Paintings

Patriot Commander

Painting: 1978

Born: July 27, 1742, Rhode Island

Died: June 19, 1786 Savannah, GA

Buried: Savannah, GA

October 17, 1780: Chosen by
General George Washington to
command the Southern Department.

December 3, 1780: Assumed
command.

At Ninety Six:

May 22- June 19, 1781

Greene said, "Ninety Six must fall."

38 years old

May 21-22: After conferring with Kosciuszko, Greene
decided to set siege to the Loyalist held Star Fort.
Greene commanded about 1,624 troops at Ninety Six.

June 3: Asked Loyalist commander John Harris
Cruger to surrender. Cruger refused.

June 6: Learned that British reinforcements were
headed for Ninety Six.

June 18: Directed assault on the Star Fort. Allowed
the assault because his men wanted to at least try to
take the Fort.

June 19: Prepared Patriot Army to withdraw from
Ninety Six.

June 20: Left Ninety Six to the Loyalists.

At Ninety Six:

43 years old

Early August 1780: Became Loyalist commander
at Ninety Six.

Fall 1780: Fortified Town & Stockade.

December 1780- Early 1781: Had Star Fort built.

May 22- June 19, 1781:

Commander of about 550 Loyalists from New
York, New Jersey, & South Carolina.

June 3: Refused to surrender to Greene.

June 13: Learned that British reinforcements were
coming.

June 21- Early July 1781: Burned town of Ninety
Six, destroyed supplies, and then left Ninety Six to
the backcountry Patriots.

Patriot Military Engineer

Painting: 1980

Born: February 12, 1746, Poland

Died: October 15, 1817, Switzerland

Full Name: Tadeusz Andrezej

Bonawentura Kosciuszko

Pronounced: Kos-Choos-ko

At Ninety Six:

May 22- June 19, 1781

35 years old

May 22: Convinced Patriot General Greene
to set siege to the Loyalist held Star Fort.
Kosciuszko reasoned that when the Star Fort
fell so would the Loyalist held town and
Stockade Fort.

May 22-23: Night. Directed a battery for
cannon to be dug starting at 70 yards from the
Star Fort, but workers were attacked by
Loyalists.

May 23-24: Night. Directed trenches to be
dug starting at 300 yards from the Star Fort.

June 4: Directed Maham Tower to be
built, 30 feet high and 30 yards from the Star
Fort.

June 9-10: Night. Loyalists attacked the
Patriot trenches & Kosciuszko was wounded
in "his seat of honor."

June 20: Left Ninety Six with General
Greene.

Painting depicts Kosciuszko with the
Maham Tower, siege trenches, map
of the Star Fort, and sextant used in
mapping. There are towns in
Mississippi & Texas, and a county in
Indiana named for Colonel
Kosciuszko.

There are no recognized paintings of
Cruger. This painting was done from
paintings and pictures of Cruger's
known relatives.

Cruger's red coat signifies his
allegiance to the British/ Loyalist
side of the Revolutionary War.

Cavalry Leader

Painting: 1980

Born: January 29, 1756, VA

Died: March 25, 1818 Cumberland
Island, GA on way back to VA

Buried: Buried 1st at Cumberland
Island, GA--1913 was moved to
Washington & Lee University, VA

Nickname: Thus named in 1779 for
his speed, horsemanship, and daring
rides against the British.

At Ninety Six:

May 22- June 19, 1781

25 years old

June 8: Arrived from a battle at Augusta, GA.
Advised Greene to attack Stockade & not the Star.
He was adamantly against Kosciuszko's plans.
Greene allowed Lee to try to attack the Stockade
Fort

June 8-10: Helped Pickens in directing men to
dig zigzag trench 250 yards West of Stockade Fort.

June 12: Sent 10 men to set fire to abatis around
Stockade. Attack failed & 6 men were killed.

