A Loyalist on Two Continents

Time to take another look into the experiences of those forgotten participants (along with the Indians and slaves ) of the American War for Independence—the Loyalists. The story of young Alexander Chesney is, in some ways, very typical of the experience of these British subjects who did not buy into the dream of independence and liberty. We will delve into his Revolutionary War escapades and take a peek at his post-war challenges—and challenges he had.

From Antrim to America

The fourteen-year-old Alexander emigrated with his parents from County Antrim to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1772. By then, the colonists' dispute with the Crown was in full swing, so the Scots-Irish family had placed themselves in a land that would soon be torn asunder by insurrection and rebellion, which for them would also become a civil war. 

He married Margaret Hodges around the time of the "Shot Heard Round the World—a marriage to be marked by hardship and sacrifice.

Tory Guide

In the early years of the war, the Carolinas remained firmly under patriot control, although many remained loyal, either openly or silently. These Loyalists were deemed a threat and were ruthlessly suppressed and oppressed. Young Chesney threw his hat in the ring and began helping loyalists, guiding them to safety through a maze of patriot militias. 

Fugitive

Eventually, his actions made him a target, and patriot militia Colonel Richard Richardson's men apprehended him in the spring of 1776. The militia ransacked his home and imprisoned him in Snowy Camp on the Reedy River in northwestern South Carolina. Richardson made him an offer he couldn't refuse: stand trial for assisting Loyalists and likely hang or join the patriot militia. 

Richard Richardson

Yankee Doodle Days

The young Chesney enlisted as a private and spent the next few years marching with the hated Yankee Doodles. Why? Seems his father, Robert, was imprisoned as a suspected Tory. The younger Chesney's service helped to keep him alive. Private Chesney served in campaigns against the Creek and Cherokee. Between these expeditions, he was a teamster bringing produce to Charleston, South Carolina, which was then in the possession of the patriots.

Militia Campaigns Against Creeks and Cherokees 

Serving the Crown

Things changed in May 1780 when the British returned (they had been repulsed in 1776) to Charleston and soon overran the state. When the British commander in chief, General Henry Clinton, issued his proclamation calling all loyal subjects to arms, Chesny came out of the patriot closet and joined one of the militia units raised by the renowned "counter guerilla," Major Patrick Ferguson. Ferguson's regiments racked up a string of victories in the bitter in-country fighting between Loyalist and patriot rebels. 

Fall of Charleston

Chesney rose from lieutenant to captain over the next few months. But his fortunes took a turn for the worse in early October of that year. Ferguson, hot on the trail of patriots and hot to recruit new men for the Crown, marched his brigade away from General Cornwallis's main body and managed to get surrounded by a corps of back-country militia—some of the most experienced frontier  Indian fighters and angry for revenge against Ferguson, who had threatened to hang them all.

Parick Ferguson

King's Mountain

Ferguson made his stand on a piece of wooded high ground called King's Mountain. The "Over Mountain Men," led by a bunch of tough hombres that included such legends as colonels John Sevier, Benjamin Cleveland, and Isaac Shelby, quickly encircled the Loyalists and started up the hill. The battle saw lead slam into tree trunks, leafy branches, and the hapless Tories as the rebel militia came at them firing, Indian-style, from tree to tree. Loyalists dropped like turkeys under unrelenting fire. Ferguson fell mortally wounded trying to rally his men. 

Over Mountain Attack on King's Mountain

Captain Alexander Cheney was also wounded and taken prisoner along with some 668 others. The Loyalists also suffered 290 killed and 163 wounded. According to his account, Chesney later watched as the prisoners underwent a mock trial, with many sentenced to death. One of the American commanders, Colonel Benjamin Cleveland, offered him parole if he provided them with Ferguson's battle tactics. But the tough Irishman would not betray his cause.

Colonel  Cleveland Leading Prisoners

Yadkin Death March

With shoes taken and without coats to protect against the worsening weather, he and the others marched off into captivity under brutal conditions and threats of beating and shooting through the rugged hills toward the Yadkin River and prison in Salem, North Carolina. Chesney escaped along the way and hid in a nearby cave but was later captured and held until released in a prisoner exchange.

Joining the Legion

He soon joined the only Loyalist unit with an even more terrible reputation among the rebels—Tarleton's Legion! He raised a mounted Loyalist company and served Colonel Banastre Tarleton as a guide, helping the Legion negotiate the back roads and woods as they marched from Fort Ninety-Six in a search and destroy mission. Their prey—famed rifleman  Daniel Morgan and his Army.

