Person:Robert Brownfield (5)

Robert was educated at Princeton and went into the medical service at the beginning of the Rev. war. He was with Gen. Washington all during the war and saved the life of Gen. Sumpter.

The letter is found in the appendix and is referred to in the text ("* See Dr. Brownfield's account of this affair, which throws more light upon it, than any thing heretofore written.").
---------
Appendix.

The following is the letter of Dr. Robert Brownfield to the author, giving a detailed account of the defeat of Buford's regiment, referred to at page 39. [Chapter II Paragraph 6]

Dear Sir,

In obedience to your request, I send you a detailed account of the defeat and massacre of Col. Buford's regiment, near the borders of North Carolina, on the road leading from Camden to Salisbury. This regiment consisting of three hundred and fifty men, well appointed and equipped, had marched from Virginia for the relief of Charleston, and had advanced to Santee, where they were met by intelligence of the surrender; a retreat then became unavoidable.—Between this place and Camden they fell in with Gen. Caswell, at the head of about seven hundred North Carolina militia, whose object had been the same, and whose retreat became equally imperious. At Camden these two corps unfortunately separated; Caswell filed off to Pedee, and Buford pursued the road to Salisbury. This measure was accounted for by the want of correct intelligence of Tarleton's prompt and rapid movements, who was in full pursuit with three hundred cavalry, and each a soldier of infantry behind him.—Neglecting Caswell and his militia, the pursuit was continued after Buford to the Waxhaw. Finding he was approximating this corps, he despatched a flag, saying he was at Barclay's with seven hundred men, and summoned them to surrender on the terms granted to the garrison in Charleston. Buford immediately laid the summons before a council of his officers with three distinct propositions from himself:—Shall we comply with Tarleton's summons? Shall we abandon the baggage, and, by a rapid movement, save ourselves? or, shall we fortify ourselves by the waggons, and wait his approach?

The first and second were decidedly rejected by the unanimous voice of the council, declaring it to be incompatible with their honour as soldiers, or the duty they owed their country, either to surrender or abandon the baggage on the bare statement of Tarleton. They had no certainty of the truth of his assertion, and that it might be only a ruse de guerre to alarm their fears and obtain a bloodless victory. The third was also negatived on the ground, that although they might by this means defend themselves against Tarleton, but as no succour was near, and as Tarleton could, in a short time, obtain reinforcements from Cornwallis, against which no effectual resistance could be made, this measure would be unavailable.

The discussion soon resulted in a resolution to continue the march, maintaining the best possible order for the reception of the enemy. In a short time Tarleton's bugle was heard, and a furious attack was made on the rear guard, commanded by Lieut. Pearson. Not a man escaped. Poor Pearson was inhumanely mangled on the face as he lay on his back. His nose and lip were bisected obliquely; several of his teeth were broken out in the upper jaw, and the under completely divided on each side. These wounds were inflicted after he had fallen, with several others on his head, shoulders, and arms. As a just tribute to the honour and Job-like patience of poor Pearson, it ought to be mentioned, that he lay for five weeks without uttering a single groan. His only nourishment was milk, drawn from a bottle through a quill. During that period he was totally deprived of speech, nor could he articulate distinctly after his wounds were healed.

This attack gave Buford the first confirmation of Tarleton's declaration by his flag. Unfortunately he was then compelled to prepare for action, on ground which presented no impediment to the full action of cavalry. Tarleton having arranged his infantry in the centre, and his cavalry on the wings, advanced to the charge with the horrid yells of infuriated demons. They were received with firmness, and completely checked, until the cavalry were gaining the rear. Buford now perceiving that further resistance was hopeless, ordered a flag to be hoisted and the arms to be grounded, expecting the usual treatment sanctioned by civilized warfare. This, however, made no part of Tarleton's creed. His ostensible pretext, for the relentless barbarity that ensued, was, that his horse was killed under him just as the flag was raised. He affected to believe that this was done afterwards, and imputed it to treachery on the part of Buford; but, in reality, a safe opportunity was presented to gratify that thirst for blood which marked his character in every conjuncture that promised probable impunity to himself. Ensign Cruit, who advanced with the flag, was instantly cut down. Viewing this as an earnest of what they were to expect, a resumption of their arms was attempted, to sell their lives as dearly as possible; but before this was fully effected, Tarleton with his cruel myrmidons was in the midst of them, when commenced a scene of indiscriminate carnage never surpassed by the ruthless atrocities of the most barbarous savages.

