1706 French & Spanish Attack

In late summer 1706, a combined force of French and Spanish troops attacked the South Carolina Lowcountry intent on vanquishing the fledgling English colony as Charles Town reeled from a plague of yellow fever. Intended to catch the colony off-guard and weakened by disease, the surprise was foiled when a privateer sloop ran into the fleet outside of St. Augustine and rushed back to Charles Town with a warning. When the enemy arrived, Charles Town was prepared, and the invading fleet was unable to force a surrender.

Near this site, a combined force of colonists and Native American allies under the commands of Captains Fenwick, Lynch, and Canty engaged the enemy in the open field. After exchanging volleys of fire, the enemy “quit the field and fled away in great disorder and confusion.” In this disoriented state, seven enemy combatants drowned in a creek while attempting to flee. Following a tumultuous beginning to the colony, this victory proved a moment of unity for the young colony of South Carolina as men from all around the surrounding countryside heeded the call to come in defense.