Historical Sketch: The Georgetown Rifle Guards

There were three major Atlantic seaports along the South Carolina coast. The largest was the vibrant city of Charleston on Charleston Harbor. The second located south of Charleston was Port Royal near Beaufort. To the north of Charleston and nestled within Winyah Bay was the port community of Georgetown. Georgetown played a vital role in the economy of South Carolina and the South. Georgetown District was also the home of some of the wealthiest men in the South and all of the United States though you would hardly notice it. Georgetown exuded none to the rich culture of Charleston. It did exceed Charleston in rice exports and in slaves. While the District of Charleston had close to one slave for each white inhabitant, in Georgetown District the ratio of slaves to whites was nine to one.

Any port community serving a major industry is vital to a nation; in a time of crisis, even more so. As concerns of a pending conflict with the North grew more vociferous with each passing year following the Missouri Compromise of 1820, Southern communities looked to local militias to provide security in times of unrest. Vigilance and a pervasive suspicion of Northerners became common as Southerners saw their way of life from without as well as within. In 1822, a Charleston slave by the name of Denmark Vesey listened to the debates taking place around him when the streets of Charleston was filled with talk of white Americans who did not embrace slavery. The issue was the admittance of Missouri to the Union as a slave state. The Missouri Compromise had made slavery a national issue for the first time in the nation’s history and a new word, “abolitionists” circulated through the South. The mere existence of whites in the North who opposed slavery prompted Vesey to plot not only his freedom, but also those of all blacks in Charleston. His bold plan was to involve Charleston large slave and free black population in a revolt to overwhelm the white slave owners in Charleston and declare war on slavery. Before Vesey could put his plan into motion he was betrayed by another slave and was executed.

Thirty years later, many Southerners still feared the threat of slave rebellions. The belief that Northern abolitionist might sneak into the South and organize their slaves to rise up against them in the same manner as Denmark Vesey seemed a very real threat. That suspicion escalated in the late 1850s when pro-slavery forces demanded the right to take slaves into the Western territories. Across the Palmetto State of South Carolina, communities organized companies of volunteer militia that instilled a sense of confidence that they could repel Northern invaders should it come to war with the North over slaves. 

The citizens of Georgetown responded and in May 1859 formed their own militia company, the Georgetown Rifle Guards. To the beat of a their very own drum and fife corps composed of free blacks and slaves, the members of the Georgetown Rifle Guards paraded through the streets of Georgetown at every civic occasion. In the South, where many believed they were a last bastion of chivalry in the land, the majority of the white population, from the plantation gentry to the yeoman farmers, partook in organized events that demonstrated contemporary knightly skills that included horseback riding and target shooting. Children as young as nine years of age knew how to handle a rifle as their fathers instructed them through lessons on how to hunt squirrels. It was young men schooled an early age in military arts that formed the core of the Rifle Guard and the residents of Georgetown took pride in their volunteer militia in resplendent deep blue uniforms with gold buttons, each imprinted with the emblem of a palmetto tree. Shoulders of uniforms worn by privates in the company sported puffs and were trimmed with gold laces. Non-commissioned officers marched along side the rank and file wearing swords with colorful sashes. The officers donned blue military hats with plumes of blue and white feathers and featuring the palmetto emblem on front. In the summer, the company wore white pants; in the winter, black. “It made a neat and attractive uniform,” wrote one member of the company. A “worthy and respected” Georgetown barber named George Douglas led he drum and fife corps Douglas, according to the Census rolls of 1860 was a free “mulatto,” or black of mixed race. (Emanuel 5-6; Malet 141; U.S. Census, 1860)
 

The census roll of 1860 listing George Douglas, listed here as a free mulatto barber, and his family. The roll also shows that he owns $400 in real estate and $200 in personal property. Source: U.S. Census, 1860.

One young man who was lured to the pomp and excitement of the Rifle Guards was seventeen-year old Robert W. Sing of a tiny All Saint’s community called Bucksville, located in Horry District. What was the primary attraction that lured Sing to join the militia?

[July 17, 2011; July 20, 2011]