Who Lived This History? The Combahee Raid

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In the early morning hours of June 2, 1863, Union troops based at Port Royal, South Carolina conducted a daring raid up the Combahee River, which winds inland from Port Royal Sound. Union Naval forces had captured Port Royal in November of 1861. After Port Royal fell to Union forces, the surrounding lands were abandoned by planting families, yet hundreds of enslaved people remained.

Led by Colonel James Montgomery, African American troops of the 2nd South Carolina Regiment advanced upon the Combahee River plantations, destroying several plantations and carrying away more than 700 enslaved people.

Who were the African American men, women and children who witnessed, or were freed by, the Combahee Raid?

Planters Affected By The Raid

An account of the raid published by the Macon Daily Telegraph newspaper on June 6, 1863 lists "Wm. H. Heyward, Wm. C. Heyward, Mr. Kirkland, Mr. Burnett, Mr. Nichols, R. Chisolm, the estate of Keith, J.L. Paul, and others whose names are not remembered" among those whose plantations were affected by the raid.

In the Freedmen's Bureau Land Reports, Combahee Ferry, South Carolina, Sept. - Oct. 1865, we learn that William Kirkland, William Andrew Burnett, Robert Chisolm and James Paul owned plantations on the Combahee River.

The Civil War in South Carolina website contains statements filed by planters whose plantations were affected. The statements, sworn before Magistrate G.W. Pringle, list the names and ages of many of the enslaved people who escaped to the Union gunboats from the plantations of Joshua Nichols (also rendered Nicholls), William L. Kirkland, and William C. Heyward.

We may compare those statements to Freedmen's Savings and Trust (Freedmen's Bank) records of freedpersons who stated that they were born and/or raised on plantations on the Combahee River, to begin to learn the names of those who fled to the Union gunboats in the wee hours of June 2, 1863.

The table below lists such records from the Charleston, Beaufort and Savannah branches of the Freedmen's Bank. Agents of the Freedmen's Bank carefully recorded the names of spouse, parents, siblings and children of the account holder, effectively creating a family group sheet for each account holder. You may view the files by clicking on the "View" links below:

