We will start with
Easterwood Ford. Go down the river past the old mill
dam
and where the old mill used to be. After about 2 miles we come to
a
quiet, peaceful spot on the river called Easterwood Ford. It is shallow
enough
for wagons and horses to cross the river here. On the morning of
January
16, 1781, this place was anything but quiet and peaceful. It was a
scene
of frantic activity. If you could have been here at daybreak you could
have
seen an amazing sight that had never been seen on the Pacolet River. An
entire
British army with all of its horses, men and wagons was crossing the
river
here. This army was commanded by Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton
and he was
doing his
utmost to catch and destroy the American army commanded by General
Daniel
Morgan. They had marched all night in an effort to surprise Morgan.
General
Morgan was doing everything he could to flee from Tarleton and get away
from
him.
Just imagine, if you could have seen the spectacle of the army making
its
crossing. There were about 1100 heavily armed soldiers in bright
colored
uniforms and they had three or four hundred horses. In addition, there
were
35 heavy wagons to carry supplies. It was not a pleasant experience.
Remember
that this was in the middle of January and the Pacolet River is “not
suitable
for wading” at that time of the year. After crossing the river, the
foot
soldiers had to continue their march with wet clothes and shoes. The
cavalry
were more fortunate as they could ride their horses across.
On the way to the crossing, the army had marched down what we know
today
as Jerusalem Church Road. During the
revolution this was known as the
Grindal Shoals Road and led to the ford
there. Several miles from
Grindal
Shoals, the British army took a small side road to the left. This was
about
where Sutton Road (S-42-808) intersects the Jerusaleum
Church Road today. The road veered off to the right and followed
basically what is today, Kirby Drive (S-42-363). This led down to the
river and Easterwood Ford. The British had expert guides
showing
them the way. They had local men who were Tories and knew all of the
roads
and river crossings.
As the British crossed, American sentries watched them and reported
their
progress back to General Morgan. There were also American sentries
posted
up at Trough Shoals to be on the lookout for Tarleton crossing there.
Once
across the river, the army had to travel across the muddy river bottoms
on
the other side until they got to higher ground. Here, they entered what
we
know today as the Old Quarter Round Road and
continued their march on the
way to the Battle of Cowpens.
The Pacolet River -
not at Easterwood Ford (Photo by Jim Cody)
