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TO POSTHUMOUSLY RECOGNIZE JAMES WILLIAMS OF LAURENS COUNTY, REVOLUTIONARY WAR HERO, WHO WAS AWARDED THE RANK OF BRIGADIER GENERAL AFTER HIS DEATH AND TO HONOR HIS VALIANT SERVICE TO THE STATE AND NATION.
Whereas, General Williams was a Revolutionary War hero who gave his life to ensure the liberty and freedom of the United States of America. He led the victorious forces from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia at the battle of Musgrove's Mill; and
Whereas, his family cemetery and his plantation known as "Mount Pleasant" are located at the southwest corner of the Little River Bridge on South Carolina Highway 560 in Laurens County. This sizeable parcel was also his home and the site of two Revolutionary battles, the Battles of Fort Williams and Mud Lick Creek; and
Whereas, he was promoted by act of the South Carolina Provincial Congress, which was signed by Governor Rutledge and South Carolina Chief Justice Drayton, to the rank of Brigadier General but died of battle wounds just hours before the orders and commission arrived; and
Whereas, during the course of the American Revolution, he gave the equipment and supplies for a regiment of the Little River Mounted Rifles Regiment which he commanded; and
Whereas, he also generously gave two months' pay for his regiment, food supplies, large amounts of shot and powder, plus one hundred fifty gallons of whiskey for the foragers to use to pay for hams, chickens, and fodder from local farmers; and
Whereas, in the end this remarkable patriot gave the last full measure of devotion to his country, his life, having been mortally wounded leading the local men up the seemingly impossible sides of King's Mountain, in the movement that ultimately won the battle for both Carolinas and indeed for all thirteen of the original colonies; and
Whereas, after his death, local Tories, before departing for the Caribbean, also killed his two older sons, ages fourteen and seventeen, and burned his plantation house, leaving his wife and small children to live in the barns and cribs of the farmyard; and
Whereas, this brave and courageous hero of the American Revolution deserves to be honored by his beloved South Carolina in order to recognize and remember his contributions to, and sacrifices for, his State and country. Certainly, James Williams truly earned the rank of Brigadier General. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, posthumously recognize James Williams, Revolutionary War hero, who was awarded the rank of Brigadier General after his death and honor his valiant service to the State and nation.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Henry Laurens Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
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