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To Ms. Carol Hardy Bryan:
You asked for the names of victims of the SC Tory Militia Major William Cunningham (Bloody Bill) who massacred the members of Captain Sterling Turner's Company of SC mounted militia at Carter's House, near Cloud's Creek on 17 November 1781. My 4xGreat Grandfather, Peter Foy, was among those victims.
Peter FOY (1745-1781) served for 70 days, very late during the American Revolution, after Cornwallis had surrendered at Yorktown VA, but before the British withdrew from Charleston SC. His service occurred during the 182 day period between 1 September 1781 and 1 March 1782) as a Private in Captain Sterling Turner’s Company (also commanded by Captain William Butler) of mounted SC Militia and Peter Foy was killed by a notorious Tory, “Bloody Bill” Cunningham, at the Battle of (or Massacre at) Carter’s House, Lexington, SC. This incident was also called the Cloud's Creek Massacre. Sterling Turner served as a Lieutenant and Captain in a “Company of Volunteers on Horseback” and also was slain (together with Captain Butler) by Cunningham in Lexington County, SC, in this 17 November 1781 incident.
Sources: a.) Simms, p. 1846; A.A. 2532; U605; b.) Annuitants’ Claims. Cited in Bobby Gilmer Moss, Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution; Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1983, p. 329, 943. c.) Yearbook, 1893; Simms, September 1846; (Corley, Abner, S21707), A.A. 7962, U69.) Also cited in Moss, Roster, p.943.
1. Date of Birth: Florence Foy Strang, reflecting the tradition of the FOY families of Eufaula, AL, has written that her ancestor, Peter Foy, was born in 1745. It is not clear whether this tradition was based on Family Bible records. Sources:
a.) "A Brief History of the Foy Family in America [Eufaula Branch]," 3pp, Undated, printed by hand and apparently mimeographed, and not attributed to any author, but probably originated with the Eufaula Clan, perhaps circa 1960-70.
b.) An untitled chart, attributed to "Florence Foy Strang 1971", Line & Block, Typed, Descendant Chart, 2pp.
c.) The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Volume 163, page 182
Mrs. Martha May O'Hara Reppard.
DAR ID Number: 162604
Born in Woodbury, Ga.
Wife of Aaron Henry Reppard.
Descendant of Peter Foy, as follows:
1. Allen Bartholomew O'Hara (1854-87) m. 1884 Cornelia Revill (b. 1864).
2. Frederick Johnson O'Hara (1809-85) m. 1841 Martha Johnson (1825-92).
3. William O'Hara (1750-1810) m. 1794 Rebecca Louisa Foy (1776-1854).
4. Peter Foy m. 1769 Hamital Moore (b. 1750).
Peter Foy (1745-82) served as private in Capt. William Butler's company,
South Carolina Line. He was born in Wilmington, N. C.; died in S.C.
Also No. 93963.
2. Place of Birth: Peter FOY may have been born in Maryland (although there are some reports he was born in Wilmington, NC). A birthdate of 1745 for Peter FOY would have preceded by 3-4 years the 1748 sale by Thomas & Rebecca FOY of their Maryland property in Baltimore County, “Tracey’s Park,” and their subsequent movement, circa 1749, to Craven County, NC, where they settled on the Trent River at Rocky Run, near New Bern. Thomas FOY operated an Inn in Craven Co. from 1754 to his death in 1761. His son John continued operating this Inn as late as 1777. However, it has not been conclusively established that Peter FOY was the son of this MA-NC couple.
The following DAR Application (ca 1900) reports that Peter FOY was born in Wilmington, NC.
The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Volume 163, page 182
Mrs. Martha May O'Hara Reppard. DAR ID Number: 162604
Born in Woodbury, Ga. Wife of Aaron Henry Reppard.
Descendant of Peter Foy, as follows:
1. Allen Bartholomew O'Hara (1854-87) m. 1884 Cornelia Revill (b. 1864).
2. Frederick Johnson O'Hara (1809-85) m. 1841 Martha Johnson (1825-92).
3. William O'Hara (1750-1810) m. 1794 Rebecca Louisa Foy (1776-1854).
4. Peter Foy m. 1769 Hamital Moore (b. 1750).
Peter Foy (1745-82) served as private in Capt. William Butler's company,
South Carolina Line. He was born in Wilmington, N. C.; died in South Carolina.
See also DAR No. 93963.
3. Marriage: Peter FOY is reported (source?) to have married Hamutal MOORE in Wilmington, NC, in 1769. Their eldest child and first son, James Edgar FOY, was born a year later, in 1770.
4. Land Grants: a.) Peter Foy received a Royal Land Grant on 31 October 1769 from George III for 100 Acres in what was then Colleton County, SC, “bounded on all sides by vacant land.”
