by Beverly Enwall In 1765 the South Carolina
rice plantation of Moonroy, built by the formidable French Huguenot turned
pirate and then planter, Pierre Monclair, now belongs to his son, Peter Monclair
. Moonroy is on the coast south of CharlesTown and has three small sea islands
where old Pierre was said to unload illegal cargo even after he had ended his
pirate days. In its rambling single story house live Peter, his wife, and his
four children. Peter’s oldest son, age 15, is about to set sail to Scotland to
study, but not before he joins the night raid of patriots disguised as trappers
and Indians who seize the Stamp Paper and send it back to England, to the
delight of his little brother, the admiration of his two sisters and the
amusement of his mother, the daughter of a French seamstress and the love of
Peter’s life who, as the story opens, is expecting another child.
As on
all plantations, the white family is only part of the story. The household and
all that it encompasses is run by Patience, a second generation slave from
Barbados who fell in love with the man chosen to breed her, but when her son
was born with a crooked foot, she was shipped to CharlesTown, for in Barbados
it was cheaper to buy another slave than to raise one or keep one who bore
flawed children. Patience and her baby, purchased by the French seamstress,
came to Moonroy with Peter’s bride, but Old Turner, the acknowledged leader in
all things beyond the household, had sailed the high seas with old Pierre.
Moonroy boasts exceptionally fine horses because old Pierre had purchased
Jeremy from a Virginia planter who didn’t know what he had in a Gambia man,
but Pierre did, for he had sailed the African coast, understood the different
tribes, and believed it was important to give every man his human worth, until,
of course, he betrayed you.
This is the story of the people of Moonroy
as well as some of the real people in CharlesTown like Henry Laurens, Tom Lynch,
and William Moultrie from 1765 when men first start gathering around the Liberty
Tree to argue how best to deal with Britain until 1782 when the British finally
withdraw from their brutal occupation of CharlesTown and the price paid for
victory by so many, both white and black.
CLICK HERE TO LOOK INSIDE
MOONROY
All major credit cards accepted.
Payment is processed through
Paypal with its secure site and protections against identity theft.
You do not need a Paypal Account.
Paypal fees are paid by us.
For further information on Shipping, please
see our Shopping and Shipping page.
TO TOP OF PAGE
