Lacey’s Fort

Col. Edward Lacey (1742-1813), prominent officer in the American Revolution in the S.C. backcountry, occupied this hill west of Turkey Creek in the late summer of 1780. Lacey, who commanded S.C. militiamen in the battles of Rocky Mount, Cary’s Fort, Hanging Rock, and Fishing Creek in July and August, built a 15-ft. log stockade near this site.

The fort here was sometimes called “Liberty Hill” by patriots but “Patriot’s Folly” by Loyalists. It was occupied by S.C. militiamen under Cols. Edward Lacey and William Hill after they participated in the American victory at Kings Mountain 7 October 1780. Gen. Charles Cornwallis, commanding British forces in the South, later camped here briefly in January 1781.