Tarleton's Legion in Action

Ironically, Morgan's forces occupied Chesney's farm at Grindal Shoals just days before Tarleton caught him at a place called the Cow Pens in January 1781. There, the reckless Tarleton launched headlong against his prey. After all, just a few lines of militia blocked the way. 

Witness to a Debacle

But Morgan was ready, with stout lines of Continentals behind the militia and dragoons hidden from sight. In one of the most impressive showings of the war, Tarleton's elite force was stopped cold, then cut off and crushed. Chesney led his men in the battle and managed to flee to the safety of the British garrison in Charleston. Tarleton escaped, but his Legion suffered over 80% casualties.

American Dragoons at Cow Pens

Embittered by what he viewed as poor management at Cowpens, he moved his family from his despoiled farm to the protection of the British near Charleston and tried to reestablish a small plantation, which included some slaves.

Guiding Lord Rawdon

But with war raging through South Carolina, Chesney soon took the field at the head of various Loyalist units. He operated along the Edisto River, often skirmishing with the hated rebels. His mounted company scouted for Lord Rawdon as he fought the last engagements in the state. Chesney was wounded again during a skirmish near the critical outpost at Fort Ninety-Six.

Fort Ninety-Six 

Crumbling Fortunes

October 1781 brought General Charles Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown, serious negotiations in Paris, and what were likely bitter months for the Ulsterman.

Yorktown Surrender

Presumably not fit for the field, he was appointed Superintendent of Woodcutting to support Charleston's fuel needs, as it was the last rebel bastion. He hired displaced Loyalists and did what he could, but the Americans were closing in. Things got even worse when his wife Margaret died in December 1781. The new year proved no better. Chesney became sick and could not care for his son William, so he had to send the lad to live with relatives. His farm was destroyed, and as a veteran of two of the most feared and hated Brtissh contingents, he would get little quarter.  

Charleston Harbor

Once the British Army left America, he would face a grim future. Although the last British soldier left the former colonies in December, Chesney decided to return to Ireland, arriving in Castle Haven in May of 1782.

Loyalist Recompense?

Normally, this would end the tale of Alexander Chesney. But in a sense, his life had only just begun despite the darkness of defeat and loss. Over the next several decades, he fought hard to rebuild his life. He went to England, where he sought to make his claim to the British government, and became a leader among the Loyalists there. He met with other key members of the Association of American Loyalists in London., where a petition was drawn for just compensation for their service to the Crown and the loss of property and land.

As with most of the Loyalist refugees, things came hard. Reaching out to former commanders such as Cornwallis and Rawdon did not help get through the British bureaucracy. While waiting on his claim, the doughty Chesney struck in a different direction. He sought and received an appointment as an Irish Customs Officer, specifically a coastal inspector.

Lord Francis Rawdon

Despite numerous petitions and a few trips back and forth across the Irish Sea, he was disappointed. His final compensation amounted to less than a quarter of his claim. What is the price of Loyalty? Undaunted, he went to work as a Coast Officer, chasing down smugglers along the northern coast of Ireland. He was highly effective at this.  

Another Rebellion

But in the late 1790s, Ireland broke out in its rebellion, with the Irish patriots hoping to capitalize on events in France.

United Irishman Hanged

By the autumn of 1796, the Association of United Irishmen in County Down and several neighboring counties were prepping for revolt. Possibly drawing on his American experience, Chesney got wind of this. He got a captain's commission and formed the Mourne Infantry in early 1797. His Irish Yeomanry company was the first formed in County Down. The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, none other than General Charles Cornwallis, put down the rebellion and crushed the French invasion in 1798, ending the so-called "Year of the French."

:

Lord Cornwallis

Customs Service

Chesney's work as a customs official kept him busy. The Napoleonic Wars saw much illegal trade, and Chesney was on the move—suppressing smugglers and illegal shippers seeking to profit from the war. Along the way, he started another family and had several children. Two of his sons later received commissions in the Army, and his surviving daughter had a successful marriage to a clergyman. 

Chesney vs. Smugglers

Letter from America

In February 1818, a great shock came. Chesney received a letter from his eldest son, William, whom he had left with relatives in America. The stunned Chesney thought he had died! But William Chesney was alive and in Tennessee. However, his son was not well off. William revealed that Chesney's father, Robert, was also alive. Chesney did not offer to bring him to Ireland. They were never reunited.  

