ELIZA LUCAS PINCKNEY CHAPTER, NSDAR
July 2019 Newsletter
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Greetings Ladies,
Although we are on our Summer break from meetings, ELP is moving full steam ahead. We have some splendid plans and programs in store for the upcoming term!
Our new Committee Chairs will be announced in our August newsletter. Six of your Officers will represent the Chapter at our District Meeting on August 3. Members will also attend Fall Forum, which promises to be informative. There is still time to book your reservations, if you would like to attend!
Fingers crossed, our new chapter website will be up and running shortly. In the meantime, please feel free to join the DAR Eliza Lucas Pinckney Chapter Member's Only Facebook page, if you haven't done so already.
Many thanks to everyone who donated to the VAMC's Christmas in July and to Service to Veterans Chairs Faye Dandridge and Trish Francis for spearheading the effort.
Take Care,
Jill
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 ELP UPCOMING DATES
1. Pay your Dues Online- See email from Brandi Rutledge, Treasurer
2. Register for SCDAR Fall Forum- August 23 & 24
3. Eliza Lucas Pinckney NSDAR Meeting, Old Exchange Building
Sunday, September 8, 2019, 2:00 PM
4. Subscribe to American Spirit Magazine if you do not have a Subscription or it has expired.
5. Report your Service to America Hours. Any questions, email Nancy Davidonis - Davidonis@comcast.net
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 SCDAR AT CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
We were well supported at Continental Congress and we thank the delegates from our Eliza Lucas Pinckney Chapter that went to Washington for the 128th Continental Congress. Our Honorary Regent, Melissa Levesque, our SCDAR Corresponding Secretary, Pat Sayko, and our Registrar, Ivy Blake represented us and you can read about Continental Congress in the SCDAR Newsletter and www. DAR.org. It is very exciting to be a part of DAR with the election of a new President General, Denise Doring VanBuren and her Board. She has worked tirelessly for NSDAR for many years and we will want to RISE AND SHINE for America to support her. Please find Mrs. VanBuren's email to the membership as follows:
 “There are no words that could adequately express my gratitude for your support of, and confidence in, the team you elected to National Office at the 128th Continental Congress. THANK YOU. We are so excited about our future!
Now, let’s get down to work!
Rise & Shine for America Webinar
We have put together a webinar to introduce you to the VanBuren Administration and share our goals and objectives for the next three years. You can view the webinar at your convenience here.
The Next Act
One of the important administration goals discussed in the webinar will be completing the final phase of restoration of DAR Constitution Hall – it is a huge undertaking – at $4.5 million. Phase III will address every facet of the interior of the Hall, from the seats to the ceilings. You can learn more about “The Next Act” and how you can become involved here: www.dar.org/TheNextAct.
Keep Current
I encourage you to keep current on the latest developments in our Society. The easiest way to do this is to subscribe to the Today’s DAR Blog here to receive each blog post via email. Also be sure to subscribe to the award-winning DAR magazine, American Spirit, and you will receive the companion publication, Daughtersnewsletter, which overflows with information about our Society. All of these will help you be an informed and active member.
New Facebook Page
I am excited to announce today that we have started a DAR President General Facebook page! You can like and follow it here: www.facebook.com/DARPresidentGeneral. On this Facebook page, I will share member-related information and snapshots from my travels and day-to-day adventures. I hope you will follow me!
Visit the DAR Members’ Website to learn more about the exciting highlights we have planned for our term in office. Our team is grateful for the opportunity to shape our DAR work in the years ahead. But we can’t achieve anything without YOU. So, think big, think bold and help us bring our beloved Society to dazzling new heights of achievement.
As your 45th President General, I look forward to working with you in meaningful service, as we honor the spirit of our Revolutionary ancestors!
Let us together, Rise and Shine for America!
Denise Doring VanBuren
President General
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SCDAR FALL FORUM 2019
Hi Ladies,
Information and Registration Forms are now available for the SCDAR Fall Forum, which will be held in Columbia on August 23-24. Please take a moment to read the following announcement from our State Regent, Libby Billham.
Please note that some changes have been made to seating for groups. It's always fun for our ELP Ladies to sit en masse (we usually have one of the largest groups!), so please let me know if you plan on attending, so we can arrange accordingly.
Fall Forum is really informative, a great way to see how the State Society works and an opportunity to meet Daughters from across SC.
