For Immediate Release:
June 29, 2021
Contact:
Marie Cheek
Community Relations Coordinator
Culture & Heritage Museums
803.909.7312 mcheek@chmuseums.org
Living history returns with reenactment of the Battle of Huck’s Defeat
Two American Revolutionary battle reenactments take place over Historic Brattonsville’s two-day event
McCONNELLS, S.C. – Historic Brattonsville is the actual site of the American Revolutionary Battle of Huck’s Defeat, the first battle in which a South Carolina militia defeated trained regular troops of the British occupation force. The battle took place in July 1780 between the Patriot militia and the loathed British commander Capt. Huck. The reenactment tells the story of the Brattonsville community and their fight for freedom in the Carolina Backcountry.
Two pivotal American Revolution battle reenactments take place during the annual “Battle of Huck’s Defeat” event:
July 10 at 2 p.m. – reenactment of the Battle of Huck’s Defeat
July 11 at 2 p.m. – reenactment of the Battle of Ford’s Plantation (Battle of the Horseshoe)
Throughout the weekend, Historic Brattonsville comes alive through live action cavalry and military camp life with reenactor regiments. There’ll be children’s militia drills, musket firing presentations and tours of the original Huck’s Defeat battlefield. Period-dressed interpreters demonstrate 18th-century foodways, blacksmithing, and the challenging chore of household laundry. The event also offers tours of on-going historic preservation projects, including a sneak peek into the Brattons’ Brick House.
Concessions by Dan Good Que.
Hours for July 10 & 11: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Historic Brattonsville is located at 1444 Brattonsville Road in McConnells, S.C. 29726
NOTE: Brattonsville Road will close for public safety; please look for detours.
Tickets:
Purchase tickets online: sales.chmuseums.org
Admission: Adults (18-59) $8; Seniors (60+) $7; Youth (4-17) $5; Members & Children 3 and younger free.
Historic Brattonsville is a Blue Star Museum and offers free admission to the nation’s active-duty military personnel, including the National Guard and Reserves, and their families throughout the summer until Labor Day 2021. For more information, visit Blue Star Museums.
IMAGES:
The Battle of Huck’s Defeat. Taken during the 2017 battle reenactment at Historic Brattonsville by CHM staff. Contact Marie Cheek for high resolution images.
About the battlefield site:
The Battle of Huck’s Defeat is also known as the Battle of Williamson’s Plantation. James Williamson’s 18th-century plantation is part of the 800-acres that comprises Historic Brattonsville today. For over one hundred years, the exact location of the revolutionary war site had remained a mystery until archeological research in 2006 lead to the precise mapping of the battlefield.
Visitors can walk the grounds of the actual American Revolution battlefield site at Historic Brattonsville. An interpretive trail tells the story of how Captain Christian Huck, a Loyalist officer noted for his “particular dislike for the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians in the South Carolina backcountry,” was shot and fell from his horse to his death in his furious pursuit to impede the liberty and freedom of the early colonists.
The battlefield site of Huck’s Defeat and interpretive trail at Historic Brattonsville first opened to the public in 2014 after years of archeological research facilitated by Culture & Heritage Museums’ historian, the late Michael Scoggins. “Huck’s Defeat Battle Research, Interpretation, and Exhibit Project” received the 2015 award for Achievement of Excellence from the Confederation of South Carolina Local Historical Societies. Artifacts collected during the battlefield’s archeological surveys are displayed in the Visitors Center. The collection of artifacts includes rifle balls, uniform buttons, and horse gear as well as domestic artifacts such as earthenware and colonoware.
About Culture & Heritage Museums of York County, S.C.
Culture & Heritage Museums is a family of museums that includes the Museum of York County and Main Street Children’s Museum in Rock Hill; Historic Brattonsville in McConnells; and the McCelvey Center, which includes the Lowry Family Theater, the Historical Center of York County, and the Southern Revolutionary War Institute, in York. Culture & Heritage Museums is a Smithsonian Affiliate and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums; accreditation signifies “excellence and credibility to the entire museum community, to governments and outside agencies and to the museum-going public.”
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