Stand in the middle of Concord’s North Bridge with the Minute Man statue on your right and the British soldiers’ grave on your left. Place your hands on the rough wooden handrail in front of you; slightly to the left, you will see The Old Manse through the trees. Peer down into the Concord River that Ralph Waldo called “the dark stream which seaward creeps” and brace yourself: this tale is about to get rough. 

In the early morning hours of December 9, 1775, the peaceful marshland near the village of Great Bridge, Virginia, was abruptly interrupted by the booming sound of British cannons and the crack of musket fire. This marked the beginning of a swift but significant Patriot victory that not only expelled British authority from Virginia but also fueled the growing movement for American independence.

In the shadow of Lexington and Concord, away from Boston’s protests and the assembled New England militiamen, the American Revolution initially took hold in the Southern backcountry at Savage’s Old Fields. Situated near the township of Ninety-Six, South Carolina, this site witnessed a brief yet pivotal siege that underscored the fragile nature of political restraint in a divided colony and foreshadowed the brutal civil conflict that would soon engulf the region.