William Jasper (c. 1750 – October 9, 1779) was a noted American soldier in the Revolutionary War. He was a sergeant in the 2nd South Carolina Regiment.
Jasper distinguished himself in the defense of Fort Moultrie (then called Fort Sullivan) on June 28, 1776. When a shell from a British warship shot away the flagstaff, he recovered the South Carolina flag in the Battle of Sullivan's Island, raised it on a temporary staff, and held it under fire until a new staff was installed . Governor John Rutledge gave his sword to Jasper in recognition of his bravery.
In 1779, Sergeant Jasper participated in the Siege of Savannah, led by General Lincoln, which failed to recapture Savannah, Georgia, from the British. He was mortally wounded during an assault on the British forces there.
Sgt. Jasper's story is similar to that of Sgt. John Newton. Several states have adjacent counties named Jasper and Newton, as these were remembered as a pair, due to the popularity of Parson Weems' fictionalizing early American history.[1] Several other states have a Jasper County with a county seat of Newton, or vice versa.
Coming to America
Sergeant William Jasper was NOT the German immigrant named Johann Wilhelm Gasper, whose fairytale is concocted below. Sergeant William Jasper was born in Union County, in northwest South Carolina. In addition to several older sisters, William Jasper's older brothers were Nicholas, Abraham, and John. When William was around 18 years-old, William Jasper relocated to eastern Georgia along with his new wife and her family. It is that separation from his Union County family that has led to several inaccurate versions of William Jasper's origin and early life.
Nicholas Jasper, the oldest brother, was a Lieutenant in the Continental Army for several enlistments in a regiment enrolled from Union County. It is believed that that regiment fought mainly in North Carolina. Nicholas Jasper received a land grant in Pulaski County, Kentucky, and relocated his family there in the 1790s.
William Jasper's other two brothers, John Jasper and Abraham Jasper, are the two brothers who are mentioned anonymously in Moultrie's report of William Jasper's exploits as a spy and scout under Moultrie's command. Both Abraham Jasper and John Jasper left Union County and enlisted with the British army. Abraham Jasper was a steadfast British supporter, whom little is known about after the War. John Jasper seems to have returned to Union County during the War with changed sympathy. John Jasper relocated to southern Indiana in the early 1800s.
The following inaccuate info should be ignored or deleted:
William Jasper(named Johann Wilhelm Gasper at the time) came to America in 1767 on the ship Minerva. He and other immigrants hailed from Germany and landed in Philadelphia. He was sixteen at the time but he had decided that whatever the new land held, that he would accept it with open arms.[2]
He arrived in Philadelphia in the fall and was fed some warm soup and then put in a line to take an oath of allegiance and sign his name. When it was his turn though, Jasper didn't know how to read or write so he couldn't even write his name on the list. He had to just put an X down where he should have put his name and next to it the colonist who had signed him in wrote John William Jasper. He then completed a few years of indentured service and moved South to find some land of his own.[3]
William Jasper got motivated when he settled down in the South, he had left his girlfriend in Pennsylvania. In order to pay for her journey to come live with him, he joined the military; by this time the colonists had already rebelled. Although the pay was not great, he soon became a sergeant, earning enough for Elizabeth to join him in Georgia, where they were soon married.
Fort Sullivan
Jasper was soon called to Sullivan's Island to help protect Charles Towne Harbor. There he served under Colonel William Moultrie, who was in charge of the defense of Charleston against the British Navy. A few days before the British were due to arrive, Colonel Moultrie decided to build a fort to protect the harbor. His officers were sent local plantation owners, to borrow their slaves to help with the creation of the fort. Soldiers, slaves and volunteers banded together to chop down palmettos and use them in its construction.
Initially called Fort Sullivan, some time after the battle the fort was renamed to Fort Moultrie.[4] The British arrived before the fort was finished, its whole back remaining incomplete. The Moultrie flag was raised over the structure, and a ten hour siege began.
