Next stop on my tour of my favorite places in South Carolina is the Old Sheldon Church, down in Beaufort County. This is right of U.S. Highway 17, about two miles south of Gardens Corner.






The church was burned once during the Revolution and again during the Civil War. If you've got a spare 15 minutes when traveling between Beaufort and I-95, it's worth checking out.

For a break from more meaningful discussion, I want to share with ya'll one of my favorite places in all the world: Wildcat Falls.

In case you'd like to know more, here are some additional links about this place ... Hiking trail info ... NCWaterfalls.com ... a really good fall photo of the lower waterfall.

Flat Rock Road is a two-lane rural road that runs from Heath Springs to come into U.S. 521 north of Camden. For regional travelers who know the route, it's a welcome bypass around Kershaw. When I go to that part of the Upstate, sometimes looking to hear the seals, I'll go that way, after stopping down in Manning for D&H Barbeque.

Near the southern end of the road is a collection of a few markers in a nearly-overgrown and forested area marking the location of the Battle of Camden. Unlike other South Carolina battlefields from the Revolutionary War, such as Fort Moultrie, Cowpens, and Kings Mountain, this is one that is hardly marked at all.

That might have something to do with the fact that it was probably the most stunning battlefield defeat for the American army in the war (not counting the capitulation of General Lincoln's beseiged army in Charleston).

Just north of Camden, at what became known as the Battle of Camden, Cornwallis' British Army routed the Americans, infliting heavy casualties and virtually ending organized American military presence south of Virginia. Were it not for the rise of strong popular resistance, through organized and unorganized militias, this battle might have well ended the hopes of independence for the southern colonies - the primary mission of Cornwallis.

Fortunately, Camden, following the fall of Charleston, was the high tide of British fortunes, to be followed by the rise of widespread resistance in the Upstate, which culminated in staggering defeats for the British Army first at Kings Mountain, and then at Cowpens.

Congressman John Spratt, who I campaigned against often when I lived upstate, has put forth a commendable bill seeking to designate the Camden battlefield as a National Park:

“The Camden battlefield has been a National Historic Landmark since 1962, but it is not permanently protected,” said Spratt, “and the threats from encroachment loom larger with each year. Development interests are changing the use of surrounding land from forestry to residential and commercial. Only through National Park status can this historic site be protected by the National Park Service.”