The writer of this blog has chosen to use one of the derivations of this man's name solely for ease of reference. It is obviously the spelling that appears in this post's title as well as cited at the end of the last sentence of the preceding paragraph. But, there are three possible spellings for his last name, all of which will be cited below. Each man's "position" on board the frigate South Carolina will also be cited along with the page number on which that reference is found in Dr. Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina", pages 135-170. These three citations are as follows:
Edward Scull Lieutenant of marines page 165
Edward Scully Volunteer page 165
--------- Soule Recruiting officer page 166
(Note: Each of the first two citations give the other last name as a possible alternate spelling of the former one. The first citation is for "Edward Scull (Scully?)" and the second for "Edward Scully (Scull?)".)
(Note: There is even an alternate spelling for -------- Soule's last name - Soull. These two spellings may well be again slight derivations of "Scull" or "Scully". These citations as well as this man's "position" on board the frigate - "Recruiting officer" - tend to indicate that this man may be confused with the two earlier citations and thus not be a unique individual at all but, rather, the same man. Again, the hyphenated line preceding his last name is an indication that his first name is unknown.)
Some information concerning Edward Scull has appeared in earlier posts and the writer of this blog will, in danger of being redundant, cite this information here again in full.
The first reference to Edward Scull is in the pension application of John Fox, "Pension Application of John Fox S2219". John Fox, evidently a resident of Berks County, Pennsylvania, states in his application "...that in the Month of June A.D. 1780 your petitioner and a comrade named Michael Spatz were determined to Enlist in and [an] Infantry Corps which at that time was Enlisting man [men] for the Service of the United States in the Revolutionary War in Reading Berks County Pennsylvania when on our way to a public House were the [where they] were Enlisting man [men] for said Infantry Corps we met a certain officer who asked us boys which way we then answered him that we were going to Enlist to an Infantry Corps, he then said that his name was Scull that he was Enlisting man [men] in the Service of the United States on the Continental establishment as Marines and that we should enlist to him that our case would be easier to enter with him and prevailed on us to comply we there agreed and we were brought before a Certain Mr. Reefer than [then] a Justice of the Peace in and for Berks County who administered the usual Oath and we received the bounty money [line missing?] the bounty money in the Name of the United States for and during the War -- we then Remained in Reading and there was about 70 men who belonged to us as Marines we were Marched to Wilmington where we entered on board a Ship the [there] called the Carolina [South Carolina] unfortunately were [sic, where] on a certain day Outside the Capes we were captured by the British Frigates."
In this pension application, John Fox mentions "...a comrade named Michael Spatz...". In his pension application, "Pension Application of Michael Spatz S3957", Michael Spatz is very brief in his mention of service on board the frigate South Carolina. He succinctly states "...that he enlisted in the Borough of Reading County aforesaid in the year 1781 in a company commanded by a Capt. John Joiner [Joyner] that he marched from said borough to the City of Pennsylvania and there was put on the ship called South Carolina that the Ship and Crew were taken Prisoner by the British in sight of New York Light house..." There is no mention whatsoever of being recruited by an officer who "...then said that his name was Scull..." As matter of fact, there is only the mention of being recruited into "...a company commanded by a Capt. John Joiner..." Why John Fox would remember and mention the name of Scull in his pension application and Michael Spatz not do the same in his pension application is a complete mystery.
(Note: As to the timing of their enlistment by "Scull", both John Fox and Michael Spatz have gotten the actual year wrong in their pension applications. John Fox states "...in the Month of June A.D. 1780..." whereas Michael Spatz states "...in the year 1781..." The frigate South Carolina did not even arrive in Philadelphia, the "City of Brotherly Love", until May 29, 1782. Jacob Fleisher is correct in his first statement in saying that "...in the year 1782..." but, gets it wrong in his later statement when he says "...in the Month of June of the year 1780..." These incorrect "slips" or statements were made several decades after the events in question. These men had aged by then quite considerably, as had their memories.)
(Note: Frequently, pension applications state the pensioner's date of birth. Michael Spatz's date of birth is spelled out - "I was born in Reading Berks County Pennsylvania April 4th, 1764..." John Fox, on the other hand, does not clearly state his date of birth but, it can still be ascertained with some degree of certainty from his pension application. It states in his application that he was 54 years old when he appeared before the Court of Common Pleas on August 9, 1820. This would indicate that his birth date was before August 1766. So, at the time that these two young men encountered a recruiting officer who "...then said that his name was Scull..." they would have been, respectively, 18 and 16 years old - young and impressionable men. In the section of Dr. Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, entitled "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina", both John Fox and Michael Spatz are cited. There citations may well bear upon their young ages.
