Sleeping Lady Chapter, NSDAR

08/20/2026

How many battles were fought in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution❓

Most people would probably answer, "About a dozen." Look at almost any Revolutionary War map, and you'll see the familiar names: Charleston. Camden. King's Mountain. Cowpens. Guilford Courthouse. Yorktown. It looks like the Southern Campaign was decided by a handful of major battles.

Many historians now argue that the Southern Campaign was won as much through accumulated local resistance as through decisive battlefield victories. King's Mountain, Cowpens, and Guilford Courthouse were pivotal, but they were supported by an almost continuous stream of smaller actions that disrupted communications, captured supplies, gathered intelligence, and forced the British to disperse their troops.

Farms became battlefields. Churches became rallying points. Ferries, mills, and crossroads became military objectives.

Many historians describe the Southern Campaign as a civil war within the American Revolution, where neighbors often fought neighbors and violence continued long after the main armies had marched away. These countless lesser-known skirmishes wore down armies, disrupted supply lines, gathered intelligence, protected communities, and kept the Patriot cause alive.

The Southern Campaign produced an extraordinary number of small engagements because of a unique combination of geography, military organization, and local politics.

1. Much of the fighting took place in the backcountry, where forests, swamps, rivers, and mountains favored small, fast-moving forces over large conventional armies.

2. Southern communities also relied heavily on local militia, whose members could quickly assemble for short-term missions such as scouting, defending settlements, escorting supplies, or responding to raids.

3. At the same time, the war in the South often became a civil conflict, with Patriot and Loyalist neighbors fighting one another independently of the main British and Continental armies.

4. Finally, the British strategy of establishing numerous small forts and outposts across the interior created constant opportunities for attacks, ambushes, sieges, and supply raids. Together, these factors transformed the Southern Campaign into a prolonged struggle marked by frequent local clashes rather than only a handful of major battles.

The next time you see a map with only a dozen battle markers, remember that you're looking at the highlights, not the whole story.

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👉 Early Southern Theater (1775–1778)
〰️ Battle of Great Bridge (Virginia)
〰️ Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge (North Carolina)
〰️ Battle of Sullivan's Island (Fort Sullivan/Fort Moultrie)
〰️ Battle of Thomas Creek (Florida)
〰️ Battle of Alligator Bridge (Florida)
〰️ First Siege of Savannah
〰️ Capture of Savannah

👉 Georgia Campaign (1778–1779)
〰️ Capture of Sunbury
〰️ Battle of Brier Creek
〰️ Battle of Kettle Creek
〰️ Siege of Savannah
〰️ Battle of Beaufort (Port Royal Island)

👉 Charleston Campaign (1780)
〰️ Battle of Monck's Corner
〰️ Battle of Lenud's Ferry
〰️ Siege of Charleston
〰️ Battle of Waxhaws (Buford's Massacre)

👉 South Carolina Partisan Warfare (1780)
〰️ Battle of Williamson's Plantation (Huck's Defeat)
〰️ Battle of Rocky Mount
〰️ Battle of Hanging Rock
〰️ Battle of Musgrove Mill
〰️ Battle of Fishing Creek (Catawba Ford)
〰️ Battle of Cedar Springs
〰️ Battle of Black Mingo
〰️ Battle of Wahab's Plantation
〰️ Battle of King's Mountain
〰️ Battle of Fishdam Ford
〰️ Battle of Blackstocks

👉 Camden Campaign
〰️ Battle of Camden

👉 Race to the Dan / Morgan Campaign
〰️ Battle of Hammond's Store
〰️ Battle of Cowpens
〰️ Battle of Torrence's Tavern
〰️ Battle of Cowan's Ford
〰️ Battle of Weitzel's Mill
〰️ Battle of Pyle's Massacre (Pyle's Defeat)
〰️ Battle of Clapp's Mill

👉 Guilford Campaign
〰️ Battle of Hart's Mill
〰️ Battle of Whitsell's Mill
〰️ Battle of Guilford Courthouse

