South Carolina Trail Sites

The Berkeley County Museum is located in historic Moncks Corner, South Carolina and contains Revolutionary stories and artifacts from around the county.

During the British occupation of Charleston in 1781, these grounds were part of a British outpost to supply ammunition and provisions to patrolling British troops.

British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton pushed up the Enoree River hot on the trail of Patriot Brigadier General Thomas Sumter.

Boone Hall was influential in the history of South Carolina. Explore the house and grounds of this Colonial Plantation, as well as a live presentation of the Gullah Culture adapted by African slaves.

Treacherous waters and Patriot fire foil a British attack on Charleston Harbor

Located in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina, it was here that Francis Marion signed a treaty with a local Loyalist militia leader, effectively ending hostilities in the area

When Jane Black Thomas overheard Loyalists plotting a surprise attack on her son's militia camp, she rode nearly 60 miles through dangerous territory to warn him. Her daring ride gave Colonel John Thomas Jr. and his Spartan Regiment time to prepare an ambush that repelled the attackers — fueling Patriot momentum toward the war-changing Battle of King's Mountain just three months later.

This park preserves the story of Charles Pinckney and his contributions to the U.S. Constitution, and of 18th century plantation life for free and enslaved people of Snee Farm inhabitants.

With a rotating collection of artifacts and interactive exhibits, the Cherokee County Museum has something for all ages and interests.

A former British headquarters, explore the reconstructed Kershaw/Cornwallis House, British redoubts, and programs about colonial life.

In May 1779, British troops under Augustine Prevost advanced toward Charleston, prompting William Moultrie to withdraw as John Laurens rashly engaged at the Coosawhatchie River and was driven back with heavy losses.

Visit Historic Drayton Hall — Tour the nation’s oldest preserved plantation house in America still open to the public. Explore Drayton Hall's 18th-century architecture, landscapes & the people who lived here.

This last major battle of the war in the South succeeded in driving the British out of rural South Carolina.

An oyster-shell, “tabby,” fortress, originally constructed here during the French and Indian War, was restored, and occupied by both the British and Patriots.

One of the many forts that dotted the landscape around Charleston, Patriots seized this fortification and raised the Moultrie flag, which bears resemblance to the modern standard of South Carolina.

The Battle of Sullivan’s Island, fought near the site of today’s Fort Moultrie in June 1776, was the first significant Patriot victory of the Revolutionary War.

A station constructed during high tensions with the Cherokee, this fortification was utilized by Loyalists until July of 1780.

After an eight-day siege, this strategic outpost fell to the Americans, who used an ingenious structure called Maham’s Tower to fire down into the fort and trap the enemy.

The Francis Marion is a forest literally steeped in history. Marion, dubbed the “Swamp Fox” by the British troops whose supply lines he disrupted with surprise attacks from the swamps.

William Moultrie died in 1805 and was buried in the family cemetery. In 1977, his remains were moved to Sullivan's Island within Fort Moultrie.

Not far from Camden Battlefield, Goodale State Park is lined with cypress trees, a spring-fed lake that offers boating, fishing, and hiking opportunities.

James Henderson Williams, a South Carolina militia colonel and Patriot leader, was killed at the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780 and is commemorated here, where his remains were later reinterred and a memorial erected in his honor.

Located within the Santee Wildlife Refuge, this was the last major battle of the war in South Carolina.

McLeroth and his 64th Regiment were escorting 200 recruits from Charleston to Camden when Marion, with about 700 men, surprised them at Halfway Swamp.

This 18th-century plantation home, on the grounds of the Hampton Plantation State Historic Site, served as a place of refuge for Francis Marion who hid here from when British troops.

This battleground was the site of three British camps, attacked by Patriot troops on August 6, 1780. It was a fight primarily between countrymen.

Built in 1716 for Paul de St. Julien in Berkeley County. The house was later dismantled and moved to Clemson University and functions as a house museum.

This historic house museum was the home of Thomas Heyward, Jr., one of four South Carolina signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Discover the history of the Scots-Irish and African-Americans through preserved buildings and living history experiences of the Brattonsville community.

Patriot Leader Nathanael Greene Is repulsed but not defeated in his campaign to chase the British from the South Carolina backcountry

Located near the famous Treaty of Hopewell site, the Hopewell Plantation house was the Pickens' family home and later served as the South Carolina Governor's Mansion.

Built circa 1740, Hopsewee Plantation was one of the South’s major rice plantations and the birthplace of Thomas Lynch, Jr., one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Huck’s Defeat occurred on July 12, 1780. The battleground is on the site of Historic Brattonsville, a former colonial plantation.

After the Siege of Charleston in 1780, the British established a headquarters at the Kershaw/Cornwallis House. Today the house and grounds are open to tours.

The Piedmont’s Kings Mountain State Park has miles of forested trails perfect for supreme Kings Mountain hiking, two fishing lakes, and sits adjacent to Kings Mountain National Military Park, one of many national park Revolutionary War sites.