The demand for quarters, seldom refused to a vanquished foe, was at once found to be in vain;—not a man was spared—and it was the concurrent testimony of all the survivors, that for fifteen minutes after every man was prostrate. They went over the ground plunging their bayonets into every one that exhibited any signs of life, and in some instances, where several had fallen one over the other, these monsters were seen to throw off on the point of the bayonet the uppermost, to come at those beneath. Capt. Carter,* who commanded the artillery and who led the van, continued his march without bringing his guns into action; this conduct excited suspicions unfavourable to the character of Carter, and these were strengthened by his being paroled on the ground, and his whole company without insult or injury being made prisoners of war. Whether he was called to account for his conduct, I have never learnt. These excepted, the only survivors of this tragic scene were Capts. Stokes, Lawson and Hoard, Lieuts. Pearson and Jamison, and Ensign Cruit.

* Not Capt. Benjamin Carter, of Camden.
To consign to oblivion the memory of these gallant suffering few would be culpable injustice. When men have devoted their lives to the service of their country, and whose fate has been so singularly disastrous; there is an honest anxiety concerning them, springing from the best and warmest feelings of our nature, which certainly should be gratified. This is peculiarly the truth in regard to Capt. John Stokes, although in his military character perhaps not otherwise distinguished from his brother officers, than by the number of his wounds and the pre-eminence of sufferings. He received twenty-three wounds, and as he never for a moment lost his recollection, he often repeated to me the manner and order in which they were inflicted.

Early in the sanguinary conflict he was attacked by a dragoon, who aimed many deadly blows at his head, all of which by the dextrous use of the small sword he easily parried; when another on the right, by one stroke, cut off his right hand through the metacarpal bones. He was then assailed by both, and instinctively attempted to defend his head with his left arm until the forefinger was cut off, and the arm hacked in eight or ten places from the wrist to the shoulder. His head was then laid open almost the whole length of the crown to the eye brows. After he fell he received several cuts on the face and shoulders. A soldier passing on in the work of death, asked if he expected quarters? Stokes answered I have not, nor do I mean to ask quarters, finish me as soon as possible; he then transfixed him twice with his bayonet. Another asked the same question and received the same answer, and he also thrust his bayonet twice through his body. Stokes had his eye fixed on a wounded British officer, sitting at some distance, when a serjeant came up, who addressed him with apparent humanity, and offered him protection from further injury at the risk of his life. All I ask, said Stokes, is to be laid by that officer that I may die in his presence. While performing this generous office the humane serjeant was twice obliged to lay him down, and stand over him to defend him against the fury of his comrades. Doct. Stapleton, Tarleton's surgeon, whose name ought to be held up to eternal obloquy, was then dressing the wounds of the officer. Stokes, who lay bleeding at every pore, asked him to do something for his wounds, which he scornfully and inhumanely refused, until peremptorily ordered by the more humane officer, and even then only filled the wounds with rough tow, the particles of which could not be separated from the brain for several days.

Capt. Stokes was a native of Pittsylvania county, Virginia. He was early intended for the bar, and having gone through the usual course of classical and other preparatory studies, he commenced the practice with the most flattering indications of future eminence. But the calm pursuits of peace not comporting with the ardour of his mind, he relinquished the fair prospect of professional emolument, and accepted a captaincy in Buford's regiment.

At this catastrophe, he was about twenty-seven years of age. His height was about the common standard; his figure and appearance, even in his mangled situation, inspired respect and veneration; and the fire of genius that sparkled in his dark piercing eye, gave indications of a mind fitted not only for the field, but for all the departments of civil life.

Shortly after the adoption of the constitution of the United States, he was promoted to the bench in the Federal Court—married Miss Pearson—and settled on the Yadkin river, where the county is called Stokes, after his name.

(Signed,)

R. Brownfield.

There is considerable doubt whether Brownfield was a doctor at all, at least at the time of the Waxhaws battle. He certainly was involved in caring for the sick and wounded, but probably in an inferior professional capacity, as a medical orderly, not as a qualified doctor. He appears to have qualified as a doctor later in life, by the time that he wrote his celebrated account of Tarleton's alleged brutality, and to have practiced medicine in Georgetown, South Carolina.

