Records of the South Carolina Treasury: 1775-1780, 1787

            The dispute between Britain and her American colonies lead to the outbreak of the American Revolution. By the end of 1774 South Carolina began establishing a new government consisting of a Provincial Congress, which assembled in January 1775. This body began immediately establishing committees to oversee enforcement of the embargo in British trade and to prepare the defense of the colony. Lieutenant Governor had become little more than a figurehead. After August 30, 1775, the Commons House ceased altogether to hold sessions. In September 1775 South Carolina troops seized Fort Johnson and Governor Campbell fled. A Second Provincial Congress, elected in the fall, met as the First General Assembly of the State of South Carolina under the new constitution of March 26, 1776. This situation changed temporarily during the occupation by the British of Charleston between May 12, 1780 and September 14, 1782.

The Public Treasury of South Carolina came into being as a result of the Duty Act of 1691. The Public Treasurer handled only the funds generated by acts of the General Assembly. During both the proprietary and royal periods there were other funds which were raised by authority of the proprietors, the king, or parliament and which were handled by other officials. By the new Constitution of South Carolina, adopted March 26, 1776, the "Commissioners of the Treasury" be chosen by the General Assembly and Legislative Council jointly by ballot and commissioned by the President..." Benjamin Dart and Henry Peronneau, the assistant to the previous Treasurer, were joint Treasurers for the years 1771 to 1776 leading into the Revolutionary Treasury period. They continued in office until April 9, 1776 when the revolutionary Provincial Congress revoked their commissions and turned over control of the Public Treasury to three commissioners: Gideon Dupont, Roger Smith, and George Abbott Hall. Mr. Lambert, in his introduction to this collection, indicates that "apart from issuing currency, the commissioners were responsible for collecting taxes, floating the loans, and keeping the accounts of every new division of government."
            

            These records of the South Carolina Treasury (1775-1780, 1787) contain: Cashbooks, which were daily records of receipts and expenditures; Journals, which contain monthly entries; and Ledgers, in which a statement of debits and credits on each account was given. The Public Ledger, 1775-77 and Ledger, 1777-80 both contain indices at the start. The Waste Book,1778-1779 appears to be for sums which were paid and collected at a later date, or not recorded for some time.

The records reflect the increased responsibilities of the revolutionary treasury as the expenses of the Revolution and the problems of supplying the new government grew. In Mr. Lambert's Introduction to the collection, he states the records during these years "show the tension between whigs and royalists in, for example, a payment to 'Wm. Henry Drayton and Wm. Tennent on the Public Service' rewarding their efforts in an expedition to neutralize loyalist sentiment in the back country." Some of the subject matters found in the index to the material include: commodities (such as, sugars, hemp, clothes, salt, flour, indigo and tea); military (forts, regiments, militia, artillery, magazines and the navy); societies; prisoners; prizes and seizures; Indians (natives/indigenous people); free schools (education); fines and forfeitures; hospital; individual estates, religion (vestry and parishes); vessels (named) and voyages, and vagrants (poverty and the poor). What is apparent from these records is the abundance of financial support the government received through bonded debt from its residents. South Carolina bondholders were very diverse: individuals, insurance companies, banks, religious organisations, fraternal societies, and women.

Reel breakdown is as follows:

	
Reel 1: Public Ledger, 1775-1777 + Index; Cash Book, 1775-1777
	
Reel 2: Ledger, 1777-1780 Part I + Index for Parts I and II
	
Reel 3: Ledger, 1777-1780 (1787) Part II, pages 352-750
	
Reel 4: Journal of Receipts and Payments, 1778-1780; Cash Receipts and Payments, 1777-1790
	
Reel 5: Cash Books, 1778-June 30 1779; July 1779-April 24, 180; July 1779-February 14, 1780
	
Reel 6: Waste Book, 1778-1779

            

The records are located at the South Carolina Archives.

SC-Ar M-4

            An Introduction by Robert S. Lambert is filmed at the beginning of each reel which explains in more detail the contents of these books and how best to utilise. This is also available in print.

Indices: There is an alphabetical index of names and topics for each Ledger, one found at the start of Reel 1; the other, Reel 2. Note: The indexes fail to provide complete references to the many names which appear under such general heads as "Contingencies" or Militia Regiments." The indexes are also not in strict alphabetical order. 

	
Online: Indices noted above are available electronically, see Electronic Finding Aid section, below.

            

Related publications:

W. Robert Higgins, "The South Carolina Revolutionary Debt and its Holders, 1776-1780" in South Carolina Historical Magazine, vol. 72, no. 1, pp 15-29.