Fort Independence: An Eighteenth-Century Frontier Homesite and Militia Post in South Carolina.

The procedures and results of archaeological testing and mitigation at the site of Revolutionary period Fort Independence, South Carolina 38AB218, are presented along with the procedures and results of exhaustive historical research on the site, including South Carolina backcountry settlement and the Revolutionary War as it affected that area. Initially a frontier plantation, Fort Independence was purchased by South Carolina in 1777 and garrisoned with an independent company detached from the state line. Functioning primarily as a deterrent to the restive Cherokees and Creeks Independence was important in maintaining South Carolinas frontier at a critical time. The fort was burned by Torries in early 1779. Archaeologically, Fort Independence was found to be a square, log stockade with three bastions, surrounding a well-built log plantation house. Various aspects of these remains are described and discussed. Identifications and analyses of recovered artifacts are presented along with comparisons to other archaeologically known eighteenth-century occupations. Author