Ghosts of Berkeley County, South Carolina

by Bruce Orr

  This was insane, thought Skelen, yet once again the young man did as he was instructed. This time he quickly wrote a request for money, reversed the address on the letter and threw it in the mail slot. He did as instructed the next day, and that night he placed one boot containing a coin inside his door and another outside the door. He slept very little. He kept checking the boots. The next morning, nothing had changed. He went back to his daily routine. That evening, he received a flyer in the mail telling of an antique coin show in Charleston. He wondered at the coincidence and retrieved the coins. As he examined them, he saw that they were unusual in the fact that they were stamped “Confederate States of America 1861.” He had not noticed this before.

  The day of the coin show, he took the two pennies and hurried off. When he arrived, he had the coins inspected and was astonished to find that they were rare mint Confederate coins made by Robert Lovett Jr. He had been commissioned by Philadelphia jewelers Bailey and Company. At the show, the rare coins sold for more than $5,000 per coin. With more than $10,000 in hand, the elated young man was determined to attend the church and thank them. He told the antique dealer of his intentions. The man just laughed and advised him that doing that would be extremely difficult. He then told him that the church had been destroyed by fire in the late 1800s. Skelen knew the man had to be mistaken. He had to see for himself.

  After receiving directions, he drove to the location and was shocked at what he saw. There was nothing left of the church but a few walls and a cemetery, just as the coin dealer had described. He searched the grounds and found a historical marker that confirmed that the church had been destroyed by fire in 1886 and never rebuilt after that. Skelen was overcome. Not only had his last request for money been granted, his first request to experience a ghost had also obviously been granted.

  Biggin Church was originally built in 1712 as an Anglican church by a missionary minister named Robert Maule. He was assigned to Saint John’s Parish by the Church Act of 1706 that created ten parishes in the province. The site was named after Biggin Hill in Kent, Great Britain. It served the parish of St. Johns and was the church used by the town of Childsbury until Strawberry Chapel was constructed as a chapel of ease for the residents who were unable to make the ten-mile trek to Biggin Church.

  Just as Childsbury seemed to be cursed and died out after the events involving Catherine Chicken, so did Biggin Church. It was a church destined to burn. In 1756, it was destroyed by a raging forest fire. The parishioners rebuilt the church in 1761, but in 1781 it was again burned to the ground by British forces. The church had been seized by the British under the command of Colonel Coates and had been utilized as a weapons and ammo depot. When colonial troops advanced, Coates ordered the church and any remaining supplies to be burned to prevent them from falling into rebel hands. The British then retreated back to British-occupied Charleston.

  After the Revolutionary War, the parishioners again rebuilt the church. When the Civil War began in 1861, the church was stripped of its pews and metal fixtures, which were used to support the Confederate army. The church remained empty and abandoned through the war’s end in 1865. In 1886, the church was once again, for the third time, destroyed by fire as another forest fire raged through the area. Several days later, almost as if to permanently solidify the destruction of the church, a great earthquake struck, inflicting even greater damage.

  The ruins of Biggin Church, where Jacob Skelen realized that his prayer to meet a ghost had been answered. Courtesy of KOP Shots.

  Biggin Church seemed destined to burn. It was destroyed by fire on three separate occasions. Courtesy of KOP Shots.

  As Jacob Skelen discovered, very little remains of Biggin Church today except for a few walls…and the occasional ghostly encounter.

  THE GHOSTS OF QUENBY BRIDGE

  After being routed from what is now Moncks Corner, Lieutenant Colonel James Coates moved his Nineteenth Regiment of the British army to Biggin Church. With walls three feet thick, the church was nearly impregnable. This was mid-July, and the British leader had moved his men and supplies to the church as he retreated back toward British-occupied Charleston.

