The Battle of Mobley’s Meeting House

225th Anniversary Re-enactment

 

 

The 225th Anniversary re-enactment of the Battle of Mobley’s Meeting House was presented by the Fairfield County Museum on 25-26 June 2005 on the grounds of the historic Feasterville Female Academy and Boarding House and the 1830’s Liberty Universalist Church in the Historic Feasterville  Community, 7 miles north of Salem Crossroads on South Carolina Highway 215 North.  This pastoral setting and buildings is about 4.5 miles as the crow flies west of the probable site of the skirmish.  The church, Academy Boarding House, and old schoolrooms have been meticulously restored and are kept up by the Coleman-Feaster-Mobley Family Reunion Association which holds annual meetings on the properties.  The public was invited to watch morning drills, and an encampment.  A small re-enactment of the battle brought this historic event to life.

 

The schedule for this event was:

 

Saturday 25 June : 1000 am – Gates open to the public

                                                       1100 am – Dedication Ceremony hosted by the

                         Thomas Woodward Chapter, DAR

                                                         100 pm – Guest Speaker

                                                         200 pm – Re-enactment

                                                         500 pm – End of day’s activities

 

                           Sunday 25 June : 1000 am – Gates open to the public

                                                       1100 am – Period Service in the Liberty Church

                                                         100 pm – Guest Speaker

         200 pm – Re-enactment

                                                         500 pm – End of day’s activities

 

 

For more information, please contact:

 

Pelham Lyles at the Fairfield County Museum

231 South Congress Street

Winnsboro, SC 29180

(803)-635-9811

fairfieldmus@chestertel.com

 

http://www.midnet.sc.edu/fairfieldmus/

 

A history of the Academy is at: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/1499/academy.html

 

A history of Feasterville and the Academy is at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~scfairfi/feastervhis.html

 

The small community of Feasterville is named for one of its founding families who had immigrated into Pennsylvania  before moving south in the 1770s  establishing homes in what would eventually become Fairfield County.  The Feasters were of the German Dunker religious persuasion, but early on became the founding family for the Universalist Church in the South.  Liberty Church is said to be the first congregation in America to use the term Universalism to describe their beliefs.

 

Nearby the Mobley family had built a meetinghouse on their land in the 1770s.  It is said that it was burned sometime after the June, 1780 skirmish and its location has been lost to memory.  It was definitely still in existence in 1786, but was gone by August 1820.  A volunteer archaeological group has recently found evidence pointing to a possible location in an unapproachable location near Little River, a tributary of the Broad River.  Efforts are ongoing to put all of the evidence together with documentary research.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis of the Battle of Mobley’s Meeting House

(From “All that Dare Oppose Them : The Whig Victory at Mobley’s Meeting House, June 1780”, by Kenneth Shelton, ashvainmo@yahoo.com, copyright 2005)

 

To order the book, it is available for $25 US postage paid, 164 pgs + index, softcover. 

Send to Kenneth Shelton

5433 Regency Woods Manor

Imperial, MO 63052

 

