Francis Marion's regimental muster roll from 1778 given to University

Francis Marion's regimental muster roll from December 1778 has found a new home at Thomas Cooper Library, thanks to the generosity of a University alumnus.

James Barrow

A native of Bishopville and collector of rare books and papers, Barrow has given notable items to the University's libraries through the years so that they can remain in the state. He is a founding partner of Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss, an investment firm based in Dallas.

"He wanted this important piece of our state's history to come back to South Carolina, where it could be accessible to South Carolinians, especially students," said Patrick Scott, director of special collections.

The muster roll will be on public display on the main floor in Thomas Cooper Library beginning July 1 and remain on display until early August. People also can view and learn about the muster roll on line at www.sc.edu/library/spcoll/marion/fmarion.html.

"It is an impressive manuscript document showing the strength of the revolutionary forces in South Carolina between the time of the Battle of Sullivan's Island and the surrender of Charleston," Scott said.

The document shows the regiment at less than half strength, a fact that does not surprise University historian Walter Edgar. The muster roll shows the regiment with 277 men on board and 337 men needed. He said at that time, in 1778, the war was somewhat in a lull in the Charleston area, and the army had a difficult time filling the ranks with common soldiers.

"During this period, the General Assembly tried all sorts of things to get people to enlist," Edgar said. "They offered bounties and bonuses. Eventually, they resorted to dragooning people, almost like a draft. If you were convicted of certain crimes, like having hunted deer by fire at night, you would be drafted in service."

Marion didn't always have trouble filling the ranks, Edgar said. South Carolina men were ready to serve whenever the British were present in the state.

"Francis Marion had the same problem of filling the ranks when he was the Swamp Fox after the fall of Charleston," Edgar said. "However, when the British were around, he always could get a large company of men. Otherwise, he had a small cadre of a couple dozen men. That was true of all the guerilla bands."

The muster roll features an impressive list of officers, a who's who of late 18th-century Lowcountry elite.

"You have names like Harleston, Motte, LeSesne, Moultrie, Masyck, and Proveau, all prominent Lowcountry names," Edgar said. "They were the Lowcountry elite, wealthy individuals who, instead of being loyalists as one would have thought, were rebels for the American cause."

Edgar, who wrote South Carolina: A History and Partisans and Redcoats: The Southern Conflict that Turned the Tide of the American Revolution, said the muster roll is an important document that helps tell the story of South Carolina's pivotal role in the American Revolution.

"The role of South Carolina in the Revolution often has been under-appreciated, sometimes almost neglected," Edgar said. "The American Revolution was won here in South Carolina--absolutely and no question about it. It didn't happen up north in New Jersey or Pennsylvania."

Edgar said the British thought they had the Revolution won after the capture of Charleston in May 1780 and that it was just a matter of rolling up the rest of the Southern colonies.

That's when Francis Marion and other South Carolina revolutionaries took to using guerrilla warfare and when Marion became the legendary Swamp Fox.

"Thanks to guerrilla fighters such as Francis Marion, Andrew Pickens, Thomas Sumter, they beat the British," Edgar said. "Lord Cornwallis' army was pretty much torn apart here in South Carolina before they straggled up to Yorktown and surrendered to George Washington."

Edgar said Francis Marion was considered not just a South Carolina hero but an American hero through his leadership and South Carolina's role in the revolution. These facts were well known among people in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

"Then, things changed," Edgar said. "A little something called the Civil War happened in between, so a lot of folks didn't want South Carolina to have anything to do with the revolution. They wrote South Carolina out of the history books, but people are now discovering its part."

The 17-by-13-inch muster roll complements many 18th- and 19th-century South Carolina holdings in the University's libraries, which are a rich repository for the state's early history.

All too often, documents associated with South Carolina end up on the rare document market auctions. Local archives, libraries, and museums aren't able to purchase them to keep them in the state. The muster roll is valued at $25,000.

"Thanks to this generous donor, this muster roll, which is a little bit of history of South Carolina that deals with the American war for independence that was won right here by people like Francis Marion, is staying put," Edgar said.

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