Every generation has its own wars, be they militarily or politically, and every war has its heroes.

The ones we remember most fondly are those associated with the birth of American independence.

Names like Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Moultrie, Sumter, Marion evoke images of lives dedicated to the birth of a nation.

There were others less well-known to most Americans, others with names like Motte and Hayne.

♪ ♪ ♪ A stroll through Charleston brings back the 1700s.

Walking these old streets, one can easily imagine the busy activity of a thriving 18th-century port city, a city that rivaled Boston and New York in commerce and prosperity.

These streets, these gardens, these houses are historic monuments to another age, another time.

A time when bold dreams were born in the hearts of common men, and whispered words like freedom and democracy were carried by a wind of discontent into every corner of the city.

This city by the sea holds many stories of the American Revolution.

One such story begins at this house, Number 27 King Street.

It was built by Miles Brewton about 1765, and it's said that each room holds its own story.

In an article from the "Charlotte Observer" dated March 22, 1931, we have one writer's description of this house.

"On the oldest street in one of the oldest cities "stands one of the oldest, most hi storic houses in America.

"So different from those around it is this house, "that the stranger pauses to inquire how it came there.

"Yet he's not surprised to learn "that this house dates back to Colonial days "and that the stonework of the porch and windows "and even the bricks of which it's built "were, in truth, brought over from the Mother Country.

"The very name of the city and street call the memory "of the rule of England in the long-ago... King Street and Charleston, South Carolina."

Miles Brewton was one of the first men of prominence in Charleston to take up the American cause.

However, he didn't live to see his dream of independence realized.

In 1775, shortly after the outbreak of hostilities, Miles Brewton sailed with his family to Philadelphia.

Fearing for the safety of his wife and children due to his own strong Patriot leanings, he planned to leave them there while he returned to Charleston to take up arms against the British lion.

However, on the outward voyage, the ship was wrecked, and the crew and passengers were lost at sea.

Although Miles Brewton himself did not ever take up arms in the Patriot cause, his sister, Rebecca Brewton Motte, did.

Rebecca Motte was born in 1736 or 1737.

We aren't sure which because the accounts vary.

She grew up in the turbulent years prior to the American Revolution, and the events of this time undoubtedly affected her thinking and political beliefs.

Like her brother Miles, she became an ardent and outspoken friend of the fight for liberty.

In 1758, she married Jacob Motte, the eldest son of a prominent Huguenot family which had come to Charleston in 1709.

After the tragic death of her brother she inherited the house on 27 King Street.

[no dialogue] The year is 1775.

The American Revolution is in its earliest beginnings.

Mourning the death of her brother, Rebecca Motte soon found that her husband Jacob had contracted an incurable disease and required constant care.

She moved the family into the house at 27 King Street, and although fate dealt her many severe blows, she never wavered in her devotion to the American cause.

Mourning the death of her brother and caring for her husband who was gravely ill, Rebecca only regretted the fact that she had neither husband, brother, or son to give to the struggle for independence.

If there was nobody else to do the job, Rebecca decided she would do it herself.

Never throughout her life did she waver in her devotion to the Patriot cause.

♪ The city was threatened by invasion in 1776.

Rebecca Motte ordered that the entire labor force of her husband's plantation on the Congaree River be sent to Charleston to aid in building fortifications to insure the safety of the city.

Following the Battle of Sullivan's Island, she continued her efforts.

It's been said, "During all the long, weary years that followed, "no heart went out more freely than hers for the suffering.

"No hand was more busy in making and supplying "clothing and necessities of all kinds for the soldiers, as far as her means and opportunity would allow."

♪ In May of 1780, Charleston fell to the British.

Sir Henry Clinton made his headquarters in the Brewton-Motte house at 27 King Street.

Rebecca would have preferred to move her family to their plantation on the Congaree River, but her husband was gravely ill, near death, and it was impossible to move him.

So she remained with her daughters.

