Hilton Head Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Revolutionary War Ambush

Revolution War Ambush Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, March 2008

1. Revolution War Ambush Marker

Inscription. In December 1781, returning from a patrol with the Patriot Militia, Charles Devant was mortally wounded from ambush near here by Captain Martinangel's Royal Militia from Daufuskie Island. He managed to ride his horse to his nearby plantation, Two Oaks, where he died. Captain John Leacraft's Bloody Legion avenged his death.

Erected 1973 by Hilton Head Island Historical Society. (Marker Number 7-13.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Revolutionary. A significant historical month for this entry is December 1781.

Location. 32° 12.154′ N, 80° 41.969′ W. Marker is on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, in Beaufort County. Marker is at the intersection of Mathews Drive and William Hilton Parkway (U.S. 278), in the median on Mathews Drive. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Hilton Head Island SC 29926, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Zion Chapel of Ease and Cemetery (within shouting distance of this marker); In Memoriam (within shouting distance of this marker); Hilton Head Island Veterans Memorial (approx. 1½ miles away); First African Baptist Church (approx. 1½ miles away); a different marker also named First African Baptist Church (approx. 1½ miles

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away); Queen Chapel A.M.E. Church (approx. 1.7 miles away); African Methodist Episcopal Church Beginnings (approx. 1.8 miles away); Fort Sherman (approx. 1.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hilton Head Island.

Regarding Revolutionary War Ambush. ...on Daufuskie, its main crop being indigo, and during the American Revolution the island split with the main of South Carolina and maintained its ties to England, from which the planters had gained a generous price for their indigo. This created a tension with the Patriots on Hilton Head; their derisive moniker for Daufuskie was "Little Bermuda," and the island's mutual disdain occasionally erupted into violence, including the murder of Daufuskian Capt. Martinangel by a "Bloody Legