The Ashepoo River is a short

blackwater river A blackwater river is a type of River#Classification, river with a slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. Most major blackwater rivers are in the Amazon Basin and the Southern United States. The term is used in fluvial ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It rises in a confluence of swamps south of Walterboro, flows in a southeast direction and empties into

Saint Helena Sound Saint Helena Sound is a coastal inlet in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina, located along the Atlantic Ocean between Beaufort County, South Carolina, Beaufort and Colleton County, South Carolina, Colleton counties. Located within the relativ ...

at . The entire course of the river lies within the boundaries of Colleton County. The Ashepoo basin forms part of the ACE Basin, a coastal conservation area that encompasses its bottomlands confluence with the Combahee and Edisto river basins. (The refuge's name is formed from the first letters of the names of the three rivers: A-C-E). The name comes from the Ashepoo subtribe of the Cusabo Indians. Caeser P. Chisolm received a charter to operate ferry service across the Ashepoo River. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

the river was the site of an incursion between Union and

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

troops. The 34th Infantry Regiment was ordered to burn a railroad trestle near the river, they boarded the troop steamer ''Boston'' but became stranded on an oyster bed. The stranded boat was shelled by nearby Confederate batteries. The men on board were ferried off under fire by Union troops led by

George W. Brush George Washington Brush (October 4, 1842 – November 18, 1927) was an American soldier, dentist, physician and politician. He served as a captain of a black company in the 34th Infantry Regiment U.S. Colored Troops in the Union Army during the ...

References

Rivers of South Carolina Rivers of Colleton County, South Carolina {{SouthCarolina-river-stub