Its a little cold

 

Moultrie's Redoubt in Dorchester County has been officially found

Thanks to David Chinnis the site where General William Moultrie along with Francis Marion built a redoubt has been confirmed. This was a highly important location during the American Revolution as it was on the road to Charleston and would act as a roadblock to the British advance towards Charleston. 

The best part is that Dorchester County already ownes the land and the site will be preserved.  

It took years of primary research, site visits, and multiple double checks to confirm this location. Without the support of Chinnis this would not of been possible. 

The site now should be able to join the SC Liberty Trail, so that more people can know the important history of Dorchester County in the American Revolution. 

https://www.postandcourier.com/news/seeking-forgotten-fort-on-ashley/article_f2afb447-0fbc-527b-92aa-fa11a56844c4.html

 

 

20th Francis Marion/Swamp Fox Symposium

 Great information from Carole and George in regards to the  

20th Francis Marion/Swamp Fox Symposium. 

For more information please contact them at; 

gcsummers@ftc-i.net

Greetings to History Buffs & Francis Marion Admirers:

Hear Ye, hear ye.

We’ll have the FM Symposium in Manning Oct 21-22.

You want to come & share,

At CCTC, DuBose Campus, Manning, SC. Save the dates.

Know you want to hear about more 250^th Anniversary events, too.

 

The FM Symposium will run from Friday afternoon, starting about 2:20,

Until Sat. evening with the Sat. evening dinner theater.

This changes the cost for Lectures, Friday dinner theater, Sat. lunch, Sat. dinner theater)  

    Price: $95     ($180 / couple) 

  (or Early bird $90/$170 by Sept 21    (also use this as a Sponsorship form).

Send your registration checks.

We will deposit your check after Oct 10.

No refunds after Oct 10.

Thanks for your support & interest.

Carole & George

 

 20^th Francis Marion/Swamp Fox Symposium

   Oct 21-22, 2022, Manning, SC

Explore the Revolutionary War Southern Campaign with General Francis Marion

      Immerse yourself in Francis Marion's world and the

significance of the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution. 

       "Times of Francis Marion, 1732-1795"

    Presentations & Evening dinners in Rev. History

Site: FE DuBose Campus, Central Carolina Technical College, I-95, Exit 122, Manning, SC

      Now:  You're invited to submit your registration, check & participate.

           Register at the on-line form  

          October 21-22, 2022   www.FrancisMarionSymposium.com

 Special Thank you to our Sponsors:  

Gold Sponsors:  SC 250th Anniversary Commission, Columbia, SC;

           American Revolution Roundtable-SC at Hilton Head.

 Pewter Sponsors:   

       Allison Investment Management, John, Columbia, SC;

       Anderson Pharmacy, Rock, Manning, SC;

       Bank of Clarendon, Manning, SC;

       John Beakes, Maryland;

       Peggy Chiappetta, Gable, SC;

       Col Hezekiah Maham SAR Chapter, Berkeley County, Moncks Corner, SC;

       DuBose Campus, Central Carolina Technical College, Manning, SC;  

       Edward Jones, Whit, Manning, SC;                

       Dr. Elwood Owens, Photographer, Videographer, Florence, SC; 

       A Friend of the Francis Marion Symposium, Bluffton, SC;

       FTC, Kingstree. SC;

       Prothro Chevrolet, Lannes Prothro, Manning, SC;  

       Santee Electric, Kingstree, SC;

       In Honor of South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust;

       In Memory of  Dr. Bob Swager, Spartanburg, SC;

       In Memory of Peter E. Reilly, NY;

       Rick Jackson, St Matthews, SC;

       Warren and Jay Graves, Hilton Head Island, SC;

       G & C Summers, Manning, SC

      

   We partner with South Carolina Rev. Battleground Preservation Trust & the South Carolina Liberty Trail

SC 250th Commission

 https://www.southcarolina250.com/

Purpose

Chartered by the SC General Assembly in 2018 … “which shall have the authority and responsibility to plan and execute, insofar as authorized and funded by the General Assembly, a proper observance of the Sestercentennial of the American Revolution in South Carolina, and in cooperation with the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust; a national organization, if any; and other similar commemorative organizations in other states. This proper observance of the Sestercentennial must include the role of persons of African-American descent in the Revolutionary War.”