👉 Greene's South Carolina Campaign
〰️ Battle of Hobkirk's Hill
〰️ Siege of Fort Watson
〰️ Battle of Fort Motte
〰️ Battle of Orangeburg
〰️ Battle of Fort Granby
〰️ Battle of Augusta
〰️ Siege of Ninety Six
〰️ Battle of Quinby Bridge
〰️ Battle of Shubrick's Plantation
〰️ Battle of Biggin Bridge
〰️ Battle of Parker's Ferry
〰️ Battle of Eutaw Springs

👉 Virginia Campaign (1781)
〰️ Battle of Blandford
〰️ Battle of Petersburg
〰️ Battle of Manchester
〰️ Battle of Green Spring
〰️ Battle of Spencer's Ordinary
〰️ Battle of Jamestown
〰️ Battle of the Chesapeake (naval)
〰️ Siege of Yorktown
〰️ Assault on Redoubt 9
〰️ Assault on Redoubt 10

👉 Lesser-Known Named Engagements
〰️ Battle of Briar Creek Ferry (GA)
〰️ Battle of Mobley's Meeting House (SC)
〰️ Battle of Stallings' Plantation (SC)
〰️ Battle of McDowell's Camp (NC)
〰️ Battle of Cane Creek (NC)
〰️ Battle of Colson's Mill (NC)
〰️ Battle of Beattie's Bridge (NC)
〰️ Battle of Charlotte (NC)
〰️ Battle of McIntyre's Farm (SC)
〰️ Battle of Rugeley's Mill (SC)
〰️ Battle of Hammond's Old Store (SC)
〰️ Battle of Fort Charlotte (SC)
〰️ Battle of Friday's Ferry (SC)
〰️ Battle of Wiboo Swamp (SC)
〰️ Battle of Drowning Creek (NC)
〰️ Battle of Lindley's Mill (NC)
〰️ Battle of Raft Swamp (NC)
〰️ Battle of Georgetown (SC)
〰️ Battle of Videau's Bridge (SC)
〰️ Battle of Dorchester (SC)
〰️ Battle of Fair Lawn (SC)
〰️ Battle of Fort Galphin (GA)
〰️ Battle of Tyger River (SC)
〰️ Battle of Cane Brake (SC)
〰️ Battle of Snow Campaign actions (SC)
〰️ Battle of Cherokee Ford (SC)
〰️ Battle of Cloud's Creek (SC)
〰️ Battle of James Island (1782) (SC)
〰️ Siege of Fort Morris (GA)
〰️ Battle of Fort Cornwallis (GA)
〰️ Battle of Blue Savannah (GA)
〰️ Battle of Tarrant's Tavern (SC)
〰️ Battle of Mud Lick Creek (SC)
〰️ Battle of Wambaw Bridge (SC)
〰️ Battle of Sampit Bridge (SC)
〰️ Battle of Tidyman's Plantation (SC)
〰️ Battle of Shallow Ford (NC)
〰️ Battle of McCord's Ferry (SC)
〰️ Battle of Little River (NC)
〰️ Battle of Wiggins Hill (SC)
〰️ Battle of Fort Balfour (GA)
〰️ Battle of Goose Creek Bridge (SC)
〰️ Battle of Wadboo Bridge (SC)
〰️ Battle of Pon Pon Bridge (SC).. and hundreds of other smaller engagements

📷: National Geographic

08/20/2026

Join us Friday, August 21, from 4–6 p.m. at the Alaska State Fair Event Hall for “Alaska’s Field of Dreams: Baseball in America’s Far North,” a special America 250-Alaska celebration exploring the history of baseball in Alaska.