The first source below (Sandlapper) is a pdf file. On the 2nd page it describes Dr. Brownfield as "an American battle surgeon".

However, the second source (Radix) describes Brownfield differently. Here he is not a "doctor" (in the sense of a degreed medical man) at all: only a surgeon's mate, a distinctly inferior position. This article is a detailed investigation of whether there was actually any massacre of the wounded at Waxhaws, as Brownfield's famous letter claimed. Here is what the source tells us: -

"Although Buford clearly indicated that he dispatched only one flag of truce, a second person claimed to have carried it. Robert Brownfield, a surgeon's mate in the Second South Carolina Continentals, writing some forty years after the event, stated that an Ensign Cruit had carried the flag, but when he tried to advance with it, "was instantly cut down." Cruit, however, survived the battle.
Again, Brownfield's account is not consistent with Buford's report or other known facts of the battle. Buford stated that the flag was refused with a rude reply; Brownfield says it never reached the British lines. Brownfield also states that upon receiving Tarleton's surrender demand Buford called a council of officers to deliberate upon three options the commander proposed; Buford states that he consulted his officers only after refusing the demand for surrender. Brownfield claims that Tarleton's attack followed soon after Buford's refusal to surrender, and that the British deployed their infantry in the center and the cavalry on their flanks. Buford reports a space of two and a half hours between the summons and the attack, and he and Tarleton agreed that the latter's deployment interspersed infantry and cavalry. Brownfield's evidence, once tested, is of no more value than that of Bowyer."

The 3rd source (Banecdotes) is even more dismissive of Brownfield's credibility, but sheds no light on his background, although here too Brownfield is a surgeon's mate, not a doctor.
"Brownfield may have had a great future in writing Gothic horror or rebel propaganda, but there is relatively little in his account that is useful as history. The claim that no man was spared is contradicted by the casualty figures reported by both commanders and numerous subsequent documents. Ensign (John) Cruit (or Crute) must have had more lives than a cat, for Brownfield himself later mentions him as being one of the survivors. (There even exists the possibility that Cruit was not present at all. Another document lists an officer of the same name as having been taken prisoner at Charleston, and there seems to be no suggestion that two John Cruits were serving locally.)"

The 4th source (Bigham) gives much more information about Robert Brownfield than any of the others. I will quote the entry in full, but beware that the first Robert Brownfield mentioned in the text is not "your" Robert Brownfield, but rather his father: -
"Robert Brownfield
Robert Brownfield, Jr. was born in North Ireland in 1705. He married Jane (Jenny) Stuart in Chester Co. PA about 1737. In 1738 Robert was shown in Chester County PA documents to have assisted his brother, Charles to settle their father's estate (See Chester County PA Wills - Robert Broomfield February 22, 1739/40)

Brownfield was part of the group that helped produce the "Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence" and was active during the Revolutionary War. All three of the family's sons were officers during the war. Robert and Jenny Brownfield had 7 children, all born in Pennsylvania.

William married Margaret "Peggy" Giles in Mecklenburg County about 1782. William served in the Colonial Army in Pennsylvania (age 16) and under Col. Thomas Polk in NC. He and Peggy later moved to Greene County and Jasper County Georgia. William is shown in the Minutes of the Mecklenburg Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions July Session 1801 to have sold 259 acres to Colonel Charles Polk with a reservation of four acres for the Steele Creek Meeting House.

Isabella Brownfield was living in York County SC at the 1810 census.

Margaret Brownfield married Robert McKnight of Mecklenburg County and was the mother of Nancy L. McKnight who married Samuel Bigham in 1818.

There is no information available on Ann Brownfield.

John Brownfield fought at the Battle of Hanging Rock in the Revolutionary War and was later killed by indians near Augusta Georgia.

