Chas - The Stamp Act

McCrady:

But, under Gadsden's lead, a party in Charlestown, prin cipally the mechanics, listened to the complaints of the New Englanders, and Governor Boone's unfortunate ad ministration aroused a spirit which was ready to take offence. The cause was soon given.

The Stamp act, although by no means as unjust or as unreasonable as alleged, and although it might perhaps in some periods of colonial history have passed almost unperceived, did unquestionably infringe upon a principle which the English race, both at home and abroad, have always regarded with peculiar jealousy. The doctrine that taxation and representation are in free nations inseparably connected, that constitutional government is closely connected with the rights of property, and that no people can be legitimately taxed except by themselves or their representatives, lay at the very root of the English conception of political liberty.

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It was a great and momentous question which was presented by the Stamp act, and as Mansfield on the one side, and Camden and Chatham on the other, differed in regard to it in England, so did Bull and Gadsden, and Wragg and Rutledge in South Carolina. There was, indeed, scarcely a family of prominence in the province which was not divided upon the subject.

William Bull stood for the King ; but his nephews, Stephen Bull, William Bull, Jr., and William Henry Drayton, joined the Revolutionists. Rawlins Lowndes, though conservative in his views, went with the revo lutionary party, but his brother Charles remained loyal to the Crown. Four Pinckneys — Charles, Charles Cotesworth, Thomas, and Charles, Jr. — were prominent in the revolutionary party, but Charles returned to his allegiance to the Crown, and Thomas Pinckney, Jr., is found enrolled as a loyal subject of Great Britain. William Moultrie became the hero of Fort Sullivan, June 28, 1776, and his brother, Alexander, served with him in the Continental army, but their brother, John, remained Lieutenant Governor of Florida under the King. William Henry Dray ton, after first upholding the Stamp act and resisting the non-importation association, became a leader of the Revolutionists ; his cousin, William Drayton, continued true to the King, as Chief Justice of Florida. Gabriel Manigault contributed munificently to support the rebel government but Gabriel Manigault, Jr., declared his allegiance to the mother country. Thomas Heyward signed the Declaration of Independence ; but his father, Daniel Heyward, was a Tory. Peter, Hugh, and Daniel Horry were distinguished leaders under Marion. Elias Horry declared his loyalty to the King. Isaac Huger became a Brigadier General in the Continental service, and Major Benjamin Huger was killed on the lines of Charles- town in the same service ; but Daniel Huger at one time gave in his sub mission to the King, and so did Francis Huger. Three Hamptons Henry, Richard, and John — were rebels from the first. Wade Hampton, as late as September, 1780, declared himself a loyal subject to the Crown, but in 1781 he renounced his allegiance and became one of the most brill iant officers in the American army.

Ransacking Saxby House and Laurens House during Stamp Act Riots

Mr. Saxby was a man of consequence in the community, against whom there was no popular personal objection. Arriving at Mr. Saxby's residence, then occupied by Captain William Coats, the mob demanded "whether there was any stamped paper in the house," and there being some delay in open ing the doors, it required great prudence and no less exer tion of influence, we are told by the Gazette, to restrain them from levelling the house to the ground ; as it was, considerable damage was done, and the house was ran sacked in the search for stamps. . . . . [None were found]

The Gazette made light of the damage done to Mr. Saxby's house, and of the conduct of the mob there, but Lieutenant Governor Bull took a more serious view of the matter. He at once, on Monday morning, issued a proc lamation reciting that a number of persons unknown had on Saturday night before assembled "together and in a riotous and tumultuous manner entered into the house of William Coats, and did there commit several outrages and acts of violence," and offered a reward of £50 sterling to any person who would discover the person or persons concerned in the same.

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This person was no other than Colonel Henry Laurens. Colonel Laurens, as it has already appeared, was a gentle man of high standing in the community, and a merchant of great respectability and large fortune. He was known to be opposed to the Stamp act, but was equally opposed to these riotous proceedings, which he had discounte nanced. In a letter to his friend of October 11, he thus stated his position :

"Conclude not hence that I am an advocate for the Stamp act. No, by no means. 1 would give, I would do, a great deal to procure a repeal of the law which imposes it upon us; but I am sure that nothing but a regular, decent, becoming representation of the inex- Ipediency and inutility of that law will have the desired effect, and that all irregular, seditious practices will have an evil tendency, even perhaps to perpetuate that, and bring upon us other acts of Parlia ment big with greater mischiefs."

