Snow's Island is an area of swampy lowlands along the
Pee Dee River
The Pee Dee River, also known as the Great Pee Dee River, is a river in the Carolinas of the United States. It originates in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, where its upper course, above the mouth of the Uwharrie River
The Uwharri ...
in
Florence County, South Carolina
Florence County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 137,059. Its county seat is Florence.
Florence County is included in the Florence, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county' ...
. The area is historically significant as the headquarters during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
for forces led by
Francis Marion
Brigadier-General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the Swamp Fox, was an American military officer, planter and politician who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. During the Ameri ...
(1732-1795), a South Carolina militia officer who is celebrated as the "Swamp Fox."
Employing guerrilla war tactics, Marion significantly contributed to the American war effort by conducting numerous raids on British outposts."
The site was declared a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1974.
Description
Snow's Island is located in a remote and swampy area of Florence County, on private land south of the main channel of the Pee Dee River east of
Johnsonville. The property is not open to the public, but may be visible from the end of Dunham Bluff Road, off
U.S. Route 378 on the north side of the river. The contours of the land have been altered over time due to logging activities that have changed the course of the river, and there are no definitively identified remains associated with the American Revolutionary War period. The site was in 1780 a plantation, whose exact boundaries have not been identified, and the area has been logged several times and used as a private hunting preserve.
[
The area's historical significance lies in its four-month occupation by the militia forces of General ]Francis Marion
Brigadier-General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the Swamp Fox, was an American military officer, planter and politician who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. During the Ameri ...
, who orchestrated guerilla-style attacks on British targets from this base between December 1780 and March 1781. At that time, British forces dedicated to locating Marion found the camp and destroyed it; Marion and most of his band of several hundred men were not there at the time. The only known potential artifact associated with the Marion occupation is an earthen formation that may be a military defensive works.[
]
See also
*List of National Historic Landmarks in South Carolina
This is a List of National Historic Landmarks in South Carolina, United States. The United States' National Historic Landmark (NHL) program is operated under the auspices of the National Park Service, and recognizes buildings, sites, structures, d ...
*
References
External links
Snow's Island, Florence County (Address Restricted)
at South Carolina Department of Archives and History
{{National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina
National Historic Landmarks in South Carolina
Geography of Florence County, South Carolina
1781 establishments in South Carolina
American Revolutionary War sites
National Register of Historic Places in Florence County, South Carolina