Civil War -- Part 3

Despite Indiana's commitment to the Union cause in the Civil War, relative to the number of men who were sent to fight, there was considerable opposition.

As peculiar as it sounds today, a not-so-silent minority of Hoosiers actually advocated seceding and joining the Confederate cause, though most evidence suggests this was contingent upon Kentucky's choice on whether to remain in the Union or bolt for the Southern cause. As it turned out, Kentucky saw its fortune better served in the North.

Jeff Biggers, in writing The United States of Appalachia, uncovers some interesting sidelights to the anti-war point of view.

"With Louisiana out of the Union, Indiana lost one of its most important markets, New Orleans. And the possibility that all the slave states would leave the Union (Kentucky was one) marked the Ohio River as the potential new boundary between the two new nations, nations that seemed potentially on the verge of war."

So, Biggers concludes, the thinking in Indiana was to hedge one's bets. The election of Abraham Lincoln had fueled the argument. Lincoln was pro-union, anti-slavery. His politics did not appeal to the Deep South.

Biggers continues:

"Some in Indiana blustered that if Kentucky were to secede, so should Indiana. an early 1861 Union meeting in Perry County (on the Ohio River) resolved: 'That if no concession and compromises can be obtained, and a disunion shall be unfortunately made between the Northern and Southern states, the commercial, manufacturing and agricultural interests of this country require us to say that we cannot consent that the Ohio river shall be the boundary line of contending nations, and we earnestly desire that if a line is to be drawn between the North and the South, that line shall be found north of us'."

Kentucky's decision to remain in the Union despite permitting slavery dimmed the talk for secession in Indiana.

But anti-war talk was common and though rarely violent, was distributed across the state.

A nefarious group known as the Knights of the Golden Circle contributed greatly to anti-war sentiment in Indiana. The organization had existed long before the rebellion, committed to spreading slavery across most of Central America. The group was fueled by men of wealth in the South.

Logan Esarey, in his history of Indiana from 1918, says: "The organization and ramifications of this mysterious society were pretty definitely proven by the governor and the federal secret service. The society began to manifest itself ... in 1862. For its inspiration, it seemed to go back to the ancient dream of making a second Roman republic around a second Mediterranean sea."

In a phrase, the Knights envisioned the country surrounding the Gulf of Mexico as one vast empire based on cotton and slavery. It's difficult to evaluate how many believed this fantasy, but the group's designs were decidedly NOT in favor of a Union anti-slavery policy.

One can assume that the Knights of the Golden Cross, under various names, morphed into what might be recognized as the Ku Klux Klan. The Knights actually endured well into the 20th century and were identified as having had political relations with the German Nationalist Party, led by Adolf Hitler.

Esarey adds:

"From correspondence, it seems quite a number of Indiana men belonged to "Castles" in Kentucky, and that perhaps 500 members belonged to "Castles" on the north side of the Ohio in Indiana and Illinois."

In Indiana, the secretive group operated under various names, such as Sons of Liberty or "Peace Organizations" ... anything to deflect its anti-Union point of view.

These men opposed the war on violent terms, primarily over the slavery issue. As the South showed early military strength, the Knights grew in number. For awhile, their political clout was substantial, though not as much in Indiana as in the border states. One estimate suggests as many as 50,000 members in Indiana, though Esarey concludes that the vast number were not aware that the society's aims were treasonous.

And virtually everything that didn't support the Union cause was considered treason.

Indiana's chief Knight was Harrison H. Dodd of Indianapolis. The leading members were a diverse group from all corners of the state.

The Knights plans were eventually uncovered when a man named Felix Stidger infiltrated the group, eventually exposing them to Gov. Oliver Morton and various Union Army officers.

The Knights reportedly had recruited a sizable rebel militia, though it's unclear how effective it would have been. At national meetings, Esarey says "the plan was prepared to overturn the state governments of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, release the confederate prisoners at Columbus, Indianapolis, Chicago and Rock Island, seize the governments and launch the famous Northwestern Confederacy in close alliance and sympathy with its sister of the South."

The aims and objectives after that turn a little muddier but as the South began losing the war after the battle of Gettysburg, much enthusiasm for the Confederate cause began to wane, and support from the South itself began to dwindle.

A war of terror appears to have developed but as shipments of arms to the Knights were increasingly intercepted, friction among the leadership inevitably occurred.