Robert Brownfield was a surgeon's mate who gave notable service during the Revolutionary War at the Battle of Camden. He is reported to have saved the life of General Sumpter. Following the war, he moved to Sumpter County and was a physician at Georgetown, SC."
Source(s):
http://www.sandlapper.org/revwar3.pdf

http://www.radix.net/~dalila/Tarleton/Waxhaws.html

http://home.golden.net/~marg/bansite/ban…

http://hometown.aol.com/wmbigham/bigham/…

...
According to some rebel accounts (most famously those of Adjutant Henry Bowyer, and Surgeon's Mate Robert Brownfield) in the wake of having his line broken by Tarleton's cavalry charge, Buford made a belated decision to accept the surrender terms he had rejected that morning. The usefulness of the accounts is reduced by the fact that they tell mutually contradictory stories about what happened, and even about who carried the hypothetical surrender flag. A third account (by Captain John Marshall of Virginia) joins Tarleton in making no mention of a flag at all.4
...
It is Brownfield's melodramatic account which provided most of the myths associated with the "Waxhaws Massacre." Brownfield's version, like Bowyer's, was written down some forty years after the events took place, but beyond that they have little in common:

"Buford now perceiving that further resistance was hopeless, ordered a flag to be hoisted and the arms to be grounded, expecting the usual treatment sanctioned by civilized warfare. This, however, made no part of Tarleton's creed. His ostensible pretext, for the relentless barbarity that ensued, was, that his horse was killed under [him] just as the flag was raised. He affected to believe that this was done afterwards, and imputed it to treachery on the part of Buford; but, in reality, a safe opportunity was presented to gratify that thirst for blood which marked his character in every conjuction that promised probable impunity to himself. Ensign Cruit, who advanced with the flag, was instantly cut down. Viewing this as an earnest of what they were to expect, a resumption of their arms was attempted, to sell their lives as dearly as possible; but before this was fully effected, Tarleton and his cruel myrmidons was in the midst of them, when commenced a scene of indiscriminate carnage never surpassed by the ruthless atrocities of the most barbarous savages."7
...
Brownfield may have had a great future in writing Gothic horror or rebel propaganda, but there is relatively little in his account that is useful as history. The claim that no man was spared is contradicted by the casualty figures reported by both commanders and numerous subsequent documents. Ensign (John) Cruit (or Crute) must have had more lives than a cat, for Brownfield himself later mentions him as being one of the survivors. (There even exists the possibility that Cruit was not present at all. Another document lists an officer of the same name as having been taken prisoner at Charleston, and there seems to be no suggestion that two John Cruits were serving locally.)8

Although they disagree on what happened afterwards, the two other main accounts (Buford's and Bowyer's) which discuss Buford's attempted surrender agree that the bearer of the white flag survived unharmed. There is, however, an anecdote which claims that Buford's standard-bearer was taken down during the initial cavalry charge. Given Brownfield's attitude, it is deeply ironic that he wove these two events into a mélange, because the anecdote presents a Legion officer (the same Captain Kinlock who delivered Tarleton's initial surrender terms) protecting the life of a fallen enemy. The standard-bearer, Sergeant Mitchell, was wounded in the initial charge but refused to surrender his Colors, and Kinlock shielded him from being killed in the subsequent action.

The words Brownfield lays at Tarleton's door can be dismissed after reading Tarleton's accounts of the incident. He claims nothing of the sort in either his report to Lord Cornwallis or his account of the battle in his Campaigns.
...
Did Tarleton order his men to "wipe out" Buford's forces? Aside from Brownfield's overblown rhetoric, there is no evidence that he did, and considerable logic to imply that he didn't.
...
Why indeed? Another sensible question is whether Tarleton would have risked his promising career merely for a chance to indulge in a few homicidal jollies, as Brownfield implies.
...
The same modern analysis found that the reported incidents of quarter being granted or denied to members of Buford's corps folowed a pattern which was the exact opposite to Brownfield's claim that Legion troopers went on a killing rampage at the end of the battle.
...
Notes:
...
7 William Dobein James, A Sketch of the Life of Brig. Gen. Francis Marion, and A History of his Brigade (1821), Appendix, "Letter from Dr. Robert Brownfield to the author."
...