It is said, "Every day she presided "at the long dinner table which was laid in the drawing room "and always crowded with officers.

"The three pretty daughters "never appeared at these occasions.

"Mealtime was the signal for them "to steal noiselessly and dutifully "up the narrowest, darkest, and crookedest of little staircases, "into the garret where Mama locked them up safely "from the eyes of the British lion.

"Not for worlds would the good lady have suffered a daughter of hers "to run the risk of possible flirtation with the enemies of her people."

During this period Rebecca Motte made no pretense concerning her sympathies with the Patriot cause, but English soldiers regarded her with such high regard due to her courage and calm demeanor that she and her daughters remained among them, completely unmolested.

In January, 1781, Joseph Motte's long illness ended when he died from the gout.

Rebecca then moved here to her plantation, Mount Joseph Plantation, on the Congaree River in Calhoun County near the present town of Fort Motte, but her rest was very short indeed.

Soon British soldiers again invaded her property and took over her home.

Her house was an extremely advantageous position because it wasn't far from McCord's Ferry.

It was such an excellent position that it could be taken only by direct assault or cannon fire.

Soon Rebecca Motte's home became the depot for British supplies brought up river from Charleston.

♪ Mrs. Motte's spacious home, which once occupied this site, soon took on the trappings of war and became known as Fort Motte.

The natural strength of the house was reinforced by British engineers by adding earthworks, abatis, and very strong palisades.

Lieutenant Donald McPherson was in charge of 140 British troops and Hessian soldiers, and he was in command of the garrison.

For a while, Mrs. Motte and her daughters were allowed to occupy a small portion of the house.

Once again, she became the unwilling hostess to British soldiers.

When Continental troops captured the nearest British outpost, Lieutenant McPherson became very worried about having such an ardent Patriot in his charge.

He asked Mrs. Motte to leave.

She and her daughters moved to a small log house not far from their plantation home.

Determined to drive the British from their outposts, Major General Nathanael Greene sent word to General Francis Marion and Lieutenant Colonel Henry Lee to attack the British outposts and reduce them one by one.

In May they arrived at Fort Motte.

They were dismayed by the strong fortifications and yet immediately set siege to the house.

They also began to dig trenches so the men could become closer to the fortifications.

For many days, snipers on both sides exchanged gunfire, with many casualties to the Colonial forces.

Finally, Marion received word that Lord Rawdon was on his way with British reinforcements.

♪ On May 10, Marion asked for McPherson's surrender... he refused.

On the evening of May 11, campfires were seen in the hills of Santee.

Lord Rawdon was only two days away.

Desperate and with no time left to complete destruction of the fortification, Marion made what he later said was one of the most difficult decisions of his career.

He had to ask one more sacrifice from Rebecca Motte.

With no other alternative, he sent Lee to ask her, the lady who had given so much, if they might set fire to her home to rout the British.

She smiled and replied, "Don't hesitate for a moment.

"I shall be delighted with the opportunity "of contributing to the good of my country, "and I shall view the approaching scene with delight.

If it were a palace, it should go."

♪ On May 12, Marion lined his men in battle formation in front of the house.

McPherson's men were prepared to repel an attack.

It's said that Rebecca Motte provided the bow and arrows used to fire her house.

Whether or not this is accurate, we do know that she was conspicuously present as the flaming arrows arched toward the roof of her home and landed on the dry shingles.

Two more arrows followed.

Nathan Savage, whose home had been burned by the British, made a ball of tar and sulfur, ignited it, and threw it to the roof with a sling.

McPherson's men went to the upper level to rip away the shingles and put out the fire, but they were raked by grapeshot from the guns of Captain Ebenezer Finlay of the Continental Army.

Rather than face a fiery death, McPherson immediately ran up the white flag of surrender.

Immediately, out of respect to Rebecca Motte, soldiers on both sides worked together to put out the flames.

♪ That evening Rebecca Motte set a large table in front of her small cabin and invited both British and American officers for dinner.

