October 6, 2021

October 6, 2021

We are up early to make up for lost time yesterday. We leave our Atlanta airport hotel driving east in a gloomy overcast rainy morning rush hour. Depressing! After an hour the sun comes up, the traffic and rain peter out. After two hours we crossed the Savannah River into South Carolina.

After another hour we reach Ninety Six National Historic Site, deep in the forested heart of the rural South. In Colonial times, much of the terrain had been cleared for agriculture and Ninety Six was a vital frontier commercial center and crossroad. Surprisingly this oddly named town was the site of three battles. One during the Cherokee Wars, another in the opening days of the Revolution, and the biggest just months before war's end. The last was the longest siege of the Revolution.

Ninety Six is famous for having the best preserved Star Fort of the Revolution. Since the rain has stopped temporarily, we start outdoors with the mile loop trail. We pass the still visible colonial roads before reaching the siege tunnels and star fort. All that remains of the fort are the earthen walls. During the siege, the walls would have bristled with wooden spikes, surrounded with a tangle of abattis (tree branches) and topped with sandbags. It was quite impregnable without significant siege cannon. Connected to the star fort by a tunnel was the fortified town of Ninety Six. In the end the siege had to be abandoned by the Patriots when a British relief army approached.

Back at the Visitor Center, we watched the excellent park film narrated by Trace Adkins and ran through the museum exhibits. Interestingly, the Revolution in the Carolinas was closer to a Civil War. The number of locals loyal to the Crown balanced those of the Patriots fighting for independence. The participants in the Ninety Six battles were almost entirely American.

At lunchtime we got back on the road travelling two hours past the current capital, Columbia, to Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site. It is an affiliate of the National Park System. In colonial times, Camden was the largest inland city of South Carolina. During the British Southern Campaign, the Redcoats took the port of Charleston, then marched inland capturing Camden. Patriots suffered a major defeat trying to retake the city.

After arriving we took a ninety-minute guided tour of the site and three restored buildings. The docent was very good and each structure contained interesting stories about the Revolutionary War in the South. Aimee was particularly fascinated by the very crude medical practices of the era. At the conclusion of the tour we had to dash back to the car in pouring rain.

To dry off we drove next door to the newly opened Revolutionary War Visitor Center. This impressive facility has storyboards on the Revolution focusing on the many battles that occurred in this area. It has some very realistic looking wax mannequins dressed in the uniforms of the combatants.

After checking into our local hotel accommodations, we had an early dinner at a sports bar in the cute modern town of Camden. Here modern means Antebellum instead of Colonial!