Peter Howard (1724-1780) was a member of the South Carolina General Assembly and a prominent Whig at the time of the American Revolutionary War.
Biography[]
Peter Howard was born in Pembroke, South Carolina in 1724, and he became a businessman, selling food and supplies from a store in the town. Howard served in the colonial militia during the French and Indian War, during which he lost his leg and most of his hearing. He befriended Benjamin Martin during the war, and their children Gabriel Martin and Anne Howard would marry in 1780 after they met again in 1776. Howard was a staunch patriot, saying that the colonists lived in an American country, and he spoke at a patriot rally in Charleston in 1776, where he said that King George III of Great Britain had cut off his other leg with his taxes. Howard was one of 28 men to vote in favor of passing a levy for the Continental Army, leading to South Carolina joining the patriots during the American Revolutionary War. Howard sent supplies to Martin's militia, agreeing that Martin could pay him what he could when he could. In 1780, William Tavington's Green Dragoons forced the townspeople into the church for an address, and he offered to pardon the townspeople if they gave up Martin's location. Christian Hardwick spoke up, saying that Howard had sent supplies to the militia at the old Spanish mission in Black Swamp. Tavington thanked Howard, and proceeded to betray his promises, having his men lock the church doors as his Green Dragoons torched the building. All of the townsfolk were killed in the ensuing conflagration.