Eventually, its leaders were arrested, convicted and sentenced, only to be pardoned later by President Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln after the assassination.

One report says of the Knights of the Golden Circle:

"Nothing can be said in favor of it. As a declaration of principles, it was 50 years too late; as an economic organization, it was brute force against right, the highwayman's creed on which slavery and feudalism had been tried and failed."

TRAITORS TO THE CAUSE

CIVIL WAR FLAGS

Underground Railroad through Fairfield

There are other blog entries here that discuss the influence of the Quakers on the formation of the Whitewater Valley. None is more apparent than their role in the Civil War. I've rediscovered an old email from Patricia Smith, though I no longer remember my connection with her. She offers some interesting insight on this blog entry.

The Quakers, also known as the Society of Friends, had no direct influence on life in Fairfield, but they didn't miss it by much. As strict abolitionists, they came to Indiana as early as 1812 and were entrenched by 1820, though more in Fayette and Union counties, northward to Wayne County where they were extremely influential.

Quakers, by and large entered the years of the civil rebellion as conscientious objectors and generally refused to serve in a military role. There were exceptions and Quakers were typically scorned or mistreated for failing to volunteer for militia service. Many were jailed for refusing to fight.

But their most significant role in the years leading up to the Civil War was their management of what became known as the Underground Railroad.

Not a "railroad" at all, it was a path from slave states northward into Indiana and Michigan and eventually, Canada for blacks (referred to as Negroes at the time) who were runaways. The practice of helping slaves escape was ongoing and it was difficult to measure.

Typically, those who managed it were disinclined to discuss it, let alone enumerate its successes and failures. No one knows for certain how effective the Underground Railroad was, or how many slaves it helped. But it was real and Franklin County played a key role.

Orloff G. Miller, a spokesman for the National Underground Center in Cincinnati, wrote:

Most of the routes across the easternmost counties of Indiana crossed Franklin County northbound for Newport, In Wayne County. One route came up the Whitewater River Valley from Lawrenceburg to the Quaker settlements south of Brookville, and on to Fairfield, thence into Union County. A route also crossed the county from the west, out of Kingston/Clarksburg in Decatur County.

There were very few established Quaker settlements south of Brookville, though Quakers bought land in the Highland Township area prior to 1820, most as land speculation. That area eventually became heavily Lutheran. Few Quakers actually settled in that part of the county, though fleeing blacks would not have known that.

Wayne County is the heartbeat of the Indiana Underground Railroad, thanks to its heavy Quaker population. As well, Universalists in the Union-Franklin County area were aligned to the Quakers on many matters of faith, including their disdain for slavery.

Perhaps the most famous Hoosier in the Underground Railroad movement was Levi Coffin, whose home in Fountain City (then called Newport) is considered a destination for people exploring the history of the era. Coffin and his wife Catherine are credited with aiding more than 3,000 runaway slaves.

Blacks fleeing the South did sometimes stop in Franklin County and remain for a time. The general route was from the town of Clarksburg in Decatur County, north into the Posey Township area near Laurel-Andersonville, then east past Blooming Grove and into Union County, where the Quakers were at least marginally common. At Fairfield, the runaways would cross the river at Shawnee Ford, where it was shallow.

Salem, where the Quakers met

A Quaker named William Beard is considered one of the "conductors" of the Underground Railroad. He lived just south of Liberty. Union County Quakers met in the non-existent town of Salem.

As well, the legendary story of Luther Donnell is worth recounting. According to one history, a slave family who found sanctuary with Donnell eventually took the Posey Township route to freedom, via the Fairfield route. A link to Donnell's story is at the end of this entry.

Now for some juicy stuff from the Patricia Smith email:

"In Franklin County, I have heard of a house on the west side of the east Fork of the Whitewater right north of Brookville which stood about where the spillway is. It is said that it had a red door and that Negroes fleeing north were told that it was safe there. The house was reported moved to Fairfield
Avenue across from Riverview Apartments in Brookville."

Ms. Smith also says that there were, for a time, about 200 African-American freedmen in Franklin County. In 1850, she says, a town called Franklin was platted in (perhaps) Butler Township where blacks could live. The land didn't sell, presumably because ... well, maybe they didn't have any money.

