We think of blended families as a modern phenomenon, but they were pretty standard in Colonial times. I wrote a story based on historical records of my ancestor Arthur Parr and his relatives during the American Revolution. Arthur had four full siblings, six step-siblings, and two half-siblings.
The following family members are listed as American Patriots in the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution’s Genealogical Research Database:
- Arthur Parr, #A088841
- John Parr, #A088846
- Levi Starnes, #A205304
- Benjamin McGraw, #A077036
- Edward McGraw, #A077037
- James Morgan, #A132519
Enjoy!
Arthur Parr’s Story
“Aww, Ma, do we have to move?” I didn’t want to leave our home, family, and friends in Rowan County, North Carolina, and move to Camden District, South Carolina. We had been through a lot in a short time.
Pa had taken a job with the Sheriff in Orange County, North Carolina, so he was gone frequently. And then Pa was killed while transporting an Indian to jail when I was 6.
Reverend Shubal Stearns, the Pastor of our Sandy Creek Baptist Church, had a brother whose wife had died of Cholera. Before I even knew what was happening, Ma had married Peter Starnes, our Pastor’s brother.
My name is Arthur Parr, Jr. My sisters, Esther and Margaret, were older than me, and Mary was younger. My brother John was born right before Pa died. Despite my complaining, we all moved with Ma to South Carolina. As best as I recall, I was about 10 when we moved.
Peter Starnes had four grown sons living in South Carolina: Charles, Ebenezer, Levi, and Joel. He also had two daughters: Rhoda and Thamar. So altogether, our new family had six boys and five girls. After moving to Camden District, Ma and our new Pa had two more boys – Peter and Joshua. We had a good life in Camden, but I still missed home and family in Rowan.
Then the war started! In March of 1776, my sister Esther’s husband, William McGraw, and I were drafted into the Camden District Militia under Captain Thomas Woodward and marched to Charles Town. William had already served under Captain Charles Heatley’s Company in the Regiment of Rangers in September 1775, but all men in South Carolina were eligible to be drafted. The Camden District Militia compelled William to serve a 30-day tour of duty as he was a married man with a family. I was only 17 years old, and they drafted me to serve 90 days as a guard. At this time, Colonel Moultrie was building The Palmetto Fort on Sullivan’s Island with soldiers and slaves.
The Colonel planned the fort as a typical star-shaped fort but constructed it from unusual wood – the South Carolina Palmetto, a spongy and flexible wood. Colonel Moultrie had completed most of the front wall when I arrived for duty. However, the sides and back of the fort were missing! Workers and supplies went back and forth by boat between Charles Town and Sullivan’s Island, building the defense as fast as possible. There was always something to watch. I knew William’s brother, Benjamin McGraw, was serving under Colonel Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island, but I never quite caught a glimpse of him. Benjamin and another brother, Edward McGraw, had served with Captain Woodward in the 8th Company of Rangers starting in August of 1775.
On June 28th, 1776, at 9 AM, the British appeared to attack the patriots on Sullivan’s Island. We later learned that the British were so sure of their superior strength that they had just requested the patriots to surrender, but the patriots thought it was an attack. The troops on Sullivan Island fired on the British ship, starting the battle. The British then commenced firing but without much success. Many of the shots did not make it to the fort. Some of the cannon mounts on the British ships broke and rendered those cannons useless. The Palmetto logs absorbed the cannonballs fired from the British ships that made it to the fort and protected the patriot soldiers. Twelve hours later, the British retreated from South Carolina. I watched the entire battle from my duty station.
We had won our first fight against the British in this war for independence! Surprisingly the British took considerable casualties, while we had lost only a few soldiers.
After the battle, my duty period for the Militia ended. However, my interest in serving the American Revolution had only begun. Fighting in the American Revolution was becoming a family affair. My stepsister, Rhoda Starnes, was married to Edward McGraw. Rhoda’s husband joined the South Carolina 3rd Regiment on July 24th, 1776. Benjamin McGraw re-enlisted the same day. Benjamin later married my sister, Margaret Parr.
I enlisted in Captain John Hancock’s company under Colonel Jonas Beard in the Lower District Regiment. I was assigned to the frontier for almost a year, fighting the Cherokee Indians. My brother-in-law, William McGraw, also enlisted for the same duty but in a different Regiment, and we saw each other occasionally for the three months of his enlistment. My enlistment in the Lower District Regiment ended in the Spring of 1777.
Then I enlisted under Captain Joseph Kirkland in the 3rd Regiment and joined Edward and Benjamin McGraw on the Augustine Campaign. By this time, I was a sergeant. We were to take control of East Florida away from the British. After three months with no success, General George Washington canceled the campaign. We returned to South Carolina and served at various locations along the Savanah River and later in Charleston. Late in 1778, Captain Kirkland sent me to Purrysburg to officially discharge. I had completed my third tour of duty with the South Carolina Militias.
I went back to the family farm to spend time with my parents and siblings. I had continuously served the patriot cause for two and a half years.
My eldest stepbrothers, Charles, Ebenezer, and Levi Starnes, lived in the town of Ninety-Six and supported the patriot cause there.
