Revolutionary War Driving Tour

Abbeville County played an important role in the American Revolution, shaped by frontier skirmishes, local militias, and pivotal moments that influenced the future of the backcountry. These landscapes, homesteads, cemeteries, and gathering places help tell the story of how this community contributed to America’s fight for independence. Explore the sites below or begin your journey with our driving tour and interactive map.

This page is designed to help you explore Abbeville County’s Revolutionary War heritage at your own pace.

- - Use the buttons at the below to download a printable map or follow one of our turn-by-turn driving itineraries.
  - Click each tab to view site descriptions grouped by category.
  - Look for location notes under each site to help you plan your visit.
  - Combine the map with the category tabs to create a fully customized tour experience.

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Before you begin your journey…

We recommend downloading the printable map or saving the Google Map offline before traveling as some sites are in remote areas of the county where cell service may be limited.

Use caution when pulling over, remain alert to traffic, and do not stop on blind curves or in areas with poor visibility.

Wear appropriate footwear, stay hydrated, and avoid visiting remote locations during inclement weather.

Some sites featured are located on private property or best experienced as drive-by stops due to limited shoulder space or lack of public access. Some locations can be viewed by public right-of-way and are marked with historical markers. Please respect property owner rights and observe posted signs.

Battles & Skirmishes

Aaron Smith was an Abbeville-area Patriot and militiaman who lived with his family near Pratt’s Mill on Little River, where he also owned a tavern. When the Second Cherokee War began in 1776, Cherokees and Loyalists led raids on the backcountry, and the Smith homestead was one of the ones attacked on July 1st, in concert with the British attack on Charleston.

Smith, his wife, five of their children and five enslaved individuals were killed in the attack. In the midst of the chaos, two of the Smith sons escaped to raise the alarm; one went to Francis Salvador’s plantation in Coronaca and the other to Andrew Williamson’s plantation, White Hall, to warn the two Patriot leaders of the impending danger.

Francis Salvador later noted that 2 of the son’s finger had been shot off. Aaron Smith was buried in an unmarked grave, and the ruins of his homestead became a mustering ground for area patriots mobilizing against the Cherokee and Loyalist attacks.

Williamson, Andrew Pickens, and Francis Salvador marched on the Cherokee Lower Towns and attacked Seneca, gaining the advantage over the Cherokees, but Francis Salvador died in the fight, making him the first Jewish-American to die in the fight for liberty.

The Battle of Rutledge Ford was fought at the Abbeville-Laurens line on the Saluda River. Patriots led by Elijah Clarke, Samuel Hammond, James McCall of Abbeville, and Moses Liddell of Abbeville engaged in a long-range rifle attack on Loyalist troops on November 29th of 1780, forcing them to retreat. This occurred after the Battle of Blackstocks, as Patriot forces headed towards Hoils Old Place, a Loyalist fort, to launch an attack. The Loyalists at the fort learned of the impending attack and set up at Rutledge Ford in anticipation. When Clarke, Hammond, McCall, and Liddell arrived, the combatants were separated by the Saluda River, but still fired on one another with rifles. Both sides had losses, but the Loyalists withdrew and the Patriots continued on towards the Long Cane settlement.

“Bloody Bill” Cunningham led a raid on the backcountry of Abbeville in 1781, targeting Patriot settlements. This one occurred along Spring St. and between Pinckney and Washington streets in modern-day downtown Abbeville, near Andrew Pickens’ blockhouse. Pickens’ militia pushed Cunningham back.

Battle of Pratt’s Mill — River of Pratt’s Mill

The skirmish at Pratt’s Mill was a Loyalist victory, fought on October 3rd, 1781 in present day Due West. A group of 30 Patriots led by John Norwood were encamped at this grist mill on Little River, and were attacked by the infamous “Bloody Bill” Cunningham, who burned the mill, wounded, Norwood, and scattered the Patriots.

From Due West, go west on SC 184 about 3.25 miles to the bridge over Little River. Note: Pratt’s Mill was anchored to a big flat rock. The only such rock for miles along the river is south of the bridge. The mill was located on the shores of the Little River, a river flowing through Abbeville County and into the Savannah River. Most historians use the date of 10/3/1781 instead of 10/30/1781 as shown on the historical marker.

