Monday 2d. Breakfasted at the Country Seat of Govr. Pinckney about 18 miles from our lodging place, & then came to the ferry at Haddrels point, 6 miles further, where I was met by the Recorder of the City, Genl. Pinckney & Edward Rutledge Esqr. in a 12 oared barge rowed by 12 American Captains of Ships, most elegantly dressed. There were a great number of other Boats with Gentlemen and ladies in them; and two Boats with Music; all of whom attended me across and on the passage were met by a number of others. As we approached the town a salute with Artillery commenced, and at the wharf I was met by the Governor, the Lt. Governor, the Intendt. of the City; The two Senators of the State, Wardens of the City—Cincinnati &ca. &ca. and conducted to the Exchange where they passed by in procession. From thence I was conducted in like manner to my lodgings—after which I dined at the Governors (in what I called a private way) with 15 or 18 Gentlemen.
It may as well in this as in any other place, be observed, that the country from Wilmington through which the road passes, is, except in very small spots, much the same as what has already been described; that is to say, sand & pine barrens—with very few inhabitants. We were indeed informed that at some distance from the Road on both sides the land was of a better quality, & thicker settled, but this could only be on the Rivers & larger waters—for a perfect sameness seems to run through all the rest of the Country. On these—especially the swamps and low lands on the rivers, the soil is very rich; and productive when reclaimed; but to do this is both laborious and expensive. The Rice planters have two modes of watering their fields—the first by the tide—the other by resurvoirs drawn from the adjacent lands. The former is best, because most certain. A crop without either is precarious, because a drought may not only injure, but destroy it. Two and an half and 3 barrels to the Acre is esteemed a good Crop and 8 or 10 Barrls. for each grown hand is very profitable; but some have 12 & 14, whilst 5 or 6 is reckoned the average production of a hand. A barrel contains about 600 weight, and the present price is about 10/6 & 11/. Sterg. pr. 100.
The lodgings provided for me in this place were very good, being the furnished house of a Gentleman at present in the Country; but occupied by a person placed there on purpose to accomodate me, & who was paid in the same manner as any other letter of lodgings would have been paid.
Gov. Charles Pinckney (see entry for 17 May 1787) had written to GW 26 April 1791 inviting him “to make a stage” at Snee Farm, a small tract that he owned in Christ Church Parish. “I must apologise,” said Pinckney in his letter, “for asking you to call at a place so indifferently furnished, & where your fare will be entirely that of a farm. It is a place I seldom go to, or things perhaps would be in better order” (DLC:GW).
Haddrell’s Point, near present-day Mount Pleasant, was the eastern terminus of the ferry that crossed Charleston harbor to the city (, 11; names in s.c., 13:48–49). The recorder of Charleston was John Bee Holmes (1760–1827), a lawyer who held that position 1786–92 and 1811–19 (S.C. Hist. and General. Mag., 29 [1928], 239). Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, the governor’s cousin, was brevetted a brigadier general in the Continental Army near the end of the Revolution after having served most of the war as a colonel (see entry for 4 Nov. 1786; , 50, 70, n.58). Edward Rutledge (1749–1800), a lawyer like Holmes and the two Pinckneys, served in the Continental Congress 1774–76, was an artillery officer in the South Carolina militia for much of the Revolution, and became governor of the state in 1798. On 24 May 1791, when GW was in Columbia, S.C., he wrote a letter addressed to Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and Edward Rutledge, offering either of them the seat on the United States Supreme Court that Rutledge’s brother John had recently vacated to become chief justice of South Carolina. Both men declined because of distressed finances (GW to Pinckney and Rutledge, 24 May 1791, ScC; Pinckney and Rutledge to GW, 12 June 1791, DLC:GW; , 111–13).
The 12 captains who rowed GW across the harbor, plus a thirteenth captain who acted as coxswain of the barge, “were uniformly and neatly dressed in light blue silk jackets, and round black hats decorated with blue ribbons on which were impressed the arms” of South Carolina. “During the passage vocal and instrumental music were performed on the water by the Amateur Society, assisted by a voluntary association of singers; and upwards of forty boats attended with anxious spectators, which formed a most beautiful appearance” (Gaz. of the U.S. [Philadelphia], 21 May 1791; , 13; , 159, n.1). The opening stanza of the laudatory lyrics sung by the waterborne chorus—“young gentlemen of considerable vocal powers”—revealed the high pitch to which the patriotic fervor of Charleston’s citizens had risen in anticipation of GW’s arrival:
He comes! he comes! the hero comes.
Sound, sound your trumpets, beat your drums,
From port to port let cannons roar,
His welcome to our friendly shore
(, 156; Dunlap’s American Daily Adv. [Philadelphia], 10 and 16 May 1791).
The cannon salute that GW heard as he approached the temporary steps erected for him at Prioleau’s wharf were fired by the men of the Charleston battalion of artillery, who on his landing offered “to mount guard” for him during his stay, but GW “politely declined . . . saying that he considered himself perfectly safe in the affection and amicable attachment of the people.” Mingled with the sound of the cannon were the ringing bells of St. Michael’s Church and “reiterated shouts of joy” from “an uncommonly large concourse of citizens” (Gaz. of the U.S. [Philadelphia], 21 May 1791).
The officials who stood with Governor Pinckney at the wharf were: Lt. Gov. Isaac Holmes (1758–1812), Charleston intendant (mayor) Arnoldus Vanderhorst (1748–1815), Sen. Pierce Butler (see entry for 15 Nov. 1789), and Sen. Ralph Izard (see entry for 10 Oct. 1789). The 12 wardens of Charleston (city councilmen) are identified in , 15. The local Cincinnati turned out in full uniform as did the militia officers of the city and the entire Charleston Company of Fusiliers, who were also present at the wharf (Dunlap’s American Daily Adv. [Philadelphia], 16 May 1791; , 150–52).
The Exchange, an elegant customs house built 1767–71 by the commercially ambitious Charlestonians and used as their city hall until 1818, stood on the harbor at the east end of Broad Street. From its steps GW “received the honors of the procession, to whom he politely and gracefully bowed as they passed in review before him.” Joining the high officials, Cincinnati, militia officers, and fusiliers in this procession were members of the city’s various professions and handicrafts, each group marching in its allotted place (Gaz. of the U.S. [Philadelphia], 21 May 1791; Dunlap’s American Daily Adv. [Philadelphia], 10 May 1791; , 149–51, n.1).
GW lodged on Church Street in the town house of Thomas Heyward, Jr. (1746–1809), who had retired in 1789 to his plantation in St. Luke’s Parish, Beaufort District (see entry for 11 May 1791). The house, which was currently occupied by Mrs. Rebecca Jamieson, had been leased with its furnishings for a week by the city council at a cost of £60. The council also supplied a housekeeper, several servants, and “a proper stock of liquors, groceries, and provisions” (, 159–60, n.1; Gaz. of the U.S. [Philadelphia], 27 April 1791). Governor Pinckney’s house was on Meeting Street near the harbor (, 19–20).