The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1922-10-24

HAYS surrendered on condition that
he and his men We're to be treated as
. prisoners of war.
Ramsey's History says: Colonel
Hays and Capain Daniel Williams
were hung at once on a pole of a
fodder stack. This breaking, they
both fell, on which Major William
Cunningham ("Bloody Bill'') cut
them both into pieces with his own
sword. Joseph Williams, boy four
teen years old, cried to his eldest bro
ther. as they were putting him to
death. go! Brother Daniel, what
shall 1 tell mother?" Cunningham
turned to him and replied: You shall
tell her nothing, you ID Rebel
suckling." and with his sword hewed
him down."
The Ramsey recital continues;
cunningham turned upon the 9th
ers and continued on them the oper
ations of his savage barbarity, till the
powers Of nature being exhausted,
and his weakened limbs refusing to
administer any longer to his insatlate
fury he called upon his comrades to
complete the dreadful work by killing
whomsoever of the prisoners they
pleased. They instantly put to death
such of them as they personally dis
liked. Only two fell in action, but
fourteen were deliberately cut to
pieces after their surrender. Their
names and rank were as follows: Col.
Joseph Hays, Capt. Daniel Williams,
Lieut.. Christopher Hardy, Lieut. John
Nell, Clement Hancock, Sr., Joseph
Irby, Jr., John Milven, James Ferris,
John Cook, Grant Irby, Benjamin
Goodman and Yancy Saxon"
Another of Cunningham's iendish
deeds was the Massacre at the Tur-
ner House." as the crime is called in
history. Captain Sterling Turner
was a popular and intrepid officer.
On one occasion he, with twenty-five
of his heroic patriots and old Cap
tain James Butler, took refuge in a
house and bravely defended them
selves against an attack by Cunning
ham and his forces of two hundred
and fifty. When the ammunition of
Captain Turner's men was about ex-
hausted and Cunningham set fire to
a shed attached to the house, Captain
Turner and his gallant band surren-
dered, on receiving solemn promise
that they would be treated as prison
ers of war, and were to be sent to the
nearest British post.
According to Historian Johnson,
and as I found it in Landrum's His
tory, they were to march out with
dubbed arms, and to ground them in
front Of the house. Captain Turner
and Butler came out first. AS soon
as they passed the door of the house
Cunningham drew his sword and
said: "These fellows had better be
paroled and I will show you what
kind of parole they are to have. Do
you follow my example" With this
he made blow at Butler, but missed
him, and Butler, with his dubbed RI
fe, struck one of them to the ground
and by blow from another, he fell
dead on the man he knocked down.
In few minutes every man was thus
murdered except one, who was saved
with difficulty, by the intercession Of
a relative belonging to Cunningham's
command. "Thus fell the venerable
Captain Butler and his worthy COM
manding officers, Captain Turner, to-
gether with twenty-three of their
brave men. Captain Butler had been
a very active and useful patriot in
the early part of the war, and had
resigned in favor Of Captain Turner,
by reasor. of infrmities of age"
1t will be recalled that I stated at
the commencement of this article
that Cunningham originally enlisted
in the Revolution on the American
side in the company of Captain John
Caldwell, an uncle of John c. Cal
houn. Historical accounts say that
Cunningham, at the head of party,
rode up to the gate of Major Cald-
we'll and hailed him. The major walk
ed out, and when within a few PAGES
of Cunningham, Bloody Bill" drew
pistol and shot him dead in the
presence of his wife, who tainted as
she saw him fall.
Captain Steadman was sick in bed
at the home of Mr.. Charles Moore.
.l,o 1.;11,J