Interior South Carolina

Last Update: 02/DECEMBER/2011

Compiled by Pete Payette - Š2011 American Forts Network

Salkehatchie Earthworks
(Rivers Bridge State Historic Site)
(1865), Ehrhardt
Preserved seven-gun CSA earthworks located at Rivers Bridge, and a 12-gun CSA fort and earthworks south at Broxton Bridge Plantation (private property, guided tours for fee), which defended the Salkehatchie River during Sherman's March (February 1865). See also INFO and PHOTOS from SC Dept. of Archives and History

Vince's Fort
(1770's), Barnwell County
A settlers' fort. A battle occurred here in 1781.

Savannah River Site AAA Defenses
(Savannah River Site - U.S. Dept. of Energy)
(1953 - 1960), near Jackson
The Atomic Energy Commission's Savannah River Site (now U.S. Dept. of Energy) was protected by a 90mm AA gun battery and two 75mm Skysweeper AA gun batteries during the early days of the Cold War. The 90mm battery was converted to 75mm in 1956. NIKE missiles were never emplaced here.

Fort Galphin
(1760 - 1781), Silver Bluff
Originally a brick home and trading post built by George Galphin in 1752, it was taken over by the British in 1780 (after Galphin died) and palisaded, renamed Fort Dreadnought. It was captured and destroyed by Patriots (May 1781), the captured supplies then used for the attack on Augusta, GA. The brick house still stood until the 1870's. George Galphin originally established his first trading post here in the early 1740's. See also Fort Galphin Archaeology from Groover Research

Fort Moore
(1716 - 1720's), Beech Island
Built after the Yamassee War by the SC colonial militia for protection against further Indian attacks. Located at New Windsor, a former Shawnee Indian village also known as Savannah Town. A 150-foot square work with a 4.5-foot high planked wall, it had barracks for 100 men, a commander's house, magazines, and storehouses. A marker is located at the end of Sand Bar Ferry Road at the Savannah River. A band of Chickasaw Indians relocated here in 1727 and set up a village and trading post, which lasted until 1766. Site surveyed in 1971 before bulldozed for development. Additional site excavations made in 2001-2002. See also Fort Moore Archaeology from Groover Research

(John ?) Tobler's Fort
(1760 - 1761), near Beech Island
A settlers' fortified blockhouse on the Savannah River near Fort Moore. Swiss immigrants led by John Tobler first settled here in the 1730's.

Newberry County Settler Forts
(1760 - unknown), Newberry County
Aubrey's Fort, located somewhere along the Enoree River.
Gordon's Fort, located somewhere along the east bank of the Enoree River.
Brook's Fort, located somewhere along the west bank of the Bush River.
Rhall's Fort, undetermined location. Possibly same as Brook's Fort (?).
Jacob Pennington's Fort, located somewhere along Indian Creek.

NOTE: there is a Stoney Battery Road south of Smyrna.

Fort Ninety Six (National Historic Site)
(1759 - 1775, 1780 - 1781), Ninety Six
Originally a small stockaded barn (built by Robert Gouedy) known as Fort Middleton, built to protect against the Cherokee. Attacked twice in 1760. The stockade was rebuilt in 1761. The fort was 96 miles from Fort Prince George (2) / Keowee, hence the name of the settlement. The British took over the town in November 1775 and unsuccessfully lay seige to the Patriots at nearby Major Andrew Williamson's Fort (aka Fort Williamson) (1775), a square breastwork. The British returned in force in 1780, and built the Stockade around the town, the palisaded earthwork Star Fort to the northeast, and several blockhouses. The British built the palisaded Fort Holmes (aka Stockade Fort) (1781) around the farmhouse of Loyalist James Holmes, to protect the spring that was the sole water supply of Fort Ninety Six. This was roughly on the same site as the earlier Williamson's Fort. The fortified town was unsuccessfuly attacked by Patriot forces in May-June 1781. See also Settlement of the Carolina Backcountry from NPS

Boon's Fort
(1770's), near Greenwood ?
A settlers' fort located west of Ninety-Six, shown on a 1779 map.

Capt. James Lyndley's Fort
(1760's - 1780's ?), near Ekom
A Loyalist settlers' fort, north of town on Fort Lindley Road. A battle occurred here in July 1776.

