Tales from Brookgreen Read online

  History does not tell us anything further about the reunion of the two former sweethearts or about what happened to Mr. Neufville after his recovery. Presumably he returned to his life in Charleston. Perhaps he married another planter’s daughter. After his dramatic return to the Lowcountry he passed out of our story. Rachel’s adventures continued, however.

  ~

  Rachel and Gentleman Billy remained happily at Brookgreen Plantation and soon celebrated the birth of their daughter, Mary. As the American Revolution gained momentum in the South they supported the Revolutionary cause with great conviction. Gentleman Billy contributed money for the relief of Boston following the Tea Party and loaned money to the state of South Carolina for its war effort. His Brookgreen Plantation served as a transfer point for gunpowder that local Patriots shipped from Georgetown to Rebel forces in Wilmington, North Carolina. When their next child was born in 1779, Rachel and Gentleman Billy named him Washington Allston, in honor of the Commander-in-Chief of the American forces.

  But the War was not going well for the Americans. When Charleston fell to the British, the spirits of South Carolina Patriots fell as well. Georgetown was the most important city in South Carolina still in Patriot hands and the British soon threatened it. Gentleman Billy sent workers from Brookgreen Plantation to help with fortifications at Georgetown but Lord Cornwallis’ superior forces soon captured that city too. Prospects for American Patriots looked grim.

  Fortunately, new hope soon began to stir as Rebels in South Carolina shifted their fighting tactics. Although they could no longer confront the superior British forces on the formal field of battle, General Francis Marion, who had barely escaped capture at the fall of Charleston, organized bands of guerilla fighters to harass the British along the South Carolina coast. Marion’s men would strike unexpectedly, then disappear into Lowcountry swamps, earning him the nickname of “The Swamp Fox” from frustrated British generals.

  Many local Patriots, including our Miss Dusenbury’s relatives, joined his guerilla bands. Gentleman Billy, who happened to be General Marion’s brother-in-law, soon became a Captain in the Swamp Fox’s command and led several successful raids on British troops in our area.

  Although Gentleman Billy was often able to return home to Brookgreen Plantation between raids, Rachel was forced to take on more day-to-day management of both Brookgreen and Springfield Plantations. Her spirit and her intelligence enabled her to keep the vast plantations operating successfully in spite of military and economic disruptions of the period.

  Once Lord Cornwallis became commander of British forces in the South and captured both Charleston and Georgetown, he contemplated his next step toward victory in the American colonies. His plan was to march his troops northward to Virginia to crush George Washington’s poorly prepared forces gathering there. Much to Lord Cornwallis’ annoyance however, General Marion’s guerrilla attacks forced him to keep his troops in South Carolina attempting to control the countryside. Frequent skirmishes and several larger battles continually delayed his plans. It took another year before Lord Cornwallis could finally advance his troops northward to Yorktown to meet General Washington’s army, an army that was ready for the British by that time. And we all know how that turned out.

  During the time Lord Cornwallis remained in South Carolina, fighting was fierce, even if it only occurred in brief spurts. Not only were American soldiers fighting British soldiers but more often, South Carolina Patriots were fighting South Carolina Tories who were usually neighbors and often even relatives. Atrocities occurred on both sides but one of Lord Cornwallis’ officers, Colonel Banastre Tarleton, became infamous for particularly nasty treatment of captured troops and of Patriot supporters and their families.

  Thus it was with horror that Rachel received news one morning while Gentleman Billy was away with the American forces that Lord Cornwallis had selected Brookgreen Plantation as his temporary headquarters. Everyone knew that “Bloody Banastre” had recently slaughtered American soldiers who surrendered to him and had burned the family home of another South Carolina Patriot, General Thomas Sumter, “The Fighting Gamecock.” Rachel feared what Lord Cornwallis’ troops might do to her plantation. Even more, she feared what they might do to herself and to her children, the family of one of General Marion’s well-known officers.