Between 7 and 11 June, most likely 10 June 1780, a small body of Whig militia numbering between 100 and 200 in total was formed from the commands of Colonel William Bratton, Colonel (Captain) Edward Lacey, Captain (Colonel) John McClure, Colonel Samuel Watson, Colonel Cooper, and Colonel William Hill, with Majors Richard Winn and Patrick ‘Paddy’ McGriff as the Field Majors and Adjutant James ‘Jemmy’ Johns(t)on.  This group was comprised in large part of the Whig forces that had a few days earlier routed and scattered a Tory gathering at Beckhamville under the command of the Tory Colonel Houseman.  Colonel William Bratton was elected overall field commander for the engagement, and this group attacked a formation of Tories who were plundering the greater Fairfield District neighborhood in the aftermath of the fall of Charleston under the active encouragement of Lord Cornwallis at Camden and British Colonel Turnbull at Rocky Mount.  The Tories had formed at a well-known rendezvous location called Mobley’s Meeting House in the Moberley Settlement, located on a high embankment on a branch of the Little River in Fairfield District.  They were under the general command of Tory Colonel Robert Coleman of Fairfield District, Tory Colonel Joseph Fleuquinyan and Tory Captain William Nichols.  This group had plundered many of the possessions of Whigs in the area, in particular members of the Hampton family and had sent John and Henry Hampton prisoner to Lord Cornwallis at Camden.  Thus laden down with booty and awaiting British assistance, the Tories were hit by the combined Whig force more or less by surprise and, like at Beckhamville, scattered in retreat in short order.  The attack occurred at daybreak with an assault on the Church and a nearby strong/block house or fortified building.  The Whig forces attacked from three sides, leaving the fourth uncovered as it was thought that the embankment was too hazardous to climb for an attack or to descend in a retreat.  However, during the confusion and panic, a number of Tories attempted just that and were injured in the process.  Few casualties were noted on either side other than those resulting from falls down the embankment.  Much of the plunder was recovered and restored to the owners, and a significant number of prisoners were taken and sent to North Carolina.  After the battle, some of the Whigs immediately left for North Carolina while others stayed on.  In the immediate aftermath, Colonel Turnbull, the regional British commander at Rocky Mount, sent the New York Provincials (the Green Coats Tories) under Captain Christian Huck in reprisal.  They in turn destroyed the home and parsonage of the Reverend John Simpson and attacked the remaining Whigs at the Iron Works of Colonel William Hill.  After the destruction of the Iron Works, the remaining Whigs were forced to withdraw into North Carolina and assist in Sumter’s rise and their vengeance on Huck in July.

 

 

 

 

Rosters of the Battle of Mobley’s Meeting House

(From “All that Dare Oppose Them : The Whig Victory at Mobley’s Meeting House, June 1780”, by Kenneth Shelton, ashvainmo@yahoo.com, copyright 2005)

 

The author is interested in information on the members of the Whig and Tory organizations, and especially any information to confirm or nor the presence of those on the “possible” lists.  Those on the possible lists are documented in the companies listed, but it is not documented that they were in those organizations at the time of Mobley’s Meeting House.

 

 

 

WHIGS AT MOBLEY'S MEETING HOUSE

LNAME

FNAME

RANK

COMPANY

REGIMENT

Adams

Samuel

Lt & Capt

McClure, John

Bratton

Baker

Thomas

Capt

Baker, Thomas

Cooper

Bratton

William

Col

 

Bratton

Brown

John

Pvt

McClure, John

Bratton

Campbell

William

1Lt

Howe, Robert

Watson

Carnahan

Thomas

Capt

 

Bratton

Carson

William

Fifer

Martin, James

Bratton

Clinton

James

3-Pvt, Lt, Capt

Howe, Joseph

A. Neal

Cooper

unk

Col

 

Cooper

Craig

John

Pvt

McClure, John

 

Davis

James(?)

Lt

Howe, Joseph

A. Neal

Davis

William

Lt & Pvt

Howe, Robert

Bratton

Evans

Owen

Ensign

McClure, John

Bratton

Gaston

Alexander

Pvt

McClure, John

 

Gaston

David

Pvt

McClure, John

 

Gaston

Ebenezer

Pvt

McClure, John

 

Gaston

Hugh

Pvt

McClure, John

 

Gaston

John

Doctor

McClure, John

 

Gaston

William

Pvt

McClure, John

 

Gill

George

Pvt

McClure, John

 

Goldsmith

John

Pvt

Baker, Thomas

Cooper

Gordon

Samuel

Pvt

Howe, Robert

A. Neal

Hampton

Henry

 

Prisoner

 

Hampton

John

Capt

Prisoner

 

Harbison

James

Pvt

McClure, John

 

Harrison

 