Eloson's Fort ? or ?
(1770's), Laurens County
A settlers' fort located somewhere near Lyndley's Fort.

Hayes' Station
(1770's), near Milton ?
A settlers' fort. Attacked and captured by the British in 1781, killing Hayes and several others. This was known as the Hayes' Station Massacre.

Fort Charlotte
(1765 - 1770's), near Mount Carmel
A SC colonial militia stone fort on the Savannah River at the old townsite of Vienna, opposite the mouth of the Broad River (near the end of present-day County Road 91). Captured by Patriots in July 1775, the first overt act against the British in the state, and renamed Fort Independence. Attacked by British / Loyalist forces in January or February 1779. The ruins of this fort became a popular dueling spot after that sport was outlawed in Georgia. The actual site of the 50-by-40-foot two-bastioned fort is now under J. Strom Thurmond Lake, impounded in 1954. A small memorial and marker is located by the lake shore in the Mount Carmel Campground (seasonal). Another State marker is on SC 81 in town.

McGowan's Blockhouse
(1770's), near Calhoun Falls
A settlers' fort located at or near the "Cherokee Ford" on the Savannah River. British/Loyalist forces bypassed the Patriot garrison here in February 1779, crossing the river further north near Van's Creek (above present McCalla Island), prior to the Battle of Kettle Creek in Georgia (February 1779).

Bull Town Fort
(1770's), near Calhoun Falls
A settlers' fort. Some ruins may possibly remain.

Patton's Fort
(1764), Abbeville County
A settlers' fort located somewhere along the Little River.

Fort Madison
(1810's ?), Old Madison
A plantation and later settlement on the Tugaloo River named as such by James Doyle. No actual fort is believed to have ever been built here.

Norwood's Station
(1780's), Oconee County
A settlers' station somewhere along the Tugaloo River basin.

Fort Rutledge
(1776), Clemson
A Patriot fort, also sometimes referred to as Fort Salvador, located on the site of Cherokee Seneca Old Town. A battle occurred here in August 1776 between Partiot forces and the Indians. A small monument is located on the grounds of Clemson University behind Tillman Hall. John C. Calhoun's mansion "Fort Hill", originally built in 1803 by his mother-in-law, was named after this fort.

Oconee Station (State Historic Site)
(1750's - 1760's, 1792 - 1799), Mountain Rest
A stone blockhouse built by the SC colonial militia under Lt. Col. Archibald Montgomery for protection against the Cherokee Indians. British troops may have been garrisoned here during the Cherokee War in 1760 - 1762. Later became a trading post. The SC state militia were again garrisoned here during Indian troubles in the 1790's. Nearby is an 1805 brick house built by William Richards, which also served as a stage stop.

Fort Prince George (2)
(1753 - 1768), near Old Pickens
A SC colonial militia fort, also known as Fort Keowee, located across the Keowee River from the old Cherokee town of Keowee. The fort was a 100-foot square palisaded earthwork with four bastions, with a commandant's quarters, barracks, storehouse, magazine, kitchen, and guardhouse. The fort was rebuilt in 1756 and 1765. Attacked by Cherokees in January - May 1760. Garrisoned by elements of the British Royal American Regiment after 1764. Site was excavated in 1966 - 1968 prior to the impoundment of Lake Keowee in 1971.

Fort Pickens (1)
(1810's ?, 1830's ?), Old Pickens
Located three miles south of the site of Fort Prince George (2).

Camp Wetherill
(1898 - 1899), Greenville
A Spanish-American War winter training camp for northern troops. Location undetermined.

Camp Sevier
(1917 - 1919), Paris
A Federalized National Guard training encampment and demobilization center for the 30th "Old Hickory" Division. Located at the Paris School, which was returned to local control after the war. Camp foundations still exist. Now Paris Elementary School on East Lee Road.

Gowen's Fort (2)
(1770's), Gowensville
A settlers' fort. A battle occurred here in 1781.

Gowen's Old Fort (1)
(1770's), Spartanburg County
A settlers' fort. A battle occurred here in July 1780.

Col. John Earle's Fort
(1750's), Spartanburg County ?
A settlers' fort near the state border.

Fort Woods
(1750's), Lyman
A SC colonial militia fort.

