37 " 4 Cases Foolscap Paper, Hi,\V)C, 50 reams each — 200 reams, @ $72. . . . . 14,400.00 " I Case Yellow Envelopes (HF) No. 46, 100 M. Envelopes, @ $40 4,000 . 00 " 3 Cases Steel I'ens, H(\V)C, No. 405 507, 500 gross each — 1500 gross, (^^$8.50 12,750.00 " 6 Gross in case, 18 Handles, (gi $35 630.00 " 40 Do/.. Spades (\V), (^ $180 per doz ... 7,200.00 $78,940.37 The Post Btlluvi Period. 245 THE POST BELLUM PEHIOl). lS(>5-77. In April, 1865, the war which for more than four years had been waged with such fierce contention between the seceding States and the States which insisted on the maintenance of the Union, was ended. And Appomattox, in Virginia, as the place where the war ended, will be in all times as memorable as Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, where it began. But what must follow the end of the war; what must be the solution of that great problem which was then developed; who could tell? The issue involved in that war had been decided adversely to the seceding States: but the decision had established other matters, and these of the gravest kind. Four millions of those who had been held in servitude were at once declared free. The Consti- tution of the United States had been amended, and in the fourteenth Article declared that "All persons born or natu- ralized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." To make this comprehensive declara- tion of citizenship effectual, it was necessary to protect it. And, therefore, it was declared that " No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or im- munities of citizens of the United States." To this was added the further declaration that no State shall "deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." The Thirteenth Amendment had provided that " neither slaver)' nor involuntary servi- tude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the part}' shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." How far these amendments which, as has been said, made a "complete change of organic law," could be made, and be freed from exception because of a want of conformity with the provisions of the Constitution, the Congress of the United States proceeded, and successfully, to remedy by the Act of 2d March, 1869: which in the preamble recited 246 TJic Centennial of Incorporation. that " no legal State government or adequate protection for life or property now exists in the rebel States;" and that " peace and good order should be enforced in said States, until loyal and republican State governments can be legally established." To this end the "said rebel States" were divided into " military districts, and made subject to the military authority of the United States." And this was to be the " law of the land," until " the people of any one of the said rebel States shall have formed a constitution of government in conformity with the Constitution of the United States in all respects, framed by a convention of delegates elected by the male citizens of said State twenty- one years old and upwards, of whatever race, color or pre- vious condition: who have been residents in said State for one year previous to the day of such election." This should continue until the people of the "said rebel States" shall be by law admitted to representation in Congress. "Any civil government which may exist therein shall be deemed provisional only, and in all respects subject to the paramount authority of the United States at any time to abolish, modify, control or supersede the same." When the "said rebel States," by convention called in the manner prescribed, shall have adopted a constitution and the Four- teenth Amendment, and that had become part of the Con- stitution of the United States, then the senators and repre- sentatives shall be admitted to Congress on " their taking the oath prescribed by law." Under the operation of this Act of Congress, and others supplementary thereof, a convention was held in the City of Charleston ; which framed the constitution now of force and known as the Constitution of 1868 ; and having been sub- mitted to and approved by Congress, the State became en- titled to its representation in Congress. In this rapid narrative of Federal legislation, it is not at all within the limits or the purpose of this paper, to make on it comment of any kind. It is in what has been, and in what will be said, a narrative of events, a statement of facts. With the close of actual hostilities and the suspension of The Post Bcllum Period. 247 law in the States, except so far as was permitted by the military authority of the United States, a Provisional Gov- ernor was appointed by President Johnson, the Courts were opened, the Judi^es then in commission proceeded as well as they could to discharge their functions; and to the time when officers of the State and general gover^iment were elected under the Constitution of 1 868, the internal State government was subject to the military authority of the United States. To speak of a civil government as so ad- ministered, is, of course, in itself a contradiction. It was aptly declared, " subject to the paramount authority of the United States." And if during its continuance, there were either no, or few if any, cases of oppression and wrong, it must be rather referred to the temper of those who were delegated