Dallas Reese-Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
This article accompanies a PowerPoint presentation on Lieutenant Colonel James Steen and the Steen Family of Chesterfield County South Carolina
Gaffney Ledger Newspaper article from 2011 when a bridge over Thicketty Creek near Cowpens SC was dedicated in honor of my Sixth Great Grandfather, Lieutenant Colonel James Steen(progenitor of all the Steen Family in Chesterfield County SC)
In the past few decades, I have researched and traced all of my ancestors who fought in the American Revolution from 1775 to 1781. My father's family came from Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, while my mother's family hailed from Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Many of my direct ancestors who fought in the American Revolution served in the Carolinas for the Continental Army and respective militias of South and North Carolina.
As we approach 2025, a six-year celebration will commence in America in honor of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Already, events have sprung up from South Carolina to Massachusetts to honor the memory of the American Revolution, the people, and the achievements it wrought for this country. America has a unique form of government and life, and it all began with the American Revolution. Across the country, many 250 committees have formed to hold events and celebrate this special anniversary. In South Carolina, the 250 committee is busy planning events, and providing resources and teaching to all to assist in these upcoming endeavors. My cousin(through Lieutenant Colonel James Steen and the Steen Family of Chesterfield County) Diana Culbertson is on the staff of the SC 250. Find more information and resources here: - SC RevWar 250 (southcarolina250.com)
One of my most notable ancestors in the American Revolution was Lieutenant Colonel James Steen, who fought in the Spartan Regiment of the South Carolina Militia. He moved to South Carolina from Pennsylvania with his family about 1755. His father, Richard Steen, had died several years before, and his mother, Jane, remarried and moved to North Carolina. This left James and his brothers and sisters to fend for themselves as orphans. There was a court case where they were all listed as orphans when their father died in 1749. I'm sure the family stayed together until they moved south with other families from the area. The French and Indian War had just started, and life in Pennsylvania was dangerous for families in the line of fire of Indians west of Philadelphia. The close relationship between the Steen and McJunkin families led me to these conclusions. Samuel McJunkin was a witness to James Steen's will in 1779. Samuel married Anne Bogan, the sister of James Steen's wife Eleanor Bogan. The two brother-in-laws remained close until Steen's death sometime in 1780 or 81.
James Steen was born about 1735 to John Richard Steen and Jane Moore, who were married in Philadelphia in 1734. A descendant of John Richard Steen, Dr. Moses Steen(a Presbyterian minister from California) wrote a book on the history of the Steen Family in America. The first edition was published in 1900. After further research, Dr. Steen published and updated the 2nd Edition in 1917.
That book (2nd edition) can be found in its entirety here: https://bit.ly/3OFYJNT
Every Steen family in Chesterfield County South Carolina is a descendant of Lieutenant Colonel James Steen. Many surnames married into this family as well.
In 1755, James Steen had a land grant in the Brown’s Creek area of Union County, South Carolina. In 1767, he and his brother John Jr. had land grants in the Thicketty Creek area and a plantation there. Steen is buried in the family cemetery on a hill above Thicketty Creek.
Col. Steen was a prominent militia officer in the American Revolution, serving from 1775 to 1782 in the Snow Campaign, Commanding Prince’s Fort, serving in Georgia, then at Stono, Savannah, Charleston at Ten Mile Spring in the winter of 1779, The Battle of Rocky Mount, The Battle of Hanging Rock, The Battle of Musgrove’s Mill, The Battle of King’s Mountain. These are the main battles he fought in. He participated in many more engagements and skirmishes as well including an assault on British-controlled East Florida under General Andrew Williamson.
There is controversy surrounding the death of James Steen. His name appears on the monument to soldiers at Kings Mountain National Battlefield. The monument lists him as killed in action. This conflicts with the report of every single commanding officer at the battle and the words of soldiers in pension statements. Also, there is no definitive proof from any viable source(that I have found in 30 years) to prove he died in that battle. The original monument at Kings Mountain was placed in 1880, and Steen's name did not appear. When the Kings Mountain DAR commissioned a committee in the early 1900s for a new monument, someone from the Steen family convinced them that James Steen was killed in the battle, and thus, his name appeared on the new monument when it was unveiled at a grand ceremony in October 1909. However, there is no proof that this was the battle where Steen died.