Inscribed on the marker: “The last action of the Revolutionary War in this part of SC was at Pratt’s Mill, a grist mill on the Little River owned by Joseph Pratt. On October 30, 1781 an outpost of 30 Patriots at the mill, under Capt. John Norwood, was surprised by 30 Loyalists and Cherokee under Col. William “Bloody Bill” Cunningham. Norwood, who was wounded, was the only casualty on either side” Inscribed on the other side: “The Patriots fled, leaving behind 30 horses and most of their weapons; the Loyalists burned the mill. The Pratt family later rebuilt the mill which appears in Robert Mills’s Atlas of S.C. (1825). They later built another mill on Hogskin Creek, about 500 yds N of the first mill. That mill, which operated throughout the 19^th century, was destroyed by a flood in 1908.”

This battle, fought on March 23, 1781, pitted the Patriot forces under the command of Elijah Clarke and James McCall against Loyalists under Captain James Dunlap, “the most feared and hated Loyalist” in the SC back country. 34 Loyalists were killed, and 43 were captured, but no Patriot casualties were reported. The location of this battle, which was a Patriot victory, has long been debated. However, a field research team from SC Department of Archives has determined that the battle was fought near what is now Haddon Rd. between Due West and Donalds.

This was the last Revolutionary War action to take place in Abbeville. On December 7th, 1781, after Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown, Loyalists led by Captain John Crawford attacked a Patriot convoy of wagons led by Abbevillian Moses Liddell. The attack was unexpected and resulted in a defeat for the Patriots; Crawford turned his prisoners, including John Pickens, brother of Andrew Pickens, over to the British-allied Cherokees, who executed them.

Historic Landmarks

Located on West Main St (State Hwy 184) the Templeton-Hill-Drake Cabin was first built ca. 1763 by Henry Templeton, one of Boonesborough’s first settlers. The cabin is said to be the oldest standing structure from the Boonesborough Township, which was surveyed in 1762 by Patrick Calhoun and named for Governor Thomas Boone.

Samuel Hill, a Loyalist, bought the property; he was from Northern Ireland and was loyal to the king. Hill was severely injured in a battle on his property (later noted as Dunlap’s Defeat) and returned to England. Hill filed a petition with the British government seeking recompense for his lost property. The filing resulted in Hill receiving a monthly fee, but he died shortly after the judgment was made.

After the Revolutionary War, the cabin and property were bought by John Thomas Drake and the family owned the property well into the 20th century. Per Tim Drake, local historian and descendant of the Drake family, “It’s probably one of the oldest structures in Abbeville County and it likely is one of the few buildings in SC that was in the middle of a Revolutionary War battle.” The house was originally located on Haddon Rd and was dismantled and moved to Georgia and later returned to Donalds.

The place where the Keowee Path crossed the Cherokee line was called DeWitt’s Corner by the settlers and Yellow Water by the Indigenous Cherokees. Leading up to the American Revolution, tensions had been simmering between the settlers and the Cherokees over boundary disputes and treaty infractions, often resulting in violence. Many Cherokees saw King George and the British as crucial to defending their rights and land from the settlers, and figures like the Scotsman Alexander Cameron served as a liaison to the Cherokees, initially advising neutrality in the Revolution.

Cameron worked with two key Cherokee leaders, Attakullakulla, also called Little Carpenter, and his son, Dragging Canoe. These two men ultimately held differing beliefs on the settlers and the war itself; Attakullakulla was more in favor of peace with the settlers, but Dragging Canoe viewed the continued encroachment into the Cherokee nation and the massive cessations of indigenous land to the settlers as existential threats to their way of life. These divisions, combined with the settlers’ distrust of the Cherokees and of Cameron, created a situation fraught with danger.

The Cherokees could have been valuable allies to either the Patriots or the Loyalists, but the majority decided to ally themselves with the Loyalists once the war reached the backcountry. When local Patriots blamed Cameron, accused him of instigating attacks on settlements, and marched on his home to hang him, Cameron fled deeper into Cherokee country. After this, neutrality was no longer an option, and he and the Cherokees launched a series of attacks on the backcountry and started the Second Cherokee War.

Patriot leaders Andrew Williamson, Francis Salvador, and Andrew Pickens fought against the Cherokees and led attacks on their villages in retaliation. After losing approximately two thousand men, the Cherokees sued for peace and met at DeWitt’s Corner in Abbeville County to formally end the fighting. The Treaty of DeWitt’s Corner ended the Second Cherokee War, but ceded almost all remaining Cherokee land in South Carolina to the settlers.

This site is marked with signage, which reads “In May 1777 a delegation of roughly 600 Cherokee and representatives from South Carolina and Georgia met near this spot to engage in negotiations that would end fighting in the Second Cherokee War, 1776-77. On May 20, 1777 the parties signed the Treaty of DeWitt’s Corner, which provided for an end to hostilities, prisoner returns, and large land concessions by the Lower Cherokee.”

