Revolutionary War Ghost Legend on Hilton Head and Daufuskie

THE LEGEND: A Revolutionary War killing left a restless spirit searching for vengeance

In the closing months of the American Revolution, Hilton Head and Daufuskie islands found themselves on opposite sides of a bitter conflict. Patriot militia operated from Hilton Head while Loyalist forces remained active across Calibogue Sound. Among those caught in the violence were Charles Davant and Loyalist militia leader Philip Martinangel. In October 1781, Martinangel led a Tory raiding party onto Hilton Head. Before dawn, his men ambushed a Patriot patrol near Broad Creek. Davant was mortally wounded but managed to remain in the saddle long enough for his horse to carry him home. The killing demanded revenge.

Two months later, members of the Patriot militia crossed Calibogue Sound to Daufuskie. Martinangel was killed and his plantation house burned. History records the bloodshed. Legend tells what happened next. Stories began circulating of a ghostly figure wandering the grounds associated with Martinangel. The apparition was said to wear bloodstained clothing and emit a mournful moan that sounded like wind rushing through live oaks before a hurricane. Eventually, the legend crossed the water.

One version of the story tells of a bicyclist riding on Hilton Head in December 1981 — two centuries after the Revolutionary War violence — who encountered a strange figure near the area associated with Davant’s ambush. Gunshot-like sounds reportedly followed as the cyclist fled. No surviving documentation of the episode has been located, leaving the encounter firmly in the realm of folklore. But on nights when strange sounds drift through the trees near Calibogue Sound, the old Martinangel story still gives them a name.

A historical marker on Daufuskie Island recounts the death of Loyalist militia captain Philip Martinangel, who was killed by a Hilton Head Patriot force in December 1781. His violent death became the historical foundation for a darker island legend, one in which Martinangel’s restless spirit continued searching for vengeance long after the Revolution ended.
Mary Dunn Cemetery on Daufuskie Island is believed to be the final resting place of Capt. Philip Martinangele, the Loyalist militia leader killed by Hilton Head Patriots in December 1781.