Links to Schedule and Registration Forms:
SCDAR Fall Forum 2019 Schedule
SCDAR Fall Forum 2019 Individual Registration Form
SCDAR Fall Forum Page Registration |
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 ELIZA LUCAS PINCKNEY TREASURER
Many Thanks to Brandi Rutledge for sending the email with the Dues Information. You are able to pay by check or online and the invoice and instructions are included. Check your email and pay your dues! Please contact Brandi with any questions: ELPTreasurer@gmail.com
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 AMERICAN SPIRIT MAGAZINE |
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What does it mean to subscribe to the American Spirit Magazine? It means supporting our DAR. It means caring enough to want to increase our overall subscription rate as a chapter. When we support our chapter, we are supporting our SCDAR and our State Regent Libby Billham and she is working so hard for us! Here is something to think about. In 1923 the goal was to have 25,000 subscriptions and here we are now close to one hundred years later and we need to be at 50,000 to sustain the magazine. Let us be the momentum to have a goal for 100%! Subscribe for yourself, give a gift, and earn the American Spirit pin. We are a TRAILBLAZER CHAPTER and we are being applauded by National for all that we do! Be a Supporter and Subscriber to the American Spirit Magazine, Claudia Farmer, Claudiapfarmer@gmail.com, Magazine Committee Chair
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TAMASSEE DAR SCHOOL- TRACY KRAL & LANE BECKEN
Please collect Boxtops for Education (not Campbell soup labels) as well as:
1) Coke product codes (bottle tops and 12 pack boxes); Tracy will enter the codes into MyCokeRewards to benefit the schools.
2) Keep a tally of your donations made through AmazonSmile.com from now through April. They will only show your total donation amount, not by year or month, so it’s important to write down how much it is now verses the end of next April for our records.
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SERVICE TO AMERICA
In Service to America – Rise & Shine
Ladies, the President General has issued a challenge to the membership. Her wish is that the membership contribute 10 million hours of community service. These hours count only if we post them to the web page. So, for the rest of the summer keep track of your volunteer work as I will be asking for hours, how to record, etc. later on. What counts? Unpaid labor in general – volunteer swim teacher, day camp counselor, vacation Bible school, nursing home service, veteran services, etc. Stay Cool and Stay Safe,
Nancy Davidonis
Service to America Chair, ELP
davidsonis@comcast.net
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| ELP Juniors |
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Cara Schacter - 2018 Outstanding Junior
On May 25, Cara Schacter graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Sciences and Arts Degree in Biology with Highest Honors (summa cum laude). Starting in August, Cara will be attending the University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio. Hook em horns! We have outstanding Juniors!
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ELP NEWSLETTER - Claudia Farmer
Our Regent, Jill Templeton has been hard at work placing the pillars that will support our chapter to continue the great leadership and work that has been in place. As we all know the success of any “family” unit is communication and I need for you to send me information that you wish to share. It can be an announcement for your committee, other DAR activities around the state or country that you would like our chapter support, and in general related to the American Revolution supporting God, Home and Country. In addition, we need to read the newsletters, emails and any communication that is sent to you! In our future newsletters we will be introducing our new members and highlighting our members to learn more about each other. I have added the history about Carolina Day and each month I hope to highlight a battle or something of importance in relation with South Carolina and the American Revolution. If you have been to a SC Battleground recently, do not hesitate to share with me to publish in the newsletter. This is your newsletter and the more we share, the more we know and enjoy our work and play together. During our regular meeting schedule, the deadline for submitting information is the last Sunday of each month. The information must be sent to me in a Word document and include your name, email, committee and any other information that is relevant to identifying the subject matter. If there is a change to our meeting date due to a holiday, I will let you know the new deadline date. Due to the remainder of our summer break, our next newsletter deadline date will be August 1, 2019. Enjoy the last days of summer! Send information to - Claudiapfarmer@gmail.com.
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Remembering our South Carolina Patriots on Carolina Day!
Carolina Day was celebrated in Charleston on June 28, 2019. Many participated in the parade, attended the service at St. Michaels; however, many do not know the history. Here is a great article written by the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust for all history lovers.
On June 8, General Charles Lee arrived in Charles Town to assume command of all American forces. He was unimpressed with the Sullivan’s Island fort. With no line of retreat for Moultrie and his men, Lee felt that the fort was nothing more than “a slaughter pen.” He proposed to withdraw Moultrie and abandon the fort. John Rutledge, president of the Republic of South Carolina, disagreed and ordered Moultrie to stay. In early June, there were 1,200 troops on Sullivan’s Island. Lee reduced the fort’s garrison to 600 men, stating that the “fort could not hold out half an hour, and that platform was a slaughtering stage.”
Only the southeastern and southwestern walls of the fort were finished when the British fleet arrived in June 1776. The northern walls were unfinished with palmetto walls only installed to a height of seven feet. The fort was armed with an assortment of thirty-one guns ranging from 9-pounders to as large as French 26-pounders.
