You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.Revolutionary journeysSome of the fiercest battles took place in South Carolina, but its part in the fight for independence is often overlooked. Our reporter found history, myths, beauty and contradiction across the Lowcountry landscapes.The war’s legacy in the Northeast often overshadows its history in Charleston, S.C. But as the fourth-largest city — and among the wealthiest — in the 13 colonies, its fate was crucial in the Revolution.Revolutionary journeysCharleston’s Charm Hides a Bloody HistorySome of the fiercest battles took place in South Carolina, but its part in the fight for independence is often overlooked. Our reporter found history, myths, beauty and contradiction across the Lowcountry landscapes.The war’s legacy in the Northeast often overshadows its history in Charleston, S.C. But as the fourth-largest city — and among the wealthiest — in the 13 colonies, its fate was crucial in the Revolution.Credit...Listen · 12:34 min June 3, 2026Imagine with me April 4, 1780, in Charles Town, S.C. It’s a warm evening. A breeze brings a perfume of salt and jasmine from the banks of the Cooper River. And if you’re a British soldier, you’re crouching in a trench as “573 heavy cannonballs” sail over the sandy earth. If you’re some 1,000 yards away in the American fort, you’re lighting another fuse, which illuminates your nervous eyes.Image“The Americans have riflemen here,” the historian Carl Borick said of Chapel Street Fountain Park, describing the 1780 siege. “And they’re picking off the British soldiers.”This moment draws from an officer’s diary as outlined in “A Gallant Defense,” an account of the Revolutionary War in Charleston by Carl Borick, who recently led me through the streets and history of the Garden District, a neighborhood north of the French Quarter. It was a warm morning, and tourists strolled the porch-lined sidewalks. Two hundred and forty-six years ago, it was a frontline wasteland.The Revolution’s legacy in Philadelphia, Boston and New York often overshadows its history in Charleston, Mr. Borick said, but “Charleston was right along with those cities during the colonial era.” The British set it in their cross hairs during their Southern Strategy, a military campaign that incited scores of pivotal battles and skirmishes in South Carolina. The state’s new license plate argues that it is “Where the Revolutionary War Was Won.”ImageMarion Square, the site of the American fortification known as the Horn Work, in Charleston.Some people contest the claim, Mr. Borick said as we briskly walked the streets, “but in a sense, it’s true.”Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT