South Carolina – The American Revolution

South Carolina SC History SC American Revolution Also see: Revolutionary War Reenactors

SC Revolutionary War Overviews

• Revolutionary War Military Engagements - lists more than 130 battles fought in South Carolina
  
• Revolutionary War in South Carolina - excellent, detailed
  
• The American Revolution in South Carolina - includes timeline, battles, maps, and more
  

SC Revolutionary War Factions

• American Patriots - also called Rebels
  – South Carolina Patriots
  
• Loyalists - also called Royalists, Tories
  – 1782 - published by Charlestown's "Royal Gazette"
  – 1783
  – Why Were Some of Our Ancestors Tories? - focuses on English, Irish, and German ethnicities
  

SC Revolutionary War Battles

• Battle of Cane Break / Reedy River - December 22, 1775
  
  
• Battle of Yamacraw Bluff / Rice Boats - March 2-3, 1776 - battle took place along the Savannah River
  
  
• Battle of Sullivan's Island - Fort Sullivan - June 28-29, 1776 - known as Carolina Day
  – Brief recap
  – Fort Moultrie
  
  
• Battle of Port Royal Island / Beaufort - February 3, 1779
  
  
• First Battle of Charleston - May 11-12, 1779
  
  
• Battle of Stono Ferry - June 20, 1779
  
  
• Second Battle of Charleston - April 1 - May 12, 1780
  
  
• Battle of Monck's Corner - April 14, 1780
  
  
• Battle of Lenud's Ferry - May 6, 1780
  
  
• Second Battle of Fort Moultrie - May 7, 1780
  
  
• Buford's Massacre - May 29, 1780 - Also known as the Battle of Waxhaws or Buford's Defeat
  – Battle of Waxhaws
  – Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton - British commander whom earned his reputation as a "butcher" at this engagement
  
  
• Alexander's Old Fields - June 6, 1780
  
  
• Presbyterian Rebellion and the Battle of Huck's Defeat - July, 1780 - York County
  Also known as the Battle of Williamson's Plantation. This excellent essay explains how South Carolina's Scots-Irish backcountry settlers turned the tide of the American Revolution in the South.
  – Brief recap
  
  
• Battle of Rocky Mount - August 1, 1780
  
  
• Battle of Hanging Rock - August 6, 1780
  
  
• Battle of Wateree Ferry / Skirmish at Cary's Fort - August 15, 1780
  
  
• Battle of Camden - August 15-16, 1780
  – battleofcamden.org - incredible documentary history
  – Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site - visiting today
  
  
• Battle of Fishing Creek - August 18, 1780 - Catawba Ford, SC
  
  
• Battle of Musgrove's Mill - August 18, 1780
  – Visiting today
  
  
• First Battle of Great Savannah / Nelson's Ferry - August 20, 1780
  
  
• Battle of Blue Savannah - September 4, 1780
  
  
• Battle of Black Mingo Creek - September 29, 1780
  
  
• Battle of Kings Mountain - October 7, 1780
  – Cherokee County - Blacksburg
  – Kings Mountain National Military Park - visiting today
  
  
• Battle of Tearcoat - October 25, 1780 - south of Turbeville
  
  
• Ox Swamp - November 8, 1780 - near Manning
  This is where General Marion earned his famed nickname. After Tarleton chased Marion through the swamps for six hours the British colonel declared, "...as for the old fox (Marion), the devil himself could not catch him." Thus, General Marion became known as the "Swamp Fox".
  
  
• Battle of Fish Dam Ford - November 9, 1780
  
  
• Battle of Blackstocks Plantation - November 20, 1780
  – About William Blackstock Plantation
  
  
• Battle of Rugeley's Mills / Clermont - December 4, 1780
  
  
• Battle of Halfway Swamp - December 12-13, 1780
  
  
• Battle of Cowpens - Janurary 17, 1781
  – Overview
  – Map of battlefield
  – The Battle of Cowpens
  – Cowpens National Battlefield - visiting today
  – Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton - British commander
  
  
• Battle of Georgetown - January 24, 1781
  
  
• Battle of Fort Watson - April 15-23, 1781
  
  
• Battle of Hobkirk's Hill - April 25, 1781 - Camden
  
  
• Battle of Fort Motte - May 8, 1781
  – Fort Motte Battle Site
  
  
• Battle of Orangeburg - May 11, 1781
  
  
• Battle of Fort Granby - May 15, 1781
  
  
• Battle of Ninety Six - May 22 through June 18, 1781
  – Ninety Six National Historic Site - visiting today
  
  
• Battle of Quinby Bridge - July 17, 1781
  
  
• Battle of Parker's Ferry - August 13, 1781
  
  
• USS Congress vs. HMS Savage - September 6, 1781 - off the coast of Charleston
  
  
• Battle of Eutaw Springs - September 8, 1781 - Eutawville
  
  
• First Battle of Dorchester - December 1, 1781
  
  
• Skirmish at Slaughter Field - December 22, 1781 - north of Blackville
  
  
• Battle of John's Island - December 28-29, 1781
  
  
• Battle of Combahee Ferry - August 27, 1782
  
  
• Battle of Fair Lawn - August 29, 1782
  
  
• Battle of John's Island - November 4, 1782 - last battle fought before the Provisional Treaty was signed in Paris
  

SC Revolutionary War Campaigns

• Battles of Francis Marion - 1780-1781
  – The Evolution of Marion's Brigade after the Fall of Charlestown, 1780 to 1782 - PDF
  
  
• Carolina Campaign - 1780-1781
  
  
• Online Library of the Southern Campaign - exceptional research
  
  
• Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution - group promotes research, sharing of information - click Publications for reference articles
  

SC Revolutionary War Maps

• Maps of the Revolutionary War Period in SC

SC Revolutionary War Heroes

• Butler, Pierce
• Felder, Captain Henry
• Gadsden, Christopher
• Geiger, Emily
  – More info
  
• Heyward, Thomas Jr.
• Jasper, Sergeant William
• Laurens, Henry
• Lynch, Thomas Jr.
• Marion, Francis - The Swamp Fox
  – Battles of Francis Marion - 1780-1781
• Motte, Rebecca Brewton
  – More info
  
• Moultrie, William
• Pickens, Andrew
• Pinckney, Charles
• Pinckney, Elizabeth Lucas - Eliza
• Rutledge, Edward
• Rutledge, John
• Sumter, Thomas - The Gamecock
  
  
• Delegates to the Constitutional Convention - National Archives
  

SC Revolutionary War Maps

• Maps of the Revolutionary War Period in SC