  In spite of her fears, Rachel bravely and graciously welcomed Lord Cornwallis and his staff as they rode up the Live Oak Allee to take up residence in her home. To her surprise and relief, Lord Cornwallis and his officers conducted themselves with equal courtesy. They behaved more like gentlemen staying in the home of a friend than enemies occupying a requisitioned household. All were extremely kind and courteous to Rachel and encouraged her to continue running the household and plantation without disruption.

  While playing gracious hostess to her unwelcome visitors, Rachel made every effort to keep her children out of sight of Lord Cornwallis and his staff. This was especially true for her young son, Washington, named for the commander of the American forces. In spite of her best efforts however, the British learned of this Washington’s existence from servants.

  One day at dinner, to Rachel’s sudden terror, Lord Cornwallis announced that he had heard that a young Washington resided in the household and commanded his hostess to present her son to the company. Inwardly trembling with fear, she could not help but comply with his demand. With outward calm she sent for the toddler. When he arrived Rachel formally introduced Washington to Lord Cornwallis and then carried him around the dining room, presenting him to each officer. To her surprise and delight, Lord Cornwallis and his officers “oohed” and “aahed” over the boy, playfully tweaking the cheeks of “The Little General.”

  Later, Lord Cornwallis and his troops moved on northward leaving Brookgreen Plantation entirely intact. Nothing was stolen or damaged. Perhaps this was because of their respect for Rachel Moore Allston, the spirited but gracious young Mistress of Brookgreen Plantation. Rachel had once again weathered a challenging encounter … and her story continued.

  ~

  As the war wore on, Gentleman Billy and his troops moved north, joining the larger body of General Nathaniel Greene’s Continental Army. The despair of the American forces in the South that had come with the British occupation of Charleston and Georgetown gradually turned to joy with decisive American victories at the Battles of Kings Mountain and Cowpens along the border of North and South Carolina.

  Gentleman Billy, now Captain Allston, fought bravely and successfully in the Battle of Cowpens but difficult living conditions in the swamps and on the march had taken their toll. As the battle ended, fever wracked his body. Gentleman Billy bid farewell to his men and started the long ride back to his home on the Waccamaw Neck. After several days his horse at last turned off the King’s Highway into the familiar oak-lined avenue of his Brookgreen Plantation. As Rachel and the house servants rushed out to meet him, Gentleman Billy dismounted and then collapsed onto the front steps of his plantation mansion, too weak to stand. Servants carried him inside to his bed where he died in Rachel’s arms before nightfall.

  ~

  Once again grief filled Rachel’s heart. But now she was alone with five children: Billy’s son and daughter from his first marriage and her own three young children, including a newborn son. Nevertheless, Rachel took over management of Brookgreen and Springfield Plantations, this time on her own. Although family members helped when they could, primary responsibility for plantation operations fell on her.

  Months passed. Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown and America had won its independence. Soldiers began returning to their homes and families. The disrupted life and economy of South Carolina started to return to normal.

  One day an unknown gentleman unexpectedly rode up the Live Oak Allee of Brookgreen Plantation and presented himself at the plantation mansion, asking for Captain Allston. He introduced himself as Dr. Henry Collins Flagg, most recently, head surgeon with General Nathaniel Greene’s Continental Army. Dr. Flag
g explained that he was originally from Rhode Island but had come south to seek his fortune before the war. When Americans began raising troops, he had joined General Greene’s army as a surgeon and had met Captain Allston during General Greene’s Southern Campaigns. Captain Allston had described the beauty of his Waccamaw homeland and had invited Dr. Flagg to visit him at Brookgreen Plantation after the war.

  Rachel welcomed Dr. Flagg graciously, as ever, but informed him sadly of the death of her husband. Dr. Flagg was grieved to hear of the loss of his friend and did everything he could to comfort and assist the widow, extending his stay to help Rachel manage day-to-day affairs of the plantations. He took special interest in the Allston children, and they readily enjoyed the interest and kindness of their new friend. As weeks and months passed, Rachel and Henry fell in love and talked of marriage.

