Esseneca
Most of the battle site and the Cherokee town of Esseneca are now submerged under the waters of modern-day Lake Hartwell, a man-made reservoir. In colonial times, the village flourished along the east side of the Keowee River, near the current town of Seneca, South Carolina. The battle that occurred near there on August 1, 1776, pitted Patriot Major Andrew Williamson against Alexander Cameron, the British deputy superintendent of Indian Affairs, and ended with a Patriot victory.
A month after the battle, Williamson and his men returned to the area to build Fort Rutledge. The site of the fort is now part of the Clemson University campus and can be accessed via a short, interpreted trail. The access road for the trail is near the Nieri Alumni and Visitors Center, and the entrance to the trail is marked by a reconstructed wooden battlement that demonstrates how the fort – no longer standing – would have been constructed. The Daughters of the American Revolution placed a monument to Fort Rutledge on the property in 1908.
Explore nearby sites on The Liberty Trail SC!