Maj

 

Hill

Hill

William

Col

 

Hill

Hood

John

Pvt & Capt

 

Bratton

Houston

Samuel

Pvt

McClure, John

 

Howe

Robert

Capt

Howe, Robert

A. Neal

Johnston

James

Adjutant

McClure, John

 

Johnston

John

Pvt

 

Lacey

Johnston

Matthew

 

 

Lacey

Johnston

Samuel

Pvt

 

Lacey

Kenedy

William

Pvt

Steel, John

Bratton

Knox

Hugh

Ensign & Capt

McClure, John

Lacey

Lacey

Edward

Colonel

 

Lacey

Lucas

Randolph

Pvt

Shannon, Thomas

Hill

McCalla

Samuel

Pvt

 

Lacey

McClure

Hugh

1Lt

McClure, John

Bratton

McClure

John

Capt

McClure, John

Bratton

McClurken

Thomas

Pvt

 

Lacey

McCormick

Robert

Pvt

McClure, John

Bratton

McGarrity

William

Pvt

McClure, John

 

McGriff

Patrick 'Paddy'

Maj

 

Watson

McKeon

Alexander

Pvt

 

 

McKeon

Samuel

Pvt

 

 

Mills

John

Pvt

 

 

Morrow

Joseph

Pvt

McClure, John

 

Neal

Andrew

Col

 

A. Neal

Nixon

John

Lt Col

 

Lacey

Rainey

Thomas

Pvt

 

Bratton

Sadler

David

Pvt

 

A. Neal

Shannon

Thomas

Capt

Shannon, Thomas

Hill

Simpson

John

Rev / Chaplain

McClure, John

Lacey

Steele

John

Capt

Steel, John

Bratton

Steele

Thomas

Pvt

McClure, John

 

Stroud

William JR

Pvt

McClure, John

 

Taylor

James

Capt

 

 

Taylor

Thomas

Colonel

 

 

Wade

Joseph

Pvt

McClure, John

 

Walker

Alexander

Pvt

McClure, John

 

Walker

Robert

Lt & Pvt

McClure or Mills

Lacey

Walker

Samuel

Pvt

McClure, John

Bratton

Watson

Samuel

Colonel

 

Watson

White

William

Pvt

McClure, John

Lacey

Winn

John

Capt

 

 

Winn

Richard

Maj

 

Bratton

Wylie

Francis

Pvt

McClure, John

Lacey

Wylie

James

Pvt

 

 

 

 

         POSSIBLE WHIGS AT MOBLEY'S MEETING HOUSE

LNAME

FNAME

RANK

COMPANY

REGIMENT

Armstrong

William

Pvt

McClure, John

Bratton, William

Bishop

William

Pvt

McClure, John

Bratton, William

Burns

Laird

Pvt

Walker & Gabby

Lacey

Clark

William

Pvt

Miller

Neal, Andrew

Cunningham

John

Capt

Cunningham, John

Bratton, William

Cunningham

George

Pvt

Cunningham, John

Neal or Hill

Curren

John

Pvt

Faris, Alexander (Lt)

Hill

Davis

James

Pvt, Lt, Capt

Davis, Amos

Bratton, William

Davis

Amos

Capt

Davis, Amos

Bratton, William

Elliot

James

Pvt

McClure or Hugh Knox

Lacey

Gebie

John

Pvt

Faris, Alexander (Lt)

Hill, Neal or Lacey

Griffin

Ralph

Pvt

Lacey, Edward (Capt)

Patton

Hanna

William

Capt

Hanna

Bratton, William

Hawthorne

unk

Capt

Hawthorne

Bratton, William

Henderson

Thomas

Lt

Cunningham, John

Bratton, William

Howe

David

Pvt

Hawthorne

Sumter

Jordan

James

Pvt

Moffett, John

Neal or Bratton

Kincaid

John

Pvt

Hawthorne

Bratton, William

Lofton

Thomas

Capt

Howe, Joseph

Neal

Martin

James

Capt

Martin, James

Bratton, William

Martin

Edward 'Ned'

