Unless the patient historian retrieves from oblivion the exploits of one's ancestors, the good and noble patriotic deeds they achieved will be lost to the future.
Dallas R Reese Jr with father Dallas R Reese Sr at East Laporte Cemetery, burial site of American Revolution veteran Absalom Hooper: East LaPorte, Jackson County, North Carolina-Photo taken in 1996
A true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart." – Hercules.
Sometime between 1757 and 1763, in the rugged hills of northern South Carolina, My 5th Great-Grandfather Absalom Hooper was born near the mouth of the Broad River. Unfortunately, Hooper's father died between his 12th and 13th birthday, and his mother was left to raise him. But all was not well; the enmity between the widow and the son would reach a breaking point.
At the outbreak of hostilities in the American Revolution in 1775, Absalom's mother sided with the cause of the British and became an avowed Tory. However, Absalom did not share the same sentiments. He was ready to sacrifice all for the cause of American liberty from England.
The American Revolution was technically a battle between the American colonies and the British empire. But during the Revolution, especially in the southern colonies and, most especially in South Carolina, it was a unique war. There were many different factions and groups. The Patriots or Whigs wanted to break away from the crown of England and form a new government and country. The Tories or Loyalists were colonists who wanted things to remain as they were and stay in alliance with Britain. And then there were the pacifists like the Quakers or other religious groups or simply colonists who did not want war or had personal reasons to oppose it. The south raged in a civil war, neighbor against neighbor; Whigs who wanted independence and Tories who wished the British to remain in power. Indeed it was brother against brother and family against family. Once the war began, hatred and brutality escalated to a boiling point.
Fast forward to the early summer of 1776- Absalom Hooper ran away for good from his boyhood home and his widowed mother to join Colonel William Henderson's 6th Regiment of the South Carolina Continental Line in Charleston, South Carolina. These soldiers were primarily sharpshooters and riflemen from the northern and western parts of South Carolina. Having grown up in the wild Carolina backwoods, Hooper had probably developed highly refined shooting, tracking, and hunting skills, a perfect combination for a warrior.
Upon his arrival in Charleston, SC, Hooper received a thirty-dollar bounty for joining the continentals. Hooper was promised five dollars per month with the initial bounty and 640 acres of land when the war concluded. Hooper then served under Captain Richard Doggett until Doggett perished in the Battle of Stono Ferry in June 1779. Thereafter Hooper served under Captain & then Lieutenant Jessie Baker.(*1)
Almost immediately after enlisting, Hooper, along with 1900 other Continental troops, 2700 militia, and five additional regiments of infantry and artillerymen numbering 2000, was thrust into the perils of a war remembered for all of history as the American Revolution. (*2)
The first battle Hooper participated in would shock the world. Hooper worked under the command of Major General Charles Lee and Colonel William Moultrie. Their troops built a rough fort described by Captain Peter Horry as a "500 feet long by 16 feet wide sand pit". (*3) Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, guarded the entrance to Charlestown's 4th biggest city in the country. Thus it was a city the British needed to control if they were to defeat the uprising from the rebellious colonists.
The soldiers erected Gun turrets and fortifications using 16-foot-long Palmetto logs. These proved to be one of the secrets that helped the Americans hold off the British Navy commanded by Irishman Admiral Sir Peter Parker.
The soft spongy palmetto logs, which helped repel the British Navy's cannonballs, became famous later when the State of South Carolina adopted the nickname, The Palmetto State. In addition, when South Carolina created their state flag, it was adorned with a palmetto tree to symbolize Colonel Moultrie's victory at Sullivan's Island.