Alexander Chesney

Life and Legacy

Chesney penned a journal of his Revolutionary War exploits, documenting the savage combat in the Carolinas. The Ulsterman spared no one in his account. But, of course, through decades of struggle, he never really spared himself. Against all odds, and as a testament to his basic toughness, this Loyalist on two continents, the survivor of two pitched battles and numerous skirmishes, imprisonment, and deprivations, lived to the ripe old age of 83, dying on 12 January 1843. 

Chesney Grave

Loyalist and Irish Yeomanry leader Captain Alexander Chesney is buried in the Mourne Presbyterian Churchyard in Kilkeel, County Down, Northern Ireland.

Tradesman Spy

Patriotic Sons of the American Revolution

 marker near Trenton, New Jersey

Fort Lee, New Jersey, November 1776. The tall soldier in a blue jacket opened the door. "Your visitor is here, Your Excellency."

General George Washington wiped the dark liquid from his pen tip and nodded. A nondescript man in farmer clothes stepped in. Washington motioned toward a seat. "Thank you for coming, sir. I hope the journey did not discommode you."

"Not at all, sir. When we last met I gave you my word that I was at your service."

"Your nation thanks you for it. Our situation is bleak. The British regulars will be here within forty-eight hours. But the Army is too weak to make another stand."

"What will you do, Your Excellency?"

"Better you not know. Suffice it to say this state will be under British occupation for some time. That's where you come in."

"Me?"

Washington nodded. "I must trouble you to proceed to Trenton and its environs. Establish yourself there as a Loyal Tory. You are a hero of the last war—service under the great General Wolfe."

"He was a great man. As are you, Your Excellency. Now, what are your orders?"

"I need a spy in their midst."

The Spy?

Washington's visitor was one of the most enigmatic figures in the time of the Yankee Doodle Spies. An Irishman born in Scotland, John Honeyman became a key agent when the American cause was at its lowest. His chameleon ways, hiding in plain sight, may have inspired the protagonist Harvey Birch in James Fenimore Cooper's seminal work, The Spy, although most connect New Yorker Enoch Crosby to that role.

James Fenimore Cooper

Historians clash over Honeyman's role as his narrative was written in the following century by a grandchild. But this is the fate of many secret soldiers whose deeds, for reasons of secrecy and security, went undocumented. Retired CIA Case Officer and Revolutionary War Historian Kenneth Daigler built a case for Honeyman's being one of Washington's operatives.

Honeyman hailed from County Armagh, born to thrifty Scottish parents. Although his father was a hardscrabble farmer who could afford little education, Honeyman managed to learn to read and write. He had a knack for trades, such as weaving. But at age twenty-nine, Honeyman went in a different direction, joining the British Army and sailing to America to fight the French and Indians.

Honorable Service

At sea, he came to the attention of General Wolfe and became his servant and bodyguard. Action at Louisburg greeted him, but his military career ended tragically. Private Honeyman was at the side of Wolfe when the bold general was struck down in his moment of triumph on the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec.

Death of Wolfe at Quebec

His officer gone, Honeyman mustered out a sort of hero with a letter vouching for his service with and for Wolfe, who became a beloved figure among all Britons, especially those in America.

Tradesman and Family Man

Honeyman made his way to Pennsylvania, where he set himself up as a butcher and weaver and married a girl from Ireland named Mary Henry in September 1764. Around the time of Shot Heard Round the World, Honeyman had moved to Philadelphia, the seat of the Continental Congress and a hotbed of political discussion and intrigue. Around that time, he may have come to the attention of George Washington. Some accounts say he offered the soon-to-be commander-in-chief his services.

A Spy Among Them

Honeyman left Fort Lee and arrived at Trenton. He had little trouble falling in among the local Tories—his letter from the late Wolfe and discharge made him a respected Briton and servant of the King. He set up his butcher and weaving enterprises with the British and soon came to their attention as a Loyal Briton. His home was behind rebel lines at Griggstown, and John Honeyman avowed Tory (as part of Washington's scheme) traveled back and forth in trade while collecting intelligence. Sometimes, plans can work too well. With tensions high that fateful year in the Jerseys, a patriot mob attacked his home. His family escaped unharmed, although it took a note from Washington to allow the Tory family safe passage to Trenton, now garrisoned by Colonel Johann Rall's brigade of Hessians.

