Charleston County

Joseph Herndon was a private in the North Carolina Militia at the Battle of Camden. He survived the disaster at Camden and went on to serve at Guilford Courthouse until he was captured during David Fanning’s raid on the Chatham County (NC) courthouse in July of 1781. He was one of the handful of incorrigibles who were handed over to the British at Wilmington for transfer to Charleston. Joseph spent the remainder of the war on a prison ship in Charleston Harbor. There is little known about this time in family history except for the following story recorded in the history of the Herndon family. It was said that toward the end of his life, he lived until 1854, he would sometimes get really agitated and start talking about how much he blamed General Gates for the disaster at Camden. But, what is remarkable, he would then talk about being on the prison ship during the final prisoner exchange and how the Americans were scared that they were being taken to the West Indies instead of home. He then would tell how he and his fellow American seized the ship from the British, sailed to the North Carolina coast and escaped. Although I have not been able to put him on a particular ship, there was a British prison ship by the name of HMS Pack Horse. South Carolina Militiaman William Elliot said that he and other prisoners rose up and ran the ship into Halifax, North Carolina and South Carolinian Edward Barnwell said that the prisoners then returned home through the pine barrens. My reference for the HMS Pack Horse is “Relieve Us of This Burthen”, 2012, by Carl P. Borick. Pages 78 and 99-100.