Source: Edgefield County, S.C., Abstracts of Deed Books. Volume One (1786-1796), page 152. Abstracted by Ge Lee Corley Hendrix, 1985, Easley SC, Southern Historical Press.
b.) From the State of SC, Edgefield District, Deed Book 25 (1804-1805), page 300, there is a Deed of James FOY to his younger brother William FOY which reads: "Know All Men By These Presents, that I, James FOY, eldest son and heir at law to the Estate of Peter Foy, deceased of the District of Edgefield and State of South Carolina for the love and affection of which I have and bear for my brother William Foy of the same state and district have granted and given to the said William Foy all that plantation and tract of land situate in the district of Edgefield upon Red Bank Creek waters of the Saluda River. Originally surveyed and possessed by the said Peter Foy, deceased, many years ago previous to the war between Britain and America the said fifty acres . . .” Given under my hand and seal this 19th day of March 1805. James Foy (seal). (Witnessed by:) Henry Pope, John Harvy. Recorded: 25th March 1805.
c.) That Peter FOY also held additional lands is attested by documents associated with Hamutal’s relinquishment of her dower rights in 1805. (From Edgefield Co., SC, Deed Book 25, p. 286): “Hamutal Wilson to James Foy. Dower, 19 March 1805, Justice John Pope certifies relinquishment of dower by Hamutal Wilson formerly the wife of Peter Foy, releases unto James Foy her son and eldest son of Peter Foy deceased all her interest and also all claim of dower in one hundred acres granted to said Peter Foy 4 March 1772, also a trace [tract?] of 150 acres granted to said Peter Foy on 4 March 1772, also one hundred acres granted to said Peter Foy on 3 October 1769; 19 March 1805; [signed]/s/Hamutal Wilson. Recorded 25 March 1805. Carol Wells, abstractor, Edgefield County, South Carolina: Deed Books 23, 24, 25, 26. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1998.
4. Location of Foy Plantation: Peter Foy’s 1769 land grant was for 100 acres in what was then extreme northwestern Colleton County, SC. Today these lands lie two miles to the southwest of the town of Saluda, the Seat of Saluda County, SC. According to an 1817 map of what was then Edgefield, SC the Foy Plantation was located on the Little Saluda River, between Red Bank Creek and Pen Creek. Pen Creek (or Penn Creek) flows into Redbank Creek about two miles southwest of the Town of Saluda. Redbank Creek flows further to the East (below the Town of Saluda) and then northeast into what is today Lake Murray. Before the creation of this large artificial lake, the Little Saluda flowed further east before joining the Saluda River.
5. Census:
Peter FOY is listed in the year 1779 in 96 District in the “SC Early Census Index”
FOY, Peter 1779, Old 96th District SC No Township Listed
The Old "Ninety-Six" District of South Carolina was created (original) in 1769 and was abolished in 1798. (The 96th Dist. from 1785 to 1798 consisted of present day Union Co.) It consisted of (present-day) Abbeville Co. (formed 1785)
Part of Abbeville Co. to Greenwood Co. (formed 1897)
Part of Abbeville Co. to McCormick Co. (formed 1916)
Edgefield Co. (formed 1785)
Part of Edgefield to Aiken Co. (formed 1871)
Part of Edgefield to Greenwood Co. (formed 1897)
Part of Edgefield to Saluda Co. (formed 1896)
Laurens Co. (formed 1785)
Newberry Co. (formed 1785)
Spartanburg Co. (formed 1785)
Part of Spartbg. Co. to Cherokee Co. (formed 1897)
Union Co. (formed 1798)
Part of Union. Co. to Cherokee Co. (formed 1897)
6. Revolutionary Service: Peter Foy served (for 70 days, during the 182 day period between 1 September 1781 and 1 March 1782) as a Private in Captain Sterling Turner’s Company (also commanded by Captain William Butler) of mounted SC Militia and was killed by a notorious Tory “Bloody Bill” Cunningham at the Battle of Carter’s House, Lexington, SC. Sterling Turner served as a Lieutenant and Captain in a “Company of Volunteers on Horseback” and also was slain by Cunningham in Lexington County, SC, in 1781. Sources: a.) Simms, p. 1846; A.A. 2532; U605; b.) Annuitants’ Claims. Cited in Bobby Gilmer Moss, Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution; Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1983, p. 329, 943. c.) Yearbook, 1893; Simms, September 1846; (Corley, Abner, S21707), A.A. 7962, U69.)
Also cited in Moss, Roster, p.943.
