Lewis, James A. Neptune's Militia: The Frigate South Carolina during the American Revolution, (Kent, OH: The Kent State University Press, 1999.)
Salley, A.S., Jr. Stub Entries to Indents: Issued in Payment of Claims Against South Carolina Growing Out of the Revolution, Books Y-Z, (Columbia, SC: The Historical Commission of South Carolina, 1927.)
Wates, Wylma Anne. Stub Entries to Indents: Issued in Payment of Claims Against South Carolina Growing Out of the Revolution, Books C-F, (Columbia, SC: South Carolina Archives Department, 1957.)
This specific post issued out of the earlier post, "'Another Group of German Soldiers on board the Frigate South Carolina' - Additional Biographical Information on Known Members of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment Who Served on board the Frigate South Carolina, Pt. V - " and dated "05/30/2016". This prior post provided a more in depth examination of the approximately twelve soldiers who have been identified as having served earlier in the 3rd Waldeck Regiment. These men were all captured by the Spanish forces operating along the lower Mississippi River in the fall of 1779 or at the fall of Pensacola, FL on May 10, 1781. They all deserted their prisoner-of-war status at The Havana, Cuba in March 1781 after being approached by the German-speaking commanding officer on board the frigate South Carolina, Commodore Alexander Gillon.
In the previous post cited above and dated "05/30/2016", several pieces of information concerning these twelve men were recorded. In some of the individual cases, the information contained only a reference to the stub indent issued to these men by the state of South Carolina for their services on board the frigate South Carolina. In a very few of these individual cases, the text of these stub indents is provided in its full content. But, in most of the cases, the full text of the stub indent is not provided and only the stub indent number is cited. Yet, the writer of this blog has located a few citations of the full stub indet texts for six of these men. This information will be presented in this post.
Placing himself squarely in danger of repetition, the writer of this blog will set the groundwork once again for the introduction of the former Waldeck personnel on to the frigate South Carolina. These events took place while the patriot frigate was moored in The Havana, Cuba's harbor. Commodore Alexander Gillon, as the ranking officer on board the frigate, knew he needed a more full crew roster for his next voyage to the northward and America. According to Lewis's work, Neptune's Militia, page 63:
"The Commodore took extraordinary steps to keep and increase his personnel... He [Commodore Gillon] requested permission to exchange his prize captives for German prisoners, members of the Waldeck Regiment whom the Spanish had captured at Pensacola. This proposal must have been accepted since at least three Waldeckers signed on; indeed, one eyewitness maintained that twenty-one did so.".
The writer of this blog has confirmed through further research and firmly maintains that at least twelve of the former Waldeck soldiers signed on board the frigate South Carolina. There indeed could be others which further research may well prove out. But, for some of these twelve men, more personal information has been uncovered in further research by the writer of this blog. This additional information takes the form of stub indent information concerning six of these men who were former members of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment. The newer additional information is not extensive in nature and thus will be confined to rather short entries for each of the six men identified. These six brief stub indent entries are as follows:
Name: Transcribed Name:
Philipp Duesse Ralph Disse
Book Y, No. 350 (Salley's work, Stub Entries to Indents, Book Y, page 65)
Issued 26 November 1785 to Ralph Disse, for 1p/19s/4d Sterling. Services on board the Ship South Carolina as per account Audited.
Principal - 1p/19s/4 1/2d Interest - 0p/2s/9d
________________________________________________________________________
Johannes Meuske John Menske
Book Y, No. 390 (Salley's work, Stub Entries to Indents, Book Y, page 70)
Issued 26 November 1785 to Mr. John Menscke for 5p/8s/9d Sterling Services on board the Ship South Carolina as per account Audited.
Principal - 5p/8s/9d Interest - 0p/7s/7d
_________________________________________________________________________
Johannes Risch John Risch
Book Y, No. 400 (Salley's work, Stub Entries to Indents, Book Y, page 72)
Issued 26 November 1785 to Mr. James Rich for 4p/10s/0d Sterling for service on board the ship South Carolina as per aoount from the Auditor.
Principal - 4p/10s/0d Interest - 0p/6s/3d
(Note: there is a footnote attached to this stub indent entry. Indicated for the name "James Rich" is a brief citation simply stating that "...interlined above is: John Risch...". Thus, this is the correctly identified individual.)
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Johann Friedrich Rodewald Frederick Rodeswald
Book C, No. 525 (Wates's work, Stub Entries to Indents, Book C, page 93)
Issued to Mr. Frederick Rodeswald late of the Frigate South Carolina Mariner, the 7th day of October 1784, for Eight Pounds 18/6 Sterling Ballance of wages due him on board said Ship as per the Certificate from the Auditor General dated 6th October 1784.