Francis Marion had given orders that no enemy prisoner be treated with anything other than respect.

During dinner, a British soldier rushed to McPherson with a message.

He immediately transferred this message to Marion.

Marion ran out into the yard and found two dead bodies on the ground and a third, of Levi Smith, notorious Tory, hanging from the garden gate.

"In the name of God, what are you doing?"

Marion yelled.

William Harrison of Lee's dragoons replied, "Only hanging a few Tories, sir."

Marion yelled, "I'll let you know, damn you, that I command here and not Colonel Lee!"

During his youth Francis Marion had been a weakling and had been subjected to ridicule and many unkind jests.

Isn't it interesting that this man, who was considered to be the ablest and most courageous of South Carolinians in the American Revolution, was also the most compassionate?

♪ Not everyone was as sensitive to suffering as Francis Marion.

We said earlier that each room in Rebecca Motte's home here at 27 King Street held a story.

It was in one such room that, barely three months after the Battle of Fort Motte, the British Commandant, Colonel Nisbet Balfour, listened with deaf ears to pleas for mercy for the last Patriot to be executed by the British.

♪ Isaac Hayne was born September 23, 1745, and the facts of his life are extremely interesting.

He was born in St. Bartholomew's Parish, Colleton County.

His father, also named Isaac, died in 1751, six years after the younger Isaac's birth.

He left an estate of over 19,000 pounds.

In 1765 Isaac married Elizabeth Hutson, whose father was the pastor of the Stoney Creek Church.

He and Elizabeth had seven children, who were all born within a ten-year period between 1766 and 1776.

When the Revolution broke out, Hayne was a very successful planter living at Hayne Hall, his plantation near Jacksonborough.

[no dialogue] He also owned two other plantations, Pear Hill and Sycamore, five lots in Beaufort, two lots in Charleston, 6,377 acres in the Upcountry, and 1,000 acres in Georgia.

He was also a part-owner in the William Hill Ironworks in York District.

At the time of the Revolution he was a very wealthy and successful businessman.

He was also very influential in politics and was highly respected.

He was said to have been a wonderful husband and father who put his family first, above everything else.

He was also a good soldier, and this was the role that cost him his life.

Hayne was a captain in the South Carolina militia, and in January of 1776, went to serve in Charleston with other officers and men stationed in Dorchester.

After a while he returned to Hayne Hall but kept in touch with events in Charleston through letters written by his brother-in-law, Richard Hutson.

In those letters he first heard of Lord Rawdon, who would later determine his fate.

Hutson wrote that a cocked hat with gold lace had been found on Simmons Island, and inside it was the name Lord Rawdon.

Hutson wrote that he hoped that Rawdon had drowned, but such was not the case, unfortunately for the fate of Isaac Hayne.

After the fall of Charleston in 1780, Henry Clinton threatened to confiscate the property of everyone who took up arms against the British.

He promised a full pardon to anyone who would take the oath of allegiance to the crown.

The oath placed the rebel soldier on parole.

He could never take part in any military engagement against the British.

We don't know where Isaac Hayne was after the fall of Charleston because the accounts vary.

We do know, however, that either through coercion or voluntarily, he did come to Charleston and take the oath of allegiance.

This decision was due to personal reasons and not because of political beliefs.

♪ Hayne's wife and children were desperately ill with smallpox.

He came to Charleston to find a physician and medicine.

He was detained by General James Patterson and James Simpson of the Board of Police.

He was told he should either remain in Charleston or sign the oath of allegiance.

Hayne stated that he would take the oath, "but must declare that he would consider it obligatory "only as long as their protection would really be a benefit to him or till the Americans would get possession of the country."

This is a very important point, because Hayne stated that he would honor the oath only as long as the British were in possession of the area.

Governor John Rutledge later confirmed this.

♪ In August of 1780, Elizabeth Hutson Hayne died with the smallpox.

Two daughters, Eliza and Mary, also died.

