The SAR MAGAZINE is the official quarterly publication of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution published quarterly.
Issue link: http://sar.epubxp.com/i/258013
WINTER 2013-14 11 Listen my friends while this old Bard, Tells of the midnight ride of Mary D'illard; And how this Carolina lady, a belle of our nation Saved a Patriot Regiment from annihilation. On Nineteen November, Seventeen Eighty, Not a single man is now about lately Who was among the Patriots' guard that night. With his two-hundred men and cavalry light, He had all the power to make his side right. British General Banastre Tarleton was he, Who marched into her home on the Enoree. "Bloody Ban" is his sobriquet in this latter day A moniker he earned for his odious ways. Notorious and reviled among the Patriots that day, For his massacre of one-hundred thirteen in May. He demanded she feed them their meal for the night And feed them she did but listened with sleight. She dined all of his two-hundred men While they plotted and designed for the Patriots' end She served intently and learned of their plan To rapine the Patriots to every last man. Against General Thomas Sumter and his eighty-five, Some of whom were still barely alive After Tarleton's slaughter at Waxhaws in May Under the white flag that was hoisted that day. She would warn Sumter and his men of the coming affray, And make them all thankful for her presence that day. She declared to her son, "The British will stride For Blackstock's Plantation to-night, To General Sumter and his troops I must ride And give them fair warning of the coming fight." So fastening his gown beneath her bed post; To act in her stead as her baby's host, Then bridling her steed, no time to saddle, She rode straight to Sumter to warn him of battle. Galloping swiftly to spread the alarm Mary passed every Laurens County village and farm, To Sumter and his men to save them from harm. So twenty miles she rode alone though the night, Bareback but able and full of her right, To tell of Tarleton and his Loyalist men, And the upcoming scrimmage that was soon to begin. She rode through the night to Green Springs where they tramped. Rode swiftly to videttes and entered their camp. She found General Sumter and told of their plans. The General – his aides gathered all hands, To thwart the attack that was looming at morn. So they readied their muskets, sabers, and horns. "The Carolina Gamecock," Sumter's nom de guerre, To Tarleton, he would soon bring much despair. The Patriots were steadfast. Their victory, must be. So that they might fly the flag of Liberty! As daylight did break on the twentieth day, The Loyalists came to Green Springs while they Lay in wait for the Tories who were two hundred or more. The Patriots surprised Tarleton, and all of his corps, With an attack so severe that one-hundred were killed, But out of the Patriots only three were stilled. A victory so resounding that no one secreted, That the "Scourge of Waxhaws" had at last been defeated. Mary D'illard heroine of Blackstock's Plantation Saved many with her bareback ride for her nation; She turned the tide for the Patriots in this War, Or so history records in all of its lore. She did so with courage, conviction, and love Of her country which came from above. In the whispering silence of the night, God worked through a small lady who had the courage to fight And ride all alone and with all of her might To give warning to patriots before it was light. The tables were turned by that audacious ride And the future of War with the Patriot side. Simms says the South was not given her due By writers up North who wrote only their hue. It was seventeen eighty as I have said The War in the South was mournfully red. The truth should be told to all who will hear So the North won't make claim to what we all fear That the North won the War while the South disappeared. Named a Patriot Soldier by the DAR She inspired many people from near and afar. Her name on the rolls that proves she was brave And accorded a monument atop of her grave. At Duncan Creek Church her marker reads: "Mary Ramage D'illard hero of Blackstock's Plantation And a lady of grace from a grateful nation." You have now heard the story from this old Bard, And learned of the Midnight Ride of Mary D'illard. Mary D'illard's Ride By Paul Henry Dietrich From the book Sarah Dillard's Ride: A Story of the Carolinas in 1780 by James Otis. WINTER_14_sar5-17 copy.indd 11 2/4/14 11:08 AM