  Rachel was happy at last after so much heartache and strife but an obstacle to this happiness quickly arose. Rachel’s family in Charleston adamantly opposed her marriage to Dr. Flagg. They called him a “Yankee adventurer” who was only interested in her fortune. Rachel’s father threatened to disinherit her if she proceeded with the marriage. But Rachel, true to her nature, determined to marry him anyway! She told friends, “I married to please my family the first time but this time I will marry to please myself.” And she did.

  ~

  Rachel and Henry Flagg settled down to married life on Brookgreen Plantation. The marriage was a long and loving one. Dr. Flagg took a fatherly interest in his stepchildren and was especially close to young Washington Allston, who became one of the first world-renowned American painters (but that’s another story).

  Rachel and Henry Flagg had three additional children together. Their grandchildren included Dr. Allard Belin Flagg, who lived in the Hermitage, and his sister Alice, who still may (another story). They also included Dr. Allard’s brother, Dr. Arthur Belin Flagg, who, along with most of his family, suffered terribly in The Flagg Flood of 1893 (but that is yet another story).

  It was from their home at Brookgreen Plantation that Dr. Flagg set out on a special mission one fine June afternoon in the year 1791. Exciting news had traveled down the Waccamaw Neck: President George Washington was passing through this area on his tour of the southern states. Dr. Flagg hoped for a chance to meet him, or at least for a chance to see the hero of the Revolution and the “Father of our Country.”

  Early in his presidency George Washington had vowed to tour the entire country, seeing the land, gauging the prosperity, and getting to know the thoughts of the people. (Remember, there were only thirteen states to visit back then!) He had already made a New England Tour in 1889 and had begun planning his Southern Tour as soon as he returned home, which was in Philadelphia at that time. (The official capital of the United States was there until they built a capital city from scratch in the District of Columbia.)

  President Washington planned his route carefully, intending to visit cities along the coast as he headed south and then to include more inland cities on his return north. He determined just how long each part of the journey would take and corresponded with officials in every city along the route, letting each know exactly when he planned to arrive. Officials thus had time to plan welcoming celebrations, some of which were amazingly elaborate.

  As soon as Congress adjourned in March 1791 President Washington began his Southern Tour. He left Philadelphia on March 21st preferring to face bad weather in the early weeks of the trip rather than be caught during the summer “sickly season” in the South when many died of malaria and yellow fever.

  President Washington’s plan was to stay at inns and hotels so that he would not inconvenience, or become beholden to, private citizens, although he had numerous offers of lodging from wealthy supporters. This plan had worked well during his New England Tour but in the sparsely populated South the only lodging he could find was often in a private home. That was certainly the case along the many desolate miles of the sandy King’s Highway here on the Waccamaw Neck.

  As Dr. Flagg rode north along the King’s Highway that day he first heard clatter, then saw an amazing sight coming around a bend. Four beautifully matched white horses emerged from behind the trees. Red leather harnesses with golden hardware linked them to a white coach driven by an imposing man in red and white livery. Beside him perched a footman in a similar outfit.

  The coachman reined the team to a stop as he saw Dr. Flagg. Dr. Flagg also stopped, gazing in wonder at the splendid carriage, as well he should. George Washington had ordered one of his own coaches refurbished magnificently for the tour. Paintings of the four seasons adorned the side doors, front, and back of the carriage. The Washington coat of arms gleamed within ovals on the quarter panels and glass windows shaded by Venetian blinds faced forward. The framework, springs, moldings, and door handles were all golden, not an everyday sight even among wealthy rice planters of the Waccamaw Neck.

  After they exchanged greetings President Washington explained to Dr. Flagg that he and his party had entered South Carolina from North Carolina the day before and had spent the night at Jeremiah Vareen’s Boundary House. That morning they had crossed Singleton Swash (near today’s Windy Hill Beach) at low tide and rolled along the hard-packed sand of what is now Myrtle Beach for sixteen miles. Five miles along (about where Myrtle Beach State Park is located today) they had eaten their midday meal with rice planter George Pauley III, who had fought in the Revolution. From there they had continued on south along the beach, then followed the King’s Highway through thick forest when it turned inland to avoid marshes. Now they were unsure as to where they would spend their next night.

