It was 1838 at Hilton Head SC when “Saucy Jack” Stoney decided to push his luck. According to legend, he lost his entire inheritance in the Braddock’s Point Plantation in a late-night poker game with William Eddings Baynard.
A Stroke Of Good Luck
The 1000-acre plantation had been in the Stoney family since the American Revolution when Captain John Stoney, Saucy Jack’s great grandfather, had purchased it. It was a 4th generation inheritance by the time Saucy Jack got it from his father Dr. George Mosse Stoney.
It was winner take all for William Eddings Baynard, although some records indicate that Baynard simply purchased the land when Saucy Jack went bankrupt. Of course, that version carries far less theatrical appeal. Either way, the transaction explains the hyphenated name by which the property is identified today: Stony-Baynard Plantation. William Baynard and his wife Catherine reared 4 children in the “Big House” up until 1849 when William died.
A Stroke Of Bad Luck
The Civil War brought chaos to the island, of course, and Baynard along with the other 20 or so Plantation owners were driven out of their homes and onto the mainland. Union officers took up residence in the Big House, which resulted in its being burned to the ground, the target of a Confederate raid.
The Baynard’s never returned to the Island after the War, although they did legally reclaim the land. Thus, the property was left in its present state of disrepair, another sad monument to the devastation of the American Civil War.
The original outline of the structure may be traced by the features that survive. The back of the house is easily identified by the fireplace and remnants of the rear wall that are still standing. A little detective work uncovers the pier pads in which the heavy posts of the front porch were once secured.
The property is situated on a sunny knoll at the Island’s highest point. Gazing at the site one can easily imagine pleasant scenes of family solidarity — picnics on the porch, children and servants cavorting merrily on the front lawn. Without warning the sun disappears as angry storm clouds threaten the pastoral scene. And then if you focus intently, the imagination will catch an echo of the jack-boot invader pacing the large wooden porch of this haunted house.
In the end William Baynard ran out of luck and the fleeting days of happiness deserted him forever. Many a visitor has felt a chill run up their spine as the faint image of Baynard’s hearse and funeral party file silently past his grave.
Not content to pillage his property, union troops later robbed Baynard’s crypt, allegedly in search of family gold, jewels, or other valuables. Ever since on those dismal, rainy days that sometimes visit the Island, Baynard’s disconsolate ghost may be seen at a distance stalking the premises.
Who needs Hawaii, when we’ve got Hilton Head?
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