Inscribed on the other side: “The territory ceded included present day Anderson, Greenville, Oconee and Pickens counties. The warfare ended by the Treaty of DeWitt’s Corner was part of the revolutionary struggle between American patriots and their British and loyalist opponents. The powerful Native American nations of the southeast played an important role in the war and most sided with the British.” A copy of the treaty is on display at the Abbeville County Museum.

The Treaty of Lochaber was signed at Alexander Cameron’s plantation in 1770 between the Cherokees and the settlers, and adjusted the boundary line of Native lands in Virginia and North Carolina. Alexander Cameron was a Loyalist Indian Agent who lived in Abbeville near Penny Creek. He was a key figure who worked to stabilize relations between the Cherokees and the settlers, and he was married to a Cherokee woman named Molly, with whom he shared three children. In the Revolutionary War, Cameron was accused of instigating attacks on settlers. He and his family fled Lochaber and he sought refuge among the Cherokees after local Patriots marched on his home to hang him. This event convinced Cameron to join with Dragging Canoe against the Patriots. Beside this marker is the William Bartram Trailmarker; Bartram was a famed naturalist who visited Abbevillle during the Revolutionary War and stayed with the Cameron family at Lochaber.

Little River Baptist Church was one of the oldest organized places of worship in Abbeville County, with the original log structure being called Hogskin Church for the nearby creek. In 1780, a skirmish occurred at Hogskin Creek between Patriot and Loyalist militias.

One of the Patriot combatants was Zachariah Carwile, who was so impressed by the fertile land of the area while he was stationed in Abbeville County that he moved there after the war. A memorial to Carwile can be seen at Little River Baptist Church, which reads: “Born in Goochland County, Virginia 1750, Died, Level Land 1841. Lies in Unmarked Grave in This Cemetery. Soldier of Revolutionary War. Fought at King’s Mountain and Blackstocks. Was in skirmish with Tories and British on Hog Skin Creek, near Alewines Mill Site. Married Mary McMahon – Parents of Nine Children.”

Also inscribed on the marker: “To The Memory of These Pioneers Who Settled Along Little River Near This Spot And As A Tribute To Their Devotion and Service To Country and To God. This Stone is Erected by Their Many Descendants.”

This marker recognizing Abbeville’s oldest township is inscribed, “Surveyed by Patrick Calhoun in 1762 and named for Governor Thomas Boone, this 20,500-acre township was one of four townships laid out west of Ninety-Six as a buffer between white and Cherokee lands. In 1763 Scots-Irish families began to settle in the area near Long Cane, Parks and Chickasaw Creeks. The Cherokee Path crossed the boundary one mile south.” The towns of Donalds and Due West later became established in the area.

One of Abbeville’s most noteworthy Revolutionary War figures was Brigadier General Andrew Pickens. Of Scots-Irish and French Huguenot descent, Pickens was born on September 13th, 1739, in Pennsylvania and came to South Carolina by way of Virginia. As a young man, he settled in Abbeville and married Rebecca Calhoun, survivor of the Long Cane Massacre.

Pickens gained a reputation as a strategist and fighter during the Cherokee Wars, where he used guerilla tactics he learned from the Indigenous people against them; the Cherokee, in recognition of his strength as a warrior, gave him the name “Skyagunsta.” During this era, Pickens built a block house near the spring on his property to serve as a refuge against attacks, which was modified into a fort during the American Revolution.

Although no longer standing, the location of this fort is marked by historical signage and a one-pounder cannon typically used in smaller forts such as this.

Block House Marker — DAR Revolutionary Soldier Marker

A cenotaph in memory of Aaron Smith is located at the Due West ARP Church Cemetery near the magnolia tree. Smith’s death marked the beginning of the Second Cherokee War in Abbeville County. Inscribed on the marker: “In memory of Aaron Smith Capt. Col Williamson’s Regt Rev War 1720 July 1 1776.”

The Scots-Irish who settled Abbeville County were largely staunch Presbyterians, and the churches they built were important community centers. Religious services began to be held at Greenville Presbyterian Church in 1773, and during the Revolutionary War, 75 members of the church left to fight for independence. 35 of them are buried in its cemetery. There are two markers onsite; the Mount Ariel Chapter DAR erected one in memory of the Patriot dead, and the Kosciuszko Chapter DAR placed one to recognize the contributions of Polish General Thaddeus Kosciuszko to the Old Ninety-Six District, of which Abbeville was a part.

