26 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.MountPleasantPodcast.com A hot topic this year is the 250th anniversary of one of the most significant events in world history – the signing of the Declaration of Independence. By announcing their break with Mother England, the American colonists created a country that gained the admiration of the rest of the world. Fifty-six men signed that important document, and we celebrate it every year on July 4. Four of the signers hailed from the Lowcountry and have captured much attention during this important anniversary year. These famous patriots have gone down in history for their bold action, but behind every great man, there is a great woman, right? So who were the women who supported and maybe even influenced the lives of the men? Information is scant on most of them, but they made contributions to our nation’s history in their own way. Mary Izard was one of them. She was only 17 years old when she married Arthur Middleton, who became an outspoken delegate to the Continental Congress 10 years later. Because Arthur was very active in politics and frequently away from home, it fell to his wife to manage his plantation, a role seldom performed by women. But three years after the war began, she and her family fled their home at Middleton Place when British soldiers began to wreak havoc across the Lowcountry. They sought refuge in their city home in downtown Charleston, essentially jumping from the frying pan into the fire when British forces laid siege to the city in 1780. Mary and Arthur were apparently on the same page when it came to their political leanings, and they both refused to sign the oath of loyalty to the king that the occupying army imposed on Charleston residents. On the day that her husband was arrested and sent with other patriots to a British prison in St. Augustine, Florida, Mary gave birth to the couple’s sixth child. British forces occupied Charleston for the next two years, and residents Independent Women The women behind South Carolina’s Declaration signers BY MARY COY leading ladies Mary Middleton rests in the family tomb at Middleton Place.
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