Capt

McClure, John

 

McCance

David

Pvt

McClure, John

 

McCance

William

Pvt

McClure, John

 

McClure

James

Capt

McClure, John

 

McElhaney

Stephen

Pvt

McClure

Lacey

McElhaney

Samuel

Pvt

Mills, John

Lacey, Edward

McElhaney

William

Pvt

Mills, John

Lacey, Edward

McLane

William

Lt

Adams, Samuel

Lacey

Meek

James

Capt

Wallace, James (Maj)

Bratton, William

Miller

John 'Hopping'

Adjutant

Mills, John

Lacey

Miller

Robert

Pvt

Stewart, Hugh

Lacey

Moffett

unk

Capt

Moffett

Bratton or Lacey

Morrow

Samuel

Pvt

McClure, James

Lacey

Neely

Robert

Pvt

Adams or Hanna

Bratton or Lacey

Patrick

Robert

Pvt

Hawthorne

Bratton, William

Quinton

James

Pvt

 

Lacey(?)

Ramsey

James

Capt

 

Lacey

Ratchford

Joseph

Pvt

unk

Bratton or Neal

Renick

James

Pvt

 

Bratton or Neal

Steele

Joseph

Lt

Hanna, William

Bratton, William

Steen

James

Lt Col

 

 

Stephenson

James

Sgt / Pvt

Crawford

Bratton or Lacey

Stephenson

David

Pvt

 

Neal

Story

Henry

Pvt

Crawford, James

 

Stuart

James

Pvt

McClure, John

Lacey, Edward

Travis

Arthur

Pvt

Miller

Neal, Andrew

Venable

James

Lt & Capt

Moffett

Bratton, William

Wallace

John

Capt, Adj, Maj

 

Bratton or Lacey

Watson

William

Pvt

Moffett or Hawthorne

Bratton or Lacey

Whelchel

John

Pvt

Thompson, John

Neal, Andrew

Whiteside

unk

Capt

Whiteside

Bratton, William

Williams

William

Pvt

McClure, John

Bratton, William

 

 

      TORIES AT MOBLEY'S MEETING HOUSE

LNAME

FNAME

RANK

COMPANY

Alcorn

George

 

Coleman, Robert

Alcorn

James

 

Coleman, Robert

Chapman

William

 

Coleman, Robert

Coleman

Charles

 

Coleman, Robert

Coleman

Francis

 

Coleman, Robert

Coleman

Robert

Colonel

Coleman, Robert

Cunningham

 

 

 

Fuiquinnon

Joseph

Colonel

 

Hendricks

Moses

 

Coleman, Robert

Hill

John

 

Coleman, Robert

Meador

Job

 

Coleman, Robert

Moberley

Benjamin

 

Coleman, Robert

Moberley

Benjamin JR

 

Coleman, Robert

Moberley

Benjamin SR

 

Coleman, Robert

Moberley

Clement

 

Coleman, Robert

Moberley

Edward

 

Coleman, Robert

Moberley

Isaiah

 

Coleman, Robert

Moberley

William

 

Coleman, Robert

Netterville

William

Captain

 

Nichols

William

Captain

 

Nix

George

 

Coleman, Robert

Phillips

John

 

Coleman, Robert

Sutton

Charles

 

Coleman, Robert

Weir

John

Captain

 

Woodward

Burbage

Pvt

 

 

 

POSSIBLE TORIES AT MOBLEY'S MEETING HOUSE

LNAME

FNAME

RANK

COMPANY

Agniew

John

 

Winn's Enemies List

Armstrong

James

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Atkinson

John

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Austen

Bartholomew

 

Winn's Enemies List

Austen

John

 

Winn's Enemies List

Austen

Joseph

 