Lee strategically positioned troops and guns around the Charles Town region. On June 15, Brigadier General John Armstrong of Pennsylvania was established as commander of all American troops in Christ Church Parish. He spread 1,500 men, including troops from Virginia, North Carolina, the 5th& 6thSouth Carolina Infantry, and the militia artillery, across a four mile line from the Haddrell’s Point Fascine Battery along the shoreline facing Sullivan’s Island for the defense of the mainland. Armstrong’s headquarters was established at the Haddrell’s Point Battery.
There were several small redoubts constructed along the shoreline of the mainland including a square redoubt at a boat landing along the inland waterway. Lt. Colonel Thomas Sumter and the 6thSouth Carolina Regiment with the militia artillery were stationed there as reinforcements during the June 1776 attack on Fort Sullivan. The earthen redoubt, just more than two miles northeast of Haddrell’s Point, was armed with two 12-pounders, capable of defending the Sullivan’s Island Narrows Creek.
Colonel William “Danger” Thompson was assigned to command American troops at the east end of Sullivan’s Island overlooking Breach Inlet. His troops consisted of three hundred rangers from the 3rdSouth Carolina Regiment, two hundred North Carolina Continentals commanded by Colonel Clark, two hundred militia commanded by Captain Horry, and fifty riflemen with the Raccoon Company. Thompson was provided an 18-pounder and a brass 6-pounder to keep British troops at bay.
Thompson’s job was to keep any British troops that might land on Long Island (Isle of Palms) from crossing over Breach Inlet to reach Sullivan’s Island. As feared, British scout boats were spotted on June 1 looking for possible landing points on Long Island. On June 8, Sir Henry Clinton began landing 2,200 British troops on the island. Clinton’s plan, based on intel he received, was to wade across Breach Inlet and cross to Sullivan’s Island, attacking Fort Sullivan from the rear. Clinton was surprised to find that the inlet was much deeper than the waist-high depth he was told to expect. In fact, the depth, even at low tide, was chest high and the current was swift. With the Americans entrenched on the end of Sullivan’s Island, he could not move troops through the inlet without severe loss. Trying to ferry the troops in small boats was not any more practical.
While the unfinished fort on Sullivan’s Island was intended for a garrison of 1,000 men, Moultrie only had 344 officers and men from the 2nd South Carolina Regiment and twenty men from the 4th South Carolina Artillery. Colonel William Moultrie served as commander with Lt. Col. Isaac Motte commanding the right flank and Major Francis Marion commanding the left. The attacking British fleet, commanded by Sir Peter Parker, was composed on nine man-of-war ships with a total of nearly 300 guns. At 9:00 am on June 28, the British fired a signal shot for the battle to begin. Four of the British man-of-war anchored just 400 yards from the fort firing broadsides. The British ships unleashed a fearsome barrage of shot, but they had little to no effect, either bouncing off the palmetto log walls or burying in the sand. David Ramsey, historian and field surgeon with the South Carolina militia, wrote about the curious palmetto trees:
This is a tree peculiar to the southern states, which grows from twenty to forty feet high without branches, and then terminates in something resembling the head of a cabbage. The wood of it is remarkably spongy. A bullet entering it makes no extended fracture, but buries itself without injuring the parts adjacent.
The citizens in Charles Town assembled along the Battery and on the rooftops of homes to watch the fierce battle. With only a tenth as many guns and a shortage of gunpowder, Moultrie’s men fired in volleys of four guns at a time. One British engineer reported, “Their fire was surprisingly well served” and was “slow, but decisive indeed; they were very cool and took care not to fire except their guns were exceedingly well directed.”
Three British ships attempted to maneuver around the western end of the island to enfilade the fort and cover any escape route. However, all three ships were grounded in the process. Moultrie had his men focus most of their shots on the two largest of the British ships, HMS Bristol and HMS Experiment. The American fired “chain shot,” which was most effective of ripping away to rigging and damaging the masts. In the battle, Parker was wounded and his britches literally shot away. A Philadelphia newspaper account would later write that Parker had “his arse shot off.”
Knowing that Moultrie was running short of powder and shot, Rutledge sent five hundred pounds of powder from Charles Town. These supplies allowed Moultrie’s men to keep up their fire until dark. Parker broke off the attack at dark. In the twelve hour battle, British casualties were more than 220, while American casualties were only 37. Rutledge presented his sword to Sergeant Jasper for his gallant determination to keep the Liberty flag flying. The Battle of Fort Sullivan was the first significant American victory of the Revolutionary War. After the battle, the fort was renamed Fort Moultrie, in honor of its intrepid commander. Fort Sullivan was located on the beach just in front of present-day Fort Moultrie.
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PALMETTO SOCIETY: 
