THE CIVIL WAR: THE TRUE STORY BOOK 1

The Destruction of Old Sheldon Church and Other Ravages of War

The Destruction of Old Sheldon Church and Other Ravages of War
By Gail Jarvis on Mar 22, 2016

From time to time an unsuspecting tourist visiting the ruins of the Old Sheldon Church will insist that they caught a glimpse of a spectral figure hovering among the scattered remains of the time-weathered gravestones. Some might scoff at such sightings, but the reports of the ghost are consistent. Witnesses describe what appears to be the ethereal figure of a young woman in a plain brown dress of the style commonly worn during the Colonial era. They say she is weeping beside a grave.

Regardless of how one feels about reports of the ghost of the weeping lady, I do not think anyone can stroll through the lonely grounds of the Old Sheldon Church without being strangely moved. And when you learn the tragic history of the church; how it was burned by pillaging armies, not once, but twice, you are struck by how stubbornly this noble edifice refused to succumb. Portions of majestic red-brick walls and columns still stand sturdily, albeit adorned with scattered parasitic ferns.

The ruins of the famous church are located in South Carolina's Lowcountry on the outskirts of Beaufort County, in a section now known as Gardens Corner. The tranquil appearance of this oak-covered corridor belies its history of violent hostilities, beginning in 1715 in Pocotaligo, the principal settlement of the Yemassee Indians. The Yemassee reacted violently against what they perceived as unfair practices by fur traders, and set off several years of bloody wars with the Colonists. Ultimately, the Yemassee were defeated and driven across the Savannah River into Spanish Florida.

The Old Sheldon Church site and areas adjacent to it would become the scenes for later battles in both the Revolutionary War and the War Between the States. Accounts of the War Between the States are more commonly reported today than those of the Revolutionary War, but this has more to do with contemporary political agendas than the actual significance of the events themselves. Of these two historic periods, the American Revolution was more consequential. With it began the gradual erosion of the absolute authority of the great dynasties of European monarchies. Our Founders replaced rule by monarchy with a republic, and ordinary citizens gained a momentous voice in the affairs of state. Within a few years after American Colonists gained their independence, the French would eliminate their centuries-old monarchy.

The majority of Revolutionary War battles occurred in the state of South Carolina, and particularly intrigued author and historian, William Gilmore Simms, perhaps the state's most celebrated man of letters. Simms portrayed the epic drama of the Revolutionary War skillfully and authoritatively in a variety of classic works, especially his biographies of patriots Nathaniel Greene, and Frances Marion. The epithet, "Swamp Fox", was an apt description of Marion. After conducting surprise raids on the British, his militia band eluded reprisals by hiding in the Congaree Swamp.

Gilmore Simms biography of Francis Marion was one source that actor and director Mel Gibson consulted to fashion his character, Ben Martin, the protagonist of his film, The Patriot, which takes place during the Revolutionary War. This powerful film vividly dramatizes how the savagery of war dehumanizes its participants, often stripping away the thin veneer of civilization that prevents soldiers from committing atrocities against the lives and property of innocent civilians. Barbarous acts against Colonials by British Redcoats are not only described in the film's dialogue, but vividly depicted in action scenes.

In one especially grisly segment, British Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton sets fire to a church after locking the helpless congregation inside. This particular scene infuriated many Britons, who vigorously denied that such an act of cruelty could have been perpetrated by British soldiers. But whether the incident was factual or simply a matter of creative license on Gibson's part does not negate the fact that manifold acts of brutality against civilians have been faithfully attributed to Colonel Tarleton and other British officers.