Andrews, John Lennell, Jr. South Carolina Revolutionary War Indents: A Schedule, (SCMAR, 2001).
Lewis, James A. Neptune's Militia: The Frigate South Carolina During the American Revolution, (The Kent State University Press, 1999).
Moss, Bobby Gilmer. Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution, (Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1983).
Parker, Geoffrey. The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road, 1567-1659, (Cambridge University Press, 1972).
Revill, Janie. Copy of the Original Index Book: Showing the Revolutionary Claims Filed in South Carolina Between August 20, 1783 and August 31, 1786, (Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1969).
Salley, A.S., Jr., Stub Entries to Indents: Issued in Payment of Claims Against South Carolina Growing Out of the Revolution - Books U-W, (The State Company, 1918).
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - entry for "Army of Flanders", (last modified - September 18, 2015).
Prior to this specific post, there has been two other posts concerning the Spanish Regiment of Flanders. These posts are dated exactly four months apart, as noted in the later post. The initial post was entitled "Soldiers and a Regiment From a Different Century - The Spanish Regiment of Flanders and the Frigate South Carolina" and is dated "01/12/2015". The second post was entitled "The Spanish Regiment of Flanders and the Frigate South Carolina" - A Reprisal for a Single Man" and is dated "05/12/2015". The later of the two posts dealt with a single individual man who had been a member of this regiment of infantry that was stationed in the Havana, Cuba at the time of the Spanish preparation for the invasion of the British-held Bahamas. At that point in the research on the frigate South Carolina, all the information collected on this individual was presented. Since the last post, "05/12/2015", more information has been located and will be presented here. But, as in the previous post of "05/12/2015" the information pertains to this "single man" and does nothing to illuminate anything on the other members of this regiment that provided men to serve on board the frigate South Carolina.
Returning to the basic source, this is the citation as contained in Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, section entitled "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina", page 158, the following information is presented as related to the individual mentioned below:
Domino Minose Italian soldier or sailor (Flanders Regiment)
An alternative spelling of his first name is "Domingo" and the two alternative spellings of his last name are "Minossi" or "Minosy".
(Note: The spelling of "Domino Minose" will be used through out this specific post due to this being the spelling relied upon by all of the sources cited above except Lewis which cites the possible alternative spellings of this individual's name.)
The following entry appears in Salley's work, Stub Entries to Indents, page 186:
"Libro V, No. 614 - Issued 12 September 1785 To Domino Minose for Two pound Eleven & nine pence for Balance of Wages due him on Board the Frigate Carolina Per a/c from the Commissioners.
Principal - 2p..11s..9d..
Annual Interest - 0p..3s..7d.."
In the Andrews's work, South Carolina Revolutionary War Indents, page 43, presents the identical information is presented in table form except that the column labelled "For What Granted" indicates that the pension was awarded in recompense for "Mariner's Wages" for service on board the "South Carolina Frigate". In Salley's work, Stub Entries to Indent, page 186, the ship in question is only referred to as "...the Frigate Carolina..." and there is no indication as to what services Domino Minose performed in order to receive this money from the state of South Carolina.
In Moss's work, Roster of South Carolina Patriots, page 685, the brief entry for this individual reads:
Domino Minose - he served aboard the frigate South Carolina. A.A.5266C; V614.
The only other piece of pertinent information is contained in Revill's work, Copy of the Original Index Book, page 242, and requires a bit of explanation. As accounts were filed with the Auditor General of South Carolina, these "audited accounts" were passed on, in groups or batches, referred to by date and called "Returns". Each return had a specific date assigned to it and these dates referred to the date that the "Return" was actually handed to the legislative committee for consideration. Each "Return" received a date specifically for that "Return", with there being a total of 118 "Returns", the final "Return" being received on August 31, 1786. "Domino Minose" is included in "Return No. 65"
This post does indeed introduce new information on Domino Minose, a member of the Spanish Regiment of Flanders, when compared with the two earlier posts of "01/12'2015" and "05/12/2015". This posts introduces the fact that Domino Minose not only filed a claim for his services on board the frigate South Carolina against the state of South Carolina but, that his claim was honored by that state and he was awarded a small sum "...for Balance of Wages due Him on Board the Frigate Carolina..." His sum was quite small and seems to indicate that he indeed occupied the "position" indicated in Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, the section entitled "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina", page 158, as a "soldier or sailor" as opposed to a petty officer or a commissioned officer.