to exercise the power, than any limitation of its extent, to any point short of the will of any one, to whom it had been given. But in 1868 there was inaugurated a new condition in the State ; the like of which no one could have anticipated, cer- tainly not to the e.xtent to which it was carried : and most certainly the like of which can be never, under any circum- stances, again presented. "The oath prescribed by law," disfranchised almost the entire white population of the State, excepting such as by an Act of Congress had their disability removed. The op- portunity for plunder was eagerly seized by a horde of the most unscrupulous adventurers who have ever been known in this or any other State. Availing themselves of the cir- cumstances as then existing, these " ill-omened birds of prey" addressed themselves at once to the prejudices which were easily, perhaps naturally, excited with that portion of the population who had been recently emancipated : and by cunningly devised falsehoods and artful misrepresentations of the temper and inclination of the white population of the State, endeavored to excite such an enduring hostility as would make the two classes committed to a position at war with the peace and welfare of both. And it was under the influence of such feelings by the votes of those whom they 248 The Centennial of Incorporation. kissed only to betray, that they became possessed of that power in the State government ; by the exercise of which they proceeded in their career of plunder and rapine to an extent that beggars description, and when told almost taxes belief. Such a career ever works its own overthrow. For eight long years the State labored under this, the most grievous yoke that could be imposed. The revelations of the wrongs done to all at length reached even those who had been the victims of the cupidity of others in whom they confided : and the people of the State rose in an united and mighty effort for their deliverance. The effort was successful, and the year 1876, in which this great end was accomplished, will ever be well remembered in the history of this State. CHARLESTON'S WELCOME TO GOVERNOR HAMPTON. 18th April, 1877. But as lasting as will be the recollec- tion of the year in which our State was restored to those to whom it rightfully belonged, so will be the remembrance in Charleston of that public reception which she accorded to the distinguished citizen under whose wise guidance the redemption of the State had been accomplished. In the dark hour which preceded the dawn he had con- ducted all classes to the full light of day, and had inspired all with confidence in his sense of what was right and just, and so long as the people of the State rejoice in their rights, as restored to them in 1876, the name of Wade Hampton will be cherished by them. Here, in this city of his birth, his public reception and welcome as Governor will be remembered as a red letter day, and pass into our local annals to be referred to through all time with the public greetings extended to Washington, Monroe, Lafayette and the other distinguished visitors to our city in the century. Nearly one hundred years before. Gov. Mathews accom- panied by Gens. Moultrie, Horry, and others, entered our city on a memorable occasion, the day on which the evacu- Conclusioti. 249 at'on by the British took phicc ; as we read of the thorou.s[h- fares crowded with people, balconies, doors and windows filled with the patriotic fair, the aged and the young, wav- ing friendly salutations, tendering congratulations, shedding tears of joy at their liberation from foreign rule; so on the ever memorable i8th April, 1877, Charleston's whole popu- lation was abroad, and with hearts throbbing with grateful pride gave public expression to their feelings at their escape from ignorant and corrupt rule, and sympathetic emotion for their great leader. " Men had planned and labored for a grand ovation, youths had given themselves up to military enthusiasm, fair women had worked with eager fingers day and night, children had danced with eager glee, and even tottering infants lisped ' Hooyah f'r Amptoii!'" and the result was that never in the history of Charleston had there been a m.ore universal public demonstration of joy, nor had any citizen ever receiv- ed a more gratifying public greeting. In short, as Charles- ton with every attention that hospitality, public and pri- vate, could devise, had welcomed Washington in the olden time, so with the same deep and glad expressions of popu- lar enthusiasm they greeted Hampton who had liberated them in the new time. CONCLUSION. To an extent too great, I fear, for your patience, and an incompleteness that is only too evident, when it is measured with my theme, I have outlined some of many topics, all of which fully developed and written would make up an in- structive and glowing history of our city. In conclusion let me add a few thoughts suggested by the topic — " the sources of population." The record shows that this city's life-blood rose in the veins of the best race stocks of the modern world. Those peoples and races who have made this civilization, and are 32 250 The Centennial of Ineorporation. now still leading and still developing this new era in the Avorld's history, have here their representatives in lineage, and