The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-06-27
SIEGE OF NINETY SIX,
A BRAVE DEFENCIs, hut A BRAvER
ASSAULT.
A Short Sketch ofeVVha$ our Ancestors did
for American Liberty.

in the southeast c0fuer Of the present
county of Abbeyille. Iu direct line i,
was about TIVE atty miles, nearly due east
from the site Of Abbeville Court House
six miles west of the Saluda River. apd
about oEe.half- mile north of the line
which. divides the counties of Abbeville
and EdgeAeld. a short time prior ts
the revolutionary var, the name Cam.
bridge had been exchanged for that O,
Ninety Six. Tradition has preserved two
reasons for this change of name. ,The
one 10 that Cambridge was ninety.six
miles distant from Fort Prince Georpe
The other is that at one time, after the
Indian tribes had planned massacte OF
the frontier settlera an Indian qir]
mounted a horse and rode, in ons day
and part OF O night ninety-six miles, 10
give the white settlers VIZ. ming of The
impending danger. The POINT at which
sho communicated 10 The whites the con.
templsted outbreak of the Indians wa,
Cambridge. From this circumstance
says one tradition, the name Cambridge
was exchanged Tor that or Ninety Six,
Atan early period in the settlement O,
the up.country, Cambridge, or Ninety
Six. became place of Importance sec.
ond to none other ia the State of South
Carolina. TO protect the frontier act
tlere against the attacks of the Indians
the place was fortified. From time 10
time, as necessity demanded, these forti.
fications were improved.
When the difficulties between the col.
onies and the mother country began "a
assume q threatening aspect, Ninety Six
became the scene of bloody confiicis he. he
tween Whigs aud loyalists. The region
around Ninety Six was the most p0pu-
ious, and. perhaps, it may be said, the
most wealthy section of the up-country
previous to the revolution. 1t had been
the abode Of wild Indians, who made
anything else than agreeable neighbors
70 the europeans residing in tine interior
A special effort was made TO induce
white settlers TO take possession of this
region of country. Grants of one and
two hundred acres of land. on terms the
most favorable, were made to any one
who would occupy them. The region
was represented az one of fabulous fer.
tility. The result was that both the
ambitious and the needy were attracted
To the new country. Population of all
kinds flowed In from vaficus qunrtsrs.
Rufiiens of the vilest sort and bands of
lazy freebpoterS focked into tho region.
The frequent outbreaks of the Indians
gave these outlaws the semblance of a
pretext for making attacks upon the
property OF their industrious neighbors.
House-breaking and horse and cattle
stealing became conD on occurrences.
The law was powerles. and every one
went to bed at night VI b the dread on
his mind that b5f0To morning mis- proper
ty would be faided upon by these despe-
radoes.
To meet the exigencies of the case,
the more respectable Of the community
organized themselves for mutual pro-
lection. Without the ordinary forms ct
lag, these organised bands proceeded to
,niiics aumtnary punishment upon all
offenders who came into their hands.
That which was as first organized with
the design Of promoting only the p:;:hh.ic
good was, soon abused. Individuals un-
dertook, under cloak of correcting 4
public wrong, to punish private Injuries.
The good Of the whole was forgotten ia
punishing individual wrongs. The re-
suit was that those who had 10 connec-
tion with the lawless raiders who infest-
ed the region were often seized and pun
iahed to appease the hatred of some pri-
vate ssiisivsa.a:. Neighboss u.sa began
to cherish toward each other bitter ami
mosities, and tho. whole country was
thrown into q state of anarchy and con-
fusion q - ;''{-y5! g. 3fli
In 1855 Governor Moneague and the
Council sent 6. man BY the name of
Scovil to adjust the difficulties which ex-
listed between the settlers. Scovifproved
to be an unprinciplad villain, anu, in
stead Of establishing peace, came very
near bringing on O civil war.
In 1859 d court of Justice was estab-
lished at Ninety Six. The seeds of ha-
tired and atrife had, however, been scwn
broadcast and had geRminated, and were
foueishing with growth too vigorous to
be checked by the forms of law. Regu.
lator and Scovilite continued until 1775,
when the former was exchanged for that
of Wing, aud 4ha latter for that of tory
or loyalfst.
For q period cfsfWenty years r,u!.;;
tudes on each side had been nursing
their sErsth. Each party charged the
other With Sthe opprobious epithet OF
coward but srhth demands that we say
that neither deserved the title. They
were braye--ii many instances cruelty
40, Every circumsta alpe, BOTH In, the
'setuethent Of the regibn anu In tia IN.
tercourse of the HettleIs with each other,
conspifed 10 mako the war in;thas com.
munity fierce. The main object the
British had in garrisonihg Ninety Six
was to keep mp their intercourse with the
Indians. The power of the sRyages had
been broken, but their fierce spirits had
not been subdued. The British fed the
DANES os revenge which still blaEed in
the b0sotns of these grossly wronged, but
desperately cfnai. anna of the forest
The foriiacatfons of Ninety Six were
erected in tho forks of two roads. One
of these roads led from Charleston, by
the way of SAKE Gotha, to Ninety Six.
The other road led from Augusta, Geor-
,gia, to Ninety Six. A short distance
north Of the f0ftifioation was the town.
On tho west OF tho fortifcation was @
small stream, by which the garrison
was furnished With water. On The weat
bank Of this etre3nn,;on q slight emi-
IoneeJ tfes q stoe @.de; and on 'tho eest
bank Of athis stream. ssns the ;aiI. which
was alse fortified and gafFisoned. On
the hAast OF the Village Yas q star
shaped ,fedouhs. This ras the principal
placa OF defeace. It coEaisted of q
stronghold, bui.s with sixteen salient
aud an equal number of ye.entfant
angle a s st;:;1 ;:;s. s:: Eli; rae ans, Aaen
circular ditch, traces of which sic stifi
TO be seen. The whole Was ssraagehen
by n f.aise and atattia. The entire VIII
inge was enclosed by iline of stock
AIDES, aud covered communicatiops ex-
tended .srcsn the star redoubt TO the
several stockadea. AS the garrison was
supplied with water from the riynlet on
the Husk this r,nitlks yeaa fnrotanfed hv