Mission

To celebrate and promote South Carolina’s role in the American Revolution by educating, engaging, and inspiring South Carolinians and visitors.

Strategic Goals

• Discover and celebrate South Carolina’s Revolutionary Era, its significant people, places, principles, and events.
• Interpret, preserve, and make accessible Revolutionary scholarship and sites.
• Educate South Carolinians and the world about South Carolina’s roles in the American Revolution.
• Support and promote research and cultural heritage tourism telling South Carolina’s stories from many points of view.
• Support and promote local 250th anniversary commemorative events, arts, preservation, heritage tourism infrastructure, and corresponding economic development.

SC 250th Commission’s Statutory Partners:

• South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism
• South Carolina Department of Archives and History
• South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust

Why the Cooper and Ashley Rivers were so important in the American Revolution

When looking at the roads covering the state of South Carolina today, it is hard to imagine a time when there were only a few roads for transportation and travel. These roads were affectedly great by the weather which could turn them impassable given a heavy rain or prolonged rain. Even today in the outer parts of Berkeley and Dorchester Counties heavy rains can still flood cemented roads with ease. Even roads maintained by the crown and colony were only as good as the season you tried to use them. Most roads were not roads as we think of them today, they were merely ways for neighbors to transverse and were maintained as such.

So when we look at the most reliable means for transport and travel year around we must look to river ways such as the Wadboo, Santee, Wando, Edisto, Cooper and Ashely Rivers. Rivers in the Lowcountry were used to cultivate rice fields, transporting materials, and to easily travel from key points in the Lowcoutnry to other key points. Two of the major transportation hubs were Dorchester located on the Ashley River and Moncks Corner located near the Cooper River.

These two towns made commerce and trade easier because they were located near the head of each river and thus allowed barges and boats to be loaded and unloaded with ease. The wharf at Dorchester is still visible at low tide.

Thus during the American Revolution both areas where fortified by first the Colonist and then the British to protect these key spots on their transportation route.

As I begin my first series in many years I will be looking at these two sites and their importance to the defense of Charles Town during the Revolution.


Below is a map created by JD Lewis and can be located on his website at http://www.carolana.com/ which shows how important these two sites were.

Happy New Year

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas 

Redoubt at Fair Lawn

     The fort at Fair Lawn was designed as a redoubt to help control the river traffic on the Cooper River. The tabby fort at Dorchester was also used to control traffic on the Ashley River helping the British to control the two major inland water ways for communication, moving of troops, and commerce. Below is a good example of what the redoubt at Fair Lawn was designed to look like. Notice the earthen walls built up to provide protection, the one entrance, the moat around the entire structure, the one entrance, and other defensive structures. 

     One key about a redoubt is that is was not meant to house soldiers or their daily chores. The soldiers would of been camped close to the redoubt so they could man it quickly if called for. 

Firing in battery

Fort Morris and 2nd Co of Ga Artillery

Fort Morris is one of the few remaining Revolutionary War era earthwork fortifications in the United States. First fortified in the 1750s, the fort was manned to protect the once prosperous seaport town of Sunbury. When the Continental Congress convened in 1776, the delegates recognized the importance of a fort to protect their growing seaport from the British. Soon afterwards, 200 patriots fortified and garrisoned a low bluff on the Medway River at Sunbury. When the British demanded the fort’s surrender on November 25, 1778, the defiant Col. John McIntosh replied, “Come and take it!” Instead, the British withdrew back to Florida only to return forty-five days later with superior force. After a short but heavy bombardment, Fort Morris surrendered to the British on January 9, 1779, the last patriot post to fall in the American Revolution.