South Carolina Revolutionary Conflict Highway Journey: Half 10 – Santee Cooper Nation

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Revolutionary Conflict Customer Heart

The Revolutionary Conflict Customer Heart is the most effective place to find out about Nice Britain’s Southern Technique and the American Revolution historic websites in South Carolina. “That is the customer middle for the Southern Marketing campaign of the Revolutionary Conflict,” Rickie Good, museum supervisor, defined.

READ MORE: A South Carolina Revolutionary Conflict Highway Journey: Half 1 – The Olde English District

Opened in 2021, the customer middle is a small complicated of buildings in Camden, South Carolina. In the course of the Revolutionary Conflict, Camden was shortly captured after the Fall of Charleston in 1780. The important inland city remained in British fingers for nearly a 12 months.

Discover the timeline of the Revolutionary Conflict, learn concerning the pivotal individuals who saved the battle going after Charleston was captured, and see lifelike mannequins dressed as British Regulars, American Continentals, and Patriot militia assist carry it to life.

Normal Thomas Sumter Gravesite

Thomas Sumter was born close to Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1734. After working afoul of unpaid money owed, he fled to South Carolina. He established a small however thriving plantation and settled into the lifetime of a planter. In 1776, he was appointed a lieutenant colonel within the 2nd Regiment of South Carolina. However after years of inactivity, he resigned and returned to his plantation.

After the Fall of Charleston in Might 1780, British Normal Lord Cornwallis unleashed Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton within the South Carolina backcountry. Tarleton’s mission was to subdue any additional revolt and enlist Loyalists. To attain the primary aim, he continuously burned the houses and plantations of Patriots, like Sumter’s plantation.

Sumter returned to energetic obligation as a brigadier basic within the South Carolina militia. He saved the British on guard via raids and engagements for the subsequent two years, incomes the nickname “Gamecock” due to his fierce preventing techniques.

When Sumter died in 1832 at 97, he was the oldest residing Revolutionary Conflict basic. He’s buried at Normal Thomas Sumter Household Park and Cemetery, an attention-grabbing amalgamation of public park and gravesite. The route is well-marked with street indicators resulting in a gated entrance to the wooded park. Sumter’s spouse, son, and daughter-in-law are buried within the cemetery with him.

Excessive Hills Baptist Church

Organized in 1770, Excessive Hills Baptist Church is the second-oldest Baptist congregation in South Carolina. On the time, it was a uncommon instance of a non-Presbyterian denomination within the South Carolina backcountry. The present Greek Revival-style church was constructed on land donated by Thomas Sumter.

In 1774, Richard Furman was ordained because the pastor of the church. Though he volunteered to hitch the South Carolina regiment initially of the Revolutionary Conflict, he was satisfied as a substitute to make use of his public talking skills to realize help for independence from the general public. After capturing Charleston in 1780, British Normal Lord Cornwallis positioned a large bounty on Furman, forcing him to flee to Virginia.

After the battle, Furman returned to South Carolina and helped arrange the South Carolina State Baptist Conference. When the South’s first Baptist faculty was based in 1826, it was named Furman College in his honor.

Sumter, SC

After the Revolutionary Conflict, Senator John Lewis Gervais from Ninety Six launched a invoice to maneuver the state’s capital from Charleston to a brand new location. A number of websites have been proposed, together with Statesville, close to Thomas Sumter’s plantation and ten minutes from Sumter.

Sumterville, named after the native Revolutionary Conflict hero, was established in 1845 and renamed Sumter a decade later. The city’s central location – which might have made it place for a capital – made it splendid for a railroad hub. The city prospered as a serious industrial middle into the twentieth century.

In 1941, Shaw Subject was constructed as a U.S. Military Air Corps coaching middle. After the US Air Pressure was created in 1947, the airfield was renamed Shaw Air Pressure Base. The energetic navy base is dwelling to the twentieth Fighter Wing – you’ll possible hear the plane over the skies whereas visiting Sumter.

Downtown Sumter stretches a number of blocks alongside Principal Avenue. Plentiful parallel parking and huge sidewalks make it simple to discover the world. Search for fantastic boutique outlets and vintage shops whereas discovering a spot to eat.

J O’Grady’s appears like another sports activities bar, however the meals is among the finest on the town. Appetizers are sufficient to function a meal. In case you can’t determine how you can order your burger from the choices, let the employees assist – they know what works finest collectively. Be sure you ask for silverware since you’ll want it to complete any burgers and sandwiches.

Sumter Unique Brewery is the city’s first, opened in 2022 by Gary Shuler. The 35,000-square-foot, three-story constructing additionally options the city’s solely rooftop seating. Benefit from the sport room and chilly drinks whereas having fun with a spectacular view.

St. Louis chef Kyle Rhodes opened Sidebar in 2015 to serve Texas-style barbecue. Meats are smoked every day, and the perimeters are do-it-yourself. Browse the bourbon menu to search out one thing to go together with the savory meal.

Jeffrey Lampkin’s Nation Boy Kitchen serves soul meals with massive parts and contemporary components. It’s a neighborhood favourite, however there’s loads of seating inside the straightforward restaurant.

Get pleasure from a fantastic eating expertise in Sumter at Hamptons. Hardwood flooring and beautiful chandeliers set the temper. The menu modifications continuously, typically every day, to maintain up with the contemporary seasonal market.

The place to Keep in Sumter, SC

You’ll discover loads of accommodations in Sumter alongside U.S. Freeway 378 close to Shaw Air Pressure Base. However for the most effective expertise, ebook a room in one in every of these downtown lodges.

Hyatt Place opened a beautiful resort on Principal Avenue in 2022. It’s inside strolling distance of all of the downtown eateries, and you’ll loosen up by the swimming pool while you return to the snug visitor rooms. E book now with Reserving.com or Expedia.com

1912 Mattress and Breakfast is a spectacular brick mansion from fantastic hosts Tracey and Tommy McLaughlin. Expertise luxurious with ten-foot ceilings and impeccable furnishings on the peaceable property simply minutes from downtown. E book now with Reserving.com or Expedia.com

Swan Lake Iris Gardens

The Swan Lake Iris Gardens is the one public park within the nation the place guests can see all eight species of swans. The 150-acre park began in 1927 when Hamilton Carr Bland couldn’t develop Japanese iris bulbs. A 12 months after chucking them into the close by swamp, Bland observed the attractive flowers rising. From 1938 till 1949, Bland and A.T. Heath Sr. donated the swampy land and lake to the town.

The park is free to go to. Park on the Swan Lake Customer Heart – the town’s journey and tourism info middle. Stroll the paths across the lake to view the swans and flower gardens. Use the McDuffie Crosswalk over Liberty Avenue to stroll the Cypress Boardwalk across the swamp.

Restoration was unveiled in 2010 on the lake’s edge. Designed and constructed by sculptor Grainger McKoy, the 14-foot-tall steel sculpture depicts a duck’s wing in flight.

Sumter County Museum

The Sumter County Museum is sort of hidden inside a beautiful 1900s brick home. The grand staircase resulting in the coated veranda wrapping round the home methods you into considering it’s something however a museum. But it surely’s the most effective place to go to in Sumter to be taught concerning the city’s namesake.

The museum’s displays are unfold all through the parlor and former bedrooms. A room on the primary flooring is devoted to Thomas Sumter’s historical past. Examine his Revolutionary Conflict exploits and see a listing of battles he led.

Manning, SC

The state fee chosen a sight for a brand new city when Clarendon County was created from the southern portion of Claremont County in 1855. Manning was named after the earlier governor, John Lawrence Manning. The younger city was burned in the course of the Civil Conflict just a few days earlier than Normal Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse.

However, the city rebounded as a railroad, timber, and agriculture hub. When Interstate 95 was constructed within the Nineteen Sixties and Seventies, it turned a well-liked cease for motorists between New York and Florida.

Get one thing to eat at The Orchard Café or Mill Avenue Grill. Discover the outlets across the courthouse sq.. It’s a stunning, small city to discover.

Swamp Fox Murals Path

The Swamp Fox Murals Path is a captivating assortment of over 30 murals depicting Francis Marion’s – a.ok.a. Swamp Fox – exploits within the Revolutionary Conflict. The murals span from ten toes to a whopping 100 toes on the perimeters of buildings in Turbeville, Paxville, Summerton, and Manning.

You’ll need to discover a place to park and research the unimaginable particulars of the murals. Be taught concerning the scenes depicted and the artists at Clarendon Murals.

Santee Indian Mound and Fort Watson

After the Fall of Charleston in Might 1780 and the disastrous Battle of Camden in August, the British secured South Carolina. They constructed a sequence of strategic outposts between Charleston and Camden for communications and provides.