John Fox Boy, marine page 147
Michael Spatz Boy page 166
According to the Wikipedia article, "Royal Navy Ranks, Rates and Uniforms of the 18th and 19th Centuries", an individual listed as a "boy" on board a ship represented the "lowest possible position on board, normally held by boys 12 years or younger." Both John Fox and Michael Spatz were older than that at the time of their encounter with Scull but, possibly due to their inexperience with nautical matters, they may have been listed so.)
But, evidently, this same "Scull" is mentioned in another pension application, that of Jacob Fleisher - "Pension Application of Jacob Fleisher S2214". In his application, Fleisher states "...that he enlisted as a private soldier in the service of the United States in the year 1782 in the Borough of Reading County aforesaid [Berks County] by a Lieut. Scull in a company Commanded by Capt. Joiner [Joyner] on the ship Carolina [South Carolina] that the ship and Crew were taken prisoners by the British in sight of the New York Light house..."
Later, In the pension application of Jacob Fleisher, we find the passage, "...on a certain day in the month of June of the year 1780 your petitioner met with an Officer in a public house in Reading County & State aforesaid [Pennsylvania] who asked your petitioner if he would Enlist to him and said Officer said his name was Scull that he was Enlisting man [men] for the service of the United States as Marines to fight against the Common Enemy I then said I was ready and we both appeared before a certain Mr. Reeser then a Justice of the Peace in and for Berks County who administered to your petitioner the usual Oath and I received the bounty Money in the Name of the United States after remaining in Reading some time we Enlisted about 70 men we were taken to Wilmington where we went on board a Frigate called the South Carolina and were on our duty as Marines outside the Capes we were taken by 3 British Frigates who made us all Prisoners of War..."
At the very end of Jacob Fleisher's pension application appears a supporting statement - that of John Fox and Michael Spatz. In the opinion of this blog writer, this is pertinent information and will be cited here in its entirety:
Pennsylvania Berks County
On this 27th day of November A.D. 1829 before me the Subscriber a Justice of the Peace in and for Berks County personally appeared John Fox and Michael Spatz who being severally sworn in due form of law who on their solemn oaths deposes and says that Jacob Fleisher and the deponent's Michael Spatz & John Fox had each and every one had duly Enlisted for the purpose of entering into the service of the United States on the Continental Establishment in the Revolutionary War against the Common Enemy and that the said Scull had Declared that he enlisted man [men] to serve the United States as Marines on the Continental Establishment against the Common Enemy for and during the War and that Jacob Fleisher aforesaid and the deponents John Fox and Michael Spatz were each and every of them confined on the Jersey Prison Ship for a term of 11 months & that the said ship was then lying in North River in the State of New York and that the officers of the Ship called South Carolina was commanded by a Capt. Gillon and Scull and John Joiner [Joyner] and that matters set forth in the Petition of Jacob Fleisher are true to the best of their knowledge and belief. Sworn and subscribed
S/ Michael Spatz, X his mark
S/ John Fox, X his mark
(Note: These two signatures open a bit of a personal window onto the lives of Michael Spatz and John Fox. The "S/" indicates "signed" followed immediately by their first and last names written by someone else, possibly a court clerk. Then, this is followed by a blank space and then the phrase "his mark". Each man would in turn place an "X" in the space between their names and the phrase "his mark" as a means of "signing" the document in order to make it official. In other words, Michael Spatz and John Fox, Jacob Fleisher's two comrades, who together with him suffered through the hell of imprisonment on the Old Jersey in Wallabout Bay, NY, were illiterate and could only indicate their "signature" on the document by having someone else, again possibly a court clerk, write their full names after which they placed an "X" as a means of indicating their signatures.)
Jacob Fleisher is listed in Dr. Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina", page 147, as:
Jacob Fleisher Marine
At the moment of his enlistment before the Justice of the Peace, "Mr. Reeser", no doubt with "Lieut. Scull" present, Jacob Fleisher would have been 21 years old.
The next mention we have of "Edward Scull" in a rather brief citation from "Wills: Abstracts: Berks Co, PA 1792-1795, Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Thera". On pages 34-35 the following entry appears:
Scull, Edward, Reading
November 15, 1783 - July 5, 1794
To mother Mary SCULL all estate real and personal.
Exr: Mother Mary SCULL
Wits: Abigail SCULL, Ann Morgan, William SCULL
(Note: The writer of this blog thinks that the two dates listed below the individual's name above are the date of the will being filed in the county courts (first date listed) and the date on which the will was administered after the death of the individual in question (second date listed). This is only a supposition on the part of the blog writer.)
