Women's History Month 2022 - Dicey Langston

[Mrs. Smith]

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Project Appleseed's Women's History Month series on Revolutionary War heroines!

During the Revolutionary War, many considered women to be innocent, weak and non-threatening, and therefore some were able to easily eavesdrop on soldiers who were at times, reckless with information.  Often were the boastings of those who plotted surprise attacks, or some enterprise that promised rare pillage-uttered within hearing distance of these women.  Several women became messengers and spies.  One such woman, girl really, was Dicey Langston. 



Laodicea Langston, Dicey as her friends and family called her, was the daughter of Solomon and Sarah Bennett Langston of Laurens District, South Carolina. She was born May 14, 1766, on her father's plantation. Dicey's mother died when she was a little girl, and she was raised by her father and brothers. She was described as of below medium height, dark-eyed, proud, imperious, and high-spirited. She was also considered graceful and attractive in appearance and in manner.

When the Revolutionary War began, Dicey's brothers left the plantation to fight with the Continental Army. They camped in the forest with a small band of Patriots, so the plantation wouldn't suffer the consequences of their patriotism. To save the family from difficulties, they visited only infrequently in secret. Through it all, they managed to maintain communication with Dicey, who had become an outspoken patriot along with her brothers.

By the age of 15, Dicey was an expert horsewoman and an excellent shot.  Dicey was a smart girl and kept her eyes and ears open for useful information.  Living surrounded by loyalists, some of whom were her own relatives, she found it easy to make herself acquainted with their movements and plans.  She would frequently share intelligence with her brother.  The Tories began to question how so much information was getting to the rebels, and soon turned their suspicions toward Solomon Langston and his high-spirited daughter. They threatened her father, saying that he would be held accountable for Dicey's actions if any more information leaked to the Patriots. Solomon scolded her and forbade her to visit her brother's camp in the future. She reluctantly agreed, and for awhile she discontinued her reports, but one day she learned that the Bloody Scouts, a band of Tory outlaws who were known for their ruthless cruelty to families who sympathized with the rebel cause, were planning to raid her Little Eden, where her brother and his compatriots were camping.  She knew that if her brother was captured, he would surely be killed.  She had to warn him regardless of her father's orders.
Dicey had no one to send, no one she could trust, so, it was evident that she must deliver the warning herself.  She started out on foot late that night, after the family was asleep. She avoided the roads and kept to the fields and forests.  Making her way through woods, marshes, and creeks, she finally reached the icy waters of the Enoree River, which was swollen with the spring rains. The only way to cross was to wade through the deep rushing waters; there was no bridge. She bravely struggled toward the center of the stream, where the current was very strong and the water reached her shoulders.



Suddenly, she fell, and the swift water carried her downstream, turning her around and around. She regained her footing and struggled toward the bank, although she wasn't certain if it was the correct side of the stream.  She was able to drag herself onto the bank, and lay half drowned and soaked, until she regained enough strength to continue.  After a great distance, she reached her brothers' camp and warned him of the Bloody Scouts' intentions. He and his men had just returned from an expedition and were hungry and exhausted.  Dicey had them build a fire, while she quickly mixed up some cornbread and baked it in the embers.  She broke it into pieces and thrust them into the men's shot pouches, so they could eat as they ran to warn the settlers of the impending attack.  Dicey returned home in time to cook breakfast.  Her father was unaware of her venture.

Later that morning, when the Bloody Scouts descended upon the Little Eden settlement, they found it deserted.
That's not all.  Dicey's daring spirit was often in evidence during those Revolutionary War years.  On one occasion, a band of Loyalists confronted Dicey and her father in their home. They were furious that his sons were helping the Patriot militia, and they were ready to take their anger out on Dicey's father. He was old and unable to defend himself, but Dicey leapt between the gun and her father, declaring her intention to take the bullet in his stead. The Loyalists so admired her bravery that they ended up sparing both lives.
Dicey's bravery was in evidence yet again when she was stopped by a band of Loyalists. They thought she had information they wanted. The captain of the band aimed a pistol at her chest, ordering her to speak. Dicey was unflinching. "Shoot me if you dare!" she told him defiantly. "I will not tell you!"  The officer was furious and tried to shoot her, but another Loyalist grabbed the gun. He saved Dicey's life.

One final story potentially changed the course of Dicey's lifeâ€"but in a good way. Her brother had given her a rifle for safekeeping until he needed it. One day, a company of men came to retrieve it. Dicey left the room to retrieve the rifle before remembering that she hadn't asked the men for her brother's countersign. As she came back into the room, she asked for it. One of the men laughed and declared it too late to make such a demand: He had both the gun and the girl in his possession.

That spunky girl raised the rifle and aimed it at his chest. She declared: "If the gun is in your possession, take charge of her!" Subdued, the man instantly gave the countersign. 

So, what was the good part?  At least according to legend, that man was Thomas Springfield. He later asked for Dicey's hand in marriage.

After the war, Dicey Langston married Thomas Springfield, a local patriot leader, on January 9, 1783. They had a large prosperous family, and lived a long life. In later years, Dicey was known to boast that she had thirty-two sons and grandsons able to vote or fight for liberty.

Dicey Langston died on May 23, 1837, in Greenville County, SC, and was buried in the family cemetery behind their log cabin located just north of Traveler's Rest, SC. Her obituary reports that she had 22 children.




Sources:
https://www.womenhistoryblog.com/.../dicey-langston...
http://www.diceylangston.com/womenofrevolution.php
https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-dicey-langston