Several settlers from the South brought black slaves with them to Indiana in the early days, though slavery itself had been outlawed. That connects to political manipulation by territorial Gov. William H. Harrison in the days prior to Indiana statehood.

I have been unable to determine if any residents of Fairfield participated in the Underground Railroad, though one would assume that the early settlers who came to Indiana were generally abolitionists. It's unrealistic to assume they did not at least have a working knowledge of the transit process. -- John

LEVI COFFIN

DONNELL, AND OTHERS

DECATUR COUNTY

Civil War in Indiana -- Part 2

"Copperheads" were ruthless
in attacking President Lincoln

The beginning of the civil rebellion in 1861 laid bare the most basic attitudes of Indiana residents.

As is normal when war breaks out, "our side" is probably going to kick the stuffin's out of them in a couple of days, teach them a lesson and ... we'll go back to life as usual.

If it were always so simple.

The Indiana Magazine of History (IMH), published by Indiana University in Bloomington, spells out a simple scenario:

"The border states were in a difficult position, for their people were divided in sentiment, and none relished the prospect of their land becoming a battleground of contending armies. Indianans were particularly concerned about the decision of Kentucky because it was separated from Indiana only by the Ohio River and citizens of the two states had been friends since frontier days. The decision of Kentucky might determine how close the fighting would come to Hoosier soil."

The Kentucky problem would fester and create headaches for the newly-elected president, Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln, who had spent a part of his life in Indiana, was a moderate conservative, a unionist. He had become a leader in the newly organized Republican Party, which stood opposed to the Democrats, mainly southerners who opposed abolition and supported strong states rights. That political drama would play out in odd and frightening ways in Indiana as the war progressed.

Hoosiers, meanwhile, had a vested interest in the war and were generally undivided in their support of the Union cause. The numbers explain Indiana's role, according to the IMH:

"The attention devoted to the Civil War is in part the product of Indiana's disproportionate involvement in the conflict. Second among northern states in terms of relative manpower contribution, Indiana contributed approximately two-thirds of its military-aged men to the Union army. Regiments from the state fought in both the eastern and western campaigns and in many of the war's major battles. Over 25,000 died, most from disease; many thousands more suffered traumatic losses. The hardships of the war took their toll on the home front as well. The household and labor responsibilities of women expanded; questions regarding the legal and political status of blacks attained added importance; and fierce debates over the powers of the state and federal governments helped create one of the most vigorously partisan and evenly divided political systems in the nation."

The complexities of Indiana politics during the Civil War are enough to fill volumes.

Some interesting aspects:

Many Hoosiers were natives of southern states or had relatives still living there. The Civil War, which pitted "brother against brother" was no more apparent than in the border states. "Hoosiers who had been born in the states south of the Ohio had helped to make Indiana a free state in 1816. They knew from experience some of the injustices involved in slavery, and they did not want them in Indiana. They did not object, however, to this institution in the southern states until efforts to preserve it threatened the unity of the nation."

Mixed emotions, to be sure.

Politically, those who opposed Lincoln represented a rather significant minority. After hostilities began, many decided it was practical to temper their criticism and essentially join in the fight to save the nation. Those "War Democrats" included Gen. Lew Wallace.

Wallace, born in Brookville, had his own personal turmoil in the war. That, later.

Meanwhile, the protests among the anti-war Democrats intensified, and that led to some rather ugly episodes. Saying the wrong thing was treason and it was often enforced. The term "Copperhead" took on major meaning. You were either "for" the war, or you were a traitor.

I can't find much in brief reading that suggests Lincoln had much problem with that, though he did censure Gen. Ambrose Burnside for enforcing a too-strict treason policy.

IMH reports:

"The most serious crisis came in Indianapolis on May 20, 1863, when the Democrats held a state convention. The state was then being governed by Gov. Oliver Morton without the legislature because Republicans had bolted the session and left the capital, and the Democrats had failed to pass the appropriation bill. General Burnside, of the Department of the Ohio, issued an order against 'express or implied' treason. Arbitrary arrests which he ordered caused Morton to protest. Morton said, "The General had little faith in the loyalty of Indiana, and it was only Morton's protest that prevented the establishment of martial law in his state."

