Battle of Halfway Swamp
December 12, 1780
Find in Google Maps or use the coordinates in your own mapping app:
33.65133, -80.49625You can find this marker located on the shoulder of Old River Road, close to a bridge near the entrance to Elliot’s Landing Road. On December 12, 1780, according to tradition, British Major Robert McLeroth was surprised near here by General Francis Marion.
On December 12, 1780, according to tradition, British Major Robert McLeroth was surprised near here by General Francis Marion. The British first agreed to a staged combat with twenty men on each side, but slipped away during the night, escaping an all-out battle. The events of the battle are supported by an additional skirmish on the following day, December 13th at Singleton's Mill, 10 miles north.
The first church of St. Mark's Parish, established in 1757 by commissioners Issac Brunson, John, Joseph, and Willing Cantey, James McGirt, Matthew Nelson, and Richard Richardson, stood nearby at Halfway Swamp. Burned by the British during the Revolution, it was rebuilt four times and now stands near Pinewood.