Violence was not confined to the battlefield

Great Scheme Hits Paydirt

Using Trenton as his base for business and espionage, Honeyman was able to collect intelligence on the garrison's strength, morale, defenses, and other activities. A plan was concocted to give him cover—Honeyman allowed himself to be captured by a rebel patrol that had orders to take him to Washington's headquarters.

Washington meeting a spy

The commander in chief personally "interrogated" the "prisoner." Afterward, he ordered the notorious Tory to be thrown into a jail cell. Washington arranged a diversionary fire that allowed the Tory to escape. The skilled line crosser made his way past guards and sentries from both sides and reached the safety of Trenton. There, the loyal Tory dutifully reported his capture and escape. Under Johann Rall's questioning, he was able to plant a significant piece of disinformation—the rebels were in such a low state of morale and equipment the Hessian commander did not need to fear an attack.

Johann Rall

Deception Brings Defeat

Even though the Hessians had been on heightened alert for the past two weeks, Rall believed Honeyman's story and so felt confident enough to relax security on the nights of 25-26  December. The deception gave Washington just enough of an edge—his Army recrossed the Delaware River and marched through the snowy night to surprise the garrison, which soon surrendered. His victory saved the cause from inevitable collapse and perhaps turned the tide of the war.

Attack on Trenton

The Spy Who Stayed Out in the Cold

With combat raging around Trenton, Honeyman headed north to New Brunswick, the logistics hub for British forces in New Jersey. There, Honeyman maintained the fiction of being a Loyalist tradesman to avoid British reprisal for his espionage. Whether he played a continued espionage role for Washington is unknown. He did not return to his Griggstown home until the war's end.

Honeyman lived a quiet post-war life on a small farm near Bedminster, New Jersey. None of his neighbors and friends had any inkling of his connection to Washington, not to mention his role in espionage. Honeyman married a second time when Mary died in 1801. Honeyman passed away peacefully on 18 August 1822,  aged 93. The tradesman spy was laid to rest in the Lamington Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Lamington, New Jersey.

Honeyman's gravesite

 

 

 

The Strange Case of James Molesworth

 

Execution of a Spy

The key rattled in the cell's lock. "It's time, almost noon," said the Sergeant of the Guard. 

The prisoner rose from the musty cot and followed the escort out of the red brick jailhouse building to the town commons, where a large crowd of spectators awaited the condemned. The last fourteen days had been a whirlwind of intrigue, missteps, apprehension, and cross-examination. Now, the condemned man gazed at the simple noose that would, momentarily, squeeze the life from him—for he was a confessed spy.

"Does the prisoner have any last words, Sergeant?" asked the officer in charge.

"No, sir," replied the sergeant.

"I believe my statement to the examiner at my trial amply provides my last words, sir," said the prisoner." I only ask they be made public after my sentence is carried out."

The officer nodded, and a soldier threw a cord noose over his shoulders.

From Cold Winter to Warm Spring

The winter of 1777 was one of savage warfare—a struggle for the necessities of survival for two armies desperate to feed their men. But by March, General William Howe, the British commander in New York, was setting his sights on another try at the American capital in Philadelphia—even as London had dispatched a large Army to strike deep into the colonies from Canada that summer. So, while paying lip service to the British Minister for the Colonies, Lord George Germain's strategy, Howe was plotting a move south and an assault on Philadelphia from the mouth of the Delaware River. But to do this, he needed intelligence—and something more.

General Howe

No Man's Land

While the Americans held Philadephia and General George Washington's Continental Army encamped at Morristown, central Jersey became a no man's land of foraging parties, raiders, thieves, smugglers, and spies. The former colony was flush with Loyalists, as was the area around Philadelphia. Not yet a year old, the cause of liberty was not in every American's heart. There were plenty of high and low-born people who were willing to support the King, especially if there was some coin involved. Both sides had networks for spying and striking out against their enemies. One such network within the new nation's capital was active in helping prepare the way for the return of the British.

The Jerseys were a No Mans Land of Spies and More

Spy Highway

James Molesworth was a member of that spy ring. Born in Staffordshire, England, Molesworth made his way to America and established himself in the New World, eventually as a Clerk in the Office of the Mayor of Philadelphia. Like so many, Molesworth remained Loyal and got involved with their spy network in and around the capital. Molesworth agreed to go to New York and meet with the British authorities. 