Also:

"Gen. Milo S. Hascal, of the District of Indiana, ordered that newspapers or speakers who endeavored to bring the war policy of the government into disrepute should be treated as violators of Burnside's order. The editor of the Plymouth Democrat, who challenged the order, was arrested and sent to Cincinnati. The owners of the paper were required to hire a new 'loyal' editor and were placed under $5,000 bond not to violate the order again. Other papers were warned to obey or cease publication."

Morton's leadership in Indiana was consistent. He believed himself strong enough to run things in the state.

Elihu Hayward of Fairfield
was a Civil War casualty in 1863.

"Identification by the Republicans of criticism with disloyalty and Morton's insistence that he had saved Indiana for the Union were regarded by the Democrats as brazen distortions of the truth. In April and May the imposition of military government, arbitrary arrests, and interference with freedom of the press angered the critics of Morton almost beyond endurance."

Indiana, despite the heavy-handed control, was far from out of the woods.

Nearly two dozen men who served in the Civil War are buried in the Sims-Brier, Bath Springs and Old Franklin cemeteries in Fairfield.


Later on, we will take a look at that component of the conflict.


THE COPPERHEADS

GOV. OLIVER MORTON

MORE ON MORTON


Photo source: Copperhead pamphlet from 1864 by C. Chauncey Burr, a magazine editor from New York City

Morgan's Raid

Lexington loves its Morgan legacy

Indiana's participation in the Civil War was far from unique, but it's worth noting that it ran at a fever pitch.

The state's history was essentially created from Southern roots with many of the original settlers coming to the territory from the Carolinas and Virginia.

The Virginia point of view was more tolerant toward slavery than one might have seen in nearby Ohio.

But as the rebellion began, the loudest and most prominent voices urged successfully that Indiana remain in the Union and to provide troops and support for the Union cause.

The war itself rarely impacted Indiana territory with one notable exception.

Morgan's Raid.

Southern Gen. John Hunt Morgan, in June of 1863, moved his troops northward through Kentucky, where they were able to cross the Ohio River and pursue an invasion into southern Indiana.

Key attacks were in Washington and Jennings counties, and there is some evidence to suggest Morgan actually had troops in Franklin County, perhaps near New Trenton. One can assume that his scouts explored their options as far north as Cedar Grove. There is no evidence they made it to Brookville. He did, however, make it to Versailles in Ripley County.

Morgan's raid served no especially useful purpose for the Confederate cause, though the Union army was forced to appropriate troops to the Indiana and Ohio fronts in an effort to deter Morgan.

In a nutshell, his campaign was more diversionary than practical. His legacy was effectively based on terror. His troops pillaged and looted but achieved anecdotal military success. But the incursion did show that civilian populations along the Ohio River were vulnerable in the face of a dedicated fighting force.

Morgan's men did burn several bridges and rip up several railroad tracks. In most cases, they captured Union soldiers and ransomed them back at the end of the day.

Ambrose Burnside of Liberty:
He invented "sideburns."

The Morgan campaign's chief opponent was Gen. Ambrose Burnside, who was born in Union County. Burnside's legacy is that of a somewhat inept Army officer. He had wanted to declare martial law in Indiana to counter Morgan's raids.

Gov. Oliver Morton refused, though Ohio Gov. Tod did agree to martial law for his state.

Wrote Morton in response to Burnside's plea to invoke martial law in Indiana:

"I understand the purpose to be accomplished ... I am opposed to it, as I am unable to see any good to grow of it, but much possible harm. So far as the present invasion of Indiana is concerned it can certainly do no good, and so far as calling out and organizing militia either to repel invasion or maintain order, I am satisfied it can be not better done by State rather than Federal authority. I say to you frankly that so far as Indiana is concerned, it would be highly inexpedient in my judgment."

Article in the Liberty Herald, July 19, 1863 after Morgan had been stopped and arrested. A Union County doctor, A.C. Fosdick, was serving in the Union army and was nearby when Morgan and his men were arrested. This article summarizes Fosdick's opinion of the honor he was told it would be.

MORGAN LINK

BURNSIDE LINK

Civil War -- Part 1

The 200th anniversary of the founding of Fairfield is also the 150th anniversary of the official end to the Civil War, also known in the early days as the War of the Rebellion. Southerners refer to it as the War of Northern Aggression.

In any event, it was the most important episode in the history of Western civilization. I don't need to prove that; it's just a fact.

Hoosiers of all persuasions either took part or felt the impact of the great war, which was the bloodiest in the nation's history, since nearly all casualties were inflicted on Americans.

