South Carolina Genealogy

The Battle of the Rice Boats was a battle of the American Revolution that took place in the Savannah River on the border between the Province of Georgia and the Province of South Carolina. The battle, which pitted colonial militia against the British Navy, took place on March 2 – March 3, 1776. It is sometimes referred to as the battle of Yamacraw Bluff. Read the rest of this entry »

The South Carolina Colony was originally part of the Province of Carolina, which was chartered in 1663.
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The Battle of Cowpens (1781) was an overwhelming victory by American revolutionary forces under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan. This battle is loosely depicted in the climax of the film The Patriot. Read the rest of this entry »

Pre-Colonial and Colonial History

Hernando de Soto passed through the area in the 1540s in his search for gold, and several decades later Juan Pardo entered what is now York County and recorded his observation of a predominant Native American tribe, later confirmed to be the Catawba, in the vicinity of present-day Fort Mill, on the eastern bank of the Catawba River. Read the rest of this entry »

The Siege of Charleston is one the major battles which took place towards the end of the American Revolutionary War in which the British began to shift their focus towards the southern colonies. From 1777-1778, they had a considerable amount of success, namely in Georgia with the Siege of Savannah. The prestige thus won by the British in the south in 1779 was immensely increased in the following year, when they victoriously swept up through South and North Carolina.
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The Battle of Eutaw Springs was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, the last engagement of the war in the Carolinas.

On May 22, 1781, General Nathanael Greene of the Continental Army had attempted to storm the strong British post at Fort Ninety-Six but was repulsed. Read the rest of this entry »

The Battle of Hobkirk’s Hill was on April 25, 1781. The colonists, led by Major-General Nathanael Greene, won over the British, led by Lord Francis Rawdon, in a series of attacks.
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The Battle of Kings Mountain was a fight in the Southern campaign of the American Revolutionary War, fought on October 7, 1780. American Patriot militia forces overwhelmed the loyalist militia, led by Major Patrick Ferguson. In his history The Winning of the West, Theodore Roosevelt wrote of Kings Mountain: “This brilliant victory marked the turning point of the American Revolution.”
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The Battle of Camden was an important battle in the southern theatre of the American Revolutionary War. On August 16, 1780 British Forces under Lt. General Charles Cornwallis routed the American forces of Major General Horatio Gates about six miles north of Camden, South Carolina. American Forces numbered 4,100 of which about 3,000 were fit for duty, as opposed to 2,239 in the British force.
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The Waxhaw Massacre was one of the most important, and is one of the most neglected, events in the American Revolution. The earliest references are to “Buford’s Defeat” or the “Waxhaw Massacre”, but some have since called it “Buford’s Massacre” or “The Battle of the Waxhaws” – both of which seem unsatisfactory, as Buford was not responsible, and a Battle implies both sides were fighting.
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