Suspicion had in some way been aroused that he had some of the stamps. He then lived in the cottage we have mentioned, and into his beautiful garden a crowd burst demanding the stamps, which they charged him with concealing. Colonel Laurens, in another letter to his friend, has left us an account of what took place, and it scarcely bears out the statement of the Gazette as to the polite and amiable manner in which he was treated. He met the intruders with great natural indignation. He assured them and pledged his word that he had no stamps in his house, and reminded them of his well-known position in regard to the act. He appealed to them on account of his wife's health, who was ill, not to disturb his premises and violate the sanctity of his home; but in vain! The only reply was a brace of cutlasses across his breast and cries of "Light ! light ! search ! search ! " His firmness, however, and his fortunate discovery of some of the ring leaders, notwithstanding their disguises, and his calling them by name, frightened them and prevented their enter ing his house; but they searched his outbuildings and broke into his cellar, where they wasted much of his wine. It was a fortunate circumstance, however, that though heated with liquor and armed with cutlasses and clubs, they did no more damage, and that his garden was not in the least injured.

From Colonel Laurens's house the mob turned their course to the residence in King Street of Chief Justice Shinner. But he, though aroused from his slumbers, was equal to the occasion. His Irish wit stood him in good stead. He assured the mob he had nothing to do with the stamps, and that they were welcome to search every part of his house — which they did without ceremony, but found nothing. While they were searching, the Chief Justice very complacently had bowls of punch provided, and did not hesitate to drink with the rioters from his own liquor their favorite toast, " Damnation to the Stamp Act ! " The crowd after this dispersed without further interruption to peaceable citizens.

The next morning, Thursday, the 24th, by order of his honor the Lieutenant Governor, an advertisement was stuck up at the Watch House, signed by the Clerk of the Council, giving notice "that the stamps lately arrived were lodged in Fort Johnson, till it should be necessary to remove them from thence," which, says the Gazette, had the good effect that it prevented troublesome visits and inquiries to other gentlemen who might have been sus pected of receiving the stamps into their charge.

There was some threat of another riot when the Carolina Packet, Captain Robson, arrived from London on Friday evening, the 25th, but it subsided as soon as it was shown that no stamps were on board, and that Mr. Saxby had taken his passage and was on board of the Heart of Oak, Captain Gunn. 

On Saturday this vessel arrived, bringing Mr. Saxby, as was then expected ; but having information of what was passing here, instead of coming up to town, he went ashore at Fort Johnson. It was soon learned that, as expected, Mr. Caleb Lloyd was really to be a distributor of stamps, whereupon numbers of people again assembled, and, as the Gazette expressed it, seemed very uneasy — an uneasiness in which they soon made Mr. Saxby and Mr. Lloyd to share; for, as the Gazette puts it, Mr. Saxby being made acquainted at the fort of the commotions which had arisen throughout America on account of the Stamp act, and that it was as little relished here as elsewhere, he expressed great concern that his acceptance of an office under it — that of inspector of the duties — had proved so odious and disagreeable to the people, and in order to restore the public peace — which there was too much reason otherwise to fear might be disturbed — made a voluntary offer to suspend the execution of his office till the determination of the King and Parliament of Great Britain, upon an united application to be made from his Majesty's colonies for the repeal of an act that had created so much confusion, should be known. Mr. Lloyd, who was then also at Fort Johnson, made a like voluntary declaration in regard to his office of distributor. 

How far these declarations were voluntary, as alleged, may well be doubted. But, however that may be, the declarations in writing were publicly read on the Bay on Sunday evening, the 27th, to the general joy, it was said, of the inhabitants, which was shown by loud and repeated acclamations and the ringing of St. Michael's bells unmuffled.

Stamp Act Repeal

The news of the repeal of the Stamp act was received in Charlestown May 6, 1766, and its reception was celebrated by bonfires, illuminations, ringing of bells, and other demonstrations of joy. On the 13th the Commons' House requested Thomas Lynch, Christopher Gadsden, and John Rutledge to sit for their pictures, which were to be drawn at full length and preserved in the assembly room as a testimony of public regard, that the remem brance of the signal service they had done their country as a committee of the province at the Congress at New York might be transmitted to and remembered by posterity. The House also, upon the motion of Rawlins Lowndes, voted to have a statue made in England of the Right Honorable William Pitt, to be erected in the State House as a memorial of the respect for his upright and disinterested conduct upon all occasions, and particularly his assistance in procuring a repeal of the Stamp act, which they declared was equally beneficial to Great Britain and the colonies.