An 1882 Franklin County historical atlas describes the first days of the conflict, in 1861:

"When the assault upon Fort Sumter and the flag of our country was made, in April, 1861, the citizens of this county (Franklin) became at once united for the maintenance of the national honor."

Not long after that, the report says, a company of Franklin Guards was formed in Brookville, "probably in remembrance of the old Mexican war company."

The report provides the names of those who joined, and one could assume that a few were from the Fairfield area.

The Democrat, a Brookville newspaper, wrote: "The war pervades the entire community, and nothing else is talked of. Our readers must excuse us if we do not give all that transpires."

Indiana, as a member of the Union, was expected to send 75,000 volunteers to service, the report claims. Precisely how one promises volunteers depends on whether the alternative is to be told to join.

Brig. Gen. Thomas Morris was in charge of the Indiana outfit. The downside was that the Franklin Guards evidently organized too late to be called for the first round of fighting, "but just in time to be absorbed by the organization of the six State regiments."

The process here is somewhat confusing, but the apparent belief that they'd serve for a year was offset by the reality that the army actually meant they'd serve for three years. Um ... changing the rules, it would seem.

No matter.

"The Franklin Guards were divided over the subject of enlisting in the three years of service. The company was assigned to the Thirteenth Regiment, and lettered "C" with the original officers, and all those men who were willing to accept the three years' enlistment. The remainder were assigned to the Sixteenth Regiment, and served their period of enlistment (one year) with that corps. Many of these men re-enlisted in other regiments later during the war."

A nice touch, to renew one's vow.

As time went on, zeal for the Union cause scarcely wavered but it faced challenges that were frightening at the time and unsettling to read, a full 150 years later.

Being at war is never a pleasant experience.

And the war did come to Indiana.

"Arbitrary Arrests For Differences Of Opinion" would be a headline in an 1862 newspaper.

Templetons

Robert's grave, Sims-Brier

Scrounging around through various books and histories, checking the index ... the usual ... the name of Templeton shows up frequently.

What comes with that has thus far been slightly disjointed, considering the Templeton family's importance to the origins of Fairfield and the East Fork valley.

What we do know is:

Robert Templeton's cabin was the first to be completed in the area just west of what would become Whitcomb. His brother, John, built his home quite a distance away ... where Quakertown eventually existed. At the time, all that land was part of Dearborn County.

August Reifel, in his 1915 history that provides good resource material, describes what was apparently known about Templeton and the others of the Carolina Settlement.

"Upon their arrival, all hands were busy at selecting good building sites and cutting down the trees from which to erect their humble cabins. The first of such cabins was created in 1804 in the valley of the East Fork."

Reifel says it was "about one hundred yards north of the present residence of Mrs. Keturah Templeton." (If I can pinpoint this on a map, I will include it.)

Meanwhile:

"Work went forward until nine cabins had been completed, sufficiently homelike to allow the families to enter for winter quarters."

Understandably, these people lived fairly far apart despite their kindred connection, and their sections were a mile square. That's a lot of lawn to mow and leaves to rake.

The Templetons were closely connected to the Hanna family. John Templeton was married to Mary Hanna, daughter of William Hanna. Robert was John Templeton's brother. He married Mary Hanna, daughter of Robert (Robin) Hanna.

Robert was born in 1762 and John in 1766 in County Antrim, Ireland. Their family immigrated to South Carolina and settled in Laurens District when they were young boys.

Union County Library sources explain:

"Much of this history has been handed down through the families involved since no journals or letters of this time exists. It is believed that Robert Hanna and Robert Templeton were the leaders of this Carolina Colony when they departed South Carolina in 1801."

John Templeton and his family moved into their home in early April 1805. John’s wife Mary gave birth to their seventh child, Catherine Hitch Templeton, on July 15, 1805, making her the first white child born in the valley.

William Logan’s son, Thomas, was the first male child.

I am looking for information about the lives of these settlers before they left for the Indiana territory. Most of that would probably be in archives in South Carolina.

Karen Barlow Coffey, historian at Union County Library, adds this:

"In the back country of South Carolina a group of men, women and children were considering moving to the North West Territory.  They lived in Laurens District. It was in the Highlands of South Carolina away from the populated cities of Charleston and Columbia. The red clay earth did not make good farmland for growing families and the issue of slavery was a volatile one. These families had much in common. They were Scots, Irish, and Presbyterian and had the courage it look toward the wilderness as their new home."

