Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1874-12-10
HUNG AND UNHUNG.
BY ROBERT WILSON.

BY ROBERT WILSON.
WE rested for few hours on our way
home from our deer hunt and called on
old Colonel Dickson, whose genial COM
pany and store of old-time legends
never failed to attract a host of guests to
| his hospitable board. An hour or two
was occupied in breaking up our deer and
| getting the meat started for home, and
in that interval, by some means or other,
our host, malgre nous, got wind of the
| impending calamity. Thus it came
about that in wonderfully short time
after our arrival the fragrant incense of
| la sie1apre fet isId announced that his
bountiful cheer had been discussed with
the keen relish of the hunter. The old
| gentleman was in his chattiest mood.
The conversation turned upon the Old
Brick Church and its traditions, and we
were soon all listening with the liveliest
| interest to the recital of his fathers story
of the man who was hung and unhung:
| "I've often heard my father tell the
story which / am now going to tell you,
| but don't think l ever told it to any of
| you before. The old gentleman was about
| twenty-five when the Revolutionary war
broke out, and he served with Horny
| 90 ree) in Marion's brigade, of which he
was most efficient officer. He had a
| great many strange tales connected with
the different parts of this neighborhood
in which he had seen service, and which
he loved to tell after dinner over glass
of his rare old brown sherry. 1t some
times seems TO me that such things never
happen now, even in times of war; but
perhaps it is only because the events in
which we are actors seldom appear
strange TO us until we look back at them
under very different circumstances and
through long lapse Of time.
"The pine-land country around st,
Stephens was then inhabited by poor
and uneducated men who were too lazy
to work for themselves and too proud to
work for the large planters around them.
The abundance of game and fish in the
swamp kept them supplied with meat,
their wives and daughters cultivated lit
tie patches of sickly corn sufficient to
give them hoe-cake and hominy and they
never wished for any better fruit than
blackberries and persimmons. Many of
them had strong dash of Indian and ne
| gro blood, and as rule they were law
| less set, with no religion and very faint
| idea of morals. Few of them owned a
! foot of the land on which they lived or
had any stake in the country; and yet
they were generally as bitter against the
| British and Tories as the wealthiest plant
| ers around them, and they made the best
and most reliable soldiers. You all know
how Jasper refused promotion for his
| gallantry at Fort Sullivan because he
/ could neither read nor write. Here and
there, however, as with the gentry OF
| the State, there was found among them
Tory family or neighborhood; and this
was the feeling of the 'squatters' be-
| tween st. Stephens and Monck's Corner.
| "Not far from the latter point there
was a notorious rum-shop, kept by aman
named Peigler, and within a short dis
| lance of 1t lived his six brothers and
about dozen others, all of them bitter
| Tories and bad characters. The neigh
borhood was known as 'Scufiietown,
from the frequent fights which took
place about Dave Peigler's GROCERY, and
was terror to the country around. The
seven brothers especially were regarded
as desperate men and professed horse
and cattle thieves. Every Sunday they
would gather at Dawes shop, and spend
the day and most OF the night in drink
ing, fighting horseracing dog batting
and other similar amusements. During
the period OF general decentralization
when the British held Charleston and
had overrun the State, the Partisan lead.
ers were compelled to retreat TO the
swamps and virtually TO disband their
commands. The officers and men would
leave the rendezvous whenever the coun
try was quiet, and return stealthily to
their homes; their faithful negroes
would apprise them Of the approach of
danger, and they would retreat TO the
| in haQ
for time or to organize some sharp and
sudden blow at the marauding parties
The Peiglers were very troublesome and
dangerous 10 the gentlemen of the neigh
borhood during these clandestine visits
TO their plantation homes, acting as spies
and informers, and sometimes forming
parties for their capture. Dave, the
tavern-keeper, was particularly active IN
these attempts He had stolen great
number of horses, and was suspected OF
several MURDERS though these could
never be positively proved against him.
NY father and his friend and neighbor,
Capt Theus, had frequently been sub
jected TO his plundering attentions, and
he had loudly threatened TO have the
latter caught and hung on account OF
some fancied injury. 1t happened some
time in 1870 that a party OF foragerS
brought news to Marion's camp on the
Santee that body of British horse was
moving through the country, and Capt.
Theus and my father were detailed
TO comma nd a scouting expedition TO
hang upon the enemy's flank and watch
his movements. The Captains plaDtar
tion lay In their way, and upon visiting
ii they found that Dave Peigier and his
brother Dan had made raid on it but a
few hours before, and driven off several