Loyalist leader Joseph Galloway

The Loyalists had a sort of "Underground Railroad" to make their way past American patrols and sentries into the occupied City of New York. Molesworth traveled into the Jerseys with an accomplice named John Caton, who went by the alias of Warren. Warren took him to Bullions Tavern, where they met another accomplice named Smith, who guided them to Milestone Bridge. From there, the two slipped past rebel pickets and entered British lines. Molesworth met with Pennsylvania Loyalist leader Joseph Galloway, who recommended him to General Howe, who gave Molesworth a lieutenant's commission. Howe needed his services back in The City of Brotherly Love.

The Mission

Howe was planning a sea-borne attack on Philadelphia by sailing up the mouth of the Delaware River. He knew from spies and other informants that the Americans had several forts positioned there and had embedded Cheveaux de Frise-like traps along the riverbed. These were rows of long spikes with points hidden below the water level that could rip open the hulls of British warships. 

Chevaux de Frise could tear open a ship's hull

The British instructed Molesworth to recruit sympathetic Delaware pilots to exfiltrate them north to New York and guide the British fleet around the traps. Howe also questioned him about the forts and the armed galleys used by the Americans. Although the British provided him with no cash, he was told to spare no expense in finding a couple of pilots. He was also to arrange for sabotage and other mayhem in preparation for the British attack.

Philadelphia Ring

On his return, Molesworth approached several  Loyalist sympathizers—clearly, they had a network well in place. He met a Mr. Sheppard and a Joseph Thomas. He connected with his other accomplices—a Clerk in General Mifflins's Office named Collins, a Clerk in the City Vendue Office named Keating, and a Livery Stable owner named Sheppard. At least two women were involved as well—a Mrs. Abigail McCay and a Mrs. Sarah O'Brien. The latter two had been actively feeling out (they used the word "tampering") Delaware pilots for a special mission and had a few they thought might agree to the enterprise. One, named John Eldridge, refused to go. However, another,  Andrew Higgins, agreed and was able to bring another, named John Snyder, into the plot.

City of Brotherly Love, or Nest of Spies?

Clandestine Meetings

Mrs.McCay was Molesworth's intermediary with Mrs. O'Brien, and it was at her boarding house that Molesworth finally met with "agreeable" pilots at seven in the evening. Although promised great rewards for their service, Molesworth could only offer fifty pounds, which he had gotten from Sheppard. Molesworth schemed to get horses from Sheppard's Livery and ride north. 

Women supported Molesworth's efforts

Sheppard, the livery owner, approached a farrier named Fox for a horse, but none was to be had that night, and it was decided that looking for a third horse at that hour might draw suspicion. Molesworth, instead, would travel the next day. But there was no next day's travel. Someone blew the whistle. For want of a horse...

Court Martial and Sentencing

Molesworth was arrested and faced a trial by court martial presided over by General Horatio Gates. Witnesses were questioned from 25 through 28 March. Molesworth gave his own testimony on the 27th. The court martial convicted the spy on the 29th, and after  Congress confirmed the sentence, Molesworth was hanged in the Philadelphia Commons on 31 March 1777.

General Horatio Gates

Justice for All?

But what of the others? Collins, Keating, and Sheppard escaped to British-held territory, eluding the pursuit by provosts under a captain named Proctor. According to General George Washington's report, it was the pilots who turned Molesworth in. But who? Eldridge? Higgins? Snyder? Or some combination? My take is Eldridge, with the other two plus two ladies providing testimony in exchange for leniency. For his part, Sheppard made his way to New  York, where he served as a pilot for the eventual British move on Philadelphia in the fall of 1777. For his services, Sheppard received the lucrative post of Deputy Commissioner of Forage during the British occupation.

British occupy Philadelphia September 1777

Justice for No One?

Years later, the infamous General James Wilkinson commented on the case in his memoirs. He alleges there had been no legal basis for a military court martial, and the political pressure on Gates for a swift outcome led to a conviction with a unanimous verdict. A conviction Gates and Congress swiftly approved. Wilkinson claimed to have met with him in his cell, offering mercy if he would give up his accomplices—Molesworth refused. 