This park features the Lands Ford crossing, used during the Revolutionary War by both British and American troops under Cornwallis and Sumter before and after pivotal battles.

Three unknown British soldiers wounded at the nearby Battle of Cowpens died here at Limestone Springs and were buried on the land by order of Patriot Captain Vardry McBee Sr. and his wife, Hannah Echols.

Loyalists ambush a contingent of Patriot militia at a tavern in December of 1780, leading to a massacre

The plantation & gardens bears witness to 350 years of American history. Learn about the Europeans who colonized South Carolina, and the enslaved people who worked in the rice fields and gardens.

Marion Square, named in honor of Francis Marion, is greenspace in downtown Charleston, South Carolina and features remnants of The Hornwork, a large fortification built in 1758 that played a major role in the fight for independence.

Francis Salvador, the first Jewish person to die in the Revolutionary War, was a London-born pioneer who moved to South Carolina in 1773. A vocal supporter of independence, he became the first Jewish person to hold political office in the state. Known as the "Southern Paul Revere," Salvador warned of attacks during the war but tragically died in an ambush in 1776 at just 29 years old, leaving behind a legacy of courage and commitment to freedom.

Former Plantation of Henry Laurens: Merchant, Slave Trader, South Carolina Statesman, and Father of Revolutionary War Soldier John Laurens.

Middleton Place is America’s Oldest Landscaped Gardens and home to a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

In 1780, after the British occupied Charleston during the American Revolutionary War, the Brewton house was used as the British headquarters for Henry Clinton.

Eighteenth-century Moncks Corner was a crossroads settlement of stores and taverns at the intersection of the Cherokee Path (the Indian traders’ path) and the road from Charleston to Santee. A powder magazine was established in 1760 and the village was occupied as a store depot by the British during the Revolutionary War.

The site of the 1780 battle of Musgrove’s Mill where a small force of Patriot militia fought and defeated a larger force of Loyalist and Provincial soldiers in a short but pivotal battle.

The site of the 1775 Battle of Williamson's Fort and a critical outpost for the British after they captured Charleston in 1780, the colonial town of Ninety Six was also the setting of a 28-day siege in 1781. Here, Nathanael Greene’s Patriots attacked the heart of Loyalist commander John Cruger’s defenses — the Star Fort.

Completed in 1771, the Old Exchange Building is a Charleston landmark and the site of some of the most important events in South Carolina history. Over the last two and a half centuries, the building has been a commercial exchange, custom house, post office, city hall, military headquarters, and museum.

Nestled outside the traditional bounds of the South Carolina colony is the Presbyterian church where Andrew Pickens committed his time as an elder following the Revolution. In the adjacent cemetery lie the graves of several American soldiers who had fought by Pickens' side during the war.

The 330-mile Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail traces the 1780 Kings Mountain campaign through Virginia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas via a marked motor route and 87 miles of walkable trails.

Patriot Francis Marion earns his famous nickname — "The Swamp Fox”— after a futile chase by British Commander Banastre Tarleton

Known as an extremely important ferry crossing in the Colonial Period, Marion fortified this ferry and frequently utilized it to quickly move his troops to lay ambushes

An ingenious Patriot deception provokes a prominent Loyalist to surrender his outpost

Santee State Park offers biking and hiking trails and pontoon boat tours of the flooded cypress forest on Lake Marion, named after Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion, the “Swamp Fox”.

Located along the Great Pee Dee River, Snow's Island served as Francis Marion's favorite refuge for his militia in the swamps of South Carolina

The Patriots launch a misguided attack on British troops retreating from an aborted raid on Charleston

A surprise Patriot attack on Loyalist recruits is a blow to the British

Completed in 1713, The Powder Magazine is South Carolina's oldest government building.

The Patriots Take Provisions and Prisoners in a Surprise Attack on a British Supply Depot.

Established in 1767 by the Patriot supporting Moore family. Local militia gathered at Walnut Grove prior to the Battle of Cowpens. Visitors may take guided tours of the house and grounds.

On May 29, 1780, British commander Banastre Tarleton engaged and overwhelmed a Patriot force under the command of Abraham Buford in a dreadful defeat for the Patriots.

The White Point Garden offers incredible views that span across the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. Fort Sumter, Castle Pinckney, and the Sullivan Island Lighthouse can all be spotted in the distance. The Defenders of Fort Moultrie, a monument honoring South Carolinian soldiers during the Battle of Sullivan's Island is centrally located.

Once a simple ferry site, it gained prominence after Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox," mustered the Williamsburg militia into his ranks in August of 1780

Now under the man-made Lake Marion, British Lieutenant Colonel John Watson and Patriot Brigadier General Francis Marion, the “Swamp Fox,” skirmished in Wyboo Swamp near Santee Road.