Four Rivers SAR Members Attend Commemoration

Courtesy of Four Rivers Patriots

Members of the Four Rivers Patriots chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) attended an event commemorating the 246th anniversary of the Battle of Brier Creek. Members of the Brier Creek chapter were dressed in period attire and presented programs (which included the firing of muskets and cannons) to groups of school children throughout the day.

The battlefield, located near Sylvania, was the sight of an encounter between British troops under the command of Colonel Mark Prevost and militia and Continentals serving under General Ashe. A week prior to this battle, patriot forces had succeeded in defeating Loyalists at Kettle Creek, near Washington, Georgia. On this day, however – March 3, 1779 – such was not to be the case. The defeat at Brier Creek resulted in the loss of over 150 men, with still more drowning in the nearby swamp and Savannah River as they attempted escape. Even those captured faced the uncertain fate of imprisonment aboard prison ships just off the Georgia coast.

According to General William Moultrie, the loss at Brier Creek likely extended the Revolutionary War by another year. The Brier Creek Battlefield was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.