Saluda County · Marker 41-14
Ambush at Mine Creek
Old Charleston Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 41-177) at Mine Creek, 1.75 mi. SE of its junction with S.C. Hwy. 121, Saluda vicinity
Front inscription
On November 3, 1775, Loyalists ambushed a supply wagon nearby, in a prelude to the first land battle of the Revolution in S.C. The Council of Safety sent gunpowder and lead to the Cherokees in an effort to prevent their siding with the Crown. Capt. Patrick Cunningham, with 150 men, overtook the wagon about 1 3/4 mi. SW, where the Old Charleston Rd. crosses Mine Creek.
Reverse inscription
After Cunningham captured the wagon and escort, Loyalists claimed that the Patriots wanted the Cherokees to wage war on them. Loyalist forces soon outnumbered Patriots in the area by more than three to one. The First Battle of Ninety Six, on November 19, saw the first bloodshed in the Revolution in S.C. The brief truce that followed did little to ease tensions in the backcountry.