  At about 3:00 a.m. on July 17, 1781, Lieutenant Colonel James Coates, realizing the difficult situation he was now placed in, burned most of the supplies and ammunition that he had stored in Biggin Church. Gathering his men, he proceeded across Wadboo Bridge on his way south. Before leaving the church, he left a note addressed to General Nathanael Greene along with some sick and wounded, asking that the invalids be treated with humanity and that they be sent to Charleston. He had thought that the colonial forces that were pursuing him were those of General Greene, but he was mistaken. He was actually being pursued by General Thomas Sumter, a young and arrogant leader nicknamed “the Gamecock.”

  Coates had three possible avenues of retreat: over Biggin Bridge down the west side of the Cooper River toward Goose Creek; over Wadboo Bridge down the east side of the Cooper River toward Strawberry Ferry; or again down the east side of the Cooper River but toward Quenby Bridge. With his Nineteenth Regiment he decided to march toward Quenby Bridge, yet he sent his cavalry toward Charleston through Strawberry Ferry near Childsbury.

  Seeing Biggin Church burning in the distance Sumter roused his troops and went in pursuit of Coates, ordering his cavalry forces to race ahead of his infantry. In the rush to catch up with the British Nineteenth Regiment, Sumter left behind his six-pounder cannon, a decision he would regret later in the day.

  Troops under the command of Colonel Peter Horry had been positioned at Wadboo Bridge to intercept the British but for unspecified reasons had deserted their posts. In regards to this matter, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Lee later wrote:

  To our surprise and mortification, no opposition at the bridge [Wadboo Bridge] had taken place; and indeed our inquiries terminated in the conviction that the detachment destined to occupy the post [Horry’s] had abandoned it a few hours after they had been sent to possess it. Hence arose our ignorance of Coates’ movement, which could not have occurred had the militia party continued at their post, and to which ignorance the foe owed his escape.

  Colonel Lee and Colonel Wade Hampton gave chase, crossing over Wadboo Bridge, which had not been fully destroyed by Horry’s men or had been repaired in the night by Coates’s men. Now seeing that Coates had divided his forces, Colonel Wade Hampton rode in the direction of Strawberry Ferry. Yet by the time he reached there, the British captain in charge of the cavalry of the Nineteenth Regiment had already crossed. The ferryboats had been taken across and left on the opposite side.

  Meanwhile, Colonel Lee’s and Colonel Hezikiah Maham’s cavalry, with General Francis Marion’s infantry close behind them, followed Coates’s trail in the direction of Quenby. Somewhere about a mile north of the bridge, they overtook Coates’s rear guard under the command of Captain Colin Campbell. When Lee and Marion deployed against them, the inexperienced British troops attempted to prepare to receive them. When the order was given to fire, the recruits failed to discharge their muskets. Intimidated by the presence of the American cavalry, they panicked, and in a matter of minutes they surrendered upon being summoned to do so. About one hundred were taken prisoner along with supplies.

  The colonial forces then continued their advance, and when Captain Armstrong of the Legion cavalry reached Quenby Bridge, he found that Coates’s regiment had already crossed. Not certain whether he should continue over the bridge, which Coates’s men had already begun dismantling, Armstrong sent back to Lee asking whether he should attack, yet without mentioning that the bridge stood before him. Lee replied by messenger that the orders were to attack all before them. Armstrong galloped over the bridge with the first section of the Legion cavalry, with the second under Lieutenant George Carrington following behind, both knocking off some of the loosened planks of the bridge as they did so. Coates had prepared his cannon to receive them, but so sudden and unexpected was the charge that the men manning the gun, as well as the work party disma
ntling the bridge, fled before them. The rest of Coates’s men—who were in a disorganized state, bottlenecked together in the causeway—were for quite some time helpless to organize to face the attack. Many fled.