  Dr. Flagg graciously invited the President and his entourage to stay at Brookgreen. They accepted gratefully and followed Dr. Flagg on down the sandy trail to Brookgreen Plantation. The fabulous coach, which President Washington called his “chariot,” was soon rolling through the Live Oak Allee up to the plantation mansion. A baggage wagon with additional servants and several saddle horses followed behind. There, by today’s Alligator Bender Pool, President Washington alighted to be greeted by Rachel Moore Allston Flagg, the Mistress of Brookgreen, and her children including “The Little General,” Washington Allston.

  It was in this way that President Washington spent his first night on the Waccamaw Neck at Brookgreen Plantation before heading on south to glorious celebrations at Clifford Plantation on the lower Waccamaw Neck, then to Georgetown, Charleston, and Savannah. No doubt, as she entertained the President at dinner, Rachel Flagg told him the story of Lord Cornwallis’ introduction to young Washington Allston.

  ~

  Gentleman Billy Allston had left Brookgreen Plantation to his eldest son, Benjamin (from his first marriage), and Springfield Plantation to his second son, Washington. Rachel and Henry Flagg continued to live at Brookgreen until the boys were old enough to manage the plantations themselves.

  Benjamin and Washington Allston reached adulthood and took over their plantations around the turn of the century. Each quickly disposed of his inheritance (again, another story; there are so many tales connected to Brookgreen Gardens). At that time Rachel and Henry Flagg left Brookgreen Plantation for the home near Charleston that Rachel’s father had willed to her, in spite of his threats of disinheritance. There, Rachel and Henry lived out their days enjoying each other’s company and that of their children and grandchildren. They were buried next to each other at Rachel’s childhood St. Thomas and St. Denis Parish Church, forever together.

  ~

  And so ends the story of the plucky Mistress of Brookgreen Plantation and the man she finally married for love: a romantic ending to a long and dramatic story, and to a long and dramatic life.

  Chapter 2. Don’t Tief!

  (A different perspective on property)

  Cousin Corrie occasionally recounted stories that old “Dr. Wardie,” beloved physician of Brookgreen Plantation (and a great-grandson of Rachel and Henry Flagg) had told her many years previously. This was a story Dr. Wardie had he
ard from his aunt, “Miss Bessie.” He, Cousin Corrie, and Miss Bessie all enjoyed the story because it revealed that high and mighty rice planters of olden times didn’t always have everything their own way.

  “In the Night”

  Although the rice harvest was bountiful that year in the mid-1800s on Brookgreen Plantation the plantation Overseer was troubled. The yield in rice didn’t seem to be as large as he had expected. The Overseer thought and thought about this and finally became convinced that someone was stealing rice from the barn where they stored it after threshing.

  But who could be taking the rice, and how? No one could steal rice during the day with so many people about, yet how could anyone get into the rice barn at night? It was locked carefully each evening and there were no signs of breakin.

  Suddenly the Overseer realized who locked the barn each evening! Devine, the head slave on the plantation, held the keys. Old stories began to recall themselves to the Overseer, stories about Devine stealing rice and selling it to buy liquor (and of how Devine had gotten caught but I won’t go into that right now).

  “So!” mused the Overseer to himself, “Devine is sneaking into the barn at night and stealing rice again! And he is probably bringing other slaves with him because a lot of rice seemed to be missing. Now how can I catch Devine and his accomplices in their act of thievery?”

  The Overseer thought, and thought some more, and finally devised a plan. He would hide in the rice barn at night and surprise Devine when he and the others came in to steal rice. And he would put his plan into effect that very evening!

  After the day’s work was completed the workers all went home to the Street, as the community of slave cabins was called. The Overseer also went home to his cottage near the Street but after dark he crept back to the rice barn, which was located where the Dogwood Garden stands today at Brookgreen Gardens, just behind us here in the Museum. The Overseer looked around stealthily but all was still. He unlocked the door, slipped into the barn, and carefully relocked the door from the inside.