My opinion is James Steen died in Rowan County, North Carolina, on retreat with British prisoners after the Battle of Kings Mountain. From multiple narratives, we know Steen was slashed in the back by a Tory and died within a week from the sword wound. The men around Steen in his regiment were promoted just before the Battle of Blackstock In late November 1780, and Steen's name disappeared from all records.
Those men were his brother-in-law Joseph McJunkin(promoted to Major) and William Farr, promoted from Major to Lieutenant Colonel.
Thicketty Creek from the James Steen Memorial Bridge
There are around 67 pension applications by patriots who served in the Revolutionary War who state that they served under Col. Steen or with him or that mention his name.
James Steen is discussed in many works on the battles and skirmishes in South Carolina. His story fascinates me, and I and other researchers have tried to fill in the missing pieces of his life by doing extensive research over the past 30 years.
Lieutenant Colonel James Francis Steen Sr. is only a tiny part of the fantastic story of South Carolina during the American Revolution. A state that contributed so much to the beginnings of a new nation.
Researchers of the American Revolution need to recognize the significant role played by the state of South Carolina. The state had a considerable influence on the outcome of the Revolution. Over 234 battles and skirmishes occurred on the soil of the South Carolina Colony alone. On November 10, 1822, in a letter to John Campbell of Richmond, Virginia, Thomas Jefferson referred to the Battle of Kings Mountain, which took place on October 7, 1780, as "the joyful annunciation of that turn of the tide of success which terminated the Revolutionary War, with the seal of our independence."
As a resident of South Carolina, I take pride in the state's contribution to the American Revolution. Here are some resources to help you learn about your ancestors who fought and South Carolina's contribution to making a new nation, America.
Primary sites for Research of the American Revolution in South Carolina and ancestors who fought in the American Revolution 1775-1782
---This site has Pension records and applications from relatives. Search by surname to find all available sources for a particular soldier.
--J.D. Lewis is an amateur historian and dedicated researcher who has one of the best compendiums on the internet for research on the American Revolution in South and North Carolina. His site focuses on factual information and is free. It's also ad-free because of his commitment to providing information for all. Explore the site. It has a lot to offer. You can search your ancestor by surname here:
---The South Carolina Department of Archives and History
Colonial Plats for state land grants and Will Transcripts from the 1700s and early 1800s. This site also has pension claims, grants, and payments to soldiers. It has been beneficial. Just search by surname.
--Free repository of South Carolina Newspapers from the University of South Carolina Libraries --I usually do surname searches on ancestors or searches on particular battles, like Musgrove Mill, Cowpens, Kings Mountain, Hanging Rock, Rocky Mount, etc. to gain insight and information.
--An extension of the above site is the more extensive collection of records at the University of South Carolina. It has a broad search feature and has more collections pertinent to South Carolina researchers.
--Newspapers.com is a paid site(subscription), but you can get a 7-day free trial to experiment and see all the available info. An excellent resource for ancestors' obituaries and for columns on the Revolution and battles that might feature a mention of your American Revolution ancestor(s).
I use surname searches or particular battle searches to garner info. Or dates work well. If you know the date of a battle, for instance, Kings Mountain was fought on October 7, 1780. So if you go to the year 1880 or 1980 on www.newspapers.com and search Kings Mountain for that year, and narrow to North and South Carolina searches, you might fight many articles written about the 100th or 200th anniversary of the battle, often with mentions of soldiers who fought. The same thing goes for 1826, the 50th anniversary. I have found a lot of information by using these search tactics.
