Stephen Bull
The Divided Dynasty
Stephen Bull was a man born into the highest echelons of South Carolina’s colonial aristocracy. The nephew of the prominent Royal Lieutenant Governor William Bull, Jr., Stephen inherited the grand Sheldon Plantation in Prince William’s Parish and a legacy of political leadership. Yet, when the Revolution beckoned, Bull made a radical departure from his family’s Loyalist leanings, choosing to lead the Beaufort District Militia against the Crown.
The Powder Seizures and Early Command
Bull’s contribution to the Patriot cause began with an act of high-stakes strategic importance. In June 1775, he coordinated with Georgia Patriots to capture a British merchant ship bound for Savannah. The prize was 16,000 pounds of gunpowder—a staggering haul that was distributed among the forces in Georgia and South Carolina. Some of this powder was stored within the thick walls of Old Sheldon Church, while a portion was sent north to assist General George Washington’s Continental Army during the Siege of Boston.
By 1776, Bull was a Colonel commanding the Beaufort District Militia. He led his troops in the occupation of Savannah, a move that bolstered Georgia’s fledgling Patriot government and sent local Loyalists into retreat. His rise continued with a promotion to Brigadier General in 1778, though his leadership was tested during the ill-fated expeditions into British East Florida, where divided command and harsh terrain stalled the American advance at the St. Mary’s River.
Victory and the Decimation of the Lowcountry
On February 3, 1779, Bull stood alongside General William Moultrie at the Battle of Port Royal Island. This engagement was a rare and decisive victory for the Patriot militia over British Regulars, securing the Beaufort District—temporarily. The triumph was short-lived; within two months, General Augustine Prevost’s British invasion from Georgia swept through the Lowcountry. Bull’s regiment was decimated by a combination of battlefield losses and the desertion of men who returned home to protect their families from British and Loyalist raiders.
Exile and Return to Public Life
The fall of Charleston in May 1780 marked the end of Bull’s military career. Facing the collapse of Patriot resistance and the occupation of his home district, Bull went into self-imposed exile in Virginia and Maryland. Unlike many of his contemporaries who stayed to fight the “Partisan War,” Bull offered no further military service during the conflict.
However, his commitment to the new state remained firm. After the British evacuation, he returned to South Carolina and served in the House of Representatives from 1783 to 1790. Though he was twice elected to the State Senate, he declined the seats, preferring a quieter life after the tumult of the war. General Stephen Bull died in 1800, leaving behind a legacy as the man who broke with his family to arm the Revolution with the very powder that fueled its earliest victories.
