[ Previous ] [ Next ]

James Webster served as commandant of the 33rd regiment (of which Lord Cornwallis was colonel) from its arrival in America until his death after the battle of Guilford Courthouse. He was the son of a well-known Edinburgh minister, Dr. Alexander Webster. Commissioned a lieutenant in the 33d Foot in 1760, he had risen by April, 1774 to be its lieutenant-colonel. The regiment sailed with Cornwallis for America in February, 1776, taking part in the first, abortive attack on Charleston before returning to the north. They fought through the New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia campaigns, and Webster earned particular mention for his gallantry at the battle of Monmouth (June, 1778).¹

The 33rd went south with Clinton's expedition, and Webster again distinguished himself during the siege of Charleston. He commanded the detachment (which included Tarleton and the Legion) assigned to round up the last pockets of rebel forces around the city and seal off its communications. This detachment fought at Moncks Corner, and even though their numbers were inadequate for the amount of territory to be covered, they effectively took control of the area between the Ashley and Cooper Rivers, thereby isolating Charleston. In his report to London after the fall of the city, Sir Henry Clinton especially expressed his "obligation to Lieutenant-colonel Webster, and the corps which acted under him."²

Cornwallis had similar praise for Webster's "distinguished courage and ability" at the battle of Camden, where he was wounded. During the race to the Dan, he led the diversionary attack on Beattie's Ford. Cornwallis again commended his services at Guilford Courthouse (Mar. 15, 1781), but the two wounds Webster took there proved fatal. He died several days after the battle, and was buried in Elizabethtown, North Carolina.³

Cornwallis, who was Webster's personal friend as well as his commander, wrote a heartfelt letter to his father, informing him of his son's death. Both the letter, and information about Webster's burial site appear on Doc M's site, in her "Roll of Honour" section. (see links.)

Of the British officers who served in the South, Webster was one of the few who seems never to have garnered a word of reproach from either his comrades or his enemies. There is an element of irony to this where Tarleton is concerned. After the skirmish at Moncks Corner, two (some reports say three) troopers from the British Legion entered the home of Mrs. Giles (formerly Lady Colleton), a Loyalist, threatened the women who had taken refuge there with rape and attempted to loot the house. According to Stedman,

The dragoons were apprehended and brought to Monk's Corner, where, by this time, colonel Webster had arrived and taken the command. The late colonel Patrick Ferguson...was for putting the dragoons to instant death. But colonel Webster did not conceive that his powers extended to that of holding a general court-martial. The prisoners were however sent to head-quarters, and, I believe, were afterwards tried and whipped.⁴

Even though contemporary records show that Tarleton co-signed Ferguson's deposition and wrote privately to John André recommending the death penalty for the perpetrator, his real role in the incident was swallowed up by myth. He was the villain of choice for many 19th century writers, so by the time the story had gone through a couple of generations, he was being censured for opposing Ferguson's view on how to handle the matter, and thereby condoning the misbehavior of his troops. The gentlemanly Webster's name had generally dropped from the story, but if he was mentioned, his overruling of Ferguson was assigned no sinister motive, but simply represented as a desire to deal with the crime through proper channels. (See Doc M's article on The Ferguson vs. Tarleton Feud for a more complete discussion of the incident.)⁵

In Campaigns, Tarleton paid Webster an elegant tribute which would seem to indicate they had no professional differences:

"[After Guilford Courthouse] some valuable officers and brave men died of their wounds, but none more deservedly regretted than Lieutenant-colonel Webster, who united all the virtues of civil life to the gallantry and professional knowledge of a soldier."⁶

Infinitely more surprising was a tribute by rebel Alexander Garden, who served under Harry Lee and seldom had a good word to say about the opposition:

"To consummate skill and intrepidity, and a devotion to the cause of the Monarch whom he served and loved,...he united a generous forbearance and humanity towards such of his enemies as fell within the influence of his power[.]"⁷

While everyone seems to have respected Webster, I could find no anecdotes about him which give any feel for his "off duty" personality. He was obviously an officer and a gentleman, but beyond that is anyone's guess.

Notes:

¹ General information for this article comes from Mark M. Boatner III, Encyclopedia of the American Revolution (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1994), pp1178-1179. Sir Henry Clinton, The American Rebellion. Sir Henry Clinton's Narrative of his Campaigns, 1775-82, ed. William B. Willcox (New Haven: Yale University Press; 1954) and Banastre Tarleton, A History of the Campaigns of 1780 and 1781 in the Southern Provinces of North America (London: Printed for T. Cadell, in the Strand, 1787). [ back ]

² Clinton to Germain, 13 May 1780, in Tarleton, p44. [ back ]

³ Cornwallis to Germain, 21 Aug 1780, Tarleton, p133. Cornwallis to Germain, 17 Mar 1781, Tarleton, p261. [ back ]

⁴ Charles Stedman, The History of the Origin, Progress, and Termination of the American War 2 vols. ([Dublin, 1794] New York: New York Times, c1969), 2:183n. [ back ]

⁵ Carl P. Borick has finally brought to light Tarleton's role in the incident, from the tangled obscurity of the Clinton Papers. See Carl P. Borick, A Gallant Defense; The Siege of Charleston, 1780 (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2003), pp152-3. [ back ]

⁶ Tarleton, p281. Tarleton's opinions of his colleagues (and his enemies, for that matter) are usually obvious from what he says (or doesn't say) about them. [ back ]

⁷ Alexander Garden, Anecdotes of the Revolutionary War in America, with Sketches of Character of Persons the Most Distinguished, in the Southern States, for Civil and Military Services ([Charleston: Printed for the author, 1822] Spartanburg, S.C.: The Reprint Company, 1972), pp280-1. [ back ]