Records in the British Public Record Office Relating to South Carolina: 1663-1782

Some or all of the documents are available electronically; see Finding Aid section. This collection of selected and transcribed records (1663-1782) pertaining to British administration in South Carolina, and its period as part of the Propriety of Carolina (which included North Carolina) contains entry books and correspondence of the Board of Trade and secretaries of state in Britain with the governors of Carolina; as well as associated writing between public offices which relates to the colony, as well as communications to governors from inhabitants of every rank and stature. Also includes to a much lesser extent correspondence of the secretary of state with North Carolina and Virginia as it relates to Carolina. As it concerns oversight of the colony, the subject matter is broad and varied and includes major themes, such as, colonisation and settlement, trade and commerce, agriculture, wars and society, military, local history, government and politics, finance and economics, diplomacy and relations, natives or indigenous peoples, black history and slavery, and maritime matters such as shipping. 

Arrangement: The transcriptions of originals were re-organised by Sainsbury chronologically and organised into 36 volumes in total, but the original reference is located on each document, including the volume and page number. 

Detailed Contents: Volume 36 (July 1775-Feb. 1782): Covers the time frame during the years of the American Revolution in the area of South Carolina, and to a lesser extent, Georgia, with the bulk covering 1775-76 and 1781, and provides the perspective of the colonial governors in their correspondence with the secretaries of state in Britain. Correspondents in the first couple of years also include the governor’s letters with military commanders and officers, such as Vice-Admiral Samuel Graves, General Thomas Gage, General William Howe and Captain Edward Thornborough; and with the former colonial governor of North Carolina, Josiah Martin. From 1777 to 1779, documents contain memorials to the secretaries of state from the former governors of South Carolina (William Campbell and William Bull), and Georgia (James Wright and John Graham). William Bull’s correspondence from the end of 1780 to the summer of 1781 is almost entirely with the secretary of state; also contains a couple of letters between Egerton Leigh (former attorney general and member of council in South Carolina) and the secretary of state. 

Accumulated together, this volume sheds light on two periods in South Carolina: one in which the British were exiled out of government at the beginnings of the conflict, and the other in which they regained control of Charles Town for a short period near the end of the conflict; the former saw the banished governor’s efforts, from the harbour, to gain British attention to assist his colony, and the latter saw the British trying to maintain control without a formal government while surrounded by rebels, both unsuccessfully. Subject matter relates to the situation in and around Charleston and the backcountry, including Georgia, on the following: vessel movements and dangers such as privateering, particularly disruptive to communications, and an expedition (1776); rebel fortifications and activities, and British military policy; need for a civil government; detrimental effects of war on black people, loyalists to the British cause, agriculture, money and jobs; and personal sentiments reflecting a strong sense of duty and optimism, and the personal toll the controversy wreaked. (See Electronic Finding Aid section for a list of documents for this volume.) 

The transcriptions includes selections pertaining to South Carolina from the following original records, denoting the current reference and indicating current style of arrangement for The National Archives' originals: