Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-05-07

show that the alleged ride OF Emily
Geiger could not have taken place; that
those two officers never having occu-
pied at the same time the relative po-
sitions assigned to them by the story,
1t would have been physically impos-
sible for the ride to have taken place;
that there is no contemporary record
in evidence to show that Emily Geiger
ever took a ride at all. After years of
search I have not been able to find the
scratch of a contemporary pen to show
that such a person ever existed, and,
therefore, / would be glad to have Mr..
Davis or anyone else furnish the slight
est proof that she did before can be-
lieve that she sleeps in secluded
spot" up near where the Congaree
creek mingles its clear waters with the
muddy tide of the Congaree."
But do many of our people want the
truth of history; would they rather
have the wheat than the chaff? 1t
would really seem not Only a few days
ago commission, composed of some
of the ablest and most honored meu Of
this state, met in Columbia and select
ed the designs to go on the silver ser"
vice that the state of South Carolina "
going to present to the battleship South
Carolina Of the United States navy. It
was decided to engrave On The service
a number of historic scenes and por-
traits of distinguished characters. Not
one Of the scenes selected can be de-
picted save from Imagination; one Of
them cannot be authentic at all, and
another can be fully disproven by the
very best of evidence.
The scene of Jasper replacing the
flag at Fort Moultrie will have to be
engraved purely from imagination, as
there was no artist on the spot to
draw it." No authentic picture Of Jas
per exists.
The story of Marion inviting the
British officer to dine on sweet pota-
toes cannot be authenticated. 1t first
appeared in Weems's Life of Francis
Marion" in 1909. Gen. Horny, one Of
Marion's officers, at once pronounced
the book fiction, and Weems admitted
in letter to Horny that he had written
his book in the form Of military
From cover to cover the
book can be shown by the best evil
dences to be absolutely false. The an
cestors Of Marion were manufactured
by the enterprising romancer, and ev-
cry other story in the book bears the
true Weems trade mark. Judge w. D.
James, another of Marion's former ofh-
GERS, also gave the stamp Of falsity to
Weems's book in his account Of Ma
rion's brigade. Gen. McGrady's history
shows that the incident could not have
occurred; that Marion and the British
officers did not exchange military civil
tiles; that when Marion first sent a
flag Of truce to British officer he i'm
him and Marion retaliated
and put an end to all such intercourse.
There are a half dozen volumes Of me-
moirs by British officers who served In
South Carolina and an equal number
by American officers, and not one has
a word about such an episode; nobody
tells the story of the noble British ofh-
GER who resigned rather than fight
people who live on roots before they
would forego independence. The laws
of war would make the act punishable
by death, and there is in evidence no
record of such q case among all the
thousands of documents that have been
handled by historians in all these years.
The only authority is Weems, and ne
has been discredited as to everything
else, and the facts are against him In
this case.
The same of Mrs. Motto at the burn
ing of her house will be reversing OF
fact. Every single reputa-
BILE historian who has ever written OF
the episode of Mrs. Motto and the ar
rows, asserts that the house was not
burned. Col. Lee and Judge James
we're eye-witnesses who 80 state. Mr.
c. C. Pinckney, Mrs. Notes grandson,
the Rev. DR.. c. c. Pinckney, her great
grandson, and Mrs. Harriet Horny
her great great granddaugh-
ter, have all written accounts, in which
they say that the house was not burn
ed. A newspaper In the Charleston IL
brary contains a mention Of the acci-
dental burning Of the house few years
after the close Of the Revolution.
The writer has been particularly
critical of the people Of Mecklenburg
county for their adherence to an ex-
ploded myth; he has won high praise
from many Of the ablest and best
known historical writer's and critics In.
America for his work on that mooted
question; he will not lay himself open
TO criticism for inconsistency by not
protesting against the perpetuation OF
myths as part Of the his
tory of South Carolina.
A. 8. Salley, Jr.
Columbia, April 80.