The land that became Abbeville County was once a part of the Cherokee Nation. When Scots-Irish settlers began moving to the Backcountry in the 1750’s, led by men like Patrick Calhoun, tensions began to arise between the Indigenous people and the Colonists. Disputes over the land, as well as settlers’ disregard for boundaries laid out in treaties, led to the Long Cane Massacre of 1760, one incident during the First Cherokee War.

After the First Cherokee War ended in 1761 and a new boundary was drawn, settlers returned to Abbeville, including a soldier named Andrew Pickens, who would become a key leader in the Revolutionary War. Relations between the settlers and the Cherokee improved as Alexander Cameron, British Indian Agent, worked with the tribes for peace.

Disagreements between the American Colonies and Great Britain over taxation without representation led to violence in 1775, and as America prepared for war against England, the Backcountry of Abbeville experienced turmoil of its own. Many settlers, known as “Whigs,” supported the Patriot cause, but others, called “Tories,” were Loyalists who supported the King. The Cherokee Nation largely supported Great Britain, seeing the settlers as a threat. Civil conflicts abounded in Abbeville,  with soldiers on both sides using battlefield grudges to harass the home-front, and neighbors feuded with each other for their divided beliefs. The Cherokee Nation split over these divisions, with leaders like Attakullakulla calling for peace with the settlers, while Dragging Canoe allied with the British against them, beginning the Second Cherokee War. Slavery was also an issue; the British Army began offering freedom to any enslaved individual who escaped bondage and joined their services, but many African-Americans chose to fight with the Patriots for independence. After the British took Charleston in 1780, the South became the main theatre of the war, with South Carolina having more battles than any other state.

Throughout these years of war, men, women, and children from all backgrounds – Indigenous, African-American, Patriot, and Loyalist – were impacted by this conflict, and their stories illustrate how deeply the American Revolution became a civil war in South Carolina.

These stories along with Revolutionary War artifacts and time period dress are on display at the Abbeville County Chamber of Commerce.

Open Hours: Monday-Friday 10 am – 4 pm, Saturdays on occasion
Location: 107 Court Square Abbeville, SC29620
Cost: Free