Musgrove's Mill Historic Battle Site

National Register Listing

Street Address:

2.5 mi. S of Cross Anchor on SC 56 (Union County)

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NRHP Nomination

Record Number:

S10817744014

Description and Narrative:

The battle of Musgrove’s Mill, fought on August 18, 1780, was an early American victory in the South during the Revolution. The successful surprise attack lead by American Colonel Charles McDowell on the British post at Musgrove’s Mill indicated a weakness in the British hold on the backcountry. American troops routed a combined detachment of British and Tories at a ford on the Enoree River, but were forced to retreat to the mountains of North Carolina when Loyalist forces converged on the area. In this battle, British losses included 60 killed, 90 wounded, and 70 taken prisoner. Four Americans were killed and nine wounded. Occurring at the same time as the American defeat at Camden, this victory gave the American cause a badly needed boost in morale. The National Register site includes the land north of the Enoree River ford as well as a triangular portion of land south of the Enoree, opposite the mouth of Cedar Shoals Creek, where Major Edward Musgrove’s plantation house was standing until it burned in 1971. This is the area where the British and Tories were encamped at the time of the battle. Listed in the National Register March 4, 1975.

Period of Significance:

1780

Level of Significance:

National

Area of Significance:

Military

National Register Determination:

listed

Date of Certification:

March 4 1975

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