Sullivan's Island was chosen as the point of attack by the British because it protected Charlestown Harbor. If all went as planned, The British could quickly attack and take Charlestown. (later called Charleston, South Carolina)
The British attempted an assault from Long Island(now the Isle of Palms) by landing small boats on the northern end of Sullivan's Island. An armed British schooner covered the attack. The ships retreated when the Americans fired at point-blank range, causing heavy casualties in the British assault party. General Clinton called off the attack after the rebuff. They ceased all attacks at this point. By 9:30 p.m., all firing ceased. At 11:30 p.m., the British ships withdrew to Five Fathom Hole. (*4)
The British hadn't lost a Naval battle in over one hundred years. But on June 28, 1776, the Patriots did what no one thought possible. They pushed back the British Navy by using carefully placed fire from behind their palmetto palisades and successfully staved off an attack by nine British warships. British General Henry Clinton and Admiral Peter Parker would retreat northward after the barrage of powder and lead from the Patriots. After being unable to overtake Charlestown, the British would not return to the south for four years. (*5)
At the point of battle on June 28, Hooper was a part of the command of Lt. Col. Thomas Sumter and Major William Henderson with 360 other men in five companies, of which Hooper was in the company of Captain Richard Doggett. Their job was to protect Charleston should the British make it that far. Thankfully for Hooper, Doggett, Sumter, and the hundreds of additional men in the South Carolina 6th regiment, the defense of Charleston by Colonel Moultrie and the troops stationed on Sullivan's Island protected Charlestown. (*6) Thus, Hooper probably was consumed with being on alert the entire day without being involved in heavy fighting. The total number of patriot forces in and around Charlestown was 2400. Some on Sullivan's Island, some on James Island, some at Hyrne's battery(a slave battery west of Fort Johnson), Haddrell Point in Mt. Pleasant, SC, and Fort Johnson on James Island. And the South Carolina Provincial Navy had three ships helping to guard Charlestown(*8) Harbor.
Colonel William Moultrie at the Battle of Sullivan's Island. The fort he defended was later named in his honor.
The Battle of Sullivan's Island, SC June 28, 1776, was an early and unexpected victory for the Patriots. Because of the victory, the British couldn't gain a stronghold in the southern colonies. (*9)
Six days later, the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia. The point of no return had arrived. War was Absalom's destiny, and it would be a fateful six more years of near-death for Absalom Hooper and the 13 American colonies in the fight for freedom.
Next installment: The Battle of Briar Creek-The Americans suffer a devastating loss, and Absalom Hooper survives while 150 others are killed.
Sergeant W. Jasper raised the Liberty Flag
during the Battle of Sullivan's Island
When a shell from a British warship shot away the flagstaff,
William Jasper recovered the South Carolina flag, raised it on a temporary staff, and held it under fire until a new staff was installed.
South Carolina Governor John Rutledge gave his sword to Jasper in recognition of his bravery. Jasper County, South Carolina, was later named for William Jasper.
Painted by Johannes Adam Simon Oertel in 1858.
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Sources & References:
*1-Revolutionary War Pensions
The National Archives
Publication Number: M804
National archives catalog id:300022
National archives catalog title: Case Files of Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Applications Based on Revolutionary War Service, compiled ca. 1800 - ca. 1912, documenting the period ca. 1775 - ca. 1900
Publisher: NARA
*2 National Archives and Records Administration-Battle of Sullivan's Island
Memoirs of the American Revolution So Far as it Related to the States of North and South Carolina, and Georgia · Volume 1 & 2
By William Moultrie · 1802
*3 The History of South Carolina in the Revolution Volume 1
By Edward McCrady · 1902
*4 American Revolution in South Carolina-J.D. Lewis c2019 Little River, SC https://www.carolana.com/SC/Revolution/revolution_ft_moultrie_1.html
*5 Morrill, Dan (1993). Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution. Baltimore, MD: Nautical & Aviation Publishing. ISBN978-1-877853-21-0. OCLC231619453
*6 http://revwarapps.org/ Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements and Rosters http://revwarapps.org/w7813.pdf
*7 Memoirs of the American Revolution From Its Commencement to the Year 1776, Inclusive, as Relating to the State of South Carolina, and Occasionally Referring [sic] to the States of North Carolina and Georgia · Volume 1
By John Drayton, William Henry Drayton · 1821
*8 Charleston, South Carolina. At the time of the American Revolution was referred to always as Charlestown. The name officially changed to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1783 after the revolution ended.