Known Revolutionary War Burials

Samuel Agnew

George Brownlee, Sr.

Samuel Cross

James Dunn

John Files, Sr.

Robert Haddon, Sr.

Robert Haddon, Jr.

William Haddon

Elisha Jarvis

Francis Johnson

Edmund Keeling

Sam Pharr

Dickson Purdy

Henry Purdy, Sr.

Christian Rasor

John Richey

James Richey, Jr.

James Richey, Sr.

Robert Richey

William Richey

James Seawright

Edward Sharp

Moses Smith

Wyatt Smith

William Stewart

John Swain

Robert Swain, Sr.

Hugh Wardlaw

John Wardlaw, Sr.

John Wardlaw, Jr.

Andrew Webb

James Webb

John Webb

John Weir

George Wilson

Andrew Pickens Spring, located directly behind the courthouse, was one of the reasons for the establishment of the City of Abbeville on the present site. In the early days of this settlement, this spring furnished water for the entire village. When General Pickens sold the land, he reserved the site of this spring and a few acres of land for public use; he was the only individual to ever own the spring. Since he sold it with the stipulation that it would be for public use, it has since been city property.

General Andrew Pickens often traveled this roadway during the Revolution and would stay with the Leslie family, whose descendants still own this bicentennial farm.

Heroes & Resting Places*

The Calhoun family were some of the earliest settlers in this region, and the patriarch, Patrick Calhoun, was a survivor of the Long Cane Massacre and the first official surveyor in the backcountry. He was an early supporter of independence from Britain, and gained recognition as the first political representative from Abbeville. He was the father of lawyer and vice president John C. Calhoun.

Lebanon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery: Resting place of Patriot soldier Pollard Brown.

One of the oldest historical cemeteries in Abbeville County, Upper Long Cane Cemetery began to be used as a burial ground in 1760. It is the resting place of numerous veterans of the American Revolution, including Major John Bowie and Major Andrew Hamilton, two noteworthy Patriot leaders. The first marked grave is that of John Lesly, which is inscribed “A.D. 1776.”

Major John Bowie (1740-1847)
A native of Scotland, South Carolina militia officer in the American Revolution, and public servant; captain of an independent company; captain, 5th South Carolina Regiment, Continental Line, 1777; Wounded at Savannah, Georgia 9 October 1779; major of South Carolina militia, 1781; aide-de-camp to General Andrew Pickens, 1781-83; powder magazine and arsenal store keeper, Abbeville Arsenal, 1793-94; Abbeville postmaster, 1795-96, clerk of court, Abbeville District 1786-87, 1796-99, and ordinary Abbeville District, 1786-87. Inscribed on his marker: “Under This Slab are deposited the mortal remains of Major John Bowie who departed this life on the 20th day of September 1827 in the 88th year of his age. He was a native of Dumbartonshire in Scotland from which place he emigrated to South Carolina many years previous to the war of the Revolution. During the whole of that eventful & trying affair he as an officer of the Revolutionary Army and in service almost every day. At an early period of his life, he attached himself in the communion of the Presbyterian Church of which to the day of his death he continued to be a useful, zealous & devoted member. He died as his surviving friends fondly believe at peace with his God; & rejoicing in the Christian’s hope.” Maj. John Bowie Tombstone D.A.R. Plaque: “Revolutionary Soldier John Bowie 1740 1827 Placed by Major John Bowie Chapter D.A.R.”

Pvt. James Evans, soldier during the American Revolution; served in the South Carolina militia under Capt. William Strain and Capt. Joseph Pickens, 1779-1783

John Hamilton Pvt SC Militia Rev War Aug 12, 1766 Dec 6 1839

Pvt. Ezekiel Evans, soldier during the American Revolution; enlisted in the 5th South Carolina Regiment, Continental Line, 11 June 1776; later served in the South Carolina militia under Capt. William Strain and Capt. Joseph Pickens, 1779-1783. Excerpt from a narrative from descendants of Ezekiel Evans: “He was a person very tall being over six feet high, of a large square frame, not encumbered with flesh, red haired, in his younger days few men were found to be his equal in strength.” He fled Ireland with his family of eight children; four were buried at sea and four arrived in Charleson with him. He moved his family to Abbeville and purchased land two miles north of where Abbeville Courthouse now stands. “In two years, after the war commenced, a company of Tories came to his house and surrounded him and my father (James Evans) to meet at a certain Tory camp or rendezvous in order to be enrolled in band to fight for their king on the pain of death. They at the same time drove off all the stock he had as they said for the use of the King’s troops or properly speaking for their own use. He was not long in making up his mind. On the Savannah River in the southwest corner of Abbeville District there was a fort erected by the Whigs. To this place he fled with his wife and three children. My father was then fifteen years old and well grown. He begged his father to let him enroll with General Pickens to which he consented.” The narrative gives a story in detail of the adventures of both Ezekiel and James Evans during the American Revolution through stories passed down to their descendants documented by Samuel Robinson Evans.