Winn's Enemies List

Bar

James

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Barton

William

 

Winn's Enemies List

Beams

Ezekiel

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Black

John

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Black

Joseph

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Black

Mathew

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Black

Robert

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Busby

Jacob

 

Winn's Enemies List

Campbell

Hugh

 

Winn's Enemies List

Chapman

John

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Chapman

John (2nd)

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Christy

Joseph

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Collins

Isaac

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Collins

Moses

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Covel

Samuel

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Daughterty

James

 

Winn's Enemies List

Davis

John

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Deason

William

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Delashmet

Sela

 

Winn's Enemies List

Delasnett

Silas

Capt

Murdered Loyalists List

Featherstone

John

 

Draper Manuscripts

Featherstone

Richard

 

Draper Manuscripts

Featherstone

William

 

Draper Manuscripts

Fletchell

James

 

Winn's Enemies List

Friday

Gabriel

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Funderburg

Christopher

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Gibson

Thomas

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Glover

Lowry

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Glover

William

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Gordon

John

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Gregg

Mathew

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Gregory

Samuel

 

Winn's Enemies List

Gwin (Qwin)

George

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Halsey

John

 

Winn's Enemies List

Harden

Henry

 

Winn's Enemies List

Harrison

James

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Harrison

Nathaniel

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Hill

William

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Hill

William (2nd)

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Holsey

John

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Humphreys

Joseph

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Humphreys

Joseph (2nd)

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Hunter

Samuel

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Hutchinson

John

 

Winn's Enemies List

Irvin

James

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Johns

Henry

 

Winn's Enemies List

Johns

John

 

Winn's Enemies List

Juland

Benjamin

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Juland

Gary

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Juland

Peter

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Juland

Peter JR

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Juland

William

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Kyrkandail

Simon

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Lashly

James

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Lavender

Robert

 

Winn's Enemies List

Lemmon

James

 

Winn's Enemies List

Love

Robert

 

Winn's Enemies List

Love

Robert

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Marlow

John

Capt

Murdered Loyalists List

Martin

James

 

Winn's Enemies List

Mathews

John

 

Winn's Enemies List

McCalaster

William

 

Winn's Enemies List

McCluer

William

 

Murdered Loyalists List

McCown

Robert

 

Winn's Enemies List

McCrossers

Jeremiah

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Miller

James

 

Winn's Enemies List

Moberley

John

 

Winn's Enemies List

Moore

4 sons of James

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Moore

James

 

Winn's Enemies List

Moore

James

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Moore

Patrick

Capt

Murdered Loyalists List

Morrow

James

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Mots

Tobias

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Mots

William

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Niel

Francis

 

Winn's Enemies List

Nullerville

William

 

Winn's Enemies List

Patterson

William

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Pearson

John

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Pearson

Thomas

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Peterson

Thomas

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Phillips

David

LT

Murdered Loyalists List

Phillips

John

 

Winn's Enemies List

Phillips

Laurence

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Phillips

Thomas

 

Winn's Enemies List

Ponder

Daniel

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Price

Richard

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Reagan

William

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Reay

Charles

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Reay

John

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Richardson

John

 

Winn's Enemies List

Robertson

Thomas

 

Winn's Enemies List

Rogers

George

 

Winn's Enemies List

Rogers

John

 

Murdered Loyalists List

Sadler

John

 

Winn's Enemies List

Simpson

William

 

Winn's Enemies List

Smith

Thomas

 

Winn's Enemies List

Springer

Aaron

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Stevenson

Samuel

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Terry

Stephen

 

Winn's Enemies List

Travours

William

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Turner

unknown

Doctor

Winn's Enemies List

Turner

William SR

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Vickery

Luke

 

Winn's Enemies List

Walker

William

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Wilson

William

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Womack

Josiah

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Woods

John

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Woods

Joseph

 

Bratton's Enemies List

Young

William

 

Winn's Enemies List