Fort Ridgeway
Capt. John Ridgeway’s Blockhouses
3 or 5 September 1781
(the two dates come from two contemporary records; see Open Questions below)
Location unknown: western Laurens County or Greenville County, South Carolina
Part of the Revolutionary War Sites of Laurens County site guide.
On This Page
- At a Glance
- What the Records Say
- Where the Accounts Disagree
- Other Leads
- Not Kellett’s
- The Marker
- Sources, Open Questions, and How You Can Help
At a Glance
- Who: Capt. John Ridgeway’s company, Little River Regiment, about 30 men
- Attacked by: a detachment of Capt. William Cunningham’s party
- Date: 3 September (Patriot certificate) or 5 September 1781 (Royal Gazette) ⚠
- Result: the post surrendered after a short resistance
- Killed: Capt. Ridgeway, another officer and eight privates, 10 in all; the Loyalists reported no losses
- Location: unknown ⚠
- Marker: Karl H. Dixon Memorial Park, 1245 Boyds Mill Pond Rd, Laurens (commemorates the fort; doesn’t mark the site)
What the Records Say
A contemporary report, from the Loyalist side
Royal Gazette (Charleston), column datelined “Charlestown, September 29,” 1781:
“The Rebels above Ninety-six, having constructed two block-houses on Reedy river, where they had taken post with 30 men under Capt. Ridgeway, to check the incursions of the Loyal Refugees from the Mountains, were on the 5th instant, attacked by a detachment of Capt. William Cunningham’s party, when after a short resistance, they were obliged to submit, with the loss of Capt. Ridgeway, another officer whose name is not known, and eight privates killed. On this occasion the Loyalists did not lose a man.”
The Patriot record
On 8 January 1787, Levi Casey, John Hunter and Jonathan Downs, justices of the peace, certified that:
“John Ridgway was a Capt. in the Little River Regiment” and “fell in Defence of this State by the act of the Enemy thereof on the third day September 1781.”
He left his widow, Charity, and two children under twelve, and he “was not possessed of a tract of land.” (Audited Account 6416, SC Department of Archives and History.)
His company passed to Capt. George Martin (Benjamin Arnold, S2920).
His service before 1781
LLL says Ridgeway fought at Musgrove Mill, Hammond’s Old Store, Fort Williams and Cowpens. His company is on the reconstructed Little River Regiment list for Cowpens.
Where the Accounts Disagree ⚠
| Question | Primary and scholarly sources | LLL (heritage page) |
|---|---|---|
| Date | 3 September (Casey certificate) vs. 5 September (Royal Gazette) | 5 September 1781 |
| River | “Two block-houses on Reedy river” (Royal Gazette; Lipscomb) | “Near Dirty Creek and Rabon Creek,” on high ground overlooking water |
| Land | “Not possessed of a tract of land” (1787); no land found | “Constructed on land owned by … Ridgeway” |
| Attacks | One action | Two: 1 August 1781 (Loyalists prevailed) and 5 September |
| Killed | Ridgeway, another officer, 8 privates (Royal Gazette) | “10 Patriots” (the same count) |
The LLL location doesn’t match the only contemporary account, which names the Reedy River. It also conflicts with the annuity certificate on land. The 1 August attack doesn’t appear in any record we have found. We present all three as open questions, not facts.
Other Leads
- A modern granite marker, “Revolutionary Soldiers & Heroines of the Lebanon Area,” at Lebanon UMC, Fork Shoals (Greenville County, near the Reedy River). It names Capt. Jno. Ridgeway and his successor, Capt. George Martin.
- Lipscomb (1979): “probably western Laurens County, but it conceivably could have been in Greenville County.”
Not Kellett’s
Kellett’s Blockhouse (South Rabon Creek) and Ridgeway’s blockhouses were attacked on the same night, but they were two separate places. The likeliest reading is that Cunningham’s detachments struck both posts that night.
The Marker
Karl H. Dixon Memorial Park, 1245 Boyds Mill Pond Rd, Laurens. The marker commemorates the fort; it doesn’t mark the site.
Sources
- Royal Gazette (Charleston), September 1781 (newspapers.com image 605008618)
- Audited Accounts 6416, 6417, SC Department of Archives and History
- Pension applications S21947, S4119, S2920
- Lipscomb, Terry W., Names in South Carolina XXVI (1979), pp. 36–39
- LLL, “Fort Ridgeway”
Open Questions
- Reedy River or Rabon Creek? Where were the two blockhouses?
- Was there an attack on 1 August 1781? Only LLL mentions it.
- 3 or 5 September? The certificate and the newspaper disagree by two days.
- Two detachments, one night? Were Kellett’s and Ridgeway’s attacked by separate Cunningham detachments?
- Who was the other officer? The Royal Gazette didn’t know his name.
How You Can Help
If family papers, deeds or local tradition place Ridgeway’s blockhouses, or if you descend from a man in his company, please get in touch. Every new piece of evidence helps.
Related pages: Rev War Sites of Laurens County · The Little River Regiment · Honor Roll · Hayes Station · Laurens County Rev War Timeline
Elsewhere: Life, Liberty, Laurens