they are the dominant and controlling forces in our midst. Their bone and flesh and blood are here ; their mind and heart and will are here also. This community is moulded together of component race elements which, in their combined results, form a strong enduring active power in political and civil life standing for the highest, and work- ing for the best things. Thus it is, that whenever the life, the loyalty, the honor or safety of the city has been threatened, through the fire and storm of war, and the more desperate and fearful trial of anarchial peace, not only has high and grand struggle been made, but even in seeming defeat the conservative forces have survived all possible disaster, and new life has sprung up, on the very scene of ruin, a witness to the heritage of moral manhood and mental dominion, enduring in her sons, and the unquenchable faith and courage and heroism of her leaders. In the first years, when small in numbers, the early set- tlers stood successfully against the Indian and the Spaniard. Fifty years after the first landing they bravely threw off the government of the Proprietors and became a Colony of the Crown of England. A half century later, Lossingsays: " While the people of New England were murmuring because of writs of assistance and other grievances, the Carolinians were not indifferent listeners, especially those upon the seaboard ; and before the Stamp Act lighted the flame of general indignation in America, leading men in South Carolina were freely discussing the rights and privi- leges of each Colony, and saw in day dreams a mighty empire stretched along the Atlantic coast from Penobscot to the St. Johns. * * When intelligence of the Stamp Act came over the sea, the Assembly of South Carolina did not wait to consult the opinions of those of other Colonies, but immediately passed a series of condemnatory resolves." The closing of the port of Boston, by Act of Parliament, on the 1st of January, 1774, aroused the indignation and sympathy of the South Carolinians, and substantial aid was Conclusion. 251 freely sent to tlie suffering inhabitants of that city. When the proposition for a General Congress went forth, the af- firmative voice of South Carolina was among the first heard in response. They effectually resisted the Stamp Act, when three companies of city infantry, under Marion, Pirickney and Elliott, marched to Lamboll's l^ridgc, em- barked for James Island, surprised and captured Fort John- son, and caused the stamp-paper to be reshippcd to England. They resisted the three-penny tax on tea, by throwing the tea overboard ivithout disguise, and that which had been landed and stored went to slow decay through long years of neglect, but was never drank. " During the struggle for independence, South Carolina was given up to plunder and bloodshed ; the war here was marked by a degree of barbarity which had no parallel in the Eastern or Middle States, except in the small plunder- ing expeditions in the neighborhood of New York. Prevost's soldiers carried on this barbarous style of warfare, and the marks of their plundering were visible in every house on the islands they had occupied near Charleston." The prison ship and the crowded fever-stricken dungeon did not suppress the spirit of liberty in this city, nor did the victor's torch effect any change in the surrounding countr}-. In the closing years of the last century, when the Federal government was without money and without credit, our citizens, headed by Crafts, Morris, Tunno, Cross, Gilchrist, Hazlehurst, Russell, and many other merchants, advanced over one hundred thousand dollars in cash, and Messrs. Pritchard and Marsh, representative Charleston mechanics, built the sloop-of-war Jolui Adams for the defence of the Union. The Non-Intercourse and Embargo Acts were ob- served with the strictest fidelity here, though the commu- nity was equally divided on this issue, which brought deso- lation to nearly all our homes, while elsewhere plenty was enjoyed by violating the law. War was declared against Great Britain in Washington on the 18th June, 18 12. On the 24th August, Governor Middleton, of South Carolina, reported to an extra session 252 Tlie Centennial of Incorporation. of the Legislature that the State's quota of five thousand troops had been organized with expedition, and was com- posed principally of volunteers. In many cases the draft was resorted to, only to decide who should be accepted as part of the quota, in some instances officers who could not obtain commands volunteered as privates. On the 22d December, 1814, Governor D. R. Williams notified the Secretary of the Treasury that the Legislature, having been informed the day before that the Federal offi- cers in this State were without money, had that evening placed the amount necessary, two hundred and sixty thou- sand dollars, to their credit in the Bank of South Carolina, that being the State's estimated proportion of the direct tax about to be laid by Congress. As in the war of 1 812-15 so in the Mexican war, the men of Charleston were not wanting in duty to flag and to country; of the ninety-six Charleston volunteers who land- ed at Vera Cruz, less than forty entered the Halls of the Montezumas six months after. In more recent years, " in obedience to a sentiment of honor and the call of