Fort Prince George (3)
Fort Prince George (3) (1753-1768) - A British Colonial Fort first established in 1753 during the start of the French & Indian War in present day Pickens County, South Carolina. Named Fort Prince George after British Prince George, George William Frederick (1738-1820) then Prince of Wales. Abandoned in 1768. Also known as Fort Keowee and Keowee Old Fort.
History of Fort Prince George
Established in 1753 near the Cherokee village of Keowee by South Carolina Governor James Glen. The fort was built to protect both the Cherokee and traders in the area.
The fort was built as a 200-foot square with bastions at each corner. It was surrounded with an outer ditch and earthen walls that were topped with a palisade. Within the fort the buildings included the commander's quarters, barracks, magazine, kitchen and guardhouse. The fort was rebuilt in 1756 and 1765 and finally abandoned in 1768.
In 1760 the fort was besieged by the Cherokee for five months between January and June. The fort commander, Lieutenant Richard Cotymore, was ambushed and killed in February and in retribution the garrison killed several Cherokee captives. The garrison was relieved and the siege was lifted when British regulars and Militia arrived in June. The garrison had suffered a smallpox epidemic during the siege and may have lost more men to the epidemic than to the Cherokee attacks.
The fort was abandoned in 1768.
Current Status
Archeological site excavate in 1966-1968 in Pickens County, South Carolina. The site was covered over by Lake Keowee in the summer of 1968. The report of the excavation has excellent photos of the site and a history of the fort here. A roadside marker is located at the entrance to Mile Creek County Park on State Road S-39-327 (Keowee Baptist Church Road).
USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 1243354
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Location: Under Lake Keowee in Pickens County, South Carolina. Map point is from the GNIS coordinates and may not be accurate. Maps & Images Lat: 34.85806 Long: -82.89389 |
See Also:
- Fort Loudoun
- French & Indian War (1754-1763)
Sources:
- Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 719.
Links:
- North American Forts - Fort Prince George
- Wikipedia - Fort Prince George
- SCGEN - The Cherokee Path
- A Memoir of the Archaeological Excavation of Fort Prince George
- HMDB - Fort Prince George
- "Old Fort Loudon" (Tennessee Historical Magazine, Vol. III, No. 4, pp250‑256)
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