University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Faculty Publications Anthropology, Department of 2007 "Obstinate and Strong": The History and Archaeology of the Siege of Fort Motte Steven D. Smith University of South Carolina - Columbia, [email protected] James B. Legg University of South Carolina - Columbia, [email protected] Tamara S. Wilson University of South Carolina - Columbia, [email protected] Jonathan Leader University of South Carolina - Columbia, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/anth_facpub Part of the Anthropology Commons Publication Info Published in 2007. © 2007 by University of South Carolina--South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology This Book is brought to you by the Anthropology, Department of at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “Obstinate and Strong”: The History and Archaeology of the Siege of Fort Motte By Steven D. Smith, James B. Legg, Tamara S. Wilson, and Jonathan Leader South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences University of South Carolina 1321 Pendleton St. Columbia, SC 29208 Funded by: the American Battlefield Protection Program National Park Service Department of Interior 1201 Eye Street, NW (2255) Washington, DC 20005 Grant Number: GA225504011 With additional funding from the South Carolina Society Children of the American Revolution ----------------------------------------------------------- Steven D. Smith Principal Investigator 2007 ii Publication of this report was assisted by a generous donation from the South Carolina Society Children of the American Revolution. Materials herein are based upon work assisted by a grant from the Department of Interior, National Park Service, American Battlefield Protection Program. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Interior. iii Management Summary This report presents the results of battlefield archaeology at the site of the Revolutionary War siege of Fort Motte, located in Calhoun County, South Carolina. The analysis of historic documents, test excavations, and a controlled metal detector sampling survey were combined to define the National Register Boundaries of siege activities. The work was funded by Grant Agreement GA-2255-04-11 (2004) from the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program. iv v Table of Contents Chapter 1: The Fort Motte Project ............................................................................................1 Introduction .....................................................................................................................1 Project Goals....................................................................................................................2 Research Design and Methods .......................................................................................2 Historical Document Search................................................................................3 Defining Features.................................................................................................3 Archaeological Field Methods.............................................................................4 Systematic Metal Detector Survey at the Fort ......................................4 Excavations at the Fort............................................................................5 Ground Penetrating Radar Survey........................................................6 Metal Detector Survey Beyond the Fort................................................7 Laboratory Methods............................................................................................8 National Register Nomination........................................................................................8 The Fort Motte Landscape: Historic and Modern.......................................................8 Project History.................................................................................................................10 Chapter 2: Fort Motte History and Legends............................................................................11 Introduction .....................................................................................................................11 Background......................................................................................................................11 Rebecca Motte..................................................................................................................12 Mount Joseph Plantation ................................................................................................13 Belleville............................................................................................................................17 March to Fort Motte........................................................................................................18 The Siege of Fort Motte ..................................................................................................21 Fire Arrows......................................................................................................................24 Surrender .........................................................................................................................26 Rawdon’s Retreat............................................................................................................29 Marion’s Pique.................................................................................................................31 Mount Joseph Plantation After the Siege......................................................................33 Summary ..........................................................................................................................34 Chapter 3: Archaeology at the Fort Motte Battlefield ............................................................35 Introduction .....................................................................................................................35 Fort Motte and Mrs. Motte’s House ..............................................................................35 Surface Collection................................................................................................38 Ground Penetrating Radar Survey ....................................................................39 Systematic Metal Detector Survey......................................................................41 Trenching..............................................................................................................42 vi Ditch Cross-Section Excavation..........................................................................44 Exposure of a Brick Surface................................................................................44 Reconnaissance Survey Beyond the Fort Area .............................................................44 Results...............................................................................................................................45 The Motte/Love Components..............................................................................45 Fort Motte.............................................................................................................50 Patrick Ferguson’s Fort ...........................................................................53 The Siege...............................................................................................................55 The American Artillery Battery and Camp.......................................................58 The Motte “Farm House”....................................................................................59 Levi Smith’s House? ............................................................................................60 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................61 Chapter 4: Conclusions ..............................................................................................................63 The Historical Significance of Fort Motte.....................................................................63 The Archaeological Significance of Fort Motte ............................................................63 Future Research...............................................................................................................65 References Cited...........................................................................................................................67 Appendix I: Analysis of Small Arms Ammunition From Fort Motte by James B. Legg.....I-1 Appendix II: The Fort Motte Artifact Catalog .......................................................................II-1 vii Figures Unless otherwise noted, all photos and figures by SCIAA Figure 1.1. Location of Fort Motte Battlefield. .........................................................................1 Figure 1.2. Daughters of the American Revolution monument at Fort Motte......................2 Figure 1.3. Crop mark of fort ditch at Fort Motte. .................................................................5 Figure 1.4 1937 aerial photograph of Fort Motte depicting location