duty, and in pledge of their sincerity," thousands from Charleston went forth to do the bidding of South Carolina, and hun- dreds "made the last human sacrifice and laid down their lives on the battle-fields of the Confederacy." And in the defence of this city, against the gigantic efforts made to capture it, what a record of heroism, of patient endurance for four desolating years, does Charleston present! Amid the ruins of Fort Sumter men stood for many months with only rifles in their hands, with the arsenals and heavy ord- nance of the world in use by the besiegers — on the Islands every foot of barren sand was contested, and when before overwhelming numbers, and the heaviest guns by sea and land, and then not until the picks and spades of the Miners and Sappers had penetrated into the walls of Battery Wag- ner* was Morris Island given up ; what is the testimony of ♦Battery Wagnkr. — About one ihousaml yards Southeast of Cummings' Point, an earth-work was projected in September, i86'2, as an outpost of Kort Suniler, under llie trueelioii of Capt. Laiigilun Clieves, Confederate States En- Conclusion. 253 the victorious general, whose military skill, persistency and unlimited resources, in men and material, had achieved its possession? General Gilmore says of this fort of sand : " Fort Wagner was found to be a work of the most formidable character — far more so, indeed, than the most exaggerated statements of prisoners and deserters had led us to expect. Its bomb-proof shelter, capable of containing fifteen hundred or sixteen hundred men, remained perfectly intact, after one of the most severe bombardments to which any earth-work was ever exposed." AH around the circuit of our city are historic places — for four years, Sullivan's Island, Morris Island, James Island and Fort Sumter were reverberating with the roar of heavy cannon, and the historian when he comes to write of our memorable defence will exclaim — " Never on earthly anvil Did such rare armour gleam." As comes the bourgeoning of the tree from the secret force that' fills its veins, so must it ever be with us of Charleston as long as the life-blood that flowed in the veins of those gone before continues to warm the heart of the city we so love and cherish and guard. Such relation to a gineer. The original plan covered the width of the Island from high water to high water, enclosing an acre and a half of ground. Three hundred yards in front of the work a canal was to have been cut, and the action of the sea was expected to make it too deep for fording, and, certainly, would prevent approach by sap and mine ; the canal was never cut, and the fort was at last taken by regular approach. Negro labor was first used in its construction, but these were finally withdrawn by owners on account of exposure to the enemy. These were succeeded by the Gist Guard Artillery and Matthews' Artillery, who, while they worked, were niany_times under fire. It was scarcely comple- ted when the bombardment and attack commenced July roth, 1863, at which time its armament consisted of one rifled and banded 32 -pounder, five smooth bore 32-pounders on siege carriages, one 8-inch columbiad and one lo-inch columbiad, and two brass howitzers. Connected with the work was a bomb- proof shelter capable of protecting an infantry garrison of six hundred men, also secure magazines. The two companies already named, under Capt. J. K. Matthews and Lieut. R. C. Gilchrist, formed during the siege from loth July to 7th September, with brief intervals of relief, the regular artillery garrison — Capt. C. E. Chichester acting as Chief of Artillery. 254 T^l'-'^ Centennial of Incorporatioii. past ennobles this transient and vanishing life ; such a power of influence on the future is the suprennest terrestial privi- lege. In a spirit worthy of such memories, let us as citizens consecrate ourselves to those further duties which wa't to be fulfilled, and so discharge them that, as the years roll by, our city may expand to higher honors and a larger useful- ness. With memories of the joys and sorrows of an event- ful past, standing on the threshold of a new century, with hope elate and purpose high, join me in saying with the poet : " Oh ! checkered train of years farewell, With all thy strifes and hopes and fears, But with us let thy memories dwell, To warm and teach the coming years. And thou, the new beginning age, Warned by the past, and not in vain, Write on a fairer, whiter page. The record of thy happier reign." PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL. At a regular meeting of the City Council, held on Sep- tember nth, 1883, Alderman Dingle, chairman of the special committee on the Centennial, submitted the follow- ing resolutions, which were unanimously adopted: Resolved, That the thanks of the City Council are due and hereby tendered to the Rev. John Johnson, Rector of St. Philip's Church, for his services as chaplain of the day on the recent Centenmal occasion. Resolved, That the thanks of the City Council are due and hereby tendered to Middleton Michel, M. U., for his acceptable reading of the Centennial Odes at the recent celebration. Resolved, That the City Council of Charleston request that Mr. Paul IT. Ilayne. the poet-son, son o( our city, accept their sincere congratulations and heartfelt thanks for the high tril)Utc of his genius to the celebration of the City's Centennial, and that a Centennial Medal of gold, suitably mounted and in- scribed, be prepared for him as a token of their regard and esteem. Proceedings of City Council. 255 Filled with fcrveiU love of her and her past, and hopefui of her brightly dawning future, painting her sore trials, her dire distress, her grand struggles and grander triumphs, and in the inspiring words of his mission and his art, as a teacher of his fellow-nian, summoning us, as he cheers us, to a larger destiny, his words have come to us as the awakening of mighty memory and the vision of brave hopes realized. We thank him fervently for his auspicious greeting, for the truth, the glad- ness, the majesty and power of his noble ode. Whereas, througli the good offices of the Hon. A. London Snouclen, director of the United States Mint, at Philadelphia, the City Council of Charleston has been able to add to the commemoration of their recent Centennial celebration a beautiful medal in the highest .style of numismatic art. Resolved, That the thanks of the City Council are eminently due and are hereby tendered to Mr. Snowden for this very acceptable service, which is highly appreciated. Resolved, That the thanks of the City Council are tlue and hereby tendered to Mrs. Mary M. Hutson for the kindly loan at the recent Centennial celebra- tion of the portrait of Chancellor Richard Hutson, the first Intendant of the city. Resolved, That the thanks of the City Council are due and are herel)y ten- dered to the officers and members of the German Artillery and the 1-afayetlc -Vrlillery for their prompt res|H)iise to our re(|uesl to lire the Centennial salute of one hundred guns on the occasion of the recent celebration, and that a copy of this resolution, suitably engrossed, be jjrepared and forwarded to Cajitain Wagener and Captain Mantoue. So ordered. Alderman Dingle then moved that the Mayor be re- quested to vacate the chair. Adopted. On motion Alderman Sweegan was asked to preside. Alderman Dingle then presented the following resolutions : Whereas, on the occasion of the Centennial celebration of our city, his Honor the Mayor presented to the City of Charleston a marble bust of James L. I'etigru, now adorning this chamber, the satisfying and noble product of the genius and faithful labor of the sculptor Harnisch : And, whereas, this tribute of perpetual commemoration of our city's great jurist, orator and fearless citizen is the worthiest homage we can pay to the illustrious dead, as well as the truest and wisest lesson we can teach to the living. Be it resolved. That the City Council, in behalf of the citizens of Charleston, in accepting this munificent gift, recalling in its vivid power so truly the great 256 The Centennial of Incorporation. man who is gone, extend their heartiest thanks to his Honor the Mayor both for the generous thought that prompted this enduring testimonial to his fellow- citizens, and also for the high and instructive way he has so happily chosen to mark by so eloquent a gift his thought of and his feeling for his people. Unanimously adopted. Alderman Dingle then presented the accompanying reso- lutions : Whereas, in fulfilling the request of this body to deliver the oration upon the Centennial of the City of Charleston his Honor the Mayor has reviewed most faithfully, instructively and eloquently the history of this city from its earliest settlement, and amid the duties of an active administration has, in marked zeal and industry, found time to examine into the sources of our history and the progress of our civic life, and in his vivid outlines revealing and suggesting the wider fields for and the larger results of the study, the writing and the preserva- tion of her municipal past, be it Resolved, That the City Council of Charleston would express their heartfelt gratification at this most valuable and instructive address, and that they join with his Honor the Mayor in the hope that the history of this city may soon be rescued, fully written and thus preserved for ourselves and posterity. Resolved, That his Honor the Mayor be requested to furnish a copy of his Centennial address, unabridged, for publication. Unanimously adopted. Alderman A. Johnson offered the following resolution : Resolved, That a Centennial Medal in gold, suitably mounted and inscribed, be presented to his Honor the Mayor, as an acknowledgment from the City Council for his Centennial address. Unanimously adopted. Mayor Courtcnay was then escorted to the hall by Alder- men Rodgers and Barkley, who had been appointed a com- mittee for that puroose, and the resolutions were communi- cated to him by the acting Mayor. The Mayor, who was visibly affected during the reading of the resolutions, spoke as follows: Gentlemen of Council — The service that I have been able to render in preparing the address on the occasion of the Centennial was congenial to me, Proceedings of City Council. 257 as I have for many years taken a great interest in this attractive subject, and I only trust it will be the means of leading to a more thorough research and to the preparation and perpetuation of our corporate history. In presenting the bust of James L. Petigru to the city, it is proper that I should say that when I ordered it I had intended to make its presentation the occasion of announcing to you that I desired to retire from the mayoralty at the end of my term, in December. 