--An excellent PDF download of sources available at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History in Columbia. Call ahead and tell them what ancestor you are researching so you can get assistance. And then book a hotel for a couple of days, or stay with friends or drive back and forth and dig into these sources. Especially if you have loyalist ancestors from South Carolina(I have a few). There are many resources with information on them at the Department of Archives and History, and the staff is very helpful. I've spent much time there researching in the past decade. Make an ancestor research request at the
website here:
Download sources for researching the American Revolution here:
--I use this site to dig up much info on churches in South Carolina, the American Revolution in South Carolina, and the state's history. This site has digitized many old books from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries and is an excellent resource. I try various search tactics, from surname searches to battle searches to South Carolina-specific term searches. Just a simple search like American Revolution South Carolina....... garners many resources and books that might mention your ancestor.
The National Archives has innumerable resources for the researcher of the American Revolution in South Carolina. Whether you visit in person or search for info online, many valuable documents, tips, and tools are available. Resources for Genealogists and Family Historians | National Archives
One of the most excellent resources available on the web is Google Books. Millions of books from the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s have been digitized in the past 15 years. The amount of information one can find on this site is mind-boggling. The key is how you search. Use different search methods. I, of course, use the ancestor surname search to do a lot of digging. It's time-consuming because when you find a book of interest, you often need to open that page and search for the surname inside the book.
Experimenting with different search tactics is the best method: A simple search titled: "South Carolina American Revolution" will yield many old and new books from the past couple hundred years.
---The Library of Congress in Washington D.C. is in the process of digitizing millions of records. More info is added monthly. I just did a simple "South Carolina American Revolution" search and got quite a few exciting photos, maps, and records.
Search results for South Carolina American Revolution, Available Online | Library of Congress (loc.gov)
One of the quickest ways to determine if you have an ancestor from South Carolina who fought in the American Revolution is to utilize the resources of the Daughters of the American Revolution. And while you're there, you can start the application process to join. Or if you're a guy, the Sons of the American Revolution. A simple surname search will get you started.
More hereditary sites: National Society Children of the American Revolution (CAR) https://www.nscar.org/
• General Society of the Sons of the Revolution (SR) https://sr1776.org/
• Society of the Cincinnati https://www.societyofthecincinnati.org/
• Daughters of the Cincinnati https://daughters1894.org/
The South Carolina Historical Society in Charleston has a vast repository of records. You can start your research with their online site and on-site. An in-person day trip is the best way to dig in. Call ahead with the ancestor you want to research, and the excellent staff there will gladly assist. This has been a valuable asset to my research on my ancestors, the American Revolution in South Carolina, and the entire colonial period in the South.
The staff at the Richland Library in Columbia, SC, have been accommodating with research on the American Revolution. They have a vast array of sources and information. It's a short drive from anywhere in South Carolina. I have spent countless hours there going through the books and records they have available.
Family Search is the website of the LDS Church. It's free; you must sign up for a free account to access all the records. It has a vast repository. A good starting point is the American Revolution Rolls here: United States Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 • FamilySearch
--If you have ancestors from Craven County, SC, which became Chesterfield County, SC, in 1785, chances are many of them fought as soldiers, possibly from Anson County, North Carolina, or Bladen or Cumberland County, North Carolina. Several Chesterfield families were in Anson County, North Carolina, before the war and ended up in Chesterfield afterward.
Another option is that you might have ancestors from what became Marlboro, Darlington, Lancaster, Kershaw, York, Chester, Fairfield, or even Richland, Union, and Cherokee Counties. After the war, these counties came into being when Cheraw District and other districts were split into more traditional type counties.
Movement before the Revolution was pretty fluid as many settlers received land grants from the British Government before and from the newly formed American government after the war. With that in mind, here are some excellent resources for additional research in North and South Carolina.
---Roster of soldiers in the American Revolution from North Carolina. This is a free downloadable resource.
The ultimate search site for military records, including the American Revolution, is www.fold3.com
They are a property of Ancestry.com and have excellent resources. There is a yearly subscription cost, but most local libraries in South Carolina have the service and Ancestry. If you don't want to pay a yearly subscription, head to one of the local libraries when you have extra time for research.
Dallas Reese
Hilton Head, South Carolina
contact me at: dallasreese@zoho.com or 336-509-8009 cell
Other sources for information on James Steen and the American Revolution in South Carolina and the 1700s colonial timeframe
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----Info about James Steen's younger brother William Steen-
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