The afternoon will feature exhibits and activities, historic uniforms, historic videos, historical speakers and free peanuts and Cracker Jacks! 🥜⚾

Be sure to stop by the outreach tables and connect with local organizations sharing Alaska’s history, culture, parks, and community stories, including:

Palmer Museum of History & Art
Palmer Historical Society Alaska
Wasilla Museum
Wasilla-Knik Museum
Chickaloon Village Traditional Council
Willow Museum -WHWF
Alaska Children's Museum
Alaska State Parks

This is a great opportunity to learn, explore, and celebrate the stories that connect Alaska!

Alaska State Fair Event Hall
Friday, August 21
4–6 p.m.
FREE with Fair Admission

08/18/2026

On this day in 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified, prohibiting the denial of the right to vote on the basis of s*x. The Library holds the records and library collection of the National Woman’s Party, which was instrumental in getting the legislation passed.

This collection includes hundreds of digitized photographs, showing party members, picket lines and protests. Explore the collection. ⬇️
https://www.loc.gov/collections/women-of-protest/about-this-collection/?loclr=fbloc

Image: Photograph of Alison Turnbull Hopkins with banner, "Mr. President How long must women wait for liberty," picketing for suffrage outside White House gate. January 30, 1917. Photograph published in "The Suffragist."

08/17/2026

Applications are now open for the 2026–2027 DAR Historic Preservation Grants! 🏛️

Each year, the DAR provides funding to chapters and local nonprofits working to preserve historic sites, safeguard documents, and protect cultural treasures in communities across the country.

One recent recipient: The historic Harrisville Train Depot was built in 1901 and is one of few remaining passenger train depots in Michigan’s Northern Lower Peninsula. Situated within viewing distance of Lake Huron, and alongside a working rail line, it’s a true forgotten treasure tucked away within the City of Harrisville. The depot is constructed of locally sourced cut limestone and was designed by esteemed architects in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. At 125 years old, the Depot's cut stone building is vulnerable to weather damage and other issues. This grant allowed the Friends of the Harrisville Train Depot to stabilize the roof structure and complete strategic interior work which was a key priority to bring the structure to baseline preservation before further damage was incurred.

Learn more about DAR Historic Preservation Grants and how to apply here:🔗 www.dar.org/grants

08/17/2026

Never forget.

Active Remembrance ★ Documentary Series

The Pentagon Response Series
Rare footage from inside the Pentagon emergency response, witnessed, recorded, and preserved by the only civilian camera crew on site.

Filmed Sept 11–13, 2001 · Embedded with the Arlington County Fire Department

Rare footage from inside the Pentagon emergency response, witnessed, recorded, and preserved by the only civilian camera crew on site.

08/14/2026

Good morning family 🙏🏻🇺🇸❤️🌹

Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations, that we have forgotten, as a people, the cost of a free and undivided Republic.
-John A. Logan

08/14/2026

August 14, 1765, Boston's Sons of Liberty gathered beneath a great elm tree to protest the Stamp Act, Britain's first direct tax on the American colonies. They hung an effigy of the local stamp tax collector from its branches, and that elm soon earned a new name: the Liberty Tree.

It became a rallying point for Patriots in the years that followed, a living symbol that resistance to ""taxation without representation"" could take root and grow.

Eleven years before independence was declared, the seeds of revolution were already being planted.

08/14/2026

On this day in 1776, John Adams writes his wife Abigail about an unusual assignment: He, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson had been asked to design a seal for the new United States.

They’d been given the assignment just a few weeks earlier, on July 4.

You may think of July 4 as the day that the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. That’s true, but Congress accomplished other things that day as well. For instance, Congress passed a resolution that Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson “be a committee, to bring in a device for a seal for the United States of America.”

All three men had helped to write the Declaration. Now they would struggle together to create a graphic depiction of the values important to the new nation, as represented in its seal.

Adams soon decided to meet with an artist “whose Designs are very ingenious,” he reported to Abigail. The artist proposed a complicated design incorporating Liberty and an American rifleman, among other things. In the meantime, Franklin wanted to depict Moses at the Red Sea, with Pharaoh “overwhelmed with the Waters,” but Jefferson thought “Israel in the Wilderness, led by a Cloud by day, and a Pillar of Fire by night” might be better.