Principal - 8p/18s/6d Interest - 0p/12s/6d
(Note: The above cited information was also provided for the post entitled "Another Group of German Soldiers on board the Frigate South Carolina" - Additional Biographical Information on Known Members of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment Who Served on board the Frigate South Carolina" and dated "05/30/2016". The writer of this blog felt it necessary, with the passage of almost two years from the earlier post and this post, to recite the same information for clarity of argument.)
__________________________________________________________________________
Johann Georg Schimmel George Shimmel
Book Y, No. 407 (Salley's work, Stub Entries to Indents, Book Y, page 72)
Issued 26 November 1785 to Mr. George Shimmel for 3p/17s/6d Sterling for services on board the Ship South Carolina as per account (say from the auditor)
Principal - 3p/17s/6d Interest - 0p/5s/2d
___________________________________________________________________________
Henrich Hermann (Christoph) Zimmermann Hendrick Timmermann
Book Y, No. 415 (Salley's work, Stub Entries to Indents, Book Y, page 73)
Issued 26 November 1785 to Mr. Henrick Timmermann for 3p/11s/3d Sterling Services on board the ship South Carolina as per account (say from the auditor)
Principal - 3p/11s/3d Interest - 0p/4s/11d
____________________________________________________________________________
References to the information contained in this specific post as well as that contained in previous posts concerning the personnel recruited from the 3rd Waldeck Regiment for service on board the frigate South Carolina reveal certain similarities. First, all of these men were captured by Spanish forces at the fall of Baton Rouge, LA on September 21, 1779. They would all suffer through several incarcerations in New Orleans, LA; Veracruz, Mexico; and finally, The Havana, Cuba where they would meet the Commodore Alexander Gillon and be recruited for service on board of the patriot frigate.
Second, their dates of desertion from their prisoner-of-war status were distinct, separate dates but, chronologically close together nonetheless. These dates are as follows:
Johann Risch - March 19, 1782
Henrich Hermann (Christoph) Zimmermann - March 19, 1782
Johann Friedrich Rodewald - March 21, 1782
Philipp Duesse - March 24, 1782
Johannes Meuske - March 24, 1782
Johann Georg Schimmel - March 25, 1782
An inspection of the dates cited above indicate that all of these men deserted their prisoner-of-war status within a six day period between March 19-25, 1782 in The Havana, Cuba. In fact, an inspection of the information recorded in earlier posts concerning the personnel of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment that signed on board the frigate South Carolina indicate that of the known twelve men who deserted their prisoner-of-war status at The Havana, Cuba, eight of them deserted between the above cited dates with the remaining four deserting their prisoner-of-war status on March 31, 1782 while they were still at The Havana, Cuba also.
Third, once these mens' claims against the state of South Carolina were finally settled, the amounts they each received from the state was very little. All of the men received from a low of just under two pounds Sterling to just over five pounds Sterling, except for Johann Friedrich Rodewald who received just under nine pounds Sterling. Naval officers always received more claim money from the state of South Carolina but, these specific men received less than the average American mariner received at the end of the war. This was for possibly a couple of reasons. First, these men were only on board the frigate South Carolina until she reached Philadelphia, PA. Then they too left the service of the patriot frigate and went their own ways in this newly-independent America. They only served for approximately two months as mariners (more than likely labelled as "landsmen" or unskilled sailors) and thus did not spend enough time on board the frigate South Carolina to accrue a significant amount of money due to them. Third, there may have been some prejudice, possibly even hostility, towards these men as having been enemy soldiers once and having taken advantage of their opportunity to desert to their former enemies. Deserters and traitors are always suspected of being involved in some sort of subterfuge and sabotage and their dark plans always seem to draw out the real feelings of suspicion in the camp to which they have fled. But, all indications are that all of the former personnel of the 3rd Waldeck Regiment who served on board the frigate South Carolina left the patriot frigate when she moored in the "City of Brotherly Love". This certainty stems from the fact that none of their names appear on any of the three rosters of captured American naval personnel taken by elements of the Royal Navy on December 21, 1782 just off the Capes of the Delaware. A quick reference to the posts respectively dated "03/24/2015", "03/25/2015" and "03/26/2015" prove this out. More than likely, these men, like so many others before them, considered their service to their newly-adopted country at an end when the frigate South Carolina moored in Philadelphia, PA. With their exit from the patriot frigate, they faded into the general population to continue their lives of contributions to the new nation there.