June 18: During attack on the Star Fort, Lee
sent men to attack the Stockade. After taking it,
Lee wanted to move to attack the town, but Greene
stopped him. Later Lee said, "His [Koscuiszko's]
blunder lost us Ninety Six."

Lee's Legion: Created 1779.
Reported to Greene in SC, January
13, 1781 with 100 horsemen & 180
infantry soldiers. Uniforms are
similar to British Cavalrymen under
Banastre Tarleton.

Militia Leader

Painting: 1977

Born: September 13, 1739 Paxtang
Twp (now in Dauphin County) PA

Died: August 11 or 17, 1817 SC

Buried: Pendleton, SC at the Old
Stone Church

Nicknames: "The Fighting Elder"
because of deep Presbyterian faith

"The Border Wizard Owl"
(SkyAgunsta) Cherokee Indians
called him.

At Ninety Six:

1st Battle- (November 19-22, 1775):

36 years old

Militia Captain

Fought & attended Peace meeting

2nd Battle (May 22- June 19, 1781):

41 years old

Before Battle: Pickens' men captured British
courier in route to Cruger at Ninety Six. Letters
told Cruger to abandon Ninety Six and retreat to
the coast. Instead Cruger thought he was
supposed to hold at all costs.

June 8: Arrived from a battle at Augusta,
GA.

June 8-10: Directed soldiers to dig a zigzag
trench 250 yards West of the Stockade. Raised
an earthen battery & mounted a cannon.

June 11: Greene sent him to aid Thomas
Sumter against the British relief column.

June 18, 1781

Noon: A cannon shot signaled the start of the attack. 50 Patriots (Rebels) called the Forlorn Hope
(because of their dangerous mission) rushed forward from the 3rd parallel toward the Loyalist (loyal to
the British King) held Star Fort.

Patriots carried axes to cut down the abatis (sharpened felled trees to the right of the American
Flag) & fraise (pointed sticks around the Star). They also carried grappling hooks to tear down
sandbags at the top of the Star's walls. (Notice the Patriot near the center of the painting)

Patriots also fired from the 30 foot Maham Tower (at the very left of the painting).

As the Forlorn Hope rushed the Star Fort, 60 Loyalists attacked surrounding the Patriots in hand-
to-hand fighting.

Assault lasted 45 minutes before General Greene called it off.

Out of the 50 men of the Forlorn Hope, 30 were killed and never made it back to Patriot lines.

The Artist spent over 500 hours researching and working on the painting. The Artist himself
is the man with a gray beard and no coat at the bottom of the painting & his son is in the blue
Patriot coat defending his father against Loyalist attack.

Partisan & Militia Leader

Painting: 1980

Born: 1732 Berkley Co., SC

Died: Feb. 27, 1795 Pond Bluff, SC

Buried: Belle Isle, SC

Nickname: British cavalryman Banastre
Tarleton chased Marion for 26 miles & 7
hours & could not catch him. He
supposedly said, "Come, my boys! Let us
go back and we will find the Gamecock. As
for this d___d old fox, the devil himself
could not catch him!" Thus the nickname
"Swamp Fox" because Marion hid in the
swamps in the Low Country of South
Carolina to avoid British capture.

Ninety Six Related:

49 years old in 1781

Not at Ninety Six during either
battle.

1781: Fought British troops
around Charleston, SC with Thomas
Sumter ("The Gamecock"). This
delayed the British from coming to
Cruger's aid at Ninety Six.

Partisan (or guerilla): an unofficial
armed group of Patriot rebels who
harassed the enemy.

Notice the crescent moon on
Marion's cap engraved with the word
"LIBERTY."

It's a symbol of the SC militia.

The Artist:

Robert Windsor Wilson

Born in Ohio, 1921, he now resides in Woodruff, SC.

Air Force Veteran, World War II & Korea.

Self taught painter with 40 years experience. He began painting because of his interest in the
Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War.

These 7 paintings were commissioned by the Ninety Six Chamber of Commerce in the late 1970s &
early 1980s.