James Wilkinson

No Peace for the Dead

Molesworth remained controversial, even in death. His body was relegated to a potter field—a burial ground for the indigent. Local Loyalists seethed (secretly) at the affront. When the British occupied Philadelphia later in the year, a group of Quakers had him exhumed and interred in a Quaker cemetery. Now, the local patriots seethed (secretly). When the Americans re-occupied Philadelphia in 1778, you guessed it, Molesworth's now rather tired corpse was once more exhumed and reinterred in the potter field.

Quaker Meeting House

Culper Prelude?

The British network in the heart of the capital sent a visceral chill through the Americans in the City, the Continental Army, and Congress. Had it remained undetected, it could have proven a more effective network than the celebrated Culper Ring in New York. Perhaps that explains the quick justice and burial. It might also have shaped General George Washington's thinking on espionage and the need for ultra-tight security and compartmentalization, as intelligence and espionage played an increasingly important tool in the struggle ahead.

George Washington as Spymaster

Young Hickory at War

 Old Hickory

A key event in my historical novel, The Lafayette Circle, is General Lafayette’s visit to The Hermitage plantation home of the War of 1812 and Seminole War leader Andrew Jackson. On 25 May 1825, Jackson meets Lafayette and his entourage at their steamer and escorts them on a tour of his home. While there, Jackson brings out an exquisite pair of matched pistols. 

 

The Hermitage

“Do you recognize these, sir?”

“Indeed, sir.” Lafayette choked up and warmly embraced his host.

Lafayette had given the two “saddle pistols” to Washington in 1778—during the middle of the American War for Independence.

When Washington died in 1799, his nephew inherited them and later gifted them to William Robinson, who further gifted them to the Indian Wars and War of 1812 hero—Old Hickory.

Washington's Pistols

A poignant moment for the two veterans of the American Revolutionary War—although Old Hickory was more of a young acorn during the eight-year struggle. In fact, he was just a teen when the war exploded across the Carolinas.

Young Hickory

Andrew Jackson and his two older brothers grew up on a hard-scrabble piece of land in the Waxhaws region, nestled along the border of the two Carolinas. The family was of the flinty Scots-Irish stock who provided many of the early settlers carving out a living in the New World—stubborn, resourceful, resilient, fearless, and defiant. Sadly, Jackson’s father, Andrew Senior, was killed while felling a tree just three weeks before Andrew’s birth—his mother and two older siblings raised him. 

Frontier Farmers

Southern Strategy

 

War prodded the Carolinas at first—attempts at naval invasion by the British were thwarted until Savannah fell, opening a southern land and sea approach to Charleston. Militias and Continental troops under American General Benjamin Lincoln resisted a prodding by forces under British General John Maitland in the summer of 1779. And it was during the British rear-guard action at Stono Ferry on 20 June that Andrews’s older brother Hugh, gravely wounded, succumbed to the oppressive heat and died of exhaustion.

Stono Ferry

However, within a year, a massive British Army led by Sir Henry Clinton had taken Charleston, and Clinton unleashed General Charles Cornwallis and notorious Colonel Banastre Tarleton to subdue the rest of the state. War was coming to the Waxhaws.

Rebel Teens

Defiant, the two younger Jacksons joined Colonel William Richardson Davie's regiment, and they served as couriers. As such, they took part in the short but bloody clash against a British outpost at Hanging Rock on the Catawba River on 6 August 1780. Davie made a diversionary attack there, supporting General Thomas Sumter’s larger attack on Rocky Mount, just to the west Davie’s initial assault failed, but Sumter shifted his efforts and launched a more significant attack with several regiments.

Colonel William Richardson Davie

This was not young Jackson’s first exposure to war. Just a few months earlier, he had helped tend the wounded after Banastre Tarleton’s butchery of Americans at the Battle of Waxhaws. This action fed American propaganda with terms like “Bloody Ban” and “Tarleton’s Quarter.”  

Waxhaws

But a year later, 14-year-old Andy and his 15-year-old brother, Robert, were on the run after their unit was surprised and scattered by Tory war parties who joined with the British to stamp out any vestige of resistance. Over a third of their comrades were caught up in the net, but the Jacksons aimed to avoid that fate.

Militia fleeing the British

However, hunger dictated otherwise. After hiding their horses and weapons in the woods, the boys approached a friendly farmstead, the home of patriot Lieutenant Crawford. Local Tories spotted the horses and warned the British. While supper was on the stove, a party of British soldiers surrounded the Crawford farm and rushed the house.

They searched the house with a fury only imaginable of a violent civil war. Clothes torn from dressers are torn to shreds, furniture is chopped up, and pots and dishes are smashed. Oaths and threats filled the air. 

