Santee Indian Mound and Fort Watson is a historic

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

located in North Santee,

Clarendon County, South Carolina Clarendon County is a county located below the fall line in the Coastal Plain region of U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 31,144. Its county seat is Manning. This area was developed for lumber and mills ...

, near Summerton. Santee Indian Mound was part of a Santee mound village complex; it was probably a burial and/or temple mound, likely constructed in some cultural period between 1200–1500. The fortification, British

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

post Fort Watson, was built from high atop the mound. In 1780,

Francis Marion Brigadier general (United States), Brigadier General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the "Swamp Fox", was an American military officer, planter, and politician who served during the French and Indian War and t ...

and

Light Horse Harry Lee Henry Lee III (January 29, 1756 – March 25, 1818) was an early American Patriot and politician who served as the ninth Governor of Virginia and as the Virginia Representative to the United States Congress. Lee's service during the American ...

decided to capture the fort in the Siege of Fort Watson. Fort Watson was the first fortified British military outpost in South Carolina recaptured by patriot forces after the British occupation of 1780. There are no remains of Fort Watson on the site. It was listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1969. Today it is located in the

Santee National Wildlife Refuge Santee National Wildlife Refuge is a refuge alongside Lake Marion, an impoundment of the Santee River of Clarendon County, South Carolina. Geology The refuge lies within the Atlantic Coastal Plain province of South Carolina. One of the featu ...

References

Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Buildings and structures in Clarendon County, South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Clarendon County, South Carolina {{US-archaeology-stub