Hnck,  a  captain  of  the  British  militia,  burned
the  library  and  dwelling  of  a  Presbyterian  cler-
gyman in  the  upper  part  of  South  Carolina ;  and
also  burned  every  Bible  in  which  the  Scottish
translation  of  the  Psalms  was  found. Prisoners
who  had  been  paroled  at  Charleston  were  sub-
jects of  perpetual  persecntiou  under  the  im-
mediate observation  of  Cornwallis,  unless  they
would  exchange  their  paroles  for  oaths  of  alle-
giance. An  active  officer  was  deputed  to  visit
every  district  in  the  state,  and  procure,  ou  the
spot,  lists  of  its  militia. Any  Carolinian  there-
after taken  in  arms  might  be  sentenced  to
death  for  desertion  and  "bearing  arms  against
his  country."  Cornwallis  never  regarded  a  de-
serter, or  any  whom  a  court-martial  sentenced
to  death,  as  an  object  of  mercy. His  lieutenant,
Lord  Rawdon,  was  particular!}'  hard  on  desert-
ers from  his  Irish  regiment. "  I  will  give  the
inhabitants,"  he  proclaimed,  "ten  guineas  for
the  head  of  any  deserter  belonging  to  the  vol-
unteers of  Ireland,  and  five  guineas  only  if  they
bring  him  in  alive."  To  punish  Sumter,  who
had  commanded  a  Continental  regiment,  a  Brit-
ish detiichuient  turned  his  wife  out  of  doors  and
burned  his  dwelling-house. These  proceedings,
and  others  equally  atrocious,  were  approved  by
Cornwallis,  who  tried  to  crush  out  every  vestige
of  iudepetidence  in  the  state  by  requiring  every
able-bodied  man  to  join  the  British  army  and
take  an  active  part  in  the  re-establishment  of
royal  rnle. All  who  refused  were  treated  as
"  rebels."  Then,  under  iustructious  from  Miu-
ister  Germaine,  he  determined  to  establish  a
system  of  terrorism  that  should  wipe  out  every
semblance  of  revolt  in  that  state. He  put  mil-
itary despotism  in  the  place  of  civil  law. He
ordered  all  militia-men  who  had  served  in  loy-
alist corps  and  were  afterwards  found  in  arms
against  the  king  to  be  hanged  without  mercy;
and  in  this  way  many  perished. He  gave  Tory
leaders  full  license  to  execute  these  orders,  and
instantly   murders   and  plunderings   and  the


sconrge  of  the  torch  everywhere  prevailed!
Property  was  wantonly  destroyed  by  fire  and
violence ;  the  chastity  of  women  was  set  at
nanght ;  and  Whigs,  both  men  and  women,  cul-
tivated and  tenderly  reared,  were  treated  by
the  ravenous  Tory  wolves  as  legitimate  prey  to
their  worst  passions. 