Scipio Handley

Scipio Handley
Scipio Handley
Citizenship	British
Occupation(s)	Fisherman, fishmonger
Years active	fl. 1775–1784
Known for	Serving as a Black Loyalist for the British during the American Revolution

Scipio Handley (fl. 1775–1784) was a free Negro who lived in British North America during the late 1700s. Initially a fisherman and fishmonger in the Province of South Carolina, Handley is best known as a Black Loyalist who assisted the British cause during the American Revolution. In 1775, he was caught by Patriots and sentenced to death for serving as a courier for Lord William Campbell, the royal governor of the province. However, Handley escaped from his imprisonment and accompanied the royal governor to Barbados, where he joined the Royal Navy. With the military, he served on the British side during the Siege of Savannah, during which time he was severely wounded. Following the war, he was brought to England and appeared before a government commission in London for the compensation of losses suffered during the revolution. He was awarded £20, becoming the only Black Loyalist to receive financial compensation for property losses. After 1784, he disappears from the historical record.

Biography

Early history

Scipio Handley was a free Negro who lived in Charles Town in the Province of South Carolina during the American Revolution.^[1]^[2]^{[note 1]} Sources vary regarding his early history, including whether or not he had ever been enslaved.^{[note 2]} His status as a black freeman was rare in Charles Town, as over 90 percent of the black people in the city at the time were enslaved.^[7] Handley worked as a fisherman and fishmonger,^[2]^[8]^[9] largely working alongside enslaved people.^[7] Handley was successful in this career, as he was a ship's captain and earned enough money to afford to buy furniture and clothes in the town's market.^[10]^[11]

Activities during the revolution

In 1775, during the early period of the American Revolutionary War, the royal government of South Carolina began to lose power as anti-British sentiment grew.^[12] That year, Thomas Jeremiah, a free Negro who worked as a harbor pilot in Charles Town, was killed by hanging and burning for allegedly trying to incite black people to aid the British.^[12] According to historian Robert Olwell, Jeremiah was most likely a scapegoat whose death was used by the Patriots in South Carolina as a warning to other black people regarding their political affiliations and activities.^[7] As a fellow free Negro who worked on the docks of Charles Town, it is very likely that Handley personally knew Jeremiah.^[13]^[14]^[15]

Lord William Campbell, for whom Handley served as a courier in 1775

Around this same time, Lord William Campbell, the royal governor of South Carolina, was staying aboard a British warship stationed off the coast of Charles Town as a refugee from the increasing political volatility in the province.^[16] Following Jeremiah's death, Handley acted as a courier for Campbell, delivering messages to and from the royal governor and his supporters on the mainland.^[7] Several weeks later, during one of his boat rides, Handley was discovered by a group of Patriot militiamen who opened fire on his boat, wounding one of his crewmates.^[7] Handley was ultimately captured and imprisoned.^[4]^[2]^[5] While imprisoned, he was sentenced to death by the Patriots for acting against the Continental Congress.^[7] Upon learning of his planned execution, Handley acquired a file and was able to file away his chains before jumping from his holding cell on the second floor of the local jail.^[17]^[18]^[19] In total, he had been held in jail for six weeks.^[7] After escaping, he fled to the governor's ship seeking refuge.^[7] In January 1776, when the governor's ship departed from South Carolina, Handley, alongside several other black people from the province,^[20] accompanied him.^[7] The ship first went to St. Augustine in East Florida.^[18] The ship eventually made its way to the British colony of Barbados.^[21]^[22]^[5]

Military service

While in Barbados, Handley volunteered to fight for the British in the Revolutionary War,^[23] ultimately joining the Royal Navy.^[4]^[24] Upon hearing that the British had reclaimed the Province of Georgia,^[25] Handley boarded the first British ship from Barbados going to the colony,^[21] arriving in late 1778.^[26]

Handley lived in Savannah, Georgia, where he worked at a British armory for several weeks,^[5] producing grapeshot for the war effort.^[4]^[24]^[25] In 1779,^[7] when French and Patriot forces conducted the Siege of Savannah, Handley participated in the city's defense.^[21] During the battle, Handley transported grapeshot to a cannon located on a redoubt.^[4]^[25] During the battle, he suffered a bullet wound from a musket shot in his leg.^[23] The wound became gangrenous,^[24] and his leg was almost amputated as a result.^[4]^[5] Although it was not amputated, the wound never fully healed,^[27] and years later, Handley reported that he still suffered intense and debilitating pain.^[28]

Following the war

At the conclusion of the war, as part of the terms ending the conflict, Handley was taken back to England with the departing British forces.^[7] He was one of a number of injured soldiers evacuated to England, and while there he received a military discharge.^[29] In London, Handley appeared before the Loyalist Claims Commission, seeking government compensation for losses suffered as a result of the successful revolution.^[27] Ultimately, he received £20 in compensation for property losses.^[30]^[31]^[32] In doing so, he became the only Black Loyalist to receive compensation for property losses.^[33] This occurred in January 1784, and the report collected by the commission provides a narrative of Handley's life.^[7] After the commission, Handley disappears from the historical record.^[7]

Notes

^ The city of Charleston, South Carolina, was known as "Charles Town" during the American Revolution. It was officially renamed to "Charleston" in 1783.^[3]
^ In a 2023 book, historian Philip Thomas Tucker stated that Handley had previously been enslaved, but escaped.^[4] This is seemingly corroborated in a 2012 book by Alan Gilbert, where he said that Handley "had left his Patriot master" in 1775.^[5] However, J. William Harris, in a 2009 book, stated that Handley had been born to a free woman who was a successful baker in Charles Town.^[6]

References

^ Fraser 1991, p. 154.
^ ^a ^b ^c Dawson 2013, p. 99.
^ Butler 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Tucker 2023, p. 186.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Gilbert 2012, p. 139.
^ Harris 2009, p. 33.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Olwell 2021.
^ Brown 1964, p. 557.
^ Hoock 2017, p. 300.
^ Gilbert 2012, p. 139, "He had been a ship's captain ... in Charlestown, South Carolina.".
^ Harris 2009, p. 35.
^ ^a ^b Palmer 2014, p. 132.
^ Gilbert 2012, p. 139, "He had been a ship's captain and knew Thomas Jeremiah in Charlestown, South Carolina.".
^ Fraser 1991, p. 154, "Scipio Handley ... may have known Thomas Jeremiah".
^ Olwell 2021, "As a fellow fisherman, he would have known Thomas Jeremiah.".
^ Quarles 1961, p. 142.
^ Callahan 1963, p. 243.
^ ^a ^b Harris 2009, p. 154.
^ Olwell 1998, p. 240.
^ Pybus 2006, p. 23.
^ ^a ^b ^c Pressly 2024, p. 64.
^ Snyder 2012, p. 177.
^ ^a ^b Brooking 2014, pp. 272–273.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hoock 2017, p. 301.
^ ^a ^b ^c Piecuch 2008, p. 169.
^ Pybus 2006, p. 37.
^ ^a ^b Snyder 2012, p. 178.
^ Gilbert 2012, pp. 139–140.
^ Pybus 2006, pp. 38, 58.
^ Jasanoff 2012, p. 135.
^ Pybus 2006, p. 79.
^ Schama 2006, p. 179.
^ Hoock 2017, p. 395.

Sources

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