Coffey adds this about John Templeton:

"(He) was appointed in 1806 the first justice of the peace for the northern part of Dearborn County.  He was commissioned as judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Franklin County in December 1810. John was responsible for the naming of Franklin County. He represented Franklin County in the territorial legislature assembly in Vincennes in 1811."

According to Coffey's research, John Templeton helped "instigate a petition" asking that “The Gore” or Wayne’s Purchase be annexed to Ohio because of the pro-slavery sentiment he found in Indiana. (Wayne's Purchase inevitably was split in half to allow for the creation of Franklin County.)

Robin Hanna, war veteran

We have learned that Robert (Robin) Hanna, one of the first settlers in the Whitewater Valley, was also a veteran of the War of Independence.

Also known as the American Revolution.

Hanna, who came to Indiana in 1803 from Laurens County, S.C., was one of several Revolutionary soldiers to be buried in Franklin County. Hanna's grave is in Sims-Brier Cemetery at New Fairfield.

A book published in South Carolina includes brief biographies of the men who were called Patriots during the rebellion. Of Hanna, it says:

Robert Hanna was in many skirmishes and in the battles at Kings Mountain, Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, and Eutaw Springs. According to family legend, the battle of Cowpens was fought on the plantation of his son, Joseph, who married Sarah Adair. 

The use of the word "plantation" probably ought not be misconstrued. It could easily have referred to a "farm." The accepted description of plantation is less genteel. It is easy to assume that the Hannas were not poor.

In truth, Robin Hanna's desire to fight on the American side in the Revolution was far from automatic.

The bulk of the resistance to the British crown lay in the North, in New England. To the South, the agrarian nature of society was less inclined to want to throw off the yoke of colonial rule. British loyalists were quite common in South Carolina. To defy that was risky. Southern economy depended heavily on trade with England. At that time, France was less a market than a potential ally.

As well, the Brits were inclined to favor war atrocity as a way of coercing the public into submission. They had also enlisted disgruntled Cherokee Indians to do some of their frontier bidding in the expansive colonies.

Jeff Biggers, who wrote "The United States of Appalachia," says that at least one faction of the colonial South advocated making a deal with the British ... agreeing to end the rebellion in exchange for Georgia and the Carolinas, which would remain part of the United Kingdom.

Lord Tarleton

That was not an especially popular point of view, but it showed that not everyone in the colonies favored independence, at least not on the American terms.

In "House of Hanna," the author, Sarah A. Hanna, Robin Hanna's granddaughter, projects a conversation that could have been held. In it, Sarah relates a story that her grandfather would have told about having captured a sword from the British garrison commander Sir Banastre Tarleton, "when Tarleton was raiding and devastating our homes that I was going home to see my family, and I was skulking along rapidly to clear an open country that lay around me for about a mile. I had nearly reached the center of the open when suddenly I heard the sound of distant clattering of horses' feet."

Robin goes on to explain how he managed evasive tactics in the face of a Royalist battalion. Tarleton, meanwhile, had seen a deer and had tried unsuccessfully to kill it with three shots.

"I thought about his three empty pistols and I congratuated myself on my own well loaded ones, and as I watched his approach, I drew my feet up under me in such a way that I could jump to a standing position in a moment."

As Tarleton approached, unsuspecting, Robin jumped up.

Sarah A. Hanna says this is the sword.

"Will you surrender?" he told Tarleton, who realized his pistols were empty. Tarleton, in a tough spot, agreed to relinquish his sword since Robin, who had captured a prisoner, had no way of truly confining him with his own camp several miles away.

A gentleman's confrontation, evidently.

Robin agreed to not shoot Tarleton in the back as he rode away.

He ended up with a sword as his trophy.

As an aside, the British depended somewhat on loyalist regiments in the war in the Carolinas. For the most part, the loyalists, sometimes known as Tories, were nothing more than cannon fodder. They were often ill-trained, badly equipped and generally disregarded as illiterate rabble by the sophisticated British military commanders. In most skirmishes, the colonial soldiers defeated them easily, which helped hasten the South's shift to support of the American cause.

A BIT ABOUT BANASTRE