  Coates himself and a few of his officers became separated from their men and took a position behind some wagons, from which they traded saber thrusts with the Legion dragoons. The third section of Lee’s cavalry, under Captain Ferdinand O’Neal, halted at Quenby Bridge. Maham and his cavalry then attempted to get over the now flimsy bridge to support Armstrong and Carrington, but having his horse shot out from under him, he and his men were stopped from proceeding. Captain James McCauley and some of Marion’s infantry, however, were able to continue on and made it over to assist Armstrong’s dragoons. Lee, now coming up from the rear, and Maham tried to repair the bridge, but with little success. In the meantime, Coates’s men began forming up to counterattack. Armstrong, Carrington and McCauley, seeing themselves in risk of being surrounded, broke through the British ranks and made their escape through some woods. Moving down and circling around the end of the creek, they finally rejoined the rest of Lee’s and Marion’s forces, which were coming to approach Coates from that quarter. Lee marched the remainder of the cavalry up Quenby Creek, where Francis Marion joined him with his infantry and the Legion infantry. While this was happening, Coates had his cannon and his men withdraw to Shubrick Plantation (also known as Quenby Plantation) nearby, where they fortified themselves and awaited the American attack.

  Lee and Marion, having crossed the stream, moved up through the woods and advanced to the edge of the open fields lying around the plantation. There they halted and surveyed Coates’s position. The Shubricks’ home was a two-story building situated on a rising ground, with numerous outbuildings, making it impregnable to cavalry and very formidable to infantry. Lee and Marion decided that it was too strong to attack. They then paused and awaited Sumter, who came up at about 3:00 p.m. Despite Lee and Marion’s objections, and the fact that the artillery would be a long time in arriving, Sumter decided to attack. At 4:00 p.m., the fighting began, with Sumter having deployed his men in the nearby slave buildings while putting his cavalry and the Legion infantry in the reserve.

  Sumter then ordered up Colonel Thomas Taylor with forty-five men to take a strategically situated fence. During this assault, Major John Baxter was knocked from his horse by a musket ball. He shouted to Lieutenant Colonel Peter Horry, “I am wounded, colonel.”

  “Think no more of it, Baxter, but stand to your post,” Horry replied.

  “But I can’t stand, I am wounded a second time!” shouted Baxter.

  “Lie down then, Baxter, but quit not your post,” responded Horry.

  “They have shot me again, colonel, and if I stay any longer here, I shall be shot to pieces,” Baxter said after being hit a third time.

  “Be it so, Baxter, but stir not,” Horry commanded. Baxter obeyed, but he was hit a fourth time. Fifty of General Marion’s men were killed or wounded in this assault.

  Taylor’s men, moving up, came under heavy fire and were driven back by a bayonet charge led by Captain Skerett. Marion’s musket and riflemen rushed up to aid Taylor and took position at the fence themselves, lying low on the ground for protection as they fired. There they remained, taking many casualties until, finally having run out of ammunition, they were forced to fall back. The battle having run for about two or three hours, Sumter withdrew back across Quenby Bridge (by this time repaired) and camped some three miles from Shubrick Plantation, after leaving the cavalry to collect the dead and wounded.

  Singleton having the six-pounder cannon and more ammunition having arrived, Sumter had intended to resume the attack on the morrow but was met with the anger of his leaders. Colonel Thomas Taylor and his men were particularly angry at having been needlessly exposed to suffer so many losses, Marion’s men feeling similarly. Colonel Taylor found General Sumter “sitting cooly under the shade of a tree.” He said, “Sir, I don’t know why you sent me forward on a forlorn hope, promising to sustain me and failed to do so, unless you designed to sacrifice me. I will never serve a single hour under you,” and then retired from Brigadier General Sumter’s command.

  By the next day, inflamed with resentment at having been left exposed while Sumter’s men were kept safely behind cover, all of Marion’s men had gone home except for one company of about one hundred men.

  Colonel Lee, also unhappy with how things had gone, buried his men in a mass grave near Quenby Creek and departed with his men to rejoin Greene’s army in the High Hills of the Santee. After having the majority of his troops abandon him because of his arrogance and recklessness, Sumter decided not to continue the battle and the next day fell back across the Santee, having earlier arranged for boats for such a crossing. During the melee, he had managed to capture a British paymaster’s chest with 720 guineas, which he divided among his own men. The entire battle lasted just three hours.