A few issues of interest appear if one looks further back in the history of the unit known as the "Army of Flanders". According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - entry for "Army of Flanders", this army "...was notable for being the longest-serving standing army of the period, being in continuous service from 1567 until its disestablishment in 1706." Within this army, the troops of Italian origin were favored above all other troops except the Spaniards. According to Parker's work, The Army of Flanders, page 31-32, "...the first Italian units to serve in the Army of Flanders were the subject of misgivings. In fact they were only used because immediately after the revolution of 1576 there were not enough Walloons available...Gradually, the Italian troops revealed themselves to be wholly reliable and courageous warriors. Within ten years they were indeed acknowledged to be the most valuable troops in the Army after the Spaniards." The Wikipedia article on the "Army of Flanders" states that "The Army was a mutlinational force, drawn primarily from the various Catholic possessions of the Habsburgs but also from the British Isles and from Lutheran parts of Germany. There was a clear contemporary hierarchy as to the value of different soldiers; Spanish soldiers were considered the best; then Italians, followed by English, Irish, and Burgundian troops; then Germans, then finally local Walloons." Again, the Italians are mentioned as being valued very highly in the Army of Flanders, only slightly less than the Spanish troops. Further in the Wikipedia article, as regards recruitment of the troops of the "Army of Flanders", it states that "recruitment occurred by various methods, including the commissioning of recruiting captains, who would attempt to enroll volunteers from a given recruiting region each year, and contractors, who would attempt to hire troops from across Europe. It is estimated that around 25% of the Army had served their military apprenticeships elsewhere, with more than 50% recruited outside the Low Countries."
Then, there is the reality of getting this military force from its area of recruitment and training to its field of operations - Flanders and the Low Countries. This was accomplished through the use of a series of "military corridors" which collectively became known as "the Spanish Road". These "roads" ran from northern Italy northward towards the area of Flanders and the Low Countries by a series of different routes that approximately paralleled each other but, always moved northward towards the ultimate destination. The Wikipedia article states that "the force would be sent through Europe via a sequence of friendly or neutral territories, which would become known as the 'Spanish Road'; surveying of the route began in 1566." In short, and in modern terms, these roads or "military corridors" ran northward from northern Italy, through modern Switzerland and eastern France, through western Germany, Luxembourg, and ending in the Low Countries of modern Belgium and Holland.
The writer of this blog does indeed realize that there exists a significant time difference between the period of the operations of the "Army of Flanders" in the late 16th century through the 17th century and these individuals addressed in the post dated "01/12/2015", among whom is Domino Minose, who signed on to the frigate South Carolina during the American Revolution. But, there are striking similarities between these two subjects of investigation separated by some much chronological time. First, and most obvious, Domino Minose is recorded in Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, the section entitled "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina", page 158, as being an "Italian soldier or sailor, Flanders Regiment". Of the remaining twelve individuals named in the list cited in the post dated "01/12/2015", a second one was Italian, two were Piedmontese (northern Italy), and one was Genoese (also northern Italy). The above cited article states that the Italian troops were favored in the "Army of Flanders" and these five men make up roughly 40% of the total of members of the Spanish Regiment of Flanders who signed on board the frigate South Carolina. The remainder of the personnel who signed on board the frigate South Carolina could have easily been recruited from the areas through which the "the Spanish Road" passed as it travelled northwards from northern Italy towards the Flanders and the Low Countries. Roughly 40% of the remaining personnel recruited from the Spanish Regiment of Flanders originate in Flanders itself and thus were Flemish in ethnicity. The number of Walloons (Flemish) recruited into the "Army of Flanders" was significant through out the entire history of the Army. The last few members of the Spanish Regiment of Flanders were one possible German and two Frenchmen, both regions through which "the Spanish Road" passed and thus could have been recruited by one of the "...contractors of the Army who would attempt to hire troops from across Europe."
These thirteen men all fell into certain proven historical categories for the "Army of Flanders" and these same categories could well have persisted for the Spanish Regiment of the Flanders well into the 18th century. Overwhelmingly, these men fell into the target ethnicities that were focused upon by the recruiters for the "Army of Flanders" - that of Flemish (Walloons) and Italians. The last few men - two Frenchmen and one possible German - might well have been "strays" that were recruited through an opportunity that presented itself to one of the recruiting contractors of the Army or the Regiment. It is also entirely possible that "the Spanish Road" was still in use as a route for 18th century military efforts from southern to northern Europe. All we know for sure is that these thirteen men, Domino Minose among them, were recruited to serve as marines on board the frigate South Carolina while she lay in the Havana in Cuba, preparing for supporting the Spanish invasion and occupation of the British-held Bahamas.
Returning to the individual in question in this post, the enduring , persistent question still remains, first voiced at the conclusion of the post dated "05/12/2015" - did Domino Minose, an Italian soldier or sailor of the Spanish Regiment of Flanders, make his home here in the United States after having served her faithfully on board the frigate South Carolina? Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing for sure. Domino Minose might have sought out a lawyer to argue his case before the legislative committee of the state of South Carolina, thus winning for himself the small settlement "...for Balance of Wages due him on Board the Frigate Carolina..." Or, did he indeed settle here, in America, and at the right moment, seek out, with legal assistance, the amount which represented his hard fought efforts in support of the country being born by those efforts and the efforts of so many, many others? Only further research can possibly elucidate this point. But, hopefully, for the writer of this blog at least, Domino Minose would reach the end of his life here, in this country, and at the very end be proud to call himself a American.
(Note: Epilogue - as far as is known or that research can prove out, no other member of the Spanish Regiment of Flanders who served on board the frigate South Carolina applied for or received a stub entry or a settlement from the state of South Carolina or from any other state government for that matter. None except Domino Minose. Fin.)