The men settled on a design that combined the artist’s ideas with the Red Sea concept, presenting it to Congress in late August.

It didn’t go well, and the proposal was not approved. Nevertheless, at least two aspects of the Franklin/Adams/Jefferson seal would survive. The Eye of Providence and the Latin motto “E Pluribus Unum” were both retained.

A second committee was appointed in March 1780. These men, too, ultimately failed, but they contributed a few more ideas that would eventually find their way into the final seal: 13 red and white stripes on a shield, a constellation of 13 stars, and an olive branch.

After another delay, a third committee was appointed in May 1782. This committee contributed more ideas but again failed to receive congressional approval. It is from this committee that we got the idea for an eagle (but not the bald eagle) and an unfinished pyramid on the reverse side.

Were people starting to get frustrated? By this point, the Battle of Yorktown was over and Americans were negotiating a peace treaty with Britain. The need for a seal was getting greater. Perhaps Congress felt more urgency, because things began to move faster.

On June 13, 1782, Congress asked Charles Thomson, Secretary of Congress, to wrap up the project. Thomson selected features from each of the three previous proposals and combined them into one design. (See attached picture.)

Thomson replaced the eagle with a bald eagle—it was more genuinely American. He kept “E Pluribus Unum” on the front, but he added “Annuit Coeptis” on the back. The latter phrase roughly translates to “he favors our undertakings.” In this instance, “he” is God. Thomson later explained that the Latin was a reference to God’s approval of the American effort. He explained to Congress: “The Eye over [the pyramid] & the Motto allude to the many signal interpositions of providence in favour of the American cause.”

An interesting bit of trivia: Both “E Pluribus Unum” and “Annuit Coeptis” contain 13 letters, matching the other instances of the number 13 on our seal (13 arrows; 13 leaves on the olive branch). Did Thomson plan that? We will never know.

William Barton of Philadelphia helped to refine Thomson’s sketches. For instance, he changed the wing spread of the eagle so the tips would face up. The final proposal was presented to Congress and finally approved on June 20.

The road to create a seal had proven to be nearly as long as the American Revolution itself.

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Gentle reminder: History posts are copyright © 2013-2026 by Tara Ross. I appreciate it when you use the shar e feature instead of cutting/pasting.

08/13/2026

August 13, 1776 — Europe Weighs America’s Declaration

Two hundred and fifty years ago today, the Declaration of Independence was spreading across Europe, where governments viewed it with both curiosity and caution.

News that the American colonies had declared themselves independent quickly reached the courts of France, the Dutch Republic, and other European powers. Diplomats immediately recognized the significance of Britain’s colonies claiming the rights of sovereign states. Yet while the fact of American independence became widely known, the Declaration’s text and its arguments circulated more cautiously. Many European governments feared that its principles of popular sovereignty and the right to overthrow oppressive government might encourage rebellion within their own kingdoms.

The Declaration was, in many ways, a double-edged sword.

For France, Spain, and other rivals of Britain, an independent United States offered the prospect of permanently weakening the British Empire. At the same time, those same monarchies ruled subjects who might draw uncomfortable lessons from the Americans’ justification for revolution. Supporting American independence abroad while suppressing similar ideas at home required a delicate balancing act.

No European government was prepared to offer immediate recognition. Before granting de jure recognition, they wanted proof that the United States first existed as a de facto nation—with a functioning government, control of territory, the ability to defend itself, and the capacity to conduct relations with other nations. A declaration alone did not create a country.

France watched especially closely. Foreign Minister Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes believed the American cause presented a rare opportunity to diminish British power, but he was unwilling to openly recognize the new nation until it demonstrated that it could survive Britain’s military campaign.

By August 1776, the Declaration had transformed the war from a colonial rebellion into an international question. Europe was intrigued by America’s bold claims, but its governments would reserve judgment until those claims were proven on the battlefield.

And that’s the way it was, August 13, 1776.

#1776