7. The Battle at Carters House: This massacre occurred on November 17, 1781 and is variously known as the ”Battle of Clouds Creek” (also known as the Battle of Carter’s House, Carter’s Old Field, Turner House Massacre, Big Lick, Lick Creek). A small group of patriot militia about 30 in number were overwhelmed and slaughtered by a force of 300 loyalist militia led by Col. William “Bloody Bill” Cunningham. Only 2 patriot militiamen managed to escape.” Source: “The following is a listing of engagements that took place in South Carolina during the Revolutionary War.” Website: http://www.2ndsc.org/regiment1775.html
Account of the Massacre at Cloud’s Creek, South Carolina, 17 November 1781
Source: http://gaz.jrshelby.com/cloudscreek.htm
"After letting Colonel Williams and his Loyalists leave Edgefield County Captain Stirling Turner camped at Clouds Creek. There had been a hard rain and all of the men were soaked. It was so wet that their guns were no longer able to fire.
Turner had gone to the house of a Mr. Carter and had asked for food and a dry place to put their guns in order. Captain James Butler, Sr. advised Turner against stopping until they returned home. One of Butler’s lieutenants suggested that they go to "some secret place in the forest or swamp", but Turner went against that advice.
Major "Bloody Bill" Cunningham’s main force discovered where Turner’s force was and he struck Carter’s house at daylight. The Patriots returned fire from the log cabin, and sent out a messenger to ask for terms of surrender. Cunningham asked for the names of the men in the cabin. When Cunningham discovered that James Butler, Jr. was in the house, he thought it was the same Butler who had killed Captain Radcliffe. The other James Butler was also the father of William Butler, who had killed Sergeant MacAllister in Augusta in 1779. Cunningham refused to grant any terms that would exempt Butler from execution.
Captain James Butler, Sr. offered his own life for his son’s, but James Butler, Jr. ended all discussion by firing his rifle out of the cabin and killing a Tory. A short fight ensued and James Butler, Jr. was killed.
The Patriot militia saw that there was no hope of victory and surrendered, hoping for mercy. Cunningham did not show any, and he put the sword to Butler, Turner, and all but two men, Benjamin Hughes and Bartlett Bledsoe. Butler’s body was cut up so badly that his wife was only able to identify him by the bible in his pocket. She put the parts of his body into a basket and then carried him off to be buried.
Benjamin Hughes had been able to escape when Carter’s cattle became frightenend and stampeded. Hughes hid under some drift wood that had caught against a pine log across a creek. When the Tories searched the creek they jabbed their bayonets into the drift wood, but Hughes was not touched.
Bledsoe had come out of Carter’s house hugging onto Benjamin Rabun. Each man had his arms around the other’s neck. Cunningham asked their names, but neither would tell. Rabun’s skull was split in two by a saber, and he died with his arms around Bledsoe’s neck. Bledsoe was not killed, but it was said that he was never in his right mind afterwards.
After the massacre at Cloud’s Creek Cunningham's men stopped at Towles Blacksmith shop to shod their horses. When Oliver Towles had finished the job Cunningham’s men killed him, his son and a Negro boy, then set fire to all the buildings as they left."
8. Gravesite: Peter Foy was buried in a mass grave, a trench near Leesville, SC, marked by two monuments on property (ca 1955) of Mrs. James Barr. Monument reads: "Captain James Butler, Revolutionary Hero, Born 1738, Massacred by Bloody Bill Cunningham's Tories in battle at Clouds Creek, 1782." Older marker reads: "Captain James Butler & James Butler, Jr., who died in defense of their country, 1782." These two monument dates of “1782” appear to be inaccurate, as the Battle of Cloud’s Creek (alsio known as the Cloud Creek Massacre, Turner’s House Massacre, and as the Battle at Carter’s House or Carter’s Old Field) occurred on 17 November 1781. Leesville, SC, is located in the western tip of Lexington County, just east of Batesburg, where SC Route 245 crosses US Route 1.
Historic Markers Across South Carolina
Battle of Cloud's Creek
Marker ID:
SC Highway Marker 32-4
Location:
on SC 391 above Leesville near
Saluda-Lexington county line
County:
Lexington
Coordinates:
Style:
Free Standing **
Text:
On November 17, 1781, in a house near Cloud's Creek one mile east Captain Sterling Turner's Patriot militia were surrounded and massacred by Tory militia under Major William Cunningham. Among the more than twenty dead were Captain James Butler and his son, James, who were buried with the others at the site, and whose graves have been marked there.
Erected by Lexington County Historical Society - 1964
End of Battle of Cloud's Creek
9. Pension: After Peter FOY’s death, his wife Hamutal FOY received a Widow’s Pension of 8 Pounds and 15 Shillings per year.
“paid Hamutel Foy, widow of Peter, killed at the Battle at Carter’s House, 1 year’s annuity, 8.15.”
Source: “Compensation for Revolutionary Service,” The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research; SCMAR, Volume I; No 2, Spring, 1973, p 64.
In 1787 Hamutel FOY received approximately twice this amount, perhaps a double payment for two years.
“1787 [line 24] paid Hamutel Foy, wid: of Peter for self & 6 child'n, 17 [Pounds].
