Lt. Colonel James Webster biography

  R. James Webster was born Jaunuary 8,  1740 at Edinburgh Parish, Scotland.  He was thesecond son of the eminent Edinburgh clergyman Rev. Dr. Alexander Webster (1708-84), Minister of the Tolbooth Kirk, sometime Moderator of the General Assembly and occasional poet, and his wife Mary Erskine of Alva (a second-cousin of John Pitcairn, and aunt of James Boswell). There were several other children, although some died in infancy.  James would attend Edinburgh University.  

In 1760, at age 20,  James was commissioned Lieutenant with the 33rd Regiment of Foot. He obtained his Company in 1763, Majority in 1771, and Lieutenant Colonelcy in 1774. Lord Cornwallis was his Colonel. When at home in Edinburgh, he and his father often dined with cousin James Boswell, who mentions the family in his Journals. James's career in America was extremely distinguished.  Webster  saved the day at Monmouth on June 28, 1778, being described by Sir Henry Clinton as "that gallant officer". 

The Southern Colonies are Invaided

The 33rd went south with Clinton's expedition, and Webster again distinguished himself during the siege of Charleston. He commanded the detachment (which included Tarleton and the Legion) assigned to round up the last pockets of rebel forces around the city and seal off its communications. This detachment fought at Moncks Corner, and even though their numbers were inadequate for the amount of territory to be covered, they effectively took control of the area between the Ashley and Cooper Rivers, thereby beginning the seige of City of Charleston, SC on April 1, 1780.  After six weeks of siege, Patriot General Benjamin Lincoln commanding Charleston surrendered his forces to the British on May 12, 1780.  The British captured some 5,266 prisoners and 311 artillery pieces.   It was the worst defeat of the war for George Washinton's Continental Army. 

Of the British officers who served in the South, Webster was one of the few who seems never to have garnered a word of reproach from either his comrades or his enemies. There is an element of irony to this where Major Banastre Tarleton is concerned, the British Cavalryman who commanded the dragoons,  famous for his ruthless behavior in South Carolina.   After the skirmish at Moncks Corner, two (some reports say three) troopers from the British Legion entered the home of Mrs. Giles (formerly Lady Colleton), a Loyalist, threatened the women who had taken refuge there with rape and attempted to loot the house. According to Stedman, The dragoons were apprehended and brought to Monk's Corner.   A this time, Lt. Colonel Webster had arrived and taken command. The late colonel Patrick Ferguson was for putting the dragoons to instant death. But colonel Webster did not conceive that his powers extended to that of holding a general court-martial. The prisoners were sent to head-quarters, tried, found guilty and whipped.

He commanded the Regiment with great success at the Battle of Camden, SC. on March 15,  1781, at Guilford Courthouse.  He again distinguished himself during the battle, but was severely wounded and died 2 weeks later.  James was 41 years old, and never married.  He was originally buried in Elizabethtown, NC.