South Carolina was the site of more than 400 battles and skirmishes during the American Revolution – including its bloodiest encounter, the Battle of Eutaw Springs. This summer, several events will take place throughout Beaufort County as part of a statewide commemoration, including a July 5 presentation and walking tour at Palmetto Bluff of the cemeteries near Wilson Village. The event will be led by Palmetto Bluff archaeologist Katie Epps.
In partnership with South Carolina 250 (SC250), the official commission leading the state’s commemoration of the United States Semiquincentennial, and the local initiative, Beaufort County 250, Epps will lead attendees through some of the property’s fascinating burial grounds while highlighting the landmarks, events, and remarkable stories of the Revolutionary War in the Lowcountry.
Epps and archaeological technician Zoe Klauck also will conduct a brief overview of Palmetto Bluff’s later history, from the Civil War through the early 20th century.
Katie Epps and the archaeology team are the keepers of the historical world of Palmetto Bluff.
“Though not usually included in discussions of the famous battles of the Revolutionary War, from gunfights and shipwrecks to families with loyalties divided in the fight for independence, Palmetto Bluff has stories to tell,” Epps said. “We are honored to partner with SC250 and Beaufort County 250 to illuminate the role this slice of the Lowcountry played during this pivotal moment in our nation’s history.”
While South Carolina experienced many well-known events during the fight for independence – including the battles at Stono Ferry and King’s Mountain – present-day Beaufort County was the site of many episodes that altered the trajectory of the Revolution. The Beaufort District, named after Henry Somerset, Duke of Beaufort, was formed in 1769 and originally included present-day Beaufort, Jasper, and part of Hampton counties. In 1868, the district was redesignated as Beaufort County and, in the years that followed, land was ceded to create Hampton and Jasper counties.
Bloody Point on Daufuskie Island was named after a series of skirmishes between indigenous peoples and colonists in 1715.
Palmetto Bluff Archaeologist Katie Epps will lead a July 5 walking tour of Palmetto Bluff that will highlight pivotal moments during the Revolutionary War.
The Beaufort District’s first significant engagement of the Revolutionary War occurred in July 1775 and was known as the Bloody Point Naval Action. Having received intelligence that the British were to receive a shipment of gunpowder from an incoming supply ship escorted by the armed schooner Phillippa, two South Carolina barges and a Georgia schooner surrounded the incoming boats, recovering 16,000 pounds of gunpowder. The cargo was divided between the South Carolina and Georgia Patriots, with the South Carolina contingent sending 4,000 pounds of the captured ammunition to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
To commemorate the anniversary of this action, historical sites throughout the county will host a series of events July 3-5. The tour at Palmetto Bluff will focus on a consequential episode that transpired in April 1781 on the property – the killing of Patriot James Doherty by Richard Pendarvis and his band of Tories.
Like the rest of the South at the dawn of the American Revolution, the residents of May River Neck (the original name of present-day Palmetto Bluff) were caught in the chaos of a divided nation with neighbors, and sometimes even families, on opposing sides. Turmoil erupted among patriots, loyalists, and neutral parties who refused to take a side, fueling tensions that rippled through the colonies resulting in an ideological clash which turned into a bloody conflict at Palmetto Bluff.
Pendarvis, a well-known Loyalist with the moniker “Tory Dick,” lived in a home he built on 200 acres overlooking the May River, gifted to him by his father, Josiah Pendarvis, who had purchased the first tract of land sold on May River Neck, a 650-acre parcel he named Montpelier Plantation after the French town. Richard’s wife, Margaret Martinangele, was the daughter of a Loyalist family from Daufuskie. As battles and skirmishes erupted along the Eastern Seaboard, local clashes between Tories and Patriots began to pit neighbors and friends against one another.
In 1780, Pendarvis was part of a Tory militia that went to Bear Island, a plantation located on the mainland near Pinckney Island, that was owned by Doherty, who had been a close friend of Pendarvis before the war. Though accounts from the opposing sides differ, by the end of that fateful night, Doherty was dead, and Pendarvis had a hand in it.
An account in the Loyalist newspaper stated that Pendarvis, his lieutenant William Patterson, and several other Tories arrived at Doherty’s plantation. Doherty and his six or seven companions opened fire, killing one Tory and wounding another. The Tories returned fire, resulting in Doherty’s death. In a contradictory account, the Patriots claimed that the Tories had threatened to kill Doherty, prompting them to plan an ambush. However, the Tories arrived early, and Doherty’s companions fled. When the Tories encountered Doherty, they opened fire, striking him, though the wound was not fatal. Doherty called for the Tories to approach and shake his hand. Suspecting a trap, Pendarvis and his group opened fire again, killing Doherty.
Revenge came four months later with Doherty’s nephew, Captain James Leacroft, leading members of the Patriot militia, dubbed the Bloody Legion, to Pendarvis’s plantation in May River Neck. They shot Pendarvis in the front yard of his home while his wife watched, and stole three of his horses and his gun before leaving.
Present-day Palmetto Bluff has been shaped by the property’s illustrious history, and echoes of its remarkable legacy reverberate today.
As with so many during the War for Liberty, Doherty and Pendarvis were loyal friends turned mortal enemies. Two men lost, not in formal battle, but to petty revenge and murder.
After the war, differences were set aside as communities in the region worked toward building a united nation. Pendarvis’ widow, Margaret, whose husband and brother were killed by the Bloody Legion, remarried two years later – not to a Loyalist, but to a neighboring plantation owner and Patriot at Palmetto Bluff, Captain William Mongin, whose brother and uncle were members of the Bloody Legion.
Pendarvis’ brother-in-law, John Screven, owned land near Pendarvis and was also an ardent supporter of the Patriot cause. Screven later owned Montpelier Plantation, which was subsequently owned by George Hipp.
The Screven-Hipp Cemetery is nestled behind a wall of greenery, across from the parking lot at the Palmetto Bluff Canoe Club pool. This cemetery contains burials from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The Emily Geiger Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution erected plaques on the cemetery gate to commemorate the burial of Revolutionary War soldier John Screven and Revolutionary War Patriots Elizabeth Screven and George Hipp. Pendarvis and his father are possibly buried there, though no stones mark their graves.
Palmetto Bluff’s surprising past and those who lived there during the Revolutionary War will be discussed July 5 when Epps and the Palmetto Bluff archaeology team lead a 1.8-mile walking tour of Palmetto Bluff that includes four of the property’s cemeteries where some of the participants are believed to be buried.
The event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon, with light refreshments provided. Long pants and closed-toe shoes are required, as the walk will include areas of uneven terrain. Cost is $40 per person. Proceeds will be used for cemetery restoration work in Palmetto Bluff cemeteries. Space is limited; email info@pbconservancy.org to purchase a ticket.
(This article is based on “Loyalties Divided” by Katie Epps, Palmetto Bluff Archaeologist. The article appeared in the Spring/Summer 2025 issue of The Bluff magazine.
