11

(8)
Henry d'Aubigne was a descendant from one of those heugonot families
who after the revocation of the Edict of Nantz fled to America in search
of an Asylum from persecution. In forsaking their country, they had
left their etates, honors--friends--& had preserved nothing but that
imperishable glory which attaches to the recollection of virtuous & heroic
actions & the proud name to which those recollections belong.--Even Henry
after the lapse of centuries felt his blood quicken when he recollected
that the name he bore had been rendered illustrious by the bravery, the
constancy, the fidelity of the friend & companion in arms of Henry the Fourth.
And when he thought of the virtues of Theodore Agrippa D'Aubigne,
it kindled in his soul a spirit that would have scorned a base or
unworthy action. His ancestors were among the earliest colonists who
settled in south Carolina, where, tho' they enjoyed political & religious
freedom, they endured hardships & privations which made them often
sigh for their native land. His family had been long settled
in Charleston, & were gradually rising to influence & wealth, when
the revolutionary War swept away their accumulated comforts.

Of three brothers, the father of Henry, was the only one that survivied
the long & direful conflict. He had joined the daring & invincible Marion,
& with him had suffered unheard of hardships & been exposed to danger
in every form. Often for weeks together this dauntless & enterprising
troop, would retreat to the dark forsets or gloomy swamps & patiently
wait a favourable opporunity of attacking the enmy, with no covering
but the skies, no bed but the ground, no food but the wild fruits; exposed
to hunger, fatigue & the inclemency of the seasons. Through paths & coverts
known only to themselves, they would perseveringly follow the enemy, tell
the occasion offered to strike the effective blow, then rushing from their
dark recesses, like a black thunder cloud, they would discharge their lightning,
spreading death & devestation through the hostile ranks, before
they could recover from the surprise & consternation into which they
were thrown, the assailants would be vanished & again hidden in
their inaccessbile retreats. Such was the irregular dreadful warfare these
partizan troops carried on during the eventful struggle for liberty.