William Prince's Fort
(1760's - 1780's), Wellford
A settlers' circular timber fort, moated with an abatis, originally erected to protect against the Cherokee Indians, later used by Patriot forces in 1777, and also later used by British and Loyalist troops in 1780 - 1781. Located on the North Fork Tyger River. Marker (1977) on US 29 across from the Fort Prince Cemetery. DAR monument in the field next to the cemetery.

Camp Wadsworth
(1917 - 1919), Spartansburg
A Federalized National Guard training encampment and demobilization center for the 27th Division. Located three miles west of the city. Site now Westgate Mall.

Gen. Charles McDowell's Camp
(1780), Spartanburg County
A Patriot militia encampment on the Pacolet River near Cherokee Ford (location ?). Loyalists attacked in July 1780.

Poole's Fort
(1776 - unknown), near Glendale
A settlers' fort.

Thicketty Fort
(1776 - 1780), Thicketty
A Tory settlers' fort built originally for protection against the Cherokee. Also known as Fort (Capt. David) Anderson. Later garrisoned by British and Loyalist troops, it was attacked and captured by Patriots in July 1780.

Brandon's Camp
(1780), Union
A Patriot encampment. A battle occurred here in the summer of 1780.

Musgrove Fort
(Musgrove Mill State Historic Site)
(1760 - unknown), Musgrove Mill
A SC colonial militia fort at Horseshoe Falls on the Enoree River. Also known as Fort Lyttleton (2).

Site was also scene of the Battle of Musgrove's Mill during the American Revolution (August 1780). The Musgrove Plantation House, near the mouth of Cedar Shoals Creek, burned down in 1971.

James Otterson's Fort
(1755 ? - unknown), near Union
A settlers' stone fort. Site located about eight miles south of town on Tinker Creek near Beattys Bridge Road, within Sumter National Forest. No remains.

Camp at Williamson's Plantation
(1780), York County
A British/Loyalist encampment, located west of York. Attacked by Patriots in July 1780.

Fort Mill
(1760's ?), Fort Mill
The town, established in 1873, was supposedly named after a British colonial-era fort (name ?) that was once located here before the American Revolution, and a grist mill once located on nearby Steele Creek. The first white settlers began arriving in the area in the mid 1750's. See also History of the Town of Fort Mill

Fort Lawn
(no date), Fort Lawn
The town of Fort Lawn was named after the area's prominent Fort family. No actual fort was ever built here.

Camp at Rocky Mount
(1780), Dearborn Island (?)
A British/Loyalist encampment. Attacked by Patriots in August 1780. Dearborn Island was once known as Rocky Mount Island.

Fort Dearborn
(1802 - 1817), Dearborn Island
Originally built as the first Federal arsenal (Mount Dearborn Arsenal) in the South, located on the northern tip of the 590-acre Big (Dearborn) Island in the Catawba River, east of Great Falls. Included a large circular stone magazine, and barracks for troops, located on the central rise (Mount Dearborn). Abandoned by the Federal government before 1812 due to a flu epidemic. Fortified and garrisoned by the SC state militia during the War of 1812. The troops left in 1817. The site was retroceded to the state in 1829. The abandoned complex was destroyed during Sherman's March in February 1865. Some ruins (stone walls) remain. Private property (Duke Power). May become a state park in the near future. See also Mount Dearborn Project article from the Archaeological Society of South Carolina.

Camp at Hanging Rock
(1780 - 1781), near Heath Springs
A British/Loyalist encampment located south of town along Hanging Rock Creek. Attacked by Patriots in August 1780.

Camp Cheraw
(1780 - 1781), Cheraw
Patriot Major General Nathanael Greene and the Southern Continental Army's winter encampment (Dec. to Feb.), often called the "Valley Forge of the South".

Winnsboro Encampment
(1780 - 1781), Winnsboro
A British/Loyalist winter garrison post. General Cornwallis was encamped here from October 1780 to January 1781. Marker at Mt. Zion.