Colonel John Watson supervised the development of a fort atop a 1,000-year-old Santee Indian Mound ignored the Santee River. It was a formidable location with clear sightlines 40 toes above the encircling landscaping.

In February 1781, Normal Thomas Sumter unsuccessfully tried to seize Fort Watson. Just a few months later, Normal Francis Marion started a chronic siege. Main Hezekiah Maham developed a novel concept to counter the sturdy British location. He constructed a picket tower close to the fort, giving his troopers the next elevation.

Marion captured Fort Watson on April 23, 1781. It was the primary vital British garrison captured in South Carolina. However it could not be the final.

The Fort Watson web site is in Santee Nationwide Wildlife Refuge, a couple of ten-minute drive from Interstate 95. Nothing stays of the fort. However luckily, the Santee Indian Mound stays. It’s a five-minute stroll from parking areas within the refuge. You’ll be able to climb a picket staircase to the highest of the mound for a sweeping view of Lake Marion.

Santee, SC

Santee developed right into a city when U.S. Freeway 301 was in-built 1932. By the late Forties, the freeway related Baltimore to Tampa, turning into the first route between New York and Florida. A two-lane bridge was constructed throughout Lake Marion when it was impounded in 1939.

Interstate 95 was constructed on this space from 1962 till 1968. The ultimate piece was the multi-lane bridge throughout Lake Marion parallel to the unique two-lane bridge. As soon as accomplished, Santee turned a well-liked in a single day vacationer cease between New York and Florida.

As we speak, Santee is a typical interstate wayside with chain accommodations, quick meals eateries, and gasoline stations. The Coast Exxon Station is the must-visit place on the town. Store over 40 flavors of contemporary fudge made every day, together with typical comfort retailer objects.

The place to Keep in Santee, SC

Santee has been an in a single day cease alongside I-95 because it was constructed within the Nineteen Sixties. You’ll discover loads of accommodations, however there may be one place each road-tripper wants to remain no less than as soon as.

Clark’s Inn and Restaurant began in 1946 when WWII veteran William Clark purchased the previous bus station. In 1971, the present restaurant was constructed shortly after I-95 was accomplished via Santee. Over the subsequent few years, he added 75 visitor rooms in a roadside motel type.

But it surely’s an elegant roadside motel. Visitor rooms function boutique hotel-style furnishings. There’s an outside swimming pool. And you may sit on the coated patio or benches on the garden and share tales along with your neighbors.

Clark’s Inn and Restaurant is now operated by Winfield and Edward Clark, the founder’s sons. The resort and restaurant are managed by long-time household good friend Kittie Collier.

E book a room at https://clarksinnandrestaurant.com

Eutaw Spring Battlefield

By the top of 1780, the British managed Charleston, Camden, and a string of strategic outposts in between. However lower than a 12 months later, nearly all these outposts have been deserted or captured. Normal Francis Marion captured Fort Watson in April 1781, and the British evacuated Ninety Six in June after Normal Nathaniel Greene’s siege.

The remnants of the British forces outdoors Charleston – about 2,000 Regulars and Loyalists – encamped at Wantoot Plantation close to Eutaw Springs.

Greene caught up with them on September 8, 1781. The Battle of Eutaw Springs was chaotic and disorganized. Ravenous and weary, Greene’s military chased the British from their camp and instantly turned to looting every part left behind – together with the rum. Recovering from their retreat, the British troopers started selecting off the Patriots one by one.

Though Greene received a tactical victory, it was one other blow to his beleaguered military. It was the final main battle of the Revolutionary Conflict in South Carolina.

Stroll via the small battlefield and browse the interpretive indicators to be taught extra concerning the battle. Many of the battlefield was misplaced when Lake Marion was impounded in 1939. A brief path results in the lake’s edge, the place you possibly can see the place Wantoot Plantation as soon as stood.

Essentially the most attention-grabbing factor to see within the park is Main John Majoribanks’ gravesite. The British soldier was killed in the course of the Battle of Eutaw Springs and buried on the battlefield. When Lake Marion was constructed, his gravesite was moved to the present location.

Francis Marion Tomb

Francis Marion was born in 1732. He was the son of French Huguenot immigrants who traveled to the South Carolina Colony round 1700. His first navy expertise got here in 1761 in the course of the French and Indian Conflict when he served within the South Carolina Militia preventing for Nice Britain.

