Basic Information

• Location – Congaree River, Fort Motte, St Matthews Parish, Calhoun County
  

  Original plantation lands were located off Lang Syne Road in the vicinity of Wise Road and Moye Lane.
  

• Origin of name –

• Other names –

• Current status –

Timeline

• ? – Earliest known date of existence

• ? – House built

• 1780 – During the Revolutionary War the British took over the plantation and fortified the house.
  

  It was the practice of the British army to commandeer plantation homes, fortify them, and use them as outposts for small garrisons. The Motte home had been converted to a "fort" by digging a trench around the home, using the dirt to build a mound and adding an array of sharpened tree trunks and limbs to slow an advancing enemy (History, pp. 16-17).
  

• 1781 – General Francis Marion and Colonel Henry Lee attacked the British at the plantation. The battle lasted from May 8-12, and was known as the Battle of Fort Motte.
  

  Before the battle started the Motte family was asked to retreat to a farmhouse nearby. Rebecca Motte reportedly encouraged the Americans to set the house on fire in order to dislodge the British. It is said that she provided the arrows used to ignite the roof. The British soldiers surrendered, fearing they would be blown up if the gunpowder stored in the house were set on fire (Painting).
  

• 2004 – Archeologists from SCIAA and the University of South Carolina began a dig at the Fort Motte site. They were able to locate some of the foundation of the home and the ditch around it. Artifacts gathered included musket balls from British, French, and American weapons. The team also found canister rounds indicating that cannons were used during the battle (History, pp. 16-18).
  

Land

• Number of acres –

• Primary crop –

Owners

• Alphabetical list – Miles Brewton; Jacob and Rebecca Motte
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves –

Buildings

Web Resources

1. Painting of Mrs. Motte Directing Generals Marion and Lee to Burn Her Mansion to Dislodge the British
   

2. The Battle of Fort Motte
   

3. History and Archeaology at Fort Motte - p. 15-19 - requires Adobe Reader
   

4. National Register of Historic Places - Fort Motte Battle Site
   – Photographs, architectural overview
   

Print Resources

• Daniel Marchant Culler, Orangeburg District 1768-1868 History and Records (Spartanburg, SC: The Reprint Company, 1995), p. 594.
  

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