Post at Camden
(Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site)
(1780 - 1781), Camden
A major British garrison post during the American Revolution. The town was palisaded with five redoubts around the perimeter. The Battle of Camden took place in August 1780, and the Battle of Hobkirk's Hill took place in April 1781. The 98-acre historic site includes reconstructed British fortifications and restored houses of the period. Located at 222 Broad Street, south of downtown. Admission fee. See also Camden Battlefield from SC Dept. of Archives and History

Camden Powder Magazine
(1859 - 1865), Camden
A state militia brick magazine is located on the 900 block of Market Street. Supplies were captured during Sherman's March (February 1865).

Fort at Cofitachequi
(McDowell Archaeological Site)
(1568 - 1570 ?), Camden
A Spanish fort or blockhouse was built by the Juan Pardo Expedition in February 1568 at Cofitachequi, the capital town of the area chiefdom of the same name. Pardo called it Canos. The fort lasted at least one year. The site is located near the old Mulberry Plantation on the Wateree River at Big Pine Tree Creek, just south of the city. Hernando DeSoto visited Cofitachequi in May 1540. The final Spanish visit was by Pedro de Torres with ten soldiers and sixty Indians in 1628.

Camp Maxey Gregg
(1865), Killian
A Confederate POW camp that was proposed at Killian's Mill to relieve overcrowding at the POW camps in Columbia. The site was selected and traced, and trenches were dug, but the stockade was never built. The POWs in Columbia were suddenly transferred to North Carolina or Georgia when Union forces neared the city in January 1865.

Columbia Arsenal
(1850 - 1865, 1888 - 1910's ?), Columbia
A state arsenal, also known as the Palmetto Iron Works and Armory. Used by the Confederate Ordnance Department during the war. Destroyed in February 1865 by the Union. It was rebuilt after the war and continued operations into the 20th century. The main building was bought by the city in 1942, now the Arsenal Hill Community Center, located at 1800 Lincoln Street.

The Columbia Military (Arsenal) Academy was established nearby in 1842, used to train freshman before transferring to the Citadel in Charleston. The entire complex was destroyed by the Union in February 1865 during Sherman's March. The Officers' Quarters (1855) of the Military Academy became the state's Governor's Mansion in 1868, as it was the only building left remaining in the compound. Located at 800 Richland Street in the Arsenal Hill neighborhood. See also INFO and PHOTOS from SC Dept. of Archives and History

Civil War Defenses of Columbia
(1861 - 1865), Columbia
Camp Sorghum (1864) a Confederate POW camp for 1300 Union soldiers. Site located at Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Replaced by Camp Asylum in December 1864. About 500 POWs were transferred.
Camp Asylum (1864 - 1865) a Confederate prison located on the grounds of the former State Lunatic Asylum (built 1827) at 2100 Bull Street (renamed SC State Hospital for the Insane in 1896). Prisoners were transferred to Charlotte, NC as Union General Sherman approached the city in February 1865.
A CSA training camp (1861) was once located at the site of the old state fairgrounds at Lincoln Street and Elmwood Ave..
Sherman's Battery (1865) a marker at 321 Moffat Drive locates the site of one of the Union seige batteries against the city in February 1865.

Of interest is the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum at 301 Gervais Street (admission fee).

Camp Fornance
(1898), Columbia
A Spanish-American War training camp for cavalry. Located in the Earlewood neighborhood (Earlewood Park) on River Drive.

Columbia Armory
(1905 - 1964), Columbia
A SC National Guard armory located at 1219 Assembly Street. Housed units of the 263rd Coast Artillery Regiment and the 118th Infantry Regiment.

Fort Jackson (U.S. Military Reservation)
(1917 - present), Columbia
A National Army cantonment training area for the 81st "Wildcat" Division, originally named Camp Jackson, later used as a field artillery replacement center and a demobilization center. The 5th Division trained here in 1918 after the 81st left for France. Closed in 1922. Became a SC National Guard training area after 1925. Federalized again in 1940 for WWII training, and renamed. Still in use as a major Regular Army Infanty center, home of the Army Basic Combat Training Center and Drill Sergeant School, the Army Financial Management School, the Army Chaplain Center and School, and the Army Adjutant General Corps School. Museums on post include the Fort Jackson Museum, the Army Adjutant General Corps Museum, the Army Chaplain Museum, and the Army Finance Corps Museum.

Of interest in the city is the South Carolina Military Museum, opened in 2007, located on National Guard Road in the Olympia area, across from the stadium.

