The ‘Perfect Day’: Part I
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By Peg Eastman
William Legge, Second Earl of Dartmouth.
IMAGE COURTESY OF HOOD MUSEUM OF ART, DARTMOUTH COLLEGE
Thanks to a chance conversation with Ken Scarlett, South Carolina America 250 commissioner and president of Charleston 250, Mercury readers can learn some behind-the-scenes information that has yet to make its way into the local narrative about Carolina Day. This article presents a fascinating tale of foreign intrigue, counterespionage, secret weapons, and the “perfect day” to thwart the rebellious colonials.
The Continental Congress appointed George Washington commander of the Continental Army in June 1775, and before his arrival in Charles Town, Lord William Campbell was advised of the uncertain political climate. He had chosen to assume his position as royal governor despite the unstable political situation. Less than three months after his arrival, he fled from his beautiful home at 34 Meeting St. for sanctuary aboard HMS Tamar on September 15.
Campbell’s hasty departure in the dark of night had embarrassed locals, and a delegation asked him to return to Charles Town. He indignantly replied that he would never return until he could support the King’s authority, remaining on the Tamar. (May 2026 Mercury, The Last Royal Governor.)
During his self-exile, Lord Campbell intercepted incoming mail and continued to gather intelligence about loyalties to the crown. It is well documented that he and William Tryon, royal governor of New York, had voluminous correspondence with Lord Dartmouth, the secretary of state for the colonies, until Dartmouth resigned in late 1775.
Tryon was previously the royal governor of North Carolina and is remembered for the palatial governor’s mansion built in New Bern, and for the discontent the taxes to pay for it created. Like Lord Campbell, Tryon became so unpopular that in October 1775, he was compelled to seek refuge on a British sloop-of-war in New York Harbor. And like Lord Campbell, he dissolved the assembly because it was for independence.
Parliament’s problems had started in Boston, which the British Army occupied in 1768. In the next few years, animosity towards the British escalated from the 1770 Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party to the Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1773, and finally to the Battle of Bunker Hill. However, it was the Patriot fortification of Dorchester Heights overlooking Boston with Henry Knox’s cannon that finally caused the British to evacuate in March 1776.
Something had to be done to bring the colonies under control, and the plan to invade the Carolinas was first proposed by Lord Dartmouth (after whom Dartmouth College was named in 1769). Dartmouth corresponded regularly with Lord Campbell and the royal governor of North Carolina, Josiah Martin, about the deteriorating conditions in their respective states.
Dartmouth was succeeded by George Germain, Viscount Sackville, who adopted the plan for putting down the American rebellion harshly once and for all by cutting off the head and the tail of the snake on the same day — a “perfect day.”
Appointing a date to launch an amphibious assault against Charles Town was standard British policy. It happened that June 28, 1776, was the only day in the calendar year composed of two perfect numbers, six and 28. (A perfect number equals the sum of its divisible parts, e.g. six is divisible by one, two and three; and 28 is divisible by one, two, four, seven and 14.)
The sophisticated leaders liked the fact that uneducated folks knew nothing of higher mathematics and chose that date for the frontal assault on Charles Town and the elimination of General Washington. (Although this is still not documented because of the secret nature of the plot, it is thought that this astute number was the code name for the operation — A Perfect Day.)
The effort required to subdue the rebellious colonies was colossal and went all the way to the crown for approval, for the British feared that if they lost the middle colonies, the Canadian and Caribbean colonies would fall like dominoes. Any major assault on Charles Town would have had to have been personally approved by King George III and a few key ministers in Parliament. Conveniently, the crown’s prime minister, Lord North, was Lord Dartmouth’s half-brother.
The master plan for the conquest of Charles Town was complex and highly secret. A massive force of troops, ships — some newly built, some old — was prepared during a period of months in Boston, New York, the Caribbean, England, Cork and Kinsale, Ireland. The fleet was to rendezvous at Wilmington, N.C., in the March/April timeframe. Preparations for the naval expedition were made in Cork, Ireland; ships were to depart in early December 1775.