Maj. Andrew Hamilton (1738-1835), officer during the American Revolution, state representative, public servant, and planter, who owned most of the land in what later became the town of Abbeville; a native of Virginia, Hamilton moved to South Carolina in 1765; captain, South Carolina militia, under Col. Andrew Williamson; major, 1779, under General Andrew Pickens; South Carolina House of Representatives, 1789-1790, 1791, 1798-99; ordinary, Abbeville District, 1799-1809; county court judge, 1791; arsenal keeper, Abbeville Arsenal, 1797. Inscribed on his tombstone: “To the memory of Major Andrew Hamilton who departed this life on the 17th of January 1835 in the 97th year of his age. The name of Major Hamilton is connected with almost the whole of the Revolutionary history and the Up-Country of South Carolina. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church.”

Pvt. Samuel Watt (1741-1802)
Born in Moneghan Ireland Soldier during the American Revolution; served in the South Carolina militia and provided flour to the militia in 1782.

Henry Livingston Service SC-NC Rank Pvt Birth 1761 Antrim Ireland Death 6-12-1836

John Miller Service SC Rank Private Born 1748 Death 11-18-1811

Thomas Livingston Service Va. Rank Pvt Birth 1756 Richmond, Va. Death 8-22-1809

Matthew Wilson Born 1-1-1768 Antrim Ireland Death 11-3-1834

Matthew Donalson & Hugh Reid

Mary Langdon Cheves was a young settler who lived in Abbeville near Rocky River. Her husband was a member of the local Loyalist militia, allied with the Cherokees, but in 1776, the Cherokee led attacks on the backcountry, and Mary, pregnant with her first child, took shelter at Bull Town Fort. Her son, Langdon, was born at Bull Town Fort, but shortly after his birth, Mary’s sister left the fort to get supplies and was killed by the Cherokees. Mary herself did not live to see her son grow up to be a noted politician and lawyer; she died at just 25 years old in 1779.

Located on Gassoway Farm Road, this gravestone was erected for Captain Tilman, a noted Patriot in the area. His headstone reads, “A Whig of ’76.”

Old Rocky River Church Cemetery is the resting place of several Revolutionary War soldiers. This church was organized in 1770 and was originally at Bull Town Fort, with services led by Rev. John Harris, who preached with his gun and powder horn around his neck. As congregants moved from Bull Town Fort towards Rocky River, the name of the church was changed. An historical marker has been erected at Rocky River Church to recognize the significance of Bull Town Fort, which reads “East of here is the site of the colonial-era Bull Town Fort.

Likely built in the 1760s, the fort was one of many small Backcountry S.C. fortifications used to defend white settlers from Cherokee attacks. Accounts describe it as being of either stone or log construction. Nearby families continued to use the fort for refuge during the American Revolutionary War. The fort was the first place of worship for what became Rocky River Presbyterian Church and was sometimes called the Bull Town Meeting House.

In Sept. 1776 Mary Langdon Cheves sheltered in the fort amid a wave of conflict with the Cherokees and gave birth to her son Langdon. Later a prominent politician, in 1814 Langdon Cheves became the ninth speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

There are at least 4 documented soldiers of the Revolutionary War buried in this graveyard: Capt. James H. Giles, James Oliver, William Speer and Reuben Starke, Esquire. Reuben Starke was born in Virginia in 1760 and died in 1837. Inscribed on his marker: “Sacred To the Memory of Reuben Starke Esquire who departed this life on the 24th day of May 1837, at the age of 77. He was born in Virginia and in early life emigrated to South Carolina. He was the last of six brothers, all of whom were brave soldiers of the Revolution, he was wounded in Georgia in a combat with the Tories, but his Revolutionary services were confined principally to the defense of his adopted state.” A marker was placed in the graveyard for “Capt. James H. Giles, 5th Reg 50 State Troops C 1742 – C 1799 We Know Not Where He Lies”

*Visitors are welcome during daylight hours to sites located within historic cemeteries. We ask that all guests move carefully, avoid walking on graves, and honor the sanctity of these resting places.