British tore up the Crawford House

British commander stomped across the room and accosted younger Jackson. He pointed to his mud-spattered riding boots. “Boy! Clean my boots!”

Andrew straightened and lifted his chin in defiance. “Sir, I am a prisoner of war and should be so treated.”

Defying the Dragoon

Enraged, the dragoon officer drew his sword and struck a slashing blow that cut the young teenager’s upraised wrist to the bone and slid off the bone, striking his forehead. It would leave a scar that he carried for life. It left an even deeper scar on Andrew’s mind, an indelible hatred of everything British, which was to become one of the leading motivations of his life.

The officer turned on Robert. “Then you clean my boots!" 

When he defiantly refused to obey, the blade came down, striking him on the head and sending streams of blood down his face.  

The boys, badly wounded and bleeding, were force-marched in oppressive heat to a prison camp at Camden, where they joined some 250 other captured rebels. They were left untreated, given little food, and suffered cramped quarters. Then, disease struck as it usually did in filthy prisons. Andre had to listen to the heart-wrenching moans of men suffering from smallpox. Eventually, the affliction struck Robert. Andy, too, was lying in bed, suffering malnutrition that was sapping his life from him.

Mother’s Love

During a prisoner exchange, the boys’ mother, Elizabeth, arrived in Camden. She argued for the release of the two sons. As the two appeared near death, her request was granted. With Robert struggling on the one horse, Andrew suffered the forty-five-mile trek home to Waxhaws. 

Elizabeth Jackson Monument

Back home, Elizabeth struggled to get her boys healthy again, but Robert died within days. Despondent, she worked hard to nurture Andy, and he slowly recovered. His combatant days were over—in this war. Elizabeth and other women began nursing other prisoners and traveled to Charleston to treat those afflicted on prison ships in the harbor. Surrounded by disease, she caught cholera and died just before Charles Cornwallis surrendered his army at Yorktown.

Badge of Honor

Andy’s wound healed, leaving him a scar across his brow. The cut across his forehead left an even deeper scar on Andrew’s mind, his hatred for all things British.  It was also a living memorial to his family, who gave so much to the cause, as well as to the soldiers who suffered and died.

General Andrew Jackson

The feisty teen Andy Jackson would grow into Andrew Jackson—a man of action who would lead American soldiers to victory over the Creek Indians, the Spanish, and, of course, the British. He would secure large swathes of Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi and smash lines of hated redcoats in the Battle of New Orleans, a victory that marked the United States as a nation that could not be ignored. 

The Enslaved Spy

 A Secret Meeting

James Armistead stood before Lafayette in tattered work clothes and a ragged jacket. Months earlier, he had offered his services to the Continental Army and became a spy in the traitorous Benedict Arnold’s camp. His secret reports enabled Lafayette to wage a brilliant campaign to check, if not repulse, the renegade Arnold, now a Brevet Brigadier General in British employ.

Lafayette and Armistead

“Is spying on Lord Cornwallis the same as spying on Arnold?”

Armistead’s coal-black eyes flashed. “It’s always more satisfying to deceive a deceiver, sir.”

Lafayette smiled mischievously. “Well put, Monsieur Armistead.”

“Sir, it’s better if you just call me Junius.” His eyes shifted left and right. “You know, just in case.”

The comment impressed Lafayette, and he nodded in agreement. He eyed the papers Armistead had drawn up. The spy’s reports were always concise and precise. “Are you sure of this, Junius?”

“Indeed, sir. If you move forces to that position at that time, you will deny General Cornwallis his last chance of reinforcement and, more importantly, replenishment. His men also suffer miserably from lack of food and other vitals. Even their officers mumble about it.”

Lafayette nodded. “How fitting, as the Americans have gone all these years of struggle on empty bellies and wearing….” He paused as he eyed the rags on Armistead’s back. “Insufficient clothing.”

“It will be dark soon. I must return as soon as I have the cover of the night.”

Lafayette eyed the man with wonder. “You have risked your neck for many months. That is commendable enough for any man, but for a slave, it is a thing of wonder.”

“I believe in the cause and that I will justly earn my liberty.”

Lafayette’s head moved slowly from side to side. “I truly hope so.”