Robert Brownfield, Doctor
Born: 1750 In: PA
Died: Feb 16 1827 (at age ‎~77‏) In: Near Stateburg, SC

Info
Events
Timeline
Immediate family


Susan Brownfield (born Heriot)
His wife

Robert Brownfield
His father

Jane Brownfield (born Stewart)
His mother

William Brownfield
His brother

Peggy McKnight (born Brownfield)
His sister

Ann Craig (born Brownfield)
His sister

John Brownfield
His brother

Isabella Stililman (born Brownfield)
His sister

Mary Barnett (born Brownfield)
His sister

Flora Brownfield
His sister
Biography

As the youngest son, he had educational opportunities not afforded his two brothers.||Sometime in the 1760's a Princeton trained Presbyterian minister established an academy in Mecklenburg County, NC and in the subsequent years several young scholars from that area made their way to New Jersey to attend the only Presbyterian college in existence at the time.||Family stories have persisted that Robert Brownfield attended Princeton. Jane S. Wilson told that "his sisters spun and wove very fine linen shirts for him while he was at the 'learning'."||Soon after the completion of his medical training Dr. Robert Brownfield entered the service of the Revolutionary forces in the South. He was assigned to General Thomas Sumter, the "Gamecock" of South Carolina. This began a relationship that tied the lives of the two men together for nearly a half century.||On November 20, 1780 thirty year old Robert Brownfield carried out a successful battlefield surgical procedure which projected him into prominence. Henry Lumpkin, in his 1981 volume, FROM SAVANNAH TO YORK: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION IN THE SOUTH, states:||"When Sumter saw the British swing into firing position he turned his right side toward the volley to protect his heart. Five buckshot raked across his chest muscles, one struck under his right shoulder, chipped his spine, and lodged under his left shoulder.||Sumter reached his command post, still erect in the saddle, and dismounted. One of his officers, Captain Robert McKelvey was horrified to see a stream of blood running down his commander's back. He cried out that the general was wounded, but Sumter told him to be quiet. Since he could not move his right arm, he asked Colonel Henry Hampton to sheathe his sword for him, which Hampton did.||Sumter then reassumed direction of the battle, but the bleeding would not stop and, calling Hampton to him, he asked that Colonel John Twiggs of Georgia, the next senior officer present, take command."||The partisans' field surgeon, Dr. Brownfield, was summoned. He and his assistants removed the general's uniform coat and shirt, turned him over on his face, and without anesthetics of any sort, dug the shot from under the left shoulder. Half-conscious, Sumter was placed in a crude litter or raw bull's hide, slung between two horses, and taken from the field and then to safety. Colonel Edward Lacey and 100 picked men went with him as bodyguards. Thomas Sumter survived his serious wound and took the field again in a few months.||Dr. Robert Brownfield was acquainted with a broad array of southern military leaders including Greene, Marion, and Horry. He was assigned to General Francis Marion (the Sqamp Fox) during the latter months of the war. When William D. James wrote his biography of Marion in 1809, he interviewed a number of acquaintances including Dr. Robert Brownfield.||It is difficult to imagine the primitive procedures and supplies used by 18th century physicians. Toward the end of the war Georgia records reveal a glimpse into the dire circumstancesunder which these men were forced to function:||"Executive Council of the Colony of Georgia in Council at Savannah on the 16th of August 1782. Two letters were presented the Board by Major Habersham from Doctor Brownfield, Surgeon of the hospital at the great swamp, representing the melancholy situation of the hospital at that place for the want of necessary supplied for the hospital, therefore,||Ordered, that the said articles requisite for the said hospital be immediately furnished. And that one quarter cask of wine, one of rum, and eight bushels of salt be procured for that purpose."||In those years immediately following the war, Robert Brownfield joined with another bright young physician from Mecklenburg County, NC, Joseph Blyth, to establish a medical practice in Georgetown, SC. Georgetown was a smaller version of Charleston and just up the coast from her sister city. It had a substantial number of citizens who were well-educated, well-endowed, and influential in state government.||The two bachelor doctors from NC were not only well received in Georgetown but became notable citizens. Seven years younger than Brownfield, Dr. Blyth was also of Scotch-Irish Presbyterian stock and had served in the American Revolution.