His majesty’s fleet of 50 ships was commanded by his most decorated admiral, Sir Peter Parker, who was experienced with amphibious assaults. More than 3,500 crack British troops, including the famed 33rd Regiment of Foot (The Pattern), were to be led by their best commanders — Clinton, Cornwallis and Webster. Land forces consisted of 1,500 troops detached from Supreme Commander Major General William Howe, Scottish Highlander loyalists from Cape Fear, N.C., and 2,000 Irish troops commanded by Major General Charles Cornwallis.
More than 10,000 stands of arms and tons of gunpowder were loaded on the fleet to arm the Highland Brigade and other Carolina loyalists. In addition, a “secret weapon” called the carronade was developed. This was a smaller, versatile cannon that could carry a heavier payload or fire anti-personnel grapeshot to sweep Fort Sullivan’s gun platforms. Carronade prototypes were installed on the top deck as part of the armaments on the 28-gun British frigate Actaeon. (She would later run aground and was blown up by the crew to prevent her falling into the Patriots’ hands, presumably to keep them from capturing the secret weapon carronades and tons of high-powered gunpowder.)
Expecting little resistance, exiled Royal Governors William Campbell of South Carolina and Josiah Martin of North Carolina boarded the HMS Bristol, Admiral Parker’s Flagship, in anticipation of being reseated after the expected conquest of the Carolinas.
Things began to unravel almost immediately. Parker’s fleet of nine warships, transports and supply ships did not depart Cork until February 13, 1776. Clinton left Boston on January 20, and instead of the 1,500 troops originally planned, he departed with two companies of light infantry. He stopped at New York City and conferred with N.Y.’s Royal Governor William Tryon. Tryon was embroiled with patriotic forces that were arresting loyalists and forcing them out of the city. He was also having increasing difficulty supplying British ships with the needed supplies.
Clinton arrived in Wilmington on March 12 and discovered that his three-dimensional force had been reduced. The Highland Brigade was destroyed at the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge on February 27. It had been a brief engagement, with sword-wielding Highlanders charging colonial rifles. Unsurprisingly, the Highlanders were defeated and permanently scattered.
Parker’s fleet stopped at New York City to coordinate with Royal Governor William Tryon, in exile aboard his safe-haven warship anchored in the harbor. Tryon was actively masterminding a secret Loyalist operation to eliminate Patriot forces and assemblies.
As Clinton sailed on to Wilmington, an assassination plot hatched by Tyron and the Loyalist mayor of New York City, David Matthews, began to take shape. (Tyron was also running a counterfeiting operation to undermine the economy.) The assassination plan was to turn members of the Life Guard, Washington’s personal guard, against him, leaving the colonies without a leader. Ironically, the plot was revealed by a member of the counterfeiting operation.
Fortunately, the New York Provincial Congress had established the Committee on Conspiracies, a top-secret team of civilians with a mission to gather information and thwart the enemy’s intelligence operations. This successful counterintelligence operation, developed by Founding Father and statesman John Jay, would become standard counterespionage tradecraft practiced to this day.
After the assassination plot was discovered, Life Guard Thomas Hickey was court-martialed for “exciting and joining in a mutiny and sedition,” and “treacherously corresponding with, enlisting among, and receiving pay from the enemies of the United Colonies.” After he was found guilty on June 28, “The Perfect Day” for liberty, Hickey was publicly hanged in New York City in front of 20,000 spectators. Washington wrote, “I am hopeful this example will produce many salutary consequences and deter others from entering into the like traitorous practices.”
My appreciation to Ken Scarlett for bringing this fascinating story to the writer’s attention and to Bob Stockton for assisting.
A Charlestonian by birth, Margaret (Peg) Middleton Rivers Eastman is actively involved in the preservation of Charleston’s rich cultural heritage. In addition to being a regular columnist for the Charleston Mercury, she has published through McGraw-Hill, The History Press, Evening Post Books, and Carologue, a publication of the South Carolina Historical Society. She is a member of the Charleston History Commission and serves on the Friends of the Old Exchange board.
