Tuscarora Jack: Patriot or Villain?

Bob Crawford (0:03)

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Hey there, American History Hotliners. Bob Crawford, thrilled to be joining you again for another episode of American History Hotline. It is the show where you ask the questions. And the best way to get us a question, you go to our website, americanhistoryhotline.com, and you leave a voice memo or a video, and we will get an amazing expert to answer your question. And hey, by the way, join us on YouTube. We love that we've noticed that more people are watching on YouTube and leaving questions and comments there. That is also cool. So let's get to today's question. It comes from Laura. She writes, I'm a descendant of Colonel John Barnwell, also known as Tuscarora Jack. From my perspective, he seems like a controversial and terrible historical figure.

His diaries detailing his actions are difficult to read, at least in my opinion. The city of Beaufort, where he and many of my family members are buried, still seems to celebrate him.

I'd love to hear what modern historians think of him and his role in the Tuscarora War.

Great question, Laura. I think this ties in with the debate over which historical figures we celebrate and how. And I've got the perfect guess to answer your question. Joining me now is John Warley. He's also a relative of Tuscarora Jack and the author of many books, including a brand new mystery novel called Jury of One. John, thanks for joining me today.

John Warley (1:57)

Hey, Bob. Great to be with you.

Bob Crawford (2:00)

John, you've given lectures about Tuscarora Jack, and I believe you're writing a book about him. If you could use one word to describe Tuscarora Jack, what would it be?

John Warley (2:16)

Patriot. He came over here.

His background is a little foggy from the Ireland side. But once he came to America in 1701, he did a lot to foster the community that they were building down here, the state of South Carolina, and fought off a lot of threats that would have threatened the colonies. And so, patriot is the term I would use for him.

Bob Crawford (2:55)

So let's talk about his early life. What do we know about it before he had earned the moniker Tuscarora Jack?

Yeah.

John Warley (3:05)

You mentioned that I was writing a book about him. I want to write a biography of him, but here's the difficulty. The records in Ireland suggest that he was born in 1671, and we're reasonably sure he arrived in America in 1701 That's 30 years of his life in Ireland, about which we know virtually nothing.

We believe that his father was Matthew Barnwell. Barney Wall is the Irish pronunciation. His mother was Margaret. His father apparently was killed in the Siege of Derry. And at some point in the early 1700s, he emigrated to America.

The lack of specific information in Ireland is a real deterrent to me trying to write a biography. I mean, he was in America for about 25 years, which means he spent most of his life in Ireland, if the dates are accurate. And it's hard to write a biography of a man when most of his life is a mystery. But we do know that when he arrived, he must have been educated because within a couple of years of arriving in Charleston, he was made the clerk of the governor's council. He had some influential friends, was made clerk of the governor's council. And then the council sent him down to Beaufort to map the area of Port Royal Island. And that really began his love affair with the low country of South Carolina around here in Beaufort. And so, that was the beginning of his...

That map and other things were the beginning of his contribution to the early colony that was growing up in South Carolina.

Bob Crawford (5:13)

So where, for our listeners, you mentioned Charleston, you mentioned the low country of South Carolina.

Situate us. Where is Beaufort?

John Warley (5:24)

Beaufort is almost halfway between Charleston and Savannah on the East Coast, a little closer to Savannah, actually, a few miles closer to Savannah than to Charleston. We're about 60 miles south of Charleston, about 50 miles north of Savannah. And although we are on the Atlantic, you have to come in from Hilton Head Island, which a lot of people are familiar with.

From Hilton Head into Beaufort is about 10 miles up river. So Beaufort is not directly on the Atlantic Ocean. It's inland about 10 to 12 miles from where the Atlantic breaks.

Bob Crawford (6:14)

So what are these early settlements in Beaufort like?