The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research; SCMAR, Volume I; No 3, Summer, 1973
Compensation for Revolutionary Service (Continued from p.70.) SCMAR, Vol. I, Summer 1973, No. 3, p.158
See also: U.S. House of Representatives. Digested Summary and Alphabetical List of Private Claims Which Have Been Presented to the House of Representatives, Vol. I. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1853. 29th Congress, 2nd Session, p 49. (Petition by daughter of Peter FOY was referred to Committee on Revolutionary Pensions).
10. Land Transactions referencing Peter Foy:
a. Series: S213184 Volume - 0011 Page - 00061 Item - 02
Date: 1769/09/11
Description: FOY, PETER, PLAT FOR 150 ACRES IN GRANVILLE COUNTY.
View Details - Record: 2 of 15 records
b. Series: S111001 Volume - 0010 Page - 00017 Item - 04
Date: 1769/10/08
Description: FOY, PETER, MEMORIAL FOR 100 ACRES ON RED BANK CREEK, COLLETON COUNTY.
View Details - Record: 3 of 15 records
c. Series: S213019 Volume - 0019 Page - 00024 Item - 00
Date: 1769/10/31
Description: FOY, PETER, LAND GRANT FOR 150 ACRES IN GRANVILLE COUNTY.
View Details - Record: 4 of 15 records
d. Series: S213019 Volume - 0019 Page - 00037 Item - 00
Date: 1769/10/31
Description: FOY, PETER, LAND GRANT FOR 100 ACRES IN COLLETON COUNTY.
View Details - Record: 5 of 15 records
e. Series: S111001 Volume - 0010 Page - 00017 Item - 03
Date: 1769/12/08
Description: FOY, PETER, MEMORIAL FOR 150 ACRES ON SALUDY RIVER, GRANVILLE COUNTY.
View Details - Record: 6 of 15 records
f. Series: S213184 Volume - 0019 Page - 00530 Item - 03
Date: 1770/10/08
Description: SMITH, JACOB, PLAT FOR 150 ACRES IN COLLETON COUNTY.
View Details - Record: 7 of 15 records
g. Series: S213184 Volume - 0015 Page - 00205 Item - 02
Date: 1772/03/04
Description: FOY, PETER, PLAT FOR 100 ACRES IN COLLETON COUNTY.
View Details - Record: 8 of 15 records
h. Series: S111001 Volume - 0011 Page - 00223 Item - 04
Date: 1772/05/07
Description: SMITH, JACOB, MEMORIAL FOR 150 ACRES ON RED BANK CREEK, COLLETON COUNTY.
View Details - Record: 9 of 15 records
i. Series: S213019 Volume - 0026 Page - 00207 Item - 00
Date: 1772/07/03
Description: FOY, PETER, LAND GRANT FOR 100 ACRES IN COLLETON COUNTY.
View Details - Record: 10 of 15 records
j. Series: S213184 Volume - 0021 Page - 00043 Item - 01
Date: 1772/07/14
Description: SPANN, JOHN, PLAT FOR 350 ACRES IN COLLETON COUNTY.
View Details - Record: 11 of 15 records
k. Series: S111001 Volume - 0011 Page - 00397 Item - 05
Date: 1772/09/07
Description: FOY, PETER, MEMORIAL FOR 100 ACRES ON LITTLE SALUDY, COLLETON COUNTY.
View Details - Record: 12 of 15 records
l. Series: S213184 Volume - 0019 Page - 00059 Item - 00
Date: 1773/03/03
Description: PARSONS, JAMES, PLAT FOR 1,000 ACRES IN COLLETON COUNTY.
View Details - Record: 13 of 15 records
m. Series: S111001 Volume - 0012 Page - 00428 Item - 03
Date: 1773/09/18
Description: PARSONS, JAMES, MEMORIAL FOR FOUR TRACTS, ONE FOR 500 ACRES ON STEVENS CREEK, GRANVILLE COUNTY, ONE FOR 500 ACRES ON SAVANNAH RIVER, ONE FOR 1,000 ACRES ON LITTLE SALUDY RIVER, COLLETON COUNTY, AND ONE FOR 1,000 ACRES ON LITTLE SALUDY RIVER, NINETY SIX DISTRICT.
View Details - Record: 14 of 15 records
n. Series: S108092 Reel - 0048 Frame - 00165 ignore - 00
Date: 1776 C. OR LATER
Description: FOY, PETER, ACCOUNT AUDITED (FILE NO. 2532) OF CLAIMS GROWING OUT OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
View Details - Record: 15 of 15 records
o. Series: S213212 Volume - 0001 Page - 00023 Item - 030
Date: 1786/11/07
Description: BROWN, DANIEL, PLAT FOR 500 ACRES ON RED BANK CREEK, NINETY SIX DISTRICT, SURVEYED BY JOHN ABNEY FOR JOHN ABNEY.
100 acres
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