Cunningham, "Bloody Bill"

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Cunningham, "Bloody Bill"

CUNNINGHAM, "BLOODY BILL." (c. 1748–c. 1787). Loyalist partisan. Born in South Carolina, Cunningham enlisted in the Patriot militia in 1775 but was court-martialed and whipped. Changing sides, he raised a company of Loyalist cavalry that became known as the Bloody Scout, operating in Georgia and the Carolinas. He gained notoriety for his personal ferocity in a number of skirmishes, although his unit did not take part in any major military encounters. It is thought that he settled in Charleston after the war, where he apparently died in 1787.

                            revised by Michael Bellesiles

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