Program

DAR Revolutionary America

Subject

Event, Site

Location

55 Millstone Landing Rd, Hardeeville, SC 29927, USA

Lat/Long

32.28752, -81.118724

Grant Recipient

NSDAR - Treasurer General

In late 1778 and early 1779 the lower Savannah River region became a focal point of the conflict between English and Colonial troops. Purrsyburg was the first headquarters of the Southern Continental Army within South Carolina under Major General Benjamin Lincoln.

The April 20, 1779, skirmish at Purrysburg served to slow the British advance against Charleston, South Carolina. The approximately 400 Patriots who defended Purrysburg against almost 1,500 British and Loyalist troops, retreated from the area with minimal loss of life. The retreating troops were able to warn General William Moultrie and his Patriot troops at Black Swamp of the British invasion. Moultrie and his men quickly broke camp and marched towards Charleston to outflank the British. They slowed the British advance just long enough for General Lincoln and his Continental Army troops who were enroute to Augusta, Georgia, to reach the battleground at Stono River. The skirmish at Purrysburg stalled British forces long enough to thwart their initial attempt to capture Charleston and force their return to Georgia. (Daniel T. Elliott, The LAMAR Institute, Inc., 21 August 2023).

In 2016, The LAMAR Institute, Inc. completed an archaeological survey of the Purrysburg site for the National Park Service, American Battlefield Protection Program. The location of the historical marker is slightly south of the site.

Links

• Daughters of the American Revolution