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Major “Bloody Bill” Cunningham
William "Bloody Bill" Cunningham (1756–1787) was an American Loyalist (American Revolution), loyalist infamous for perpetrating a series of bloody massacres in South Carolina's backcountry in the fall of 1781 as commander of a Tory militia regiment in the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War. Though his family were loyal to the British crown, Cunningham initially enlisted in the Continental Army as part of the State of South Carolina's 3rd regiment in 1775. His tenure in the rebel army was an unhappy one and Cunningham changed sides to fight for the British in 1778. He earned the nickname "Bloody Bill" for the violent, ruthless nature of his raids on rebels and patriot civilians. Background The Cunningham family emigrated from Scotland late in the 17th century, settling in Augusta County, Virginia. William was born in Virginia in 1756. When William was 10, the Cunningham family migrated to Ninety Six, South Carolina, Ninety-Six, South Carolina, along the Saluda River in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were refugee colonists from Thirteen Colonies, thirteen of the 20 British American colonies who remained loyal to the British Crown, British crown during the American Revolution, often referred to as Tories, Royalists, or King's Men at the time. They were opposed by the Patriot (American Revolution), Patriots or Whigs, who supported the revolution and considered them "persons inimical to the liberties of America." Prominent Loyalists repeatedly assured the Government of the United Kingdom, British government that many thousands of them would spring to arms and fight for the Crown. The British government acted in expectation of that, especially during the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War, Southern campaigns of 1780 and 1781. Britain was able to effectively protect the people only in areas where they had military control, thus the number of military Loyalists was significantly lower than what had been expected. Loyalists were often under suspicion of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