Enslaved Spy

The above excerpt from my novel, The Lafayette Circle, is a fictionalized event. Still, it portrays the actual derring-do of a man whose commitment and courage transcended his race, his welfare, and his bondage. Just who was this man? James Armistead was a slave owned by one Wallace Armistead of New Kent County, Virginia. Born on his master’s plantation, little is known of Armistead’s early years. Even his birth year is debated—estimates range anywhere between 1746 and 1760.

Area of Armistead's Birth and Yorktown Campaign

In 1781, the Marquis de Lafayette was leading American forces near Yorktown, where the British commander, Major General Charles Cornwallis, and his Army had dug in. The Franco-American forces were enroute. It was Lafayette’s task to prevent Cornwallis from escaping the cauldron he was soon to be in. When young James Armistead received permission from Wallace to join the American Army, it was with the proviso he would remain a slave after his service.

Lafayette’s Agent

Lafayette, a champion of emancipation, might have had other ideas, but he needed the services of the young man who knew the area—he needed a spy. Since the British emancipated escaped slaves, that became Armistead’s cover story when he entered the British camp as Juniper, the runaway. His task initially was to courier intelligence from spies behind British lines. When they learned he belonged to a local planter, the British took no heed of the young black man.

British camp at Yorktown

Armistead’s race and status as an enslaved person were perfect—his lowly position enabled him to slip in and out of both sides' camps without drawing attention. His knowledge of the land helped him to avoid detection when needed and find the best routes to travel. The unsuspecting British paid him no heed as he ambled through the camp, listening to conversations.

Benedict Arnold

Slipping out of camp, he would bring Lafayette details on British plans, capabilities, and, most of all, the state of their morale. The British trusted him. At one point,  the traitor Benedict Arnold tasked Armistead to gather information directly from Lafayette’s headquarters. By the height of the Yorktown campaign, Arnold had gone back to New York. Cornwallis was holed up in the port on the York River, hoping for reinforcements from General Henry Clinton, the British commander-in-chief.

Double Agent

As the stakes grew higher, Cornwallis grew desperate and decided to use him to spy on the Americans, tasking him to bring back information on American troop strength and movements. Armistead was now a double agent, playing the dangerous game in the espionage business. Of course, he reported right to Lafayette, who decided to use the opportunity to deceive his opponent—a classic use of a double agent.

Major General Charles Cornwallis

Deception

Lafayette scribbled a letter to American general Daniel Morgan, citing completely bogus units. After crumpling it up and rubbing some dirt on it, Armistead tucked it in his jacket and took off. Once in the British camp, he told the officers questioning him that he had observed American regiments marching and was returning with the “intelligence” when he found the paper on the road. Explaining he could not read it but took it just in case it might prove of value. Upon reading the note, the British were impressed with the intel coup.

Armistead's note fooled the British

Armistead’s daring had helped Lafayette pull off a high-stakes deception—the appearance of new units kept them on the defensive. The British would soon face the combined Franco-American forces and capitulate at Yorktown on 19 October 1781.

Yorktown Surrender

An unlikely postscript written years later (in the 19^th century, in fact) puts Armitage at a post-surrender dinner where General Washington hosted Cornwallis. The vanquished British general is said to have remarked. “Ah, you rogue, you have been playing me a trick all this time!”

Struggle for Freedom

James Armistead’s post-war fate was a sad reminder of the cruelty of slavery and the law. The Virginia Emancipation Act of 1783 granted manumission to slaves who rendered considerable military service to the cause. In a cruel twist of fate, Armistead’s service as a spy was not deemed military service, and thus, he remained the property of Wallace. As egregious as this seems, one needs to remember that a spy was considered contemptible and spying dishonorable to the eighteenth-century mind.

James Lafayette Armistead

However, the good angels finally intervened when General Lafayette endorsed James Armistead’s petition for freedom to the Virginia Assembly, which they granted in 1787. To honor the man who came to his aid, James, on manumission, officially changed his name to James Armistead Lafayette.

Lafayette's letter helped bring freedom

Freedom and Friendship

The freeman James Armistead Lafayette purchased land in New Kent County. Eventually, he married and had children. Like so many other veterans of war, he fought a long-standing battle to gain a pension, which he finally received in 1819. When General Lafayette made his celebrated tour of America in 1824, he acknowledged Armistead at the Yorktown commemoration. Before the assembled crowd, the spymaster embraced the spy—a unique event and a fitting recognition for the former slave’s bravery and resourceful service to the Glorious Cause.

Yorktown Victory Monument