Low on ammunition, the 2nd South Carolina Regiment only fired when ships closed in on the fort. The flag, designed by Moultrie himself at the behest of the Colonial government, was shot down, and fell to the bottom of the ditch on the outside of the fort. Leaping from an embrasure, Jasper recovered the flag, which he tied to a sponge staff (see the Cannon instruments section of the Cannon operation article) and replaced on the parapet, where he supported it until a permanent flag staff had been procured and installed.[5] With this rallying point, the Colonists held out until sunset, at which point the British retreated. They did not succeed in taking Charleston until several years later.
Because of Jasper's heroism, Governor John Rutledge presented him with his personal sword, and offered him a lieutenant's commission.[6] He didn't accept the offer to become an officer, saying that he would only be an embarrassment since he couldn't read, nor write. He was also presented with two silk flags by Mrs. Susannah Elliott.
CORRECTION: William Jasper was reared in a literate family. The original version of the the Battle of Fort Sullivan, written by Moultrie, does NOT say that William Jasper could not read and write at all. William Jasper simply did not want the responsibilities that went along with the rank of "Lieutenant", and Jasper likely gave as a quick reason for declining the promotion that his reading and writing skills were not up to par. Remember that William Jasper did not like being a "camp" soldier. Later in his service, William Jasper was always on the move as a scout and spy, who reportedly frequently went behind British lines and captured prisoners -- likely Tories. Moultrie's report indicates that the British apparently knew of William Jasper -- possibly not by name, but by exploits -- since Jasper is said to have even once captured a British detachment sent to capture him. Moultrie allowed William Jasper to come and go as Jasper liked, and even to use whatever resources he needed, including other soldiers. Moultrie stated that Jasper sometimes would return with prisoners before Moultrie even knew that Jasper had left camp.
Roving commission
Colonel Moultrie gave him a roving commission to scour the country with a few men, gather information, and surprise and capture the enemy's outposts. This commission was later renewed by Francis Marion and Benjamin Lincoln. Prominent among his achievements was the rescue by himself and a single comrade of some American captives from a party of British soldiers, whom he overpowered and made prisoners.[4][6]
Savannah
At the Siege of Savannah, he received his death wound while fastening to the parapet the standard which had been presented to his regiment. His hold, however, never relaxed, and he bore the colors to a place of safety before he died.[6]
Places named after Jasper
- Jasper County, Georgia[7]
- Jasper County, Illinois
- Jasper County, Indiana
- Jasper County, Iowa[8]
- Jasper County, Mississippi
- Jasper County, Missouri
- Jasper County, South Carolina
- Jasper County, Texas and the city of Jasper, Texas
- City of Jasper, Alabama
- City of Jasper, Arkansas
- City of Jasper, Florida
- City of Jasper, Georgia
- City of Jasper, Minnesota
- Town of Jasper, Tennessee
- Town of Jasper, Indiana
- Town of Jasper, New York
References
- ^ Lou Ann Everett (December 1958). "Myth on the Map". American Heritage. 10 (1): 62–64.
- ^ Idella Bodie (2008). The Man Who Loved the Flag. Heroes and Heroines of the American Revolution (5th ed.). pp. 1–2.
- ^ Idella Bodie (2008). The Man Who Loved the Flag. Heroes and Heroines of the American Revolution (5th ed.). pp. 3–5.
- ^ a b James W. Patton (1933). "Jasper, William". Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
- ^ Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1892). . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
- ^ a b c This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). . Encyclopedia Americana.
- ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 168.
- ^ Weaver, James Baird (1912). Past and Present of Jasper County, Iowa, Volume 1. B.F. Bowen. p. 44.
External links
- Edward McCrady (1901). The History of South Carolina in the Revolution, 1775-1780. Macmillan. p. 157. Cited by 1920 Americana.
- James Mason Peck [Boone]; Francis Bowen [Lincoln] (1847). Lives of Daniel Boone and Benjamin Lincoln. Boston: C. C. Little and J. Brown. pp. 315–316.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Alexander Garden (1822). "Sergeant Jasper, 2d Regiment". Anecdotes of the Revolutionary War in America. pp. 90–91.