EUTAWVILLE, S.C. — The Battle of Eutaw Springs centers what's now known as the Town of Eutawville as a turning point in the American Revolution. The Eutaw Springs chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution is doing its annual commemoration this weekend.
“We’re waking up South Carolina to the fact that part of the labor and delivery rooms of liberty and the birth of our nation is right here in Eutaw Springs, South Carolina," said David Reuwer of SC Battleground Preservation Trust.
The four-hour long battle took place on September 8, 1781, making this year the 241st anniversary. Blood was shed of both American and British soldiers. Several major names in South Carolina history, including Francis Marion were part of the battle.
It is considered the last major battle of the war in the Carolinas. For the past thirty-five years, the Eutaw Springs chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution has commemorated it.
“It’s just to remember our patriots, ancestors, and what they sacrificed the men and women back then and we just got to keep their memory alive," said chapter historian Doug Doster.
On Saturday, he says people will also learn about the role African Americans played in the war, with some fighting on the battlefield.
They will also share the untold of an enslaved black man named Tony Small, who at the end of the war, helped nurse a wounded British solider back to health.
“It makes the picture much more accurate than historians had painted in previous decades,” said Reuwer.
The South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust is working with the SAR and The Friends of Eutaw Springs to purchase land where the battles happened, and repurpose it for green space.
“It’s really exciting to have this component of a major historic battlefield turned into an economic development engine for Orangeburg County, Berkeley County, and the town of Eutawville," said Reuwer.
The commemoration will end with a wreath presentation at Major General Francis Marion's tomb on Saturday afternoon at 2:15 p.m.