Freedmen Born or Raised on the Combahee River

Acct #	Name	Spouse	Birth Year	Where Born	Where Raised	Record
3507	Aikens, Jack	Chloe	1846	Combahee	Same Place	View
4413	Aikens, Jack	Jinny	1847	Combahee	do [ditto]	View
4649	Barnwell, Sarah	Jack	1819	Combahee	do [ditto]	View
3475	Bartly, Anthony	Maria		Combahee	Same Place	View
5864	Baskin, Prince	Mary Ann		Combahee	do [ditto]	View
7917	Bee, Matthew		1848	Combee, SC	in Georgia	View
6793	Blake, Abraham	Josephine	1837	Cumbee River, SC	Cumbee River, SC	View
3489	Blake, Corbner	Juliette Chisolm	1821	Combahee	Same Place	View
3194	Blake, Dorcas	Jeffry		Combahee River		View
3218	Blake, Joseph		1832	Cumbahee, SC	do [ditto]	View
6630	Blake, Joseph		1833	Comber, SC		View
2910	Blake, Limas	Barbary		Combahee, SC	Same Place	View
3383	Blake, March	Jane Myers	Abt. 1829	Combahee, SC	Same Place	View
2220	Blake, Michael	Sarah	1809	Combee, SC	do [ditto]	View
3168	Blake, Tobey	Hester		Combahee River, SC	Same Place	View
10541	Bolles, Sophey	Samuel	1843	Chston, Res. Combee, Mr. Haskels Place	Charleston	View
9791	Brown, Captain	Ellen	1839	Cumbee, SC	" "	View
5285	Brown, John	Fanny	1839	Beaufort Dis SC	Combahee, Walter Blake	View
6952	Brown, Mingo	Lizzy	1843	Combahee	do [ditto] Chas Heyward Place	View
	Bryan, George	Minda		Beaufort, Living Combahee	Beaufort	View
3148	Bulls, Cuffee	Sophy	1842	Combahee	Same Place	View
2982	Burns, Fabry	Mary	1824	Combahe	do [ditto]	View
3333	Caleb, Jethro C.	Jacob	1855	Combahee	Same Place	View
8286	Campbell, Paul	Guranna	Abt. 1842	Combee, SC	do [ditto]	View
5753	Campbell, Prince	Adaline	1830	Combee, SC	do [ditto]	View
	Chisolm, Clorinda	March	1823	Combahee	Combahee	View
3145	Chisolm, March	Clorinda	1820	Cypress Plantation Near Combahee Ferry, SC	Same Place	View
6829	Colter, William		1855	Cumbee	do [ditto]	View
6828	Colter, Joanna	Charles	1823	Cumbee	do [ditto]	View
10668	De Hone, Jeffrey	Nancy	1827	Smithfield, Combee	do [ditto]	View
3021	Devine, Thomas	Delia	1820	Combahee, SC	Same Place	View
6089	Drayton, Arthur	Nancy	1848	Combahee Ferry, SC	Same Place	View
4461	Drayton, John		1853	Combahee, SC	Charleston, SC	View
3419	Edwards, Bella	Norris	1848	Rose Hill, SC	Savh. [Savannah?]	View
3943	Ferguson, Hector	Mary	1848	Combahee, SC	Same Place	View
3369	Ferguson, Nancy	John	Abt. 1845	Combahee	Same Place	View
3035	Ferguson, Richard	Sue	1835	Combahee River, SC	Same Place	View
3236	Ferguson, Sam B.	Annie	1810	Combahee	Same Place	View
7223	Fields, Bina	Isaac	1843	Combahee	do [ditto]	View
2438	Fields, Isaac	Bina		Combahee	do [ditto]	View
9421	Fraser, William	Rosena	1836	Combahee	Charleston	View
4081	Frazier, Manuel	Hetty	1849	Combahee, SC	Same Place	View
3491	Frazier, Simeon	Mary	1821	Combahee, SC	Same Place	View
5521	French, Charlie		1861	Combee, SC	Walterboro, SC	View
2612	Giles, Cato	Emma	1819	Combahee, SC	do [ditto]	View
9196	Glover, Lindie	Gabriel	1833	Combahee	Charleston	View
3332	Godfrey, Joseph D.	Mary	1837	Combahee, SC	Charleston, SC	View
5845	Graham, Walley	Ena	1821	Combahee	Combahee	View
3510	Grant, Flora	Carolina	1836	Combahee, SC	Same Place	View
3291	Grant, Gibba	Daniel	1809	Combahee, SC	Same Place	View
3910	Grant, Mary	Bob	1827	Combahee, SC	Same Place	View
4009	Grant, Wally	Molsey	1832	Combahee, SC	Same Place	View
9241	Green, Jesse	Bella	Abt. 1822	Combie, SC	do [ditto]	View
9792	Hamilton, Frank	Celia	1840	Combee/Kirkland Place	"" "	View
9470	Hamilton, Friday	Abby	1838	Cumbahee, SC	" "	View
3020	Harris, Andrew	Diana	1825	Combahee	do [ditto]	View
3513	Haywood, July	Jane	1831	Combahee, SC	Same Place	View
3912	Heidt, Beck	Emanuel	Abt. 1810	Combee, SC	Georgia	View
5600	Izzard, Wm.	Anna		Combahee	Combahee	View
8287	Jackson, Doll	Henry	1807	Combee, SC	do [ditto]	View
4202	James, Teena	Moses	1833	Combahee, SC	Same Place	View
4044	Jenkins, Frank	Diana	1812	Combahee, SC	Same Place	View
232	Jenkins, John	Clara		Cumbahee [last master W. H. Heyward]		View
4074	Jenkins, York	Diana	Abt. 1804	Combahee, SC	Same Place	View
5688	Jones, Elsy	William	1840	Combahee	do [ditto]	View
3809	Jones, Ned	Daphne	1812	Combahee, SC	Same Place	View
2748	Kelly, Primus Renty	Clarissa R.	1825	Combahee, SC	Charleston, SC	View
4821	Kelly, Primus R.	Clarissa B.	1827	Combahee, SC	Charleston, SC	View
525	King, Cupid	Harriet		Combee, SC		View
3389	Kirk, Samuel	Hetty		Rose Hill mainland	Same Place	View
3607	Lawrence, March	Annie	1831	Combahee, SC	Same Place	View
5024	Mack, Bina	Harry	1839	Combahee	do [ditto]	View
9105	Manning, Rebecca	George	1848	Combee, SC	"" "	View
3627	McNeil, Story	Sarah	1819	Combahee, SC	Same Place