Stirring Up a Hornet's Nest: - UGA Laboratory of Archaeology ...

Government because of the revolt of the Scots in 1745. Supporters of the King, however, were not about to
let this manpower source in the backcountry go untapped. During the course of the war, British authorities
believed that a large and strategic number of recruits could be brought out of the Carolina and Georgia
backcountry. The strength of the Patriot forces in the same area, however, were enough to keep this
Loyalist manpower source to a minimum during some of the pivotal periods of the war. Many of these
Loyalists, after suffering setbacks and threats of imprisonment early in the Carolina conflicts, volunteered
service in some capacity after fleeing to the British Army in either Pennsylvania or Florida. Many of these
men would later return to the South with the invading British forces as they focused a new campaign in the
Southern Colonies.
Research further indicated that former Loyalists, including the leaders of Kettle Creek, were again called
upon to go into the backcountry where they had been active some months earlier. Attempts were made to
reorganize old Loyalist groups and individuals believed to be waiting for an opportunity to serve the King.
It appeared likely from this point in the research, that official British documentation was issued that would
have permitted and aided specific individuals in accomplishing this renewed recruitment in the Carolinas.
These commissions may or may not have been given covertly by the British military command. An official
British document for one of the Kettle Creek Loyalists was located and copied at the North Carolina
Archives.
Similar records were sought that might give an indication of the level of involvement Colonel Boyd and
some of the other Loyalists at Kettle Creek had with the British Army during activities just prior to
departure from New York in January 1779. Microfilms 171-173 of the Lawrence Collection and Ward
Chipman Collection Muster Master from the British Army Loyalist List were also reviewed at the North
Carolina Archives. The penmanship of these musters would have taken too long to decipher in order to
check for some of the Kettle Creek leaders. Battle considered that Boyd and some of his subordinates may
have served in a military capacity in some of the units during 1775-1778. Possible units include the Royal
Highland Regiment, the Royal Highland Emigrants, or other Highlander units. It was also very possible
that Boyd could have been part of the Loyalist refugees in Florida who visited New York to plan strategy
just prior to the British invasion into Georgia in 1778-1779.
Researchers also examined the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and Free Library in Philadelphia. John
Boyd and John Speirgen were indicated as Loyalist outlaws in a November 8, 1779 proclamation by the
Continental South Carolina Government that was published in the November 19, 1779 issue of the South
Carolina and American General Gazette (cited in McCrady 1901). This may indicate that Major
Sperigen/Spurgeon was still in the southern states at this time. Records for the State of Pennsylvania were
also researched to check the possibility that Boyd and some of his associates could have joined the British
forces concentrated in that state during the early part of the war. British records were not located here,
however, that would indicate the service records of Loyalists who may have fled from the Carolinas in
1775-1776. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography as well as emigrant records were also
searched with negative results. Some manuscript files were also searched concerning recruitment in the
Carolinas and Georgia but only produced historical materials minimally associated with our geographic
area of interest.
The electronic index and the card catalog system at the Pennsylvania Historical Society were only
marginally effective in locating historical resources. This is due to the slow adaptation and updating of the
collection records being converted into a more modern and manageable user-friendly database for
researchers. Keywords, for instance, are searchable only in title form and not within the body or subject
matter of the historical collections. This is true of many of the major record repositories around the
country, including the largest libraries like the Library of Congress and National Archives. Historical
resources will likely surface on subject matter even though researchers may have meticulously searched the
facilities previously.
The Free Library located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania also had an early American manuscript collection.
It was not possible to gauge the degree of importance of the manuscript resources at the Free Library.
Additional queries to that institution are needed.
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