However when the Revolutionary Conflict began, he was commissioned as a captain within the Continental Military’s 2nd South Carolina Regiment, taking part within the Battle of Sullivan’s Island.

Marion prevented seize on the Fall of Charleston in 1780. When the disastrous Battle of Camden left no Continental Military troopers within the state, Marion started recruiting militiamen. Over the subsequent two years, he earned his moniker “The Swamp Fox” for his uncanny skill to ambush British models and shortly disappear into the swamps.

After the American Revolution, Marion left politics and navy service behind, returning to his plantation at Pond Bluff. When he died in 1795, he was buried in a household cemetery at close by Belle Isle Plantation.

The cemetery is open to the general public. It’s situated on the finish of a half-mile paved street close to St. Stephen.

Biggin Church

The primary brick church was accomplished on this web site in 1715, about thirty years after a settlement developed by French Huguenot immigrants. The church was destroyed by a forest fireplace in 1755. In 1767, a stuccoed brick church was constructed.

British forces captured Moncks Nook in the course of the Siege of Charleston. A everlasting garrison was established on the earthen Fort Honest Garden and Colleton Mansion. Biggin Church was garrisoned and used as a provide depot.

Lieutenant Colonel James Coates commanded the British outposts in Moncks Nook. In July 1781, Normal Thomas Sumter, strengthened by Henry Lee and Francis Marion, launched an assault. Coates deserted the fort and retreated to Biggin Church. In the course of the evening, Coates set fireplace to the church to stop the Patriots from capturing provides and escaped seize.

The ruins you see while you go to right now are from the third brick church on the positioning. Constructed after the Revolutionary Conflict, it was destroyed by a forest fireplace within the Eighties.

Moncks Nook, SC

French Huguenots settled on this space after immigrating via Charleston within the 1680s. It turned an vital buying and selling hub because the final navigable level on the Cooper River and a crossroads of inland buying and selling routes.

When the city was established in 1728, it was named after native landowner Thomas Monck. By the point of the Revolutionary Conflict, Moncks Nook was nothing greater than a set of buying and selling posts and taverns. But it surely was a significant hyperlink between Charleston and inland cities.

And that made it a significant goal when the British arrived in 1780.

Patriot Normal Isaac Huger was ordered to guard Moncks Nook with 500 troopers. After British Normal Sir Henry Clinton laid siege to Charleston, communications and reinforcements continued to reach on the Cooper River through Moncks Nook.

Clinton despatched Lieutenant Colonel James Webster with 1,400 males and a detachment of Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton’s dragoons to seize the commerce city. On April 14, 1780, the Battle of Moncks Nook was a simple British victory. Catching Huger off guard, the British seized 185 horses, wagon a great deal of arms and gunpowder, and secured Moncks Nook.

Get one thing to eat at The Barony Home, a neighborhood favourite that just lately modified possession. When Michelle Hopkins purchased the restaurant from Van Excessive, she added a ardour for pastries to the nation meals menu. The most well-liked menu merchandise is a meat and three – a meat of the day and three sides like collards, mac and cheese, and contemporary greens. However save room for dessert since you’ll need to strive a slice of Michelle’s scrumptious desserts and pies.

Breck’s Station opened in North Charleston in 1961 after which opened a brand new location in Moncks Nook in 2016. The locally-owned restaurant is understood for its large steaks, however you too can order Lowcountry seafood, burgers, and sandwiches. In case you’re feeling peckish while you arrive, order a few of their do-it-yourself onion rings with a thick slice of onion and crunchy breading.

The place to Keep in Moncks Nook, SC

Moncks Nook lacks choices for in a single day lodging. Happily, Moncks Nook Inn is a surprisingly good resort.

The big outside swimming pool has a peaceable forested backdrop in a nook of the car parking zone. The clear, spacious rooms featured respectable furnishings. It’s an excellent place to spend the evening on the finish of a protracted street journey. E book now with Reserving.com or Expedia.com

Berkeley County Museum

In 1786, the South Carolina Normal Meeting chartered an organization to construct an inland canal between the Cooper River and Santee River, connecting Charleston to Columbia by water. The canal was constructed from 1793 till 1800. It operated for practically fifty years. However poor design, drought, and the railroad ended the state’s constitution, and by 1865, the canal was deserted.

Previous Santee Canal Park was established to protect one of many earliest canals in-built America. The Interpretive Heart options displays and a captivating mannequin depicting the canal’s building.

