Christa Goodwin
This was supposed to be a special year for the many members of the Capers family. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they had not had a reunion since 2019, and this year, they planned to get together in the Mount Pleasant area, offering them the opportunity to visit the nearby island that bears the family name. Even better, Marine Corps veteran and Vietnam War hero James Capers joined them on an excursion to the island.
They were more than surprised to find out that earlier this year, the South Carolina Legislature passed a concurrent resolution asking the Department of Natural Resources to name the heritage preserve on the state-owned island located about 15 miles north of Charleston after the late George E. Campsen Jr. They learned about the name change July 29, during a presentation by DNR wildlife biologist Lauton Sutley. Family members were attending a banquet as part of the three-day reunion, the same day around 50 of them visited Capers Island.
The news came as a shock to Christa Goodwin, who, along with her husband Willie, organized this year’s reunion.
“The family is disturbed. This is like stripping us of our heritage,” she said. “We started asking questions. When and why was it changed? He didn’t have much information. That was pretty much the gist of it. Everyone was kind of wondering why, but we never got a good answer.”
Willie Goodwin, whose grandmother was a Capers, called it “a slap in the face.”
The concurrent resolution was presented by State Sen. Larry Grooms, who insisted that it was “in no way an attempt to change the name of the island.” He said the wildlife refuge on the island was named for Campsen, not the entire island.
The Goodwins aren’t buying any of that. Christa, who said she never heard of George Campsen, has reached out to U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn – without results so far.
“We’re still waiting. We’re still pushing to get answers. We don’t have a concrete answer yet,” she said.
“We’re going to keep pushing to get it revoked or rescinded or whatever the word is,” Willie added.
According to a letter written by Christa Goodwin, the Legislature’s concurrent resolution “will erase centuries of Capers Island history and heritage – not to mention the feeling of lost identity and will displace the essence of the island. … We are disturbed and surprised by being told at our recent family reunion that Capers Island’s name had been changed to memorialize a family name not related at all to its rich heritage nor descendants.”
According to the SC Picture Project, Gabriel, Richard and William Capier, three French Huguenot brothers from Wales, settled on the island in 1679, and their descendants lived on the now-uninhabited island until the Civil War. Capers changed hands several times until the state of South Carolina purchased it in 1975. It measures around 1.4 miles wide and three miles long.
Two men named James Capers have played a role in U.S. history. One of them, born a slave, served as a drum major with Gen. Francis “Swamp Fox” Marion during the Revolutionary War, while the other is 87 years old, grew up in Bishopville, South Carolina, and lives in Jacksonville, North Carolina. According to the Veterans Administration, he participated in five major campaigns in Vietnam, earning two Bronze Stars.
In the 1970s, he represented the Corps in a national recruitment campaign. Later, he was a field agent in classified Cold War operations in Africa and Eastern Europe and was awarded the Silver Star, three Purple Hearts, a Navy Commendation Medal and a Navy Achievement Medal.
Maj. Capers is recognized as being the first enlisted African American Marine to receive a battlefield commission and the first African American Marine to command a Force Reconnaissance Company.
Grooms’ resolution cites Campsen for his service as a state legislator and with the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the Charleston Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Patriots Point Development Authority, the Trident Economic Development Authority and the Roper Foundation. It also mentions his connection to Capers Island: “Mr. Campsen hunted on Capers Island in his youth and fished on and around Capers Island his entire life. It is fitting that the last public service job before his death was as “Caretaker of Capers Island,” unselfishly patrolling and stewarding this treasured barrier island.”