Happiest Day of the Year
October 21, 1757
That was originally the Battle of Cap-Français.
Though the battle was tactically indecisive, the British officers involved became popular heroes for their daring in fighting against heavy odds. The young nephew of one of the officers present, who was in time to also embark on a naval career, was Horatio Nelson. Nelson considered the date of the battle a good omen, when 48 years to the day later, he faced a French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Source Wikipedia
In a letter datelined Charles Town 17 August 1757, Our Captain George Mercer, whose company helped build Fort Loudoun in Winchester VA, makes a remark foreshadowing this battle.
This is also interesting to show how interconnected the world is with the news far away.
But first, why is this the Happiest Day?
From Dispatches And Letters Of Lord Viscount Nelson Vol. 7 by Nicolas, Nicholas Harris Publication date 1846:
"Maurice Suckling's nephew, Horatio Nelson knew of his uncle's exploits [in this 1757 Battle of Cap-Français] ,
and 48 years later to the day, on the morning of 21 October 1805, was heard to remark by HMS Victory's surgeon, William Beatty, 'that "the 21st of October was the happiest day in the year among his family";
but did not assign the reason of this.
His Lordship had previously entertained a strong presentiment that this would prove the auspicious day, and had several times said to Captain Hardy and Doctor Scott ... "The 21st of October will be our day."'[5]
21 October [1805] was the date of Nelson's victory, and death, at the Battle of Trafalgar. "
See footnote 5 in this Wikipedia reference.
How related to Fort Loudoun?
On 17 August 1757, Captain George Mercer, makes a remark foreshadowing this coming battle, the Battle of Cap-Français, almost 2 months before it happened.
Captain George Mercer is aide de camp to Colonel George Washington and whose company helped build Fort Loudoun in Winchester VA.
Where is Captain George Mercer on 17 August 1757 when he remarks in a letter about Cape Francaise?
He is in Charleston SC.
3 Reasons why they are in Charleston SC:
Captain George Mercer is the Captain of one of two companies of the Virginia Regiment sent to South Carolina.
The other company was under Lt Col Adam Stephen), the founder of Martinsburg WV.
This action was agreed upon in March 1757 in a conference of southern governors with Lord Loudoun in Philadelphia.
They are now stationed in Charleston SC, then called Charles Town.
They are under the overall command of Colonel Bouquet, who in the next year in 1758 is to the Forbes Expedition overall field commander, and who helped retrieve in 1764 some hostages taken from the Winchester VA area, the Clowsers.
These 2 Virginia Regiment companies were promised to help patrol Charles Town against any Black uprising.
They were there to cover for the town's elite who were working their Indigo plantations.
They were also there to cover for the South Carolina provincial forces sent to the frontier to stop any Cherokee uprisings, despite the Cherokee being allies to the Virginia Regiment working out of Fort Loudoun Winchester VA.
To sum up, Charles Town (Charleston) did not have any leadership or enough militia to protect this town, the plantations or the frontier from any of those 3 potential threats.
The Letter of 20 August 1757:
Captain Mercer writes to Colonel George Washington:
I cant tell what to expect on this Quarter this Summer whether Peace, or War—One Day they are secure, the next alarmed by hearing of a large Embarkation of Troops for Cape Francais.
We have had an Account of 2 or 3 several Squadrons with Troops on Board touching there [meaning Cape Francais], since We have been at this Place.[meaning Charleston SC].
Source:
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Compiled and authored by Jim Moyer 8/15/2021, 12/18/2021
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Sources:
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Nicolas, Nicholas Harris (1846). The dispatches and letters of vice admiral ... Nelson, with notes by sir N.H. Nicolas. 7. London: Henry Colburn.
Go to bottom of Page 138:
Or see Page 138 in this link:
3 reasons why Virginia Regiment lent a hand to South Carolina:
To sum up, Charles Town (Charleston) did not have any leadership or enough militia to protect this town, the plantations or the frontier from any of those 3 potential threats.
It's local military went to the frontier for that threat.
So that left the plantations and the town mostly without any defense.
Possibility of Black Uprising in Charleston SC:
There was never an uprising during this time.
But it was worrisome that it could happen.
"The low country plantations had a unique labor agreement between masters and slaves known as “tasking.” Basically, the slaves were assigned a certain amount of work based on skill, age, and capacity to finish in a day.
When the slave was finished with his or her task, he or she had the rest of the day off to do with as they chose."
Source:
The slave population was big.
South Carolina had a clear black majority from about 1708 through most of the eighteenth century. By 1720 there were approximately 18,000 people living in South Carolina – and 65% of these were African-Americans slaves. For example, in St James Goose Creek, a parish just north of Charles Towne, there were 535 whites and 2,027 black slaves.
Source:
Possibility of Cherokee Uprising, along with the Creeks:
Stay tuned for source to prove this claim.
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Indigo Plantations
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Captain George Mercer writes in that same 20 Aug 1757 letter we've been referencing:
What adds to make this Place at present disagreeable
is that most of the Gent. of Note
are out at their Indigo Plantations,
so that we have nothing left
but a Set of trading Ones,
who esteem you for Nothing
but your Money, &
who don’t very genteely treat you for that.
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Source:
Indigo was grown in early South Carolina to produce blue dye that was exported to England for use in the British textile industry. Indigo formed a significant part of the South Carolina economy for approximately fifty years, from the late 1740s to the late 1790s. During that period, indigo (or, more specifically, indigo dyestuff) was South Carolina’s second most valuable export, behind rice.
The cultivation and production of indigo also involved the labor of thousands—perhaps tens of thousands—of people in the South Carolina Lowcountry. For this reason, the cultural memory of indigo is heightened among members of the African-American community along what is now called the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
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Indigo, the other early cash crop of the region required slaves to fulfill the many tasks involved in its cultivation. Like the production of rice, it was labor intensive as described here by Doar (1907), “First, the indigo seeds were mixed with ashes and lime and planted about one-inch deep every 12 or 15 inches. About ten days later the seeds would sprout and the plants would grow quickly. The maintenance was labor intensive and required constant hoeing. When the indigo matured, it was cut and placed into vats. The indigo was then steeped in clear water and fermented until the pigment was extracted. The hued water was then transferred to a lower vat and went through a beating process to force the pigment to coagulate. After this, lime was added to the vat. When the indigo had settled, it was moved to another vat to harden. When the indigo hardened, it would be cut into quarter pound lumps to sell.”
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Different versions of Admiral Nelson's letters on archive.org
Yellow colored pages:
Full text of "Dispatches And Letters Of Lord Viscount Nelson Vol. 7"
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