In March of 1779, I enlisted in the Camden District Militia Regiment, and my younger brother, John Parr, enlisted with me. John was now 16 years old and eligible to serve in the Militia. John served several short periods of duty while I served continuously. My first assignment was to destroy the road between Savannah and Charleston. That was hard work, but I knew it was important for our cause. On June 1st, my Regiment was transferred to the command of Brigadier General Benjamin Lincoln. We then marched to the mouth of Stono Creek, opposite the Isle of St. Jans, and I was in the battle at Stono Ferry. General Lincoln assigned my Regiment to the left-wing. We were attacking a British encampment on one side of the Stono River and a Hessian encampment on the other side. Our left wing was responsible for defeating the British camp. On June 20th, we marched towards the British and Hessian encampments. The right-wing made some progress against the Hessians early in the battle, but then the Hessians rallied and pushed them back. A deep ravine held our wing from making progress towards the British, and our cannons could not get within range of their fortifications. General Lincoln ordered a retreat. Count Casimir Pulaski’s Calvary Force came swooping in and protected the patriots when the British started to come after us. Wow, that was amazing!
After the battle at Stono River, I transferred to the Calvary and was attached to Count Pulaski’s Regiment. The British had captured the city of Savannah after Christmas in 1778. In September 1779, Gen. Benjamin Lincoln decided it was time to take back Savannah.
The French forces were under the leadership of Charles Hector, Compte d’Estaing, and had already arrived in Savannah. General Lincoln brought us to Savannah to join them. On October 9th, we attacked British forces at Savannah. The Royalists wounded Compte d’Estaing twice during the engagement, but he survived. The British shot and killed Count Pulaski right off his horse! But we kept fighting. The battle continued until October 19th, when general Lincoln lifted the siege of Savannah. By that time, we had lost around one thousand men.
In early 1780, I re-enlisted in the Calvary, but this time in the Fairfield Militia under Capt. Joseph Kirkland. When the Army promoted Captain Kirkland to Lieutenant Colonel, they also promoted Benjamin May to Captain of the horse brigade. We were stationed in Charleston until March 28th, 1780, when the British arrived. Then General Lincoln sent our company to Orangeburg. It was difficult to be waiting on the sidelines while the battle was taking place in Charleston. On May 6th, Fort Moultrie surrendered. General Lincoln still refused to surrender Charleston under the conditions offered by the British. Then on May 11th, the British started burning Charleston, and General Lincoln surrendered – not just Charleston but about 5000 soldiers from the Continental Line and all North and South Carolina Militias! We all became prisoners of war by capitulation. The British traded our highest-level officers were for the officers that the colonial forces had captured. General Cornwall initially imprisoned our Continental Line in Charleston, but he moved them to prison ships in Charleston Harbor. The conditions on the prison ships were terrible and did not meet the terms of the surrender. He paroled all the North and South Carolina Militias. Our parole stated that we must return home and not re-join any colonial forces.
Because the British had violated the terms of surrender, I and many others believed our only choice was to take up arms and the patriot cause. If the British caught us, they would take us to the prison ships, where we would likely die. So I headed directly to North Carolina to find a militia to join there.
As I traveled north, I came across General Horatio Gate’s Army at Rugeley Mills, South Carolina, on August 15th, 1780. I signed up under Lt. Colonel Charles Porterfield to join them. General Gates had planned for a battle at Camden the next day. At 10 PM, General Gates directed the Army to move towards Camden. We were to march all night and attack the British in the morning. Instead, we marched straight into the villain “Bloody Ban,” Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton, and his advance Loyalist forces in the dark forest at 2 AM. When “Bloody Ban” charged us, Lt. Col. Porterfield took charge, and we stopped Tarleton’s advance. Both sides stopped firing to wait until morning. Since Lt. Col. Porterfield died in the early battle, Lt. Colonel Edward Stevens was responsible for Porterfield’s Virginia Militia.
In the morning, the Generals had lined up both armies on opposite sides of the Great Wagon Road. I was directly opposite “Bloody Ban’s” troops with the Virginians. General Gates ordered Lt. Col. Stevens to attack Tarleton’s troops immediately. But before we could even get started, the British fired at us and then charged with their bayonets. Tarleton had gained the reputation of killing all patriots, whether they surrendered or not. So as he attacked, we ran for our lives. General Gates had already left the battle on his horse, running away faster than anyone else.
I continued north on my horse for about a month until I found myself back in the vicinity of my childhood home in Rowan County, North Carolina. James Morgan, a proud patriot, took me in and provided food and clothing. I was now 22 years old and fought for our freedom from the British for just over four years. I decided to stay in Rowan and married Miss Mary Morgan, James’ daughter less than two years later.
By the end of the war, my brother John and I had served in the Militia. Our stepbrothers, Ebenezer and Levi Starnes, have also served in the Militia and started rebuilding the Militia in Ninety-Six after the Fall of Charleston. Our eldest stepbrother, Charles, had furnished supplies to the Militia in Ninety-Six over several years. Before the war, Joel had moved to Georgia, and I never heard from him again. Our three McGraw brothers-in-law, Edward, William, and Benjamin, had served in the Militia. Our stepsister, Thamar, had married into the Free family, who were strong supporters of the patriot cause. Our sister, Mary, had married into the Arwin family, who were also ardent patriots. Our two half-brothers, Joshua and Peter, were too young to play any role in the Revolution.
We are a Revolutionary Family!
