 | |
| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Robert Wells, John Wells |
| Founded | 1758 (as The South-Carolina Weekly Gazette) |
| Political alignment | Loyalist |
| Ceased publication | 1782 (as The Royal Gazette) |
| Headquarters | Charleston, South Carolina |
The South-Carolina and American General Gazette was an 18th-century newspaper published in colonial Charleston, South Carolina.
The paper was founded as The South-Carolina Weekly Gazette in 1758 by Robert Wells and G. Bruce, and changed names to The South-Carolina and American General Gazette in 1764. Aside from some periods of suspension during the American Revolutionary War, it published until February 1781. When Charleston and the paper fell under British control, it published under the title The Royal Gazette from March 1781 and into 1782. [1] [2] [3] Wells was a loyalist and left for England in 1775 once war seemed inevitable, and the paper was continued by his son John Wells. [4] [5]
The paper's competition was the South Carolina Gazette (founded 1732) and South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (founded 1765), all located in Charleston. [6] Wells' paper was the only one of the three to support the Stamp Act. [7] But it was also the only paper in the state to publish the entirety of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. An original copy of that publication (the August 2-14, 1776 issue) was sold at auction for $140,000 in 2000. [8]
When Wells' son John took over the paper in 1775, he moved its political stance to the cause of independence, but primarily as a business decision. He then switched back to a Loyalist view in July 1780. In January 1781, his brother William C. Wells came to town to assist, and to report that under British control, the paper now had received the royal printing business. The paper changed names to The Royal Gazette in March 1781. After the British loss at the Battle of Yorktown, John had to consider switching sides yet again, but decided to leave town with his brother when the British left in December 1782. This marked the end of the newspaper. William returned to England permanently, but John received permission to return to Charleston in 1792. [9]
Thomas Bee was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina.
James Lovell was an educator and statesman from Boston, Massachusetts. He was a delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1782. He was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation.
South Carolina was outraged over British tax policies in the 1760s that violated what they saw as their constitutional right to "no taxation without representation". Merchants joined the boycott against buying British products. When the London government harshly punished Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party, South Carolina's leaders joined eleven other colonies in forming the Continental Congress. When the British attacked Lexington and Concord in the spring of 1775 and were beaten back by the Massachusetts Patriots, South Carolina Patriots rallied to support the American Revolution. Loyalists and Patriots of the colony were split by nearly 50/50.
John Howe was a loyalist printer during the American Revolution, a printer and Postmaster in Halifax, a spy prior to the War of 1812, and the father of Joseph Howe a Magistrate of the Colony of Nova Scotia. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts Bay colony, the son of Joseph Howe, a tin plate worker of Puritan ancestry, and Rebeccah Hart.
The South Carolina Gazette (1732–1775) was South Carolina's first successful newspaper. The paper began in 1732 under Thomas Whitmarsh in Charlestown, but within two years Whitmarsh died of yellow fever. In 1734 another former printer with Benjamin Franklin, Lewis Timothy, revived the Gazette and ran it until his accidental death in December 1738. His widow Elizabeth then ran both the paper and the print shop until their son, Peter, was old enough to take over. Peter also worked with the colonial postal service and was appointed Deputy Postmaster-General of the Southern Provinces.
The 2d Virginia Regiment was authorized by the Virginia Convention, July 17, 1775, as a force of regular troops for the Commonwealth's defense. It consisted of seven companies, 476 privates and the usual regimental officers. William Woodford, of Caroline County, named colonel, along with Lieutenant Colonel Charles Scott and Major Alexander Spotswood were the regiment's initial field officers. Virginia had been divided into 16 military districts which took their names from the predominant county in the grouping; for instance, Prince William District included Fairfax and Loudoun Counties as well. Col. Gregory Smith 1777-78 Col Brent 1779
The 1st North Carolina Regiment of the Continental Army was raised on September 1, 1775, at Wilmington, North Carolina. In January 1776 the organization contained eight companies. Francis Nash was appointed colonel in April 1776. The regiment was present at the defense of Charleston in 1776. It transferred from the Southern Department to George Washington's main army in February 1777. At that time, Thomas Clark became colonel of the 1st Regiment. The regiment became part of General Francis Nash's North Carolina Brigade in July.
