South Carolina men helped change course of American Revolution, Anderson curator says

Robert Anderson and Andrew Pickens, who both have ties to the Anderson area, helped change the course of the Revolutionary War that brought the United States the independence celebrated each Fourth of July, Alison Hinman said.

“I think most people forget that the nation started off because these gentleman fighting in South Carolina established a win,” said Hinman, curator of collections at the Anderson County Museum. “Because of wins here in South Carolina, the patriots’ cause became much more likely to happen.”

Hinman said Pickens is probably the more famous of the two men.

“He’s known for his leadership in battle, and as a fine negotiator,” she said. “After the war he negotiated with settlers and Indian tribes around the Upcountry.”

Pickens first saw action in 1775 as a militia captain. He went through numerous Cherokee attacks on an expedition in Williamston.

“Pickens won notice when he led his troops to victory over the Cherokee,” Hinman said. “They formed a small circle and fired outward.”

The new battle technique became known as the “ring of fire.”

Pickens served as colonel of the 96th S.C. Regiment and led American troops to victory in Kettle Creek, Ga., where Anderson fought with him. He was in charge of the South Carolina Militia at the Battel of Cowpens and helped turn the tide to patriotic forces, Hinman said.

After the war, Pickens helped organize a civil governnment in South Carolina, she said.

People can still visit his residence, Hopewell Plantation, at Clemson University.

Anderson, for whom the county is named, was born in Virginia but moved to South Carolina as a young child. Although he wasn’t a general, he served several field commissions and fought under Pickens, Hinman said.

“At the outbreak of the American Revolution he joined the volunteer patriot army and was at one time sergeant for the 5th South Carolina Regiment,” she said. “He joined his friend Pickens at Kettle Creek, Ga., which was a major victory for them there.”

The Kettle Creek battle was one of the most significant victories for Americans in Georgia and pushed the British out of the interior of the state.

Anderson also fought in battles at Musgrove Mills, Kings Mountain, Cowpens and Eutaw Springs, one of the bloodiest battles after the Revolutionary War, Hinman said.

He later served as a brigadier general in the state militia.

Anderson, along with Pickens, was instrumental in developing the Old Stone Church in Clemson, Hinman said.

“If it hadn’t been for men like Pickens and Anderson, and the men that fought with them, the American Revolution probably wouldn’t have turned out the way it did,” Hinman said. “People can be justifiably proud of the men in South Carolina, because we were the ones that turned the tide from having lost nearly all the battles to winning enough to affect the war to an outcome in our favor.”

The Anderson County Museum also has a Hall of Fame in which Anderson and Pickens can be seen. The museum also houses artifacts of the Anderson family.

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