  For many years afterward, it was said that the rains would wash up the bones of the dead and carry them out into the river. It is also said that the area surrounding Quenby Bridge is still haunted by the men and horses that died there. The sounds of battle can be heard throughout the night and into the early dawn. An apparition of a headless British soldier is said to be seen rushing the knoll toward the bridge to assist his long-dead comrades in a battle that ended more than 230 years ago, a battle that routed the British from their stronghold on Berkeley County in the war for this country’s independence.

  THE GRAVE ROBBER AND BENJAMIN BLACKMON’S WIFE

  This story is often erroneously attributed to Bamberg County, South Carolina, but the fact is that the people involved actually resided in Berkeley County. In fact, Benjamin Blackmon’s last will and testament was filed in the Charleston District and noted that he had resided in St. James Parish and died at his Goose Creek plantation. Both St. James and Goose Creek are located in Berkeley County.

  After the American Revolution, there was a period of severe economic instability. Many families left the upper section of the state and moved closer to the coast in order to seek a better living. The Blackmon family was one of them. In fact, Benjamin Blackmon became very wealthy.

  Benjamin became infatuated with a young miss by the name of Mary Pye. They courted appropriately, and one day he presented her with a very large and beautiful diamond ring. The two were soon married, and Mary enjoyed her husband’s success and wealth. Mary always wore the ring. Oh how she did love that ring. She showed it off to everyone, and soon everyone knew of the young bride and her large diamond ring.

  As was often the case, an epidemic swept the area. Mary became very ill. Despite the best doctors’ efforts, Mary continued to deteriorate. Soon she succumbed to the illness and fever that ravished her body.

  The entire town knew of Mary, and everyone attended her funeral. One by one they filed by her open casket and paid their respects. The brokenhearted Benjamin Blackmon had his wife buried near their home. Even though she was dead, he could not bear to be separated from her. He had her buried in front of the plantation home. After the service he dismissed all but a few servants and went to his room to grieve his beloved Mary. He did not leave the room that evening and even refused dinner. The slaves were as heartbroken as he was, but they quickly became quite concerned that he would soon grieve himself to death. As they would check on him, they would hear him praying and begging God to return his beloved Mary. Eventually, the praying ceased, and the servants feared that he had died. One brave soul entered his master’s room and found that he was indeed still alive but had apparently cried himself to sleep. Happy that their master was still alive yet saddened at his grief, the slaves eventually retired for the evening.

  Late that night, they were awoken by a bloodcurdling scream. It was immediately followed by a far worse scream than anything any of them had ever heard in their lives. It was coming from outside the plantation house. Benjamin Blackmon grabbed his pistol and ran down the stairs to the door. A
s he threw the door open, there stood his beloved Mary. Her dress was covered in blood and dirt. She fell into his arms. In both horror and disbelief, he stared at his motionless wife lying in his arms. He then noticed that her beloved ring was missing…and so was her finger!

  Once he convinced the slaves that Mary was not a ghost, he had them place her in bed and tend to her injured hand. He then had one of his servants leave to get the doctor. It was then that he went to investigate the grave site.

  When he approached the grave, he found that it had been dug up and that a shovel was sticking out of the mound of dirt next to it. He cautiously approached the grave with his pistol in his hand. He held his lantern out over the hole, and there he saw a figure in the grave.

  “Come up from there!” he shouted. The figure did not move. He again shouted, and still the figure refused to leave the grave.

  Benjamin Blackmon took the shovel and threw it down on top of the figure in the grave. The figure did not move. Blackmon handed his pistol to a servant and carefully eased himself down into the grave opposite the seated figure. As he swung his lantern around to see the hooded face of the figure, he screamed at what he saw. The frightened servant also screamed and accidentally fired the pistol off, striking the wall of the grave and throwing dirt on both Benjamin Blackmon and the figure. Blackmon quickly told his servant that it was okay. He then stated, “He’s already dead.”