Camps
There
were several important and historic
campsites within our circle. There were
not battles at most of the places but they
were critical in fighting the War. These
were:
Grindal
Shoals - This location on
the Pacolet
River is described in detail in
other places on this website. In summary,
General Morgan and his army camped here
from Christmas Day, 1780 until he left on
January 15, 1781 in an effort to run away
from Tarleton.
Cedar
Springs - The location of a
fresh water spring in what is now the
southeastern edge of the city of
Spartanburg. During the colonial era it
was well known to local settlers as a
place to camp and get water for themselves
and their livestock. In July 1780, members
of the Spartan Regiment camped at Cedar
Springs when the first battle of Cedar
Springs occurred. Cedar Springs is about 8
miles from our bridge.
Camp
on Thicketty Creek at Gentleman
Thompson’s - This is in present
day Cherokee County and was the home of
“Gentleman” William Thompson and was
located close to both the Georgia Road and the
Green River Road. This site was
near what is now known as Thicketty
Station on the Southern Railroad and near
the intersection of modern Highway 29 and
the Green River Road. The exact location
of the camp is in dispute till this day.
Morgan and his army arrived here late in
the afternoon of January 15 after marching
all day from Grindal
Shoals. They left early the next
morning, January 16, when Morgan received
word that Tarleton and his army had just
crossed the Pacolet
River at Easterwood,
only 8 miles away. The men had already
built fires and were cooking their
breakfast. They abandoned the cooking food
in the rush to get on the march and get
away from Tarleton.
In the afternoon of the same day, January
16, the British army arrived at the same
camp. They ate the food that the Americans
had left on the fires. They camped on that
spot the night of January 16. However, it
was a short night. Tarleton had them on
the march by 3 am the next morning -
without breakfast. He believed that Morgan
was trying to escape from him and he was
desperate to catch and destroy Morgan and
his army. The camp was about 7 miles from
our bridge at Trough Shoals.
Hannah’s
Cowpens - this was a well known
site about 5 miles south of the present
North Carolina - South Carolina state line
in what is now Cherokee County. It first
comes into our story more as a gathering
spot and resting place than as a camp. On
October 6, 1780, late in the afternoon, a
group of Overmountain men and other North
Carolina militia met more South Carolina
militia at the Cowpens. This was the night
before the Battle
of Kings Mountain. Read the full
details at Kings
Mountain.
General Morgan stopped his army here three
months later on January 16, 1781 after
marching all day from the camp at
Gentleman Thompson’s. He had decided to
make a stand here against Tarleton. He
would let his men rest for the night and
have an early breakfast the next morning
before fighting the British. See the Battle of Cowpens
for the full details of the fight. The
Cowpens Battlefield is about 16 miles from
our bridge.
British
Army Camp at Turkey Creek - In
early January, 1781, the British General
Cornwallis had his main army camped at
Winnsboro, South Carolina. He dispatched
Tarleton and his troops to try to catch
and destroy Morgan and his army.
While Tarleton was on the move, Cornwallis
would move with the remainder of his army
north up along the Broad River. He hoped
to trap Morgan between Tarleton and his
own army. He left Winnsboro on January 15,
1780. By the next day, January 16, he had
gotten as far asTurkey Creek which empties
into the Broad River. The camp was about 9
or 10 miles miles northeast of the present
town of Lockhart and about 23 miles from
our bridge at Trough Shoals. Instead of
keeping on the move, Cornwallis stayed at
the camp on Turkey Creek. He was still
here when he got word that Tarleton’s army
had been badly defeated at the Cowpens.
Tarleton himself arrived at the camp the
day after Cowpens to tell the bad news
personally. Cornwallis led his army away
from the camp at Turkey Creek on January
19, in what would prove to be a futile
effort to destroy the American army.
Camps
along Fairforest Creek - The
area along the creek was used by both the
Loyalists and the Patriots for camp
locations. Ferguson and his Loyalist band
also camped on Fairforest Creek. We have
already seen that the Patriot militia
under Brandon was
camped on the creek, five miles below the
present town of Union, when it was
attacked and defeated by the Loyalists.
This web site has been
started as a public service to share the story of
Pacolet.