1742 – 1813
Edward Lacey
There are many stories of Edward Lacey’s gallantry during the war. When Tarleton made his surprise attack at Fishing Creek, destroying Sumter’s camp, Lacey “ordered his men to huddle behind the baggage wagons to post effective resistance” and was one of the few that escaped the bloody defeat. At Blackstocks in November 1780, he “swung swiftly through the woods on the right to flank Tarleton’s dragoons. Lacey approached unperceived within 50 yards from the British and opened fire point-blank on the unsuspecting horsemen.” And in Sept 1782, likely his final act in the war, Lacey was sent with 15-20 of his men, to protect Edisto Island. He captured two enemy boats, which he burned and sank, and upon his retreat, was overtaken by the British landing party. The shrewd Colonel, however, had stationed his riflemen in a very advantageous position, and he “thoroughly routed the opposition with two effective broadsides.”
When we read about the American Revolution, we mostly read about General George Washington and the battles in the North, but read any book about the war in the South and you will see Edward Lacey’s name peppered throughout. Rev. Robert Lathan [1] South Carolina in the Revolution, Rev. Robert Lathan, D.D., Yorkville Inquirer, 1876 described him as “one of those impetuous creatures who never do anything by halves. Whatever he undertook, he did with all his might; daringly reckless, but admirably suited for the kind of warfare in which he was engaged.” But of all the stories of his bravery and steadfastness, here are my two favorites:
No More Whiskey Tonight!
Shortly after King’s Mountain, General Sumter sent Lacey out to rally 150 new recruits for a planned attack at Ninety-Six. It didn’t take long. Lacey and the officers who accompanied him had become popular heroes amongst the young men in the South and they were all too eager to join them in the fight. By the third day, they had made their quota and headed back toward the camp. Lacey told the young recruits that he knew of a barrel of whiskey at a grocery at Mobley’s. They could stop on the way, for a short time to rest and refresh. The barrel was rolled out and every tin cup, pan, coffee pot, gourd, and crock was used to share the refreshment.
In half an hour, they were told to mount their horses and they were on their way. Two to three miles down the road, they spotted a British scouting part at a crossroads. Lacey stopped and consulted with the other officers. The officers agreed they were not, just then, “in trim to fight”. “The creature comfort taken at the store had operated on the heads of the boys so that it was with much ado that they could keep their saddles.”[2]Life of Edward Lacey, Dr. Maurice A. Moore, 1859 The young boys thought different though. One of them saw the enemy and cried out “The red-coats! Let’s get ’em!” They rushed toward the British whooping and screaming at the top of their lungs, which magnified to the enemy the number of them. The Brits fled into the woods and when Lacey got to the crossroads, he veered his men to the right, opposite the direction of the enemy, still making his men believe that the red-coats were just ahead.
When they arrived at Sumter’s camp, just four miles away, he gave the General a humorous account of their narrow escape, at which he laughed most heartily and ordered full rations for the recruits, “but no more whiskey tonight.”
Surrounded by One
Retold from Maurice A. Moore’s account in The Life of General Edward Lacey
Lacey learned somehow that a party of Tories had assembled at the house of a Loyalist by the name of Lamb, a few miles from his own house. He knew that before he could gather his men together, they would be gone. So he boldly went to the house alone and demanded a surrender. The Tories refused and Lacey retired to the woods, about one hundred yards off, behind a hill, but still in good view of the house.
As soon as any one of the Tories would open the door and show themselves, he would fire on them. After continuing this for quite some time, Lacey went again to the house hurriedly and advised them to surrender immediately, otherwise his men would murder every one of them in spite of his objections, and he couldn’t hold them back any longer. After a short consultation, the Tories capitulated and laid down their arms. He ordered them to march twenty paces and halt and, after securing and rendering their guns useless, he took up his own piece and to their great chagrin and mortification, ordered them to march. He was entirely alone.
After the War
York County was described as diversified, undulating, of mingled hill and dale, mountain and valley. The forest trees are the various kinds of oak, hickory, poplar, chestnut, and some short leaf pine. The fruit trees are of apples, pears, peaches, and cherries. The birds; the partridge, dove, mocking-bird, crow, hawk and many others. The habits of the people are moral and industrious and the district is provided with good and improving schools. This was the land that Edward Lacey fought for.
After the war, Colonel Lacey was elected a Brigadier General and was appointed one of the first County Court Judges in Chester District. He was sent by Chester to the General Assembly of South Carolina, where he served until 1793, when he declined reelection and retired from political life.
By 1796, Tennessee was admitted as the 16th state and in October 1797, Edward emigrated west with all of his children, first to Montgomery County, Tennessee, where Francis remained, and then in 1799, to Livingston, Kentucky. Here he served as a County Court Judge.
There is legend that, when he was a young man, Edward Lacey went to Charlestown to sell bees wax and hides. He visited a gypsy woman to get his fortune told. She told him that he would become a great warrior and never shed any blood in battle, but he would die by drowning. He went on to fight in sixteen engagements and he was never wounded. The closest he came to being harmed was at Kings Mountain when a ball passed through his hat and cut the hair at the top of his head. It burned but not a drop of blood was shed.
On March 30, 1813, while crossing Deer Creek, he was thrown from his horse while having an epileptic seizure, and drowned. The gypsy woman had been right. His widow, Jane, died two months later.[3]Nothing but Blood and Slaughter – the Revolutionary War in the Carolinas, Volume Four, 1782 by Patrick O’Kelley, 2005
His obituary read, “The name of Lacey will be ever cherished by those who knew him well – as a soldier, public officer, and citizen.”
Edward & Jane Lacey
William M. Lacey (1767 – 1843)
Jane Lacey Miles (1771 – 1820)
Edward Lacey III (1775 – 1858)
Robert Lacey (1777 – 1846)
Samuel Lacey (1779 – 1830)
Elizabeth Harper Lacey Lusk (1780 – 1849)
Capt. Joshua Lacey (1780 – 1867)
Mary Lacey (1783 – 1849)
James Lacey (1786 – 1852)
Adelia Lacey Sandefur (1792 – 1862)
Annie Lacey Sandefur (1794 – 1850)
Kentucky horse farm at sunset
Historical Documents
Appointment to Sheriff by William Moultrie (1785)
Appointment to Judge by John Sanford (1795)
These plats show Edward Lacey’s property next to William Adair’s and other neighbors
Edward Lacey’s Handwriting (lower)
Edward Lacey Sr’s Will (1797)
Very interesting.
My direct-line ancestor is Reuben Lacey, Col. Edward Lacey’s brother. Reuben served in the then Capt. Lacey’s militia company early in the Rev War.
In his biography of Col. Lacey, Dr. Maurice Moore mentions an amusing anecdote which occurred between the two brothers the night before Huck’s Defeat in 1780. I’ve written a paper about this incident. It, and another about Reuben’s militia service, can be found at: https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/104062787/person/170037092979/facts