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Elizabeth (Marshall) Martin 1725 ~ 1770
Nowhere in the history of the Revolution
do we find greater piety and heroism displayed than in the life
of Elizabeth Martin. Her maiden name was Elizabeth Marshall,
and, a native of Carolina County, Virginia, she was probably one
of the family from which descended Chief Justice Marshall, since
of the same neighborhood After her marriage to Abram Martin she
removed to his settlement bordering on the Indian nation, in
what was called District "Ninety-six," in South Carolina. The
country at that time was sparsely settled, most of its
inhabitants being pioneers from other states. Their proximity to
the Indians had caused the adoption of some of the latter's
savage habits, and for a time life was very crude indeed. Yet
this district was among the foremost in sending to the
Revolutionary field its hearty and enterprising troops to oppose
the British.
At the commencement of the contest Elizabeth Martin had nine
children, seven of whom were sons old enough to bear arms. When
the first call for volunteers sounded through the land the
mother encouraged patriotic zeal in them. "Go, boys," she said,
"fight for your country, fight till death if you must, but never
let your country be dishonored. Were I a man I would go with
you."
At another time when Colonel Cruger, commanding the British at
Augusta, stopped with several British officers at her house for
refreshment, and one of them asked how many sons she had, she
answered, "Eight." To a question as to their whereabouts she
replied promptly, "Seven of them are engaged in the service of
their country." "Really, Madame," observed the officer
sneeringly, "You have enough of them." "No, sir," retorted the
matron, "I wish I had fifty."
At the time of the siege of Charleston the sound of the cannon
could be heard clearly in that part of the state and Mrs. Martin
knew they must come from the besieged city. As report after
report reached her ears she became more and more fearful lest
each sound might be the knell of her sons, three of whom were
then in Charleston. Their wives were with her and shared the
same heart-chilling fears. They stood still for a few minutes,
each wrapped in her own painful and silent reflections. At
length the mother, lifting her hands and eyes toward heaven,
exclaimed fervently "Thank God they are the children of the
Republic!" Of the seven patriot brothers six were spared through
all the dangers of partisan war-fare in that region of dark and
bloody ground. But the eldest, William M. Martin, was killed at
the siege of Augusta, just after he had obtained a favorable
position for his cannon by elevating it on one of the towers
constructed by General Pickens. It is related that not long
after his death a British officer, anxious to gratify his hatred
of the Whigs by carrying fatal news of these gallant young men,
called at the house of Mrs. Martin and asked if she had not a
son in the army at Augusta. She replied in the affirmative.
'Then I saw his brains blown out on the field of battle," said
this monster, who anticipated triumph in the tight of a parent's
agony. The effect of the startling announcement was, however,
other than he had expected. Terrible as was the shock and
aggrieved by the ruthless cruelty with which her bereavement was
made known, no woman's weakness was yet allowed to appear. After
listening to the dreadful recital, the only reply made by
Elizabeth Martin was, "He could not have died in a nobler
cause." The evident chagrin of the officer as he turned and rode
away was treasured as a family tradition.
Women of
America
Source: The Part Taken by Women in
American History, By Mrs. John A. Logan, Published by The Perry-Nalle
Publishing Company, Wilmington, Delaware, 1912.
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