The Teenage Girl Turned Patriot Spy Who Fought Redcoat Raiders: Dicey Langston

On this episode of Our American Stories, our regular contributor from South Carolina, Dennis Peterson, shares the story of Dicey Langston, an American Revolutionary War heroine who, at the age of 15, saved her family and fellow patriots from one of the most notorious gangs of Loyalist outlaws of the time: the so-called "Bloody Scouts."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:21):
And we returned to our American stories. Up next, a
story about a heroine of the American Revolution. Her name
was Dycey Langstone and she was the best little sister
any brother could ever have. Here to tell her story
is our regular contributor Dennis Peterson. Take it away, Dennis.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
The pyramid shaped stone monument seems out of place in
its location, the yard of a private residence on Tigerville Road,
just north of Travelers Rest, South Carolina. That nondescript pile
of rocks with a bron's plaque on the front side
at its base commemorates the life and brave actions of

(01:05):
a great American heroine. Born layout to Sea Langston on
May fourteenth, seventeen sixty six, in the Lawrence District of
the British Colony of South Carolina. She was called Dicey
by her friends and family members. Her mother had died

(01:26):
when Dicey was young, so she was reared by her father,
Solomon Langston, and her older brothers. When the War for
Independence erupted, her brothers left home to join the Patriot forces.
Before they left, however, one brother, James, gave her a
musket and instructed her to hide it until he came

(01:48):
back for it. He later sent a comrade, Thomas Springfield,
to retrieve it for him. Dicey immediately went to fetch
it from its hiding place, but when she returned, she
pointed it at the man and demanded that he give
her the secret countersign that she and James had agreed
upon earlier. She cocked the musket and pointed it at him.

(02:11):
He quickly gave the counter sign, and she surrendered the
gun to him. She would see more of Springfield later.
Although her brothers were away from home, their camp was
only about twenty miles from the Langston Farm, and they
remained in contact with Dicey and helped instill in her

(02:33):
a love for and devotion to the Patriot cause. Soon,
British and Loyalist troops set up their own camp not
far from the Langston Farm, and Dicey noted everything the Loyalists,
also known as Torries, did there. She then relayed that
information to her brothers, enabling the Patriot troops to foil

(02:57):
many of the Tori's military plans. The Tories began to
suspect that a spy was at work among or near them.
Their plans were being discovered and foiled before they could
set them in motion. Because of the proximity of the
Langston farm to their encampment, they naturally suspected that Solomon
Langston was that spy. They visited his farm and threatened

(03:21):
severe consequences if they ever proved his guilt. To avoid
that danger, Solomon then forbade any further efforts by Dicey
to inform the Patriot forces of Tory activities. For a time,
Dicey obeyed her father's instructions, but one day she learned
that a band of ruthless Tory outlaws known as the

(03:42):
Bloody Scouts were planning to attack the Patriot force at
Little Eden, where her brothers were encamped. The Scouts were
led by a Tory named Bloody Bill Cunningham, and they
were infamous for their ruthless cruelty in punishing families who
favored the Patriot cause. She had to warn her brothers,

(04:03):
even if it meant disobeying her father, but how no
one was available to send with the warning. She would
have to go herself. Late that night, after her father

(04:24):
and the servants had gone to bed, Dicey slipped from
the house and began her journey on foot to avoid discovery.
She was forced to avoid all roads and go through
wet fields and tangled forests in the darkness. The weather
was cold and heavy rain was falling in a blowing wind.
She had to cross several swollen, fast flowing creeks, but

(04:48):
then she came to the overflowing Innree River. It was deep,
the current was swift, and there was no bridge on
which to cross the raging waters. The raging her aunts
swept her downstream, turning her around and around in the
darkness before she was able to regain her footing and
drag herself onto the opposite shore. She soon regained her

(05:11):
bearings and resumed her errand to warn them of the
Tori's impending attack. She reached the Patriot camp just as
the men were returning from a mission. They were tired
and hadn't eaten for quite some time. In spite of
her own condition, Dicey built a fire and prepared meals
for the soldiers. While she cooked, she told them of

(05:33):
the Tori's planned surprise attack. They first ran to warn
the Patriot farmers who lived nearby, and then they escaped
to fight another day. Dicey meanwhile retraced her steps through
the darkness and over the difficult terrain. She arrived home
just in time to slip into dry clothes and begin

(05:54):
fixing breakfast for her father before he arose. He never
knew until later what had happened. Bloody Bill Cunningham and
his scouts fell on the Patriot camp, expecting to slaughter
the Patriot troops. Instead, they found it deserted. They immediately
suspected that Solomon Langston had warned the Patriots and were

(06:17):
determined to kill him in retaliation. When they arrived at
the Langston farm, they caught Solomon there. He, of course,
truthfully denied having any knowledge of what they alleged he
had done. When an angry Tory shoved a pistol into
Solomon's chest, Dicey jumped between the two men, daring the

(06:37):
Tory to shoot her. Apparently impressed by her bravery and audacity,
or shamed by the prospect of shooting a defenseless woman,
the Tories relented and left the farm without harming anyone.
After the war, Dicey married Thomas Springfield, yes the man

(06:58):
she had threatened to shoot when he came for her
brother's gun. They moved to Traveler's Rest in Greenville County
and reared a family of twenty two children. After living
a full life of seventy one years, Dicey died on
May twenty third, eighteen thirty seven and was buried in
the family plot behind their cabin. But Dicey's legacy lives on,

(07:22):
kept alive by the Daughters of the American Revolution, the
City of Traveler's Rest, the Greenville County Council, and the
Traveler's Rest Historical Society. It was of people of such
courage and moral character as Dicey Langston that our nation
was born.

Speaker 1 (07:43):
And a terrific job on the production by Monty Montgomery
and his special thanks to Dennis Peterson for sharing the
story of Dicey Langston with our audience. And by the way,
it's a remarkable thing to tell and hear stories about
the Revolutionary War is the deeper we get, the more
we realize it was our first civil war. We had

(08:05):
Americans fighting against Americans, Americans risking their life at the
risk of other Americans finding out what other Americans had done,
Loyalists on one side, patriots on the other, and one
third of the country was for the patriots. One third
was against, and roughly one third were probably hiding under
their beds hoping it would pass over. So the idea
that America has never been more divided than now, well

(08:28):
not true. And America has survived so much worse than
anything we think may be going on now. And by
the way, to find our podcasts or search for our
podcasts all the work we do here in our American Stories,
go to the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
The story of Dicey Langston, a revolutionary heroine here on

(08:52):
our American Stories.

Speaker 2 (09:12):
The words employ