However you’ll want to move over to the Berkeley County Museum for Revolutionary Conflict historical past. The museum options the world’s basic historical past, together with colonial occasions, the American Revolution, and the constructing of the canals. The museum focuses on Francis Marion, Thomas Sumter, and the native battles of the battle for independence.

Fort Honest Garden

Sir John Colleton – one of many Lords Proprietors of the Carolina Colony – was given a 12,000-acre barony by King George II. From 1730 till 1740, John Colleton, the great-grandson of the unique proprietor, constructed a big brick mansion on a portion of the barony alongside the Cooper River.

When Colleton died in 1777, the barony was left to his spouse, Jane. After the British captured Moncks Nook and Charleston in 1780, she fled to England for defense. The British seized the deserted mansion, turned it right into a discipline hospital, and constructed an earthen fort on the property named after the home – Fort Honest Garden.

Doug Bostick, CEO of the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Belief, described Fort Honest Garden as “a serious hub, just like the Atlanta airport.” It was crucial British outpost between Charleston and Camden, defending a significant hyperlink for communications and provides on the Cooper River.

All through 1781, the tide of the battle turned in opposition to the British.

After retreating from Ninety Six and Camden, Fort Honest Garden remained one of many few British strongholds in South Carolina outdoors of Charleston. Normal Francis Marion ordered Colonels Hezekiah Maham and Isaac Shelby to assault the fort.

However Maham thought-about the fort too daunting to seize. As an alternative, they shifted their assault to the Colleton mansion. They took 76 prisoners, paroled the medical employees, and took over 300 stands of arms. Mysteriously, the mansion was burned.

A month later, the British deserted Fort Honest Garden. It was by no means captured in battle.

In 2022, the South Carolina Battlefield Preservation Belief unveiled Fort Honest Garden – one in every of solely two extant Revolutionary Conflict redoubts in South Carolina. Guests park at Previous Santee Canal Park and hike 1.1 miles alongside a crushed gravel path to the fort’s forested location.

Fort Honest Garden is extra preserved than restored. Towering bushes develop inside and across the fort’s light earthen partitions. A small picket bridge crosses the two-foot-deep trench surrounding the fort. It’s a captivating place to go to and stroll in historical past’s footsteps.

Mepkin Abbey

Within the late 1700s, Henry Laurens was one of many wealthiest males in South Carolina. In 1777, the diplomat was despatched on a significant mission to Holland to safe a wartime mortgage for the fledgling American authorities. He was captured by a British ship close to Newfoundland, charged with treason, and imprisoned on the Tower of London – the one American ever held within the well-known jail.

After practically three years of languishing captivity, Laurens was exchanged for Lord Charles Cornwallis, the British basic who surrendered on the Siege of Yorktown and successfully ended the Revolutionary Conflict. Laurens lastly accomplished his journey to Amsterdam, secured much-needed funds, after which traveled to Paris to assist negotiate the Treaty of Paris.

Lastly, in 1784, Laurens returned to Mepkin Abbey. The British burned his dwelling in the course of the battle. His solely son was killed in a minor skirmish in 1782. Laurens remained at his plantation till he died in 1792.

In 1936, Henry and Clare Boothe Luce, publishers of Time and Life magazines, purchased the plantation. They later donated the property to the Roman Catholic Church, and in 1949, the monks of Gethsemani in Kentucky established a Trappist monastery on the web site.

Guided excursions are given each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at Mepkin Abbey. The excursions focus extra on the historical past of the property because the Forties. The one remnant of Laurens’ unique plantation is the household cemetery. It’s a ten-minute stroll from the car parking zone, the place you possibly can see the ultimate resting place of Henry and John Laurens.

Cypress Gardens

In 1909, Benjamin Kittredge rebuilt the rice discipline dikes on the defunct Dean Corridor Plantation. He planted bushes, shrubs, and flowers. After over twenty years of labor, he opened Cypress Gardens to the general public in 1932.

You received’t be taught something concerning the Revolutionary Conflict at Cypress Gardens. However you possibly can see the place scenes from The Patriot have been filmed. It’s additionally an excellent alternative to discover a swampy botanical backyard and learn the way Marion will need to have felt.

Stroll across the 170-acre botanical backyard on trails that loop across the swamps and cross over attractive picket bridges. Take a guided boat tour to see the wildlife, or lease a kayak to discover by yourself.