The 2nd North Carolina Regiment was an American infantry unit that was raised for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. In 1776 the regiment helped defend Charleston, South Carolina. Ordered to join George Washington's main army in February 1777, the regiment subsequently fought at Brandywine and Germantown during the Philadelphia Campaign. After most other North Carolina regiments were sent home to recruit, the 1st and 2nd Regiments remained with the main army and fought at Monmouth in June 1778. The regiment was transferred to the Southern Department and was captured by the British army in May 1780 at the Siege of Charleston. Together with the 1st Regiment, the unit was rebuilt and fought capably at Eutaw Springs. The 2nd was furloughed in April 1783 and officially dissolved in November 1783.
The 4th North Carolina Regiment was authorized on January 16, 1776 and established on April 15, 1776 at Wilmington, North Carolina for service with the Continental Army Southern Department under the command of Thomas Polk. The regiment saw action at the Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, Battle of Monmouth and the Siege of Charleston. The regiment was captured by the British Army at Charlestown, South Carolina, on May 12, 1780. The regiment was disbanded on January 1, 1783.
The 84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants) was a British regiment in the American Revolutionary War that was raised to defend present day Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada from the constant land and sea attacks by American Revolutionaries. The 84th Regiment was also involved in offensive action in the Thirteen Colonies; including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and what is now Maine, as well as raids upon Lake Champlain and the Mohawk Valley. The regiment consisted of 2,000 men in twenty companies. The 84th Regiment was raised from Scottish soldiers who had served in the Seven Years' War and stayed in North America. As a result, the 84th Regiment had one of the oldest and most experienced officer corps of any regiment in North America. The Scottish Highland regiments were a key element of the British Army in the American Revolution. The 84th Regiment was clothed, armed and accoutred the same as the Black Watch, with Lieutenant Colonel Allan Maclean commanding the first battalion and Major General John Small of Strathardle commanding the second. The two Battalions operated independently of each other and saw little action together.
The southern theater of the American Revolutionary War was the central theater of military operations in the second half of the American Revolutionary War, 1778–1781. It encompassed engagements primarily in Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Tactics consisted of both strategic battles and guerrilla warfare.
The Province of Georgia was a significant battleground in the American Revolution. Its population was at first divided about exactly how to respond to revolutionary activities and heightened tensions in other provinces. When violence broke out in 1775, radical Patriots took control of the provincial government, and drove many Loyalists out of the province. Georgia also served as the staging ground for several important raids into British-controlled Florida.
Peter Timothy (1724–1782), originally named Peter Timothee, was an 18th-century Dutch-American printer and politician. He immigrated to the American colonies with his parents, French Huguenots, Lewis and Elizabeth Timothy. Lewis worked for Benjamin Franklin and learned the trade in Philadelphia before moving to Charleston, South Carolina (called Charles Town before the American Revolutionary War. His parents ran the South Carolina Gazette, which was turned over to Timothy after his father's death, his mother's period of operating the printing business, and after he became of age. In addition to running the newspaper, Timothy, ran a printing business, was postmaster, and politician. He was particularly active in the period leading up to and during the war. A notable event was his publication of the Declaration of Independence for public viewing, which included his name as printer. Afraid that his printing press would be damaged or confiscated, there were periods of time, such as during the Siege of Charleston when he had suspended publishing. He was taken prisoner as a traitor and held for ten months at the alligator-protected prison at St. Augustine, Florida. He died during an ocean voyage, after which is wife Ann Timothy took over the printing business.
Alexander Aikman was a Scottish printer, newspaper publisher, planter, and member of Jamaica's House of Assembly. From 1805 to 1825, he was a member of the House of Assembly as the representative of Saint George parish.
The Anson County Regiment was authorized on September 9, 1775 by the Third North Carolina Provincial Congress. The regiment was engaged in battles and skirmishes against the British and Cherokee during the American Revolution in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia between 1776 and 1781. It was active until the end of the war.
The Edenton District Brigade was an administrative division of the North Carolina militia during the American Revolutionary War (1776–1783). This unit was established by the North Carolina Provincial Congress on May 4, 1776, and disbanded at the end of the war.
Louisa Wells Aikman, also known as Louisa Susannah Aikman, was a British author and music score collector. She is best known for her book, The journal of a voyage from Charleston, S.C., to London.
Early American publishers and printers played a central role in the social, religious, political and commercial development of the Thirteen Colonies in British America prior to and during the American Revolution and the ensuing American Revolutionary War that established American independence.
