Editor’s Note: The Enterprise is pleased to partner with the Colonel Abram Penn Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution to present My Patriot Ancestor, an ongoing series highlighting Revolutionary War patriots through the stories of local DAR members and their families.
By Ann Robertson McConnell
Soon after I retired, my cousin introduced me to genealogy. It was through researching and discovering who my ancestors were that I learned I was a direct lineal descendant of a soldier who fought in the American Revolution. My patriot ancestor is Daniel Givens. In 2017 I joined the Colonel Abram Penn Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. Daniel Givens was born c1745 in Virginia. His family settled in an area called Meadow Creek, not far from Sinking Creek, near New Castle, VA. Daniel’s parents are believed to have come from County Antrim in Northern Ireland. He married Martha Camden in 1764 and they had at least eight children. They farmed their land in what is now Craig County. Givens died in March 1823.
In May 1780, Daniel Givens, serving in the Southern Carolina Campaign before the Battle of King’s Mountain, fought in a contingent of the patriot forces that operated in the York County, SC area. At that time the British captured the only significant American army in the South at Charleston, South Carolina. In June that year, Patriots were compelled to either take an oath of loyalty to the king or be regarded as “rebels and enemies of their country.” In the backcountry of South Carolina the Patriots selected their own leaders to continue to fight against the Tory militia. In early July, Christian Huck, a Philadelphia lawyer and captain in Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton’s British Legion, was ordered to find rebel leaders and persuade other area residents to swear allegiance to the king. Huck held a great deal of bitterness toward the patriots. Huck’s troops burned homes and tortured women and children and threatened prison and death to any who dared resist the British. This simply encouraged more men to join the rebels, who were organizing a militia brigade under Brigadier General Thomas Sumter. With the help of a partisan leader’s younger sister and a neighbor’s enslaved man providing vital information about the Tory army, the loosely organized Patriot forces swarmed after Huck. About 150 arrived in the vicinity of a plantation in Chester County where Huck’s troops had encamped for the night. Huck’s security was extremely lax and shortly after sunrise, at least two groups of Patriot groups managed to attack simultaneously. The British and Loyalist troops were caught completely by surprise; many were still asleep. Huck was shot and killed as he mounted his horse to rally his troops. Tory losses were very high…only 24 men escaped. Patriot losses were one killed and one wounded.
Although the numbers engaged were small, the importance of the skirmish was immediately clear. Volunteers streamed in to join the partisan militia of General Sumter. Huck’s defeat has been called a major turning point in the American Revolution in South Carolina.
Information for this article is from Wikipedia and the personal records of the author.
Any woman 18 years or older, regardless of race, religion or ethnic background, who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution is eligible for membership. NSDAR is a nonprofit, non-political volunteer women’s service organization. Help researching and proving your lineage can be provided by the Colonel Abram Penn Chapter by contacting Ann Robertson McConnell at [email protected].
