Rev. John Handy, Sr.

Not the son of Nathaniel Harris, of Hopewell

DAR Website: HARRIS, JOHN SR Ancestor #: A051722 Service: SOUTH CAROLINA

Service Description: 1) SERVED AS PHYSICIAN & SURGEON IN MILITIA; 2) ALSO MEMBER OF ASSEMBLY,1776-8

Rev. John Harris was in at least three preaching stations in SC:

• 1. Upper Long Cane, near the village of Abbeville
• 2. Rocky River
• 3. Lower Long Cane or Hopewell, on the waters of Little River.

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Historical Background

South Carolinians in the Revolution

“The perspectives and roles of different South Carolinians during the American Revolution led to a civil war within South Carolina and ultimately impacted the success of the Patriot cause in the Revolutionary War.

The political leaders were wealthy white men who were land owners from the Lowcountry. Most were Patriots who supported independence. South Carolina Patriots created a provisional government to control the colony during the war.

American colonists volunteered as soldiers to fight in colonial militias and with Patriot partisan groups. Patriots were those colonists who supported the Continental Congress and independence. Most were from the Lowcountry and fought in small militias in their local areas.

South Carolina Loyalists, who remained loyal to the King and Great Britain, volunteered to fight on theside of the British. There were more Loyalists in South Carolina than in any of the other colonies, except New York. Most soldiers in the Upcountry were Loyalists, or Tories as the American Patriots derisively referred to them. Many of the Upcountry people were not true loyalists in principal, but instead wished to live their lives without interference. An example would be the number of Upcountry German immigrants who had no allegiance to either the King or to the principles of democracy. Lowcountry Patriots and Upcountry Loyalists fought each other in the Revolutionary War. When the war ended, many Loyalists voluntarily left South Carolina for the Caribbean or Canada. Others were fined or run out of town.

Partisans were Patriots who fought a guerrilla war against the British regular army. They often took British soldiers in the countryside of South Carolina by surprise in hit and run ambushes.

Women managed farms and plantations when the men were away. Some served as messengers or nurses, others sacrificed their homes and fortunes to the Patriot cause. Other women were Loyalists.

Most African Americans continued to work as slaves in South Carolina. Some African Americans served as soldiers in the Continental Army. However, South Carolinians feared a slave uprising so at first they rejected the Continental Congress’s appeal to allow slaves to serve non-military jobs for the army such as cooking. Later, when more manpower was needed, the law was changed to allow 1/3 of the militia to be made up of slaves but they were not allowed to serve as soldiers. African Americans fought with the partisan bands. South Carolina did not offer slaves their freedom in exchange for their service in the army. African Americans fought for the British in response to the promise that they would earn their freedom. In this effort, they were disappointed.

At first, many Native Americans tribes avoided war. After American colonists attacked the Native Americans on the frontier, Native American retaliated. Many supported the British because the British promised to return control of the west to the Native Americans. The Cherokees supported the British and attacked the colonists.”

South Carolina Social Studies Support Document, Grade 8, 2008 http://ed.sc.gov/agency/Standards-and-Learning/Academic- Standards/old/cso/social_studies/social.html

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=80911367

DAR Website: HARRIS, JOHN SR Ancestor #: A051722 Service: SOUTH CAROLINA Rank: PATRIOTIC SERVICE Birth: 9-29-1725 SOMERSET CO MARYLAND Death: (ANTE) 4-5-1791 ABBEVILLE CO NINETY SIX DIST SOUTH CAROLINA

• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Feb 11 2020, 6:25:24 UTC