This brief abstract would seem to indicate that possibly "Edward Scull" never married because he left "...all estate real and personal" to his mother rather than a surviving wife and that his mother was the executor of his will. It is completely possible that this "Edward Scull" was someone completely different who held the same first and last name as the individual who served on board the frigate South Carolina through out most of 1782. But, the individual cited above was from Reading, PA which is where two young men, John Fox and Michael Spatz, encountered an officer named Scull.
In Bobby Gilmer Moss's work, Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution, page 852, the following entry appears for "Edward Scull" - "He served as a lieutenant in the marines aboard the South Carolina. Y248." Also, in Janie Revill's work, Copy of the Original Index Book Showing the Revolutionary Claims Filed in South Carolina Between August 20, 1783 and August 31, 1786, page 305, there appears the following entry - "Scull, Edward - Nos. Returns. 82".
This brings us to the examination of the name "Edward Scully" as a possible alternate of this individual's name and identity. Unfortunately, the name "Edward Scully" is never encountered other than in the section of Dr. Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, entitled "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina", page 165. No where else does this specific name appear, either in a contemporary pension application or in any of the works cited above in this post. Thus, we are left with the tantalizing entry in Dr. Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina, page 165:
Edward Scully Volunteer
It could well be that the "Lieutenant Scull" mentioned so many times above in this post was mistaken as a "Lieutenant Scully" who had "volunteered" on board the frigate South Carolina after she entered the port of Philadelphia. This individual could easily have been assigned to "raise" his company of indigenous marines in the countryside of Pennsylvania, at the same moment Commodore Gillon and others were using their fluency in German to persuade Hessian prisoners-of-war in Reading and Lancaster, PA to enlist on board the frigate South Carolina. Yet, this "Lieutenant Scully" was so successful that after his efforts in Reading, PA, he marched seventy men back to the frigate at her moorings in Philadelphia. Possibly...possibly...
But, in short, there may well have been an individual by this name on board the frigate South Carolina, either as a "volunteer" or in some other capacity, on one of her two voyages. But, this person's identity and services to the frigate and her contributions to the winning of the independence of America from British domination may well be lost to history.
Lastly, there is the reference to the individual ------ Soule or ------ Soull. There is the reference in the section of Dr. Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, entitled, "Appendix: Crew and Marines of the South Carolina", page 166, to:
------ Soule (Soull?) Recruiting officer
The only other reference to ------ Soule is as follows and appears on page 198, note 9 of Dr. Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia. It states that "John Fox noted in his pension application that seventy marines for the South Carolina were marched from Reading to Wilmington. An officer named Soule (Edward Scull) recruited [John] Fox and Michael Spatz." From this citation, it would appear that even Dr. James A. Lewis, the author of Neptune's Militia, identified this person as "Edward Scull". This is the only reference to ------ Soule or ------ Soull in Dr. Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia or anywhere else for that matter. He is not mentioned in any of the contemporary pension applications or in any of the sources cited above in this post.
As to the"position" citation of "Recruiting officer" for ------ Soule (Soull?), Edward Scull, Lieutenant of marines, was first and foremost in the history of the frigate South Carolina a recruiting officer. He was dispatched into the hinterlands of Pennsylvania with authority to raise a company of marines from the inhabitants. Whether through trickery or persuasion, he convinced at least seventy men to enlist as marines on board the frigate South Carolina. He then marched them back to Wilmington, PA where the frigate was moored. Thus, the writer of this blog feels that these two individuals are one in the same person in reality. That individual is Edward Scull, Lieutenant of marines.
Just with the information gathered together here, there is overwhelming evidence in favor of citing this individual definitively as "Edward Scull, Lieutenant of marines". This specific individual is cited in two contemporary pension applications, those of John Fox and Jacob Fleisher, as being the "officer" that recruited them in the same locale, Reading, PA. He is cited as "Edward Scull" both in Bobby Gilmer Moss's work as well as in Janie Revill's work. Also, in Dr. Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, in the footnote's section of the work, the mysterious ------ Soule is cross-referenced as "Edward Scull". Evidence weighs heavily in favor for the existence and service of Edward Scull and, possibly, Edward Scull alone.
But, there is one tantalizing question yet to be answered. Was Edward Scull, Lieutenant of marines, on board the frigate South Carolina when she set sail on her last voyage? Was he there when she confronted her three British counterparts off of Cape Henlopen and engaged in an 18-hour long chase and fight before striking her colors to them? Did he spend time in incarceration in New York City, then under British control, before being paroled? The final supporting statement by John Fox and Michael Spatz for Jacob Fleisher's pension application seem to support this view. But, we may well have no way of ever knowing for sure. An enigma to the very end was Edward Scull, Lieutenant of marines, on board the frigate South Carolina.