American Travel Journal: Visitor Center - Musgrove Mill State Historic Site

In the summer of 1780, Colonel Isaac Shelby led a group of volunteer Patriot militiamen from Georgia, North Carolina (now Tennessee), and South Carolina in a series of backcountry raids against British forces in South Carolina. His force of about 200 men was ordered to attack a Loyalist militia force of similar size camped on the south side of the Enoree River at Edward Musgrove's mill. In order to avoid an encounter with Major Patrick Ferguson's much larger British force that was known to be in the region and to maintain the element of surprise, Shelby's men rode 40 miles overnight before stopping north of the river very early on August 19, 1780. Shelby was informed by a local farmer that an additional 100 militiamen and 200 provincial soldiers had stopped at Musgrove's Mill on their way to join Ferguson. In addition to facing 500 troops with his 200, Shelby lost the element of surprise when a Loyalist patrol made contact. With exhausted horses eliminating the possibility of quick retreat and facing a vastly superior force, Shelby and his officers developed a plan to ambush the Loyalists. Quickly building a makeshift breastworks of downed trees and brush near the treeline above an open field, his troops with their rifles hid in wait.

Captain Shadrack Inman led a force of twenty mounted men down the road to Musgrave's ford and began shooting into the Loyalist camp. Feigning a disorganized retreat, Inman lured the Loyalists to chase him up the hill into the waiting Patriot ambush. On reaching the field, the Loyalists formed up in ranks and marched toward the Patriots, but retreated under withering fire. Once regrouped, the Loyalists charged again, this time nearly overwhelming the Patriot line with a bayonet charge before a number of Loyalist officers were killed leaving their men momentarily without direction. As the Loyalists pulled back in confusion, the Patriots chased them down the hill to the river engaging in hand-to-hand combat with hatchets and knives. In a battle likely lasting about an hour, 63 Loyalists were killed, 70 were captured, and an unknown number were wounded. The Patriot losses included four dead and a dozen wounded. Among the Patriot dead was Captain Inman.

While Colonel Shelby contemplated chasing the remaining Loyalists south toward Ninety Six, he received word of the devastating Patriot defeat at the Battle of Camden a few days prior. Realizing that his was the only Patriot force of any size left in South Carolina, Shelby elected to withdraw from the field as well. His volunteers dispersed and he rode back over the mountains to his home near present Elizabethton, Tennessee.

I visited the historic site in late April 2017. The facilities and staff are some of the best I've found at a state park and rival those of the National Park Service. Although encompassing only 380 acres, the site includes two trails a mile long or longer, a small waterfall on a tributary creek to the Enoree River, a fishing pond, and picnic facilities. The park also participates in the Fishing Tackle Loaner Program of the state Department of Natural Resources. Due to a series of intermittent rain showers, I only saw one other visitor during my stop.

The visitor center has an information desk, artifacts, exhibits, costumes for children, gift shop, and restrooms. However, the focal point of the center is the large narrated diorama of the site animated with a series of lights depicting the troop movements before, during, and after the battle.

The entrance to the park is six miles north of Interstate 26 exit 56 on state route 56. Alternatively, the park entrance is about 10.5 miles east of Interstate 26 exit 38 via state routes 146 and 56.