After thirteen months, the officers were told they would be sent to the West India islands. At this time, Lord Montague wrote to General Moultrie offering him land and command in the British Army if he deserted the Patriot cause and joined the British. While British ships anchored in the harbor, General Moultrie responded to Lord Montague with bravery:
"You say that by quitting this country for a short time I might avoid disagreeable conversations, and might return at my own leisure and take possession of my estates for myself and family; but you have forgot to tell me how I am to get rid of the feelings of my injured, honest heart, and where to hide myself from myself. Could I be guilty of so much baseness, I should hate myself and shun mankind."
The original letters of the correspondence between General Moultrie and Lord Montague are preserved in the South Carolina Historical Society. In December 1782, due to tireless guerrilla warfare from generals Francis Marion and Thomas Sumter, the British evacuated Charleston.
For more information: Historical Markers in Mount Pleasant (#5) - List and Map; History of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina by P. R. McIver; and
mountpleasanthistorical.org
Image Credit: Mount Pleasant: The Victorian Village by Mary-Julia Royall