Isaac Hayne remained at his home in Colleton County, honoring his oath of allegiance.

He never took up arms against the British.

However, in the spring of 1781, very dramatic events began to happen.

On May 11, Orangeburg fell to Thomas Sumter.

On May 12, Francis Marion took Fort Motte.

On May 15, Lee took Fort Granby.

At about the same time, Nathanael Greene began a siege of Ninety Six.

On June 20, Francis Marion took Georgetown.

The British soon held only the immediate area of Charleston, so many Patriots now returned to take up arms.

The oath of allegiance was no longer valid since the British no longer controlled the area.

One of the men was Isaac Hayne.

♪ Hayne captured General Andrew Williamson, an American serving with the British, in July.

Fearing that the General would be mistreated or murdered, Lieutenant Colonel Nisbet Balfour sent the British forces after Hayne's men.

They surprised the Colleton County militia, captured Hayne, and rescued the General.

Hayne was brought to Charleston and was placed here in the Provost Prison in the Exchange Building.

Conferring with Lord Rawdon, Lieutenant Colonel Balfour suggested that Hayne be used as an example to prevent others from joining the American army.

Lord Rawdon approved.

On July 26, Isaac Hayne was informed that he was to appear before a council who would "determine in what character he was to be considered, and to what punishment he was liable."

The next day Hayne appeared before the council.

The entire proceedings were conducted as a court of inquiry.

There were no witnesses to speak in his behalf, nor did Hayne feel that these were necessary, because this was not a trial.

Members of the council weren't under oath and neither were their witnesses.

The point at hand was simply to decide how charges against Hayne should be handled.

The next day, a joint statement was issued by Lord Rawdon and Lieutenant Colonel Balfour.

"The adjutant of the town will be so good "as to go to Colonel Hayne and inform him that, "in consequence of the court of inquiry held yesterday, "Lord Rawdon and Commandant Lieutenant Colonel Nisbet Balfour "have resolved upon his execution on Tuesday, the 31st instant, at six o'clock."

♪ On August 4, despite innumerable protests and pleas for mercy, Isaac Hayne was escorted from the Exchange Building, taken to the gallows, and hanged.

Some reports say the execution took place in front of the Exchange Building, but that's highly unlikely.

♪ According to other witnesses, the gallows were erected just outside of the city.

In a footnote to a poem written in 1858, William Gilmore Simms states, "The military escort consisted of 300 men.

"The place of execution was just without the city lines, "near Redcliffe's gardens, "nearly in front of and within a stone's throw of the present Orphan House building."

However, the South Carolina Historical Society says that the site of the execution is still not verified.

♪ It's said that Isaac Hayne died courageously, calmly accepting his fate, but however he faced the gallows, his death was totally unnecessary.

Lord Rawdon tried for years to explain his decision but was never able to do so completely.

The execution caused outrage on both sides of the Atlantic, but little was done to bring to retribution those who were responsible.

If Isaac Hayne's death had occurred earlier in the Revolution, it's likely he would have achieved the status of martyr, as did Nathan Hale.

♪ ♪ Such was not to be.

The death of Isaac Hayne came at the end of a long, wearying war, and everyone concerned was just relieved when it all ended.

The body of Isaac Hayne was taken back to Colleton County, and he's buried in his family cemetery.

An inscription attesting to his courage and his convictions marks his last resting place.

Here, in St. Philip's churchyard, we find another inscription... "Sacred to the memory of Rebecca Motte, "in her the meekness and fervent piety of the Christian, the most benevolent of human hearts."

She died in 1815 at the age of 78.

A heroine and a hero, both South Carolinians, both born in the same era, both born in an era that was passionately devoted to the rights of man.

Both were concerned in a major war, a war which divided the loyalties of the colonists and united the loyalties of the colonies.

A war which gave new meaning to the word American.

[no dialogue] ♪ ♪ Program captioned by: CompuScripts Captioning, Inc. 803.988.8438 ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