Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-06-29

necessaries of life for himself and family.
This state of affairs so depressed him
that his already delicate condition was
further aggravated, and in February,
1sS1. he died when but fifty-one years Of
age.
The indignities which Stockton suffered
from the English were, as far as actual
suffering was concerned, personal. But
Francis Lewis not only suffered himself,
but his wife was also cruelty mistreated.
An Englishman by birth, it was only
natural that the British should bear
greater malace toward him than toward
native-born Americans. a circumstance
which they fully proved.
Born in Wales in 1713, Lewis did not
come to this country until he was twenty
one. At that time he came with supply
Of merchandise and opened store in
New York. During the "old French war"
of 1874 he served under the English at
Fort Oswego. being the purchaser of sup
plies for the British. When that place
was captured by Montclam, Lewis was
taken prisoner and sent to Canada. Later
he was taken to France, and there reg
ularly exchanged. At the close OF that
war the British government gave him
5000 acres Of land as compensation.
4
It was one thing. however, to stand by
England against France. but another to
stand by her against the American
colonies, as he proved. When. after the
passage of the stamp act. delegates from
all the colonies met In New York. In 1863
Francis Lewis was there. delegate from
New York. He entered fully into the
measures adopted by that body. and gave
his enthusiastic support. Then, In ITO,
when delegates were being chosen by
New York for the Continental Congress,
Mr.. Lewis was again elected to represent
his adopted colony, and reelected in 1776
Thus he not only signed the Declare
ton, but also voted for its adoption.
Then, during the hostilities. he was en-
ployed in buying clothing for the army,
contracting for provisions and importing
arms and ammunition. as well as execul-
ing several secret missions
Such conduct as this only added to the
hatred the English felt for Francis Lew
is An Englishman by birth. yet doing
Fortunately for him, he was not taken
prisoner But the British received their
toll They wasted his property. plumber
ed and removed what they could and de-
stroyed all they could not take away.
Even this did not quench their desire
for revenge. Mrs. Lewis fell into their
hands. She was confined in dank.
evil-smelling prison for several months
1t was only through the agency OF Gen.
Washington himself that she was ex-
changed. But 1t was too late Suffer-
ing and confinement had broken her
health and in less than two years she
died.
In April, 1775, a committee Of five was
appointed to place the colony of South
Carolina in a state Of safety against It's
enemies and Arthur Middleton was one
of them. The committee Immediately
took possession of the public magazine
of arms and ammunition. taking them
from the British officer in charge and
appropriating them to the use OF the
colony That incident Is typical Of the
way Arthur Middleton fought throughout
the struggle of the colonies for indie
pendence. Later he was the leading mem
Der o. a committee appointed to take
such measures as were necessary Ter
public safety.
When Lord William Campbell was ap-
pointed governor of the colony 1t was
discovered he was playing a double game
with the members of the provincial con-
gress. Mr.. Middleton proposed that he be
arrested Immediately and taken into Gus
tody, despite the fact that that gentle
man and Mrs. Middleton were closely re-
lated The plan failed. but only because
others Of the committee were less de-
cided.
In ITS. after Arthur Middleton had
voted for and signed the Declaration, he
was made the first governor under the
new constitution This office. however.
ne OeCNHSU- II was IN the IOllOWlHS
year that the British. under Gen. Pre-
vost. invaded the south. John Rutledge
was then governor. and Middleton has
tened to join him and aid the troops as
sembled to defend Charleston.
His property and family had been left
uncared for and although his home lay
in exposed position he delayed but a
brief moment to write his wife to remove
his family a days journey from the
scene of immediate danger and then hur-
ried on. Consequently while he was
helping successfully TO keep the British
from entering Charleston at that time,
he left his own property at their mercy,
with the result that it was entirely de-
stroyed.
In addition to this he was taken pris-
oner the following year. He was en-
gagged as a private soldier at the time,
assisting in the defense of Charleston.
and was captured by Sir Henry Clinton.
Sent to st. Augustine. together with
many other distinguished men Of his day.
II was not until 1871. or the year after.
that he was exchanged and sent to Phil
adelphia In cartel.
South Carolina was particularly unfor
tunate In the struggle for independence
Three of her four delegates to the Con
finental Congress were taken prisoners
and the other. Thomas Lynch. jr.. wa.
drowned at sea. Edward Rutledge. after
retiring from Congress in 1777. turned his
activities toward defending South Caro-
lima. He was in command of an artillery
company. under Maj. Beard when tina
officer marched from Port Royal Island Il
oppose the enemy. and aided in defeating
and driving them from the island. In
1IsO, while Charleston was invested by
the British. Rutledge attempted TO ale
Gen. Lincoln by getting troops into tn.
city. but was captured. Like Middleton
he was sent to st. Augustine, where h.
also was detained almost a year befor,
being exchanged and sent to PHILADELPHIA
Ihomas Hayward, jr., was another o.
F0li NOS ~ 20