Fishdam Ford

Fishdam Ford was the site of the battle on November 9, 1780, in which Gen. Thomas Sumter’s men repelled a night assault by Maj. James Wemyss and the British 63rd Regiment. Gen. Sumter had camped at Fishdam Ford in order to draw off troops from Lord Charles Cornwallis’s headquarters at Winnsboro. The battle site, which is designated by a small granite marker and an official state historical marker, is on the east bank of Broad River, north of SC 121/72 at the border of Chester and Union counties. The Indian fish dam from which the name is derived can be seen during low water upriver from the highway bridge.