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June 12, 1781
"Light Horse Harry" Lee Takes the Stockade Fort
You are standing in a partial reconstruction of the Stockade Fort as it appeared in 1781. Archaeologists have identified remnants -- see the outlines -- of log buildings that existed here. An elevated firing step, called a banquette, was located at the base of the palisade wall. Step up to the banquette before you and peer through the vertical wooden posts. This is the view Loyalist soldiers had as they stood guard over the town of Ninety Six.
In June 1781, while General Greene's tired troops laid siege to the Star Fort on the north side of town, Patriot Lieutenant Colonel Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee and his Continental troops arrived here on the west side of Ninety Six to lend support.
Accompanying Lee was Brigadier General Andrew Pickens, commanding 400 South Carolina militiamen. Lieutenant Colonel Lee's mission was to capture this Loyalists stronghold for the Patriots. His initial attempt did not succeed.
At noon on June 18, as part of Greene's final assault on the Star Fort, Lee's men attacked here again. This time they easily breached the stockade walls, but their success was short-lived. Greene's failure to take the Star Fort forced all Patriot troops to make a swift exit from Ninety Six before British reinforcements arrived. |