Resistance at Fort Hill
Records of the enslaved African Americans at Fort Hill are few, leaving many unanswered questions. Readers of these primary records must be critical in analyzing the facts, remembering that these records are not written by the enslaved nor do they present more than the opinions of the Calhoun and Clemson families.
Most of the enslaved laborers at Fort Hill are never mentioned in surviving written records, except when they are listed on inventory records by name and age or census records without first names listed. The enslaved domestic workers are more likely to appear in name or to be discussed in family correspondence than those engaged with laboring in the fields known as the “Calhoun Bottoms” or elsewhere. The only surviving written record may be a bill of sale or a family member’s will.
Other enslaved persons' names are known primarily because of actions that brought displeasure to the Calhouns. Some of these were expressed in the Calhouns’ correspondence with family and neighbors, and these primary records must be analyzed closer to ascertain fact from opinion.
John C. Calhoun politically defended what he termed the “peculiar institution” of holding African Americans in bondage in the antebellum South as “a positive good.” His paternalistic attitudes led him to believe ideas about race that supported his political ideals; however, how he, his family members, and overseers acted in practice were rarely recorded and never from the perspective of the enslaved persons. There are accounts of three African Americans who openly resisted their enslavement, so their actions were recorded in Calhoun family letters. Their names are Aleck, Sawney Jr., and Issey.
Aleck was often the only male enslaved domestic laborer at Fort Hill. In the late summer 1831, he “offended” Floride Calhoun, according to personal correspondence of John C. Calhoun, and the Calhouns believed he ran away from Fort Hill towards Abbeville in fear of punishment. At Calhoun’s order, when he was captured, Aleck was jailed, fed only bread and water, and given 30 lashes “well laid on” in order “to prevent a repetition.” Afterwards Aleck returned to Fort Hill.
Sawney Jr. was the son of Sawney Sr. and Tiller; Sawney Sr.’s father was Adam, who was the first enslaved person that Patrick Calhoun, the father of John C. Calhoun, brought into the upcountry. John C. inherited Sawney Sr. from his father’s estate; Sawney had been his enslaved childhood companion, which gave him and his family additional privileges, including leaving Fort Hill to receive doctor’s care. On one trip to the doctor, Sawney Jr. set fire to the white overseer’s tent, apparently attempting to kill him. Subsequently, Sawney Jr. was sent to live in Alabama on the plantation known as Canebrake, which was owned by Andrew, Calhoun’s eldest son. The reason why Sawney Jr. was compelled to do this is lost to history.
The only other child of Sawney Sr. and Tiller known for certain is Issey; she was not an enslaved field laborer like her parents. She, at likely a young age, became an enslaved domestic worker whose main responsibility was to serve as the enslaved companion of Cornelia Calhoun who had injured her spinal cord at the age of 12. Among Issey’s responsibilities was to warm the sheets of the Calhoun children’s beds. Whether intentional or by accident, hot coals were placed under a pillow in the room of the Calhouns’ youngest son William. The smell of burning feathers alerted the family, and the fire was extinguished. Only Floride Calhoun’s written account of this incident survives, so there is no way to determine the accidental or intentional nature of this event. Bed warmers could easily set bedding on fire; however, Floride Calhoun’s opinion is clear in her letter to her son Patrick. Although Floride Calhoun sent Issey to Alabama, like her brother, Issey did return and remain at Fort Hill until emancipation.