British Outpost at Belleville Plantation

Front: West of the highway is the site of Belleville, a plantation on the banks of the Congaree River owned by William Thomson. Soon after the Siege of Charleston (1780), British forces took possession of Belleville and fortified it into a strategic outpost. They evacuated it in 1781 when Patriots took nearby Ft. Motte. Reverse: William Thomson (c.1727-1796) was a local Patriot leader who commanded the 3rd S.C. Regiment (Rangers). His regiment played a key role at the Battle of Sullivan’s Island (1776), an early major Patriot victory of the American Revolution. Known to his men as “Old Danger,” Thomson also served in the colonial S.C. and state legislatures. He lived most of his life at nearby Belleville Plantation.