Charles Davant Murder Site – Hilton Head Island
December 1781
The site of the Charles Davant Ambush marks a critical turning point in the Revolutionary War for Hilton Head Island. Charles Davant, a local planter and private in the South Carolina militia, is recognized as the island’s only military casualty of the war.
The Ambush of October 22, 1781
On the night of October 22, 1781—ironically just three days after Lord Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown—Davant was part of a Patriot group patrolling the marshes and waters on the Daufuskie side of Hilton Head. They were attempting to prevent a recurrence of recent Loyalist raids that had resulted in the burning of every residence along Skull Creek.
During the patrol, Davant was ambushed and fatally shot by members of the Daufuskie Royal Militia. Before succumbing to his wounds, Davant was able to identify his killers: Phillip and Abraham Martinangele.
The “Bloody Legion” Retaliation
The murder of Charles Davant sparked an immediate and violent response. A few weeks later, a group of Davant’s fellow militiamen, including his brother James Davant and commanded by John Leacraft, formed what became known as the “Bloody Legion”.
On Christmas 1781, the Bloody Legion crossed the Calibogue Sound to Daufuskie Island to exact revenge. They executed the Martinangele brothers, with historical accounts noting that Abraham was killed in his bed while holding his infant daughter. This event solidified a cycle of retaliatory violence that defined the “partisan” nature of the war in the Lowcountry.