Congaree Fort (1)
(1718 - 1722), near Cayce
A SC colonial militia fort and trading post. It was palisaded with a ditch and two bastions located in the great bend of Congaree Creek. Exact site undetermined. A trading post later operated here after 1725.

Brown's Factory (1733 ? - 1754 ?), a trading post operated by Thomas Brown, was located nearby. Granby Village (now Cayce) was founded just north in 1733.

Fort Congaree (2)
(1748 - 1754), Cayce
A British palisaded and ditched fort located two miles north of the old Congaree Fort (1). It was built to protect against Iroquois raiders from the north. The garrison abandoned the fort to join Col. George Washington's expedition to Pennsylvania and the Ohio River, where they met their fate at Fort Necessity.

A trading post was later established here (Granby Village) in 1765 by James Chestnut and Joseph Kershaw.

Fort Granby
(Cayce Historical Museum)
(1780 - 1781), Cayce
James Cayce's two-story home (1770) and storehouse at Granby Village, captured by the British and fortified as a square redoubt with bastions, a ditch, and an abatis. Captured by Patriots in May 1781. House is now the Cayce Historical Museum at 1800 12th Street.

Hans Jacob Gallman's Fort
(1740's or 1750's), Lexington County
A settlers' fort or blockhouse located somewhere along Congaree Creek. Also spelled Coleman.

Camp Johnson
(1861), near Gilbert
A CSA training camp for cavalry at Lightwood Knot Springs on Camp Branch Lightwood Knot Creek, southwest of town.

Fort Motte
(1780 - 1781), Fort Motte
A two-story 1767 mansion (home of Rebecca Motte, widow of Jacob Motte) that was captured by the British and fortified with a palisade and earthworks. It was attacked and burned by Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion in May 1781. Site marked by granite monument.

Fort Upton
(1780 - 1781), near Stateburg
Fort Upton was the object of an aborted raid led by Col. Peter Horry, one of Gen. Francis Marions primary commanders. It is believed to have been located on Samuel Tynes plantation in the High Hills of Santee in the vicinity of Stateburg.

Orangeburg Post
(1780 - 1781), Orangeburg
A minor British garrison post. Captured by Patriots in May 1781, one day before the capture of Fort Motte.

Richbourg Fort
(1715 - 1716), Calhoun or Orangeburg Counties ?
A settlers' fort during the Yamassee War, located somewhere along the west bank of the Santee River.

John Hearn's Fort
(1716 - 1718), near Santee
A SC colonial militia fort built on the west bank of the Santee River during the Yamassee War, guarding the northern approach to Charleston. John Hearn had earlier been killed in 1715 by the Indians.

Fort Watson
(Santee National Wildlife Refuge - Bluff Unit)
(1780 - 1781), near St. Paul
A British stockade built on top of the 50-foot high Late Mississippian Period Santee Mound on Wright's Bluff. Captured by Patriots in April 1781 with the use of a Maham Tower. No remains of fort. Located on County Road 803, off of US 301/15, southwest of town. A Federal NWR property, it is administered by SC State Parks (Santee State Park).

Benjamin Schenckingh's Fort
(1715), near Eutawville
A SC colonial militia fort on the Santee River northeast of town. The actual site is now under Lake Marion. It was attacked by Catawba Indians in June 1715, one month after it was built, killing most of the garrison. Also spelled Schinkins.

Fort Nohucke
(unknown dates), unknown location
A fortified Tuscarora Indian village until 1713.

Florence Prison Stockade
(1864 - 1865), Florence
A CSA 26-acre POW camp for about 15,000 Union soldiers transferred from Andersonville, GA. Two redoubts were located nearby to protect against Union raids. Site is adjacent to Florence National Cemetery on Stockade Road. State marker erected 2003. Exhibits and history at the War Between the States Museum at 107 South Guerry Street (admission fee). See also INFO and PHOTOS from SC Dept. of Archives and History

NEED MORE INFO: Fort Wagner Road in Fairfield County, east of Feasterville. Stoney Battery Road in Newberry County south of Smyrna.
Towns:

North Coastal South Carolina - page 1 | Greater Charleston Area I - page 2
Greater Charleston Area II - page 3 | Port Royal Sound Area - page 4

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