On Saturday I booksigned at an event for the SAR, DAR, and
CAR at Musgrove Mill State Historic Site near Clinton, SC. The event involved
unveiling a monument and placing wreaths to commemorate a battle that occurred
nearby during the Southern theater of the Revolutionary War on 19 August 1780. Thanks to the rangers at Musgrove Mill for including me in the program.

"The Battle of Musgrove’s Mill" almost never
makes the cut into standard history texts, yet so much about it embodies the flavor
of this war in the South. The combatants weren’t colorful redcoats and Continentals.
Nor were superstar generals like Washington and Cornwallis directing the fight.
Instead, Whigs and Loyalists duked it out, over 500 of them, mostly civilians
whose homes, families, and businesses were threatened by constant warfare.

Civil war, not revolution, described the war in the Southern
theater. (A scene in The Blacksmith’s Daughter brings home that theme.) At the
battle on this site, the Whigs were somewhat outnumbered, but they managed to
win. An austere monument testifies to loss.

The Enoree River and Horseshoe Falls are within walking
distance of the visitors center — all of
it well worth your trip. If you visit in April, you can also catch the annual
living history weekend.