The Landmarks Conference of the Revolutionary War this past weekend brought me into ecstasy. I actually stood on various grounds in South Carolina where my Major Fraser fought against the Continentals. True, I’m extremely happy that his side lost and we became Americans to make our own rules and guidelines, called government. True also, that the Major captured Isaac Hayne who was an American hero who should have received much more acclaim than he has gotten. (He was hanged as a violator of his parole from the British forces.) Also it’s true that the Major finally saw the light and became an American himself. Some folks just take a bit longer to get to the best place.
Some of my excitement rose from seeing Parker’s Ferry unchanged in over two hundred years. We stood on the main road from Savannah to Charlestown (Charleston) and it is still a dirt road that leads to the crossing. There are no buildings to be seen from the spot, only flora and fauna. Except for distant power lines, the area is probably much the same as it was then.
When I described these places in Major Fraser’s I leaned on Parker’s Guide to the Revolutionary War in South Carolina by Jack Parker to get my bearings in a land I hadn’t been to before. I could see the relationship of one location to another by his maps and descriptions. I could trace the Major’s footsteps, and horse shoes, with my imagination, to be right there with him. Parker’s Guide simplified my struggle in researching. It is a treasure for anyone interested in the war that made us Americans.
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