||To both these young patriots their most memorable day in Georgetown was the late April day in 1791 when President Washington visited the city. George Rogers, Jr., described the scene in THE HISTORY OF GEORGETOWN, SOUTH CAROLINA (1970):||"At Colonel Alston's he was met by General William Moultrie, Colonel William Washington, and John Rutledge, Jr., who brought him a letter of welcome from Governor Charles Pinckney.||The President with his welcomers were rowed down the river to Georgetown in an 'elegant painted boat' manned by the captains of vessels in the harbor, who were dressed in 'round hats trimmed with gold lace, blue coats, and white jackets.'||On arriving opposite the market, they were saluted by artillery fire from the foot of Broat Street. At the landing the 'handsomely uniformed' Light Infantry Company stood with presented arms. The President was conducted to the home of Benjamin Alston where he was read an address of welcome signed on behalf of the inhabitants by Hugh Horry, Dr. Joseph Blyth, Erasmus Rothmahler, Francis Kinloch, George Keith, Matthew Irvine, and DR. ROBERT BROWNFIELD.||After responding to this address, a committee of masons from Prince George's Lodge, No. 16 of Georgetown, presented an address which was signed by L. White, R. Gran, A. Cohen, J. Blyth, and J. Carson. Then followed a public dinner with toasts to 'The United States of America' and 'The Federal Government', followed by others to 'France,' 'Lafayette', 'Greene', and ultimately 'Our Illustrious President'."||By 1790 Dr. Brownfield had accumulated a sizeable estate. In 1786 the State of North Carolina awarded him, for his services in the war, 1000 acres of land "on the E. fork of Buffaloe Creek in Davidson County, Tennessee."||In the same year South Carolina granted him 1,920 acres in Camden District. In 1787 Robert Brownfield "and others" were granted 5,740 acres in Georgetown District and in 1788 he received 4,351 acres in Chewaw District.||Other records show that he was also granted land by the Federal Government in Ohio and deed records prove that he owned land in Botetourt County, Virginia in the late 1700's. It was with land that Revolutionary Officers were rewarded for their services.||In 1799, at age 49, Dr. Brownfield was married to Miss Susan Heriot of Georgetown.||If Dr. Brownfield had not already joined the Episcopal Church prior to marriage, it seems that he did soon after.||Granddaughter Susan Brownfield wrote years later "one ole friend of his could tell me that Dr. Brownfield was highly cultivated, a delightful companion, loved and respected by everyone, and a devout member of the Episcopal Church."||The granddaughter also recalled one particular occasion when in preparation for a visit to his home by General Sumter, Dr. Brownfield purchased a beautiful new Chippendle chair. Later, when the general arrived and was invited to sit in the new chair, he replied "Now Bob, you know we never sat on anything that fancy during the war." He then declined the invitation to sit in the new chair.||In 1799 a group of citizensin Georgetown interested in having a quality library organized one of the first library societies in the South. Dr. Brownfield was elected as vice-president. However, the gentleman who was elected president declined and the records show that Dr. Brownfield served as the first President of the Georgetown Library Society.||Perhaps it was due to the persuasion of General Sumter who had been elected to Congress from South Carolina that Dr. Brownfield moved to Sumer County from Georgetown between 1801 and 1806.||Dr. Brownfield estblished his home and plantation a short distance from the Sumter home and it was called "Woodville." He continued his medical practice here, managed a sizeable plantation with the help of 26 slaves and, with Susan, raised a family. Their only daughter died in her youth. They also had two sons William, who never married and died around 1850, and John W. who went off to college around 1825 and was a college student when his father died.||The death of Dr. Brownfield, the distinguished Revolutionary War surgeon, was reported in the NEW YORK SPECTATOR. He died on February 16, 1827, at his home near Stateurg, South Carolina.|||| Dr. Robert Brownfield, I have found since I did my initial research, was the president of a college before he entered the Revolutionary War. The Presbyterians in Mecklenburg County, NC established a college, called Queen's College, in 1770, and hoped to get a charter from the King but never did. They continued to operate and when the first president resigned they asked Dr. Robert Brownfield to serve the college as president and he agreed to take the job for a year in 1778. The college was taken over by British troops in 1780 and, unfortunately, never to again reopen. - R. L. Guffin||Notes for SUSAN HERLOT:|The Herlots were an old established Scottish family in Georgetown.||Children of ROBERT BROWNFIELD and SUSAN HERLOT are:|11. i. JOHN W.4 BROWNFIELD, b. Abt. 1807; d. 1869, South Carolina.| ii. WILLIAM BROWNFIELD18, b. South Carolina18.