The Beginning of the Bridges Campaign
In March 1781, Lord Francis Hastings Rawdon, the British commanding officer in Charleston, designed a two-pronged assault against the forces of General Francis Marion. From Camden, Col. Welbore Ellis Doyle and the Volunteers of Ireland moved east and south to destroy Marion's camp at Snow's Island, while from Fort Watson, Col. John Watson and a combined British and Loyalist force moved along the Santee River towards Marion's main force near Nelson's Ferry. The series of engagements that followed between Watson and Marion is known as Watson's Chase or the Bridges Campaign.Marion and Watson first clashed on March 6 on thequarter-mile-long causeway over Wyboo Swamp (todaysubmerged under the waters of Lake Marion), whereMarion had set up an ambush. The opposing cavalryfought several times on the causeway, and Marion's menwere initially able to hold back Watson's advance.
Whentwo British cannons arrived, however, Marion ordered aretreat down River Road (now Patriot Road, behind you)to John Cantey's plantation.
After the battle at Wyboo Swamp, Patriot sympathizersin the area told and retold the story of Gavin James.
Aprivate in Marion's Bridage, James faced down enemysoldiers advancing across the causeway with only hismusket, felling one with a shot and two more with hisbayonet.
HM Number | HMZ33 |
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Tags | |
Year Placed | 2012 |
Placed By | Francis Marion Trail Commission |
Marker Condition | No reports yet |
Date Added | Friday, October 17th, 2014 at 8:13am PDT -07:00 |
UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 17S E 572728 N 3711369 |
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Decimal Degrees | 33.53946667, -80.21666667 |
Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 33° 32.368', W 80° 13' |
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 33° 32' 22.08" N, 80° 13' 0.00" W |
Driving Directions | Google Maps |
Area Code(s) | 803 |
Closest Postal Address | At or near 301 Patriot Rd, Manning SC 29102, US |
Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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