After over a month at sea being tossed about the
Atlantic, the British fleet finally reached the Carolina coast. They came
ashore about twenty miles to the south of Charleston and began to slowly move
through the alligator and snake infested swamplands that separated them from
the city. The soldiers from the North Carolina units arrived in Charleston in
early March, just as the British reached the banks of the Ashley River (which
delineated the western boundary of the peninsula that was home to the city).
2 Lieutenant Colonel Harney’s initial impression of
the situation was not good. “The terrain favors a successful siege by the
enemy,” he thought to himself.
3 Still, as the troops marched into the city,
everything was a flurry of activity. Slaves and soldiers were busily working on
strengthening its defenses. Within weeks, a series of redoubts and ditches had
been constructed across the peninsula from the Ashley River on one side to the
Cooper on the other.
4 General Lincoln didn’t waste any time in calling for
a meeting with all of the officers now assembled to defend the place. “Do not
worry, Gentlemen, we will be able to keep the enemy out of Charleston,” the
General assured them.
5 “And we won’t be able to get out either,” observed
one of the officers at the back of the room. “If the enemy threatens to
overwhelm us, we can escape across the Cooper,” Lincoln shot back through
clenched teeth. With that, the meeting was concluded. “I do not like this,”
Selby whispered to his friend as they exited the room.
6 In the meantime, Thomas Camp had been busy helping
to position the cannons along the line of redoubts that had been erected to
defend the city. “I’d like to blow a hole a mile wide through those damn
Redcoats!” he told William Gardner. “I’d like to blast them all the way back to
England!” Will agreed.
7 By the end of March, the entire British army had
crossed the Ashley and had begun constructing siege works across the peninsula.
On April 5, they began shelling the city. A few days later, a little over a
thousand Virginia Continentals streamed into the city. Now the British only had
a two to one advantage over the Americans!
8 The arrival of the Virginia reinforcements, however,
did not intimidate Sir Henry Clinton. In fact, it made the British commander
more determined than ever to make sure that no one else would be permitted to
enter or leave the city. “Colonel Webster and Major Ferguson will cross the
Cooper and secure the roads and territory on that side of the river,” the
General ordered.
9 They were accompanied by some cavalry headed by
Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton (a name that would soon become synonymous
with terror throughout the Carolinas). Thus, the small American force tasked
with defending that sector was quickly defeated, and the last viable escape
route out of Charleston was closed to the Americans.
10 There were only two choices left to General
Lincoln: Defend the city or surrender. And the situation inside of Charleston
was getting more desperate by the minute. Shells had killed scores of soldiers
and citizens. Shards of shattered brick and chunks of charred and splintered
wood littered the streets. The stench from the carcasses of bloated and rotting
horses was everywhere. Food rations had been reduced to a handful of rice for
each soldier.
11 The British dispatched a message to the American commander,
and there was a brief respite from the shelling. General Lincoln summoned
another council of war. “I don’t have to tell you all just how grim the
situation is,” he began. “General Clinton has demanded the unconditional
surrender of this city,” he continued. “I want to know what you gentlemen are
thinking.”
12 “Any patriotic soldier would be happy to give his
life for his country!” General Pinckney declared. “You have failed to protect
this city from these devils!” one of the town fathers shouted. “I will refuse
his demand if that is the consensus of all that are assembled here, but I don’t
have to tell you that we cannot hold out against this kind of bombardment much
longer,” Lincoln concluded.
13 As soon as the British received the news of
Lincoln’s rejection of their demands, the shelling resumed. “Give them
everything we’ve got!” Major Mitchell ordered his men. Thomas, Will and the
rest of their crew swung into action.
14 Indeed, all along the American lines, the cannons
roared to life. That night, the sky above them was ablaze with the artillery
fire of both sides.
15 “It looks like the sky’s on fire!” Thomas declared.
“Like the stars are falling,” Will whispered as he looked up.
16 Suddenly, there was the sound of a loud explosion
at one of the redoubts to the east of their position. Shattered stones, brick,
metal and wood flew into the air. Selby, along with two of the men who were
standing closest to him, crumpled to the ground.
17 “Colonel Harney’s been hit!” one of the privates
exclaimed. His shirt and trousers on the left side of his body were shredded to
pieces, and a dark red wetness covered the material that remained.
18 “Help me carry him to the surgeon,” the man shouted
to his colleagues. Together, they quickly scooped up the limp form before them
and hurried toward the city proper.
19 “I think it missed his bowels,” the doctor began,
“but his hip looks like his clothes on this side!” “If he survives this, he may
never walk again,” he finished.
20 Mary Carter dabbed his forehead with a wet cloth.
“I’ll clean this up and put a clean dressing on him,” the nurse told the doctor
after he had finished removing all of the shrapnel he could find. “That will be
fine – try to keep him comfortable,” he smiled.
21 On the eleventh day of May, General Lincoln finally
ordered a white flag to be raised above the gates of Charleston. The following
day, the Redcoats and Hessians marched into the city and took possession of it.
22 Though his clothing was dirty, Thomas Camp tried to
muster as much dignity as he could as the Americans prepared to march out. He
was barefoot, and his trousers were threadbare.
23 In fact, most of the American Army was in similar
circumstances. They were all thinner, and their eyes were sunken and ringed
with dark circles from lack of sleep. The long siege had taken its toll on the
defenders.
24 Although General Clinton would not permit them to
display their colors, most of the men held their heads high as they marched out
past their enemies. They were hungry, tired and defeated; but most of them knew
that there was no shame to be found in how they had conducted themselves.
25 At the first opportunity that presented itself,
Thomas slipped out of the formation and into one of the swampy patches of
forest that lined the main road. He crouched down and held his breath for a
moment as his comrades and their captors marched by the brush that concealed
him from their view. Within a few more minutes, he was headed for home.
26 In the meantime, Selby was being carried on a
makeshift stretcher to what had been the American hospital at Haddrell’s Point.
There were three rather large brick buildings where the interiors remained
unfinished. The barracks were arranged in the shape of an inverted C. Two of
the buildings faced each other with the third situated between them.
27 They carried the Lieutenant Colonel into the middle
building and gently transferred him to one of the beds on the second floor. He
was soon joined by a number of other officers who had been wounded in the
siege. The other two buildings were packed with their colleagues who had been
fortunate enough to escape the affair without any major injuries.
28 By the Fourth of July, Selby was well enough to
watch the other officers celebrate the declaration of America’s independence
from one of the windows near his bed. He even managed a whoop and a smile when
a young captain fired his pistol into the air.
29 Their captors, however, did not appreciate their
observance of a day which they regarded as hateful. Thereafter, Selby and his
fellow officers did not enjoy the freedom of movement which they had previously
been allowed to exercise. And, although they were not treated as harshly as the
enlisted men who had fallen into the enemy’s hands, they would not regain their
freedom until the war had ended.
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