1 wished at the same time to celebrate in a permanent form the virtues of a prominent citizen, who, although for many years in a minority, was ever appreciated by his fellow-citizens, and has left us the record of a long life of honor and patriotism. I hardly know how to thank you, gentlemen of Council, for your uniform kindness to me during all these long years we have served together. We have had differences of opinion, it is true, but I am happy to state that our personal relations have been and are of the most pleasant character. For this expression of kind feeling I beg, in all sincerity, to express my warmest thanks. At the regular meeting of the City Council, held on the evening of October i6th, 1883, ^'^^ following letters were read and received as information : "Copse Hall," Georgia, \ October 15th, 1883. f 1 the Honorable the Mayor and City Council of Charleston, S. C. : Gentlemen — I acknowledge the receipt of your " Resolutions" of the r3th .inst., in relation to my " Centennial Poem" — " Resolutions," the earnest feel- ing and eloquence of which have profoundly moved me ! Accept, at the same lime, my appreciative thanks for the superb gold medal accompanying them. As a token of regard from my native place I must ahuays value it, associating its purity and brightness with the pure lustre of many memories — memories of boyhood, and youth, and early manhood indissolubly connected with our "fair City by the Sea." Nor can I ever forget the gracious manner in which it has been presented ! Not in vain, then, has your Poet toiled, and sometimes, in exile, suffered ! The hope grows strong within him that when this hand is dust he may yet survive (so long as God willeth) in the hearts of his fellow-citizens. Virgil half mournfully, half ironically inquires, " Cincres credis curare sepultos ? " At all events, to a man while living, hope of some fragrant post-mortem re- membrance, especially in the place of one's birth, is beyond measure, consoling ! I am, gentlemen, gratefully and respectfully yours, PAUL HAMILTON HAYNE. 33 25S The Centennial of Incorporation. The Mayor stated that he desired to return his acknowl- edi,iTient for the medal presented to him. Mint of the United States, at Philadelphia, Pa., ) , Superintendent's Office, >■ October 15th, 1883. ) My Dear Sir— I have to acknowledge, through your courtesy, the receipt of a beautifully-engrossed copy of resolutions adopted by the Council of the City of Charleston, expressing thanks for services rendered by me in connection with your Centennial celebration. I am honored by the action of your city authorities, and, in expressing my thanks for the same, can only regret that my services were not of a more im- portant character. I beg you will convey to his Honor the Mayor and to the members of the Council my high appreciation of the honor conferred upon me. Trusting that your beautiful city may continue to make progress in all that appertains to the happiness of her people, the honor of her name and the wel- fare of our common country. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, A. LOUDON SNOWDEN. G. W. Dinglk, Esq., 61 Broad Street, Charleston, S. C. Council then adjourned. W. VV. SIMONS. Clerk of Council. THE CENTEMIAL MEDAL. The City Council of Charleston arranged with Mr. Snow- den, the courteous and obliging director of the United States Mint at Philadelphia, for a memorial medal ; its size and inscription are fully illustrated at page 2. The issue comprises two in gold, twenty-one in silver (for the Al- dermen serving at that time) and two hundred in bronze — total, two hundred and twenty-three. The medals were mounted in handsome morocco cases, and copies in bronze were presented to Gov. H. S. Thomp- son, Lieut.-Gov. J. C. Shepherd, Mr. Speaker James Simons, and Attorney-General Ch. Richardson Miles, who represent- The Centennial Medal. 259 ed the State at the ceremonies — to ex-Mayors T. L. Hutch- inson, W. Porcher Miles, P. C. Gaillard, G. I. Cunningham, and W. W. Sale— to Mrs. Hannah Ensto.i, Mrs. John A. Wagener; VV. Noel Sainsbury, Record Office, London; John Stolle Artist, of Dresden ; Ed. V. Valentine, Sculptor, Richmond, Va. ; Rev. John Johnson, Chaplain of the day; Middleton Michel, M. D., Reader; to Recorder Pringle and the officers of the City Court ; to the Commissioners of the Public Institutions of the City, and the chief City Officials. The two gold medals were voted by special resolve of the City Council, to the Poet and Orator of the day. Quite a number of bronze medals were subscribed and paid for by private citizens, in and out of the city. The dies, which are very fine specimens of numismatic art, remain for safe keep- ing at the United States Mint, Philadelphia. ^ ^ BD &a4 >S>"\ ^\ ^ , ■\^ .^i^SC'.'^ ^^"^. .V-' ^ > , \ ■ ■■ 'oo'' -5> \ .sS>' '^J ^./^^.^X^ ^h^''' ''^ jf^.'^^;- .';%'-'^^ "^A v^' Oc "% * .'. r. -^^^ ^^./ '-"- - ^'-^'^ -vV * ^A '■■■ •' - ^ S o .^^ \ >^' •^c.. In"' \ V .O"^ c » '^ * « '■- LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 418 490 7 '..-/>" ■'■i.-jj.'.<'. "■ '*'•'" ' , ■' '':.M ^"■''"M ■>;^ ■:.--./.':*v:!;| ■■ ■■•:!■;« ':^< . ,. " ' ■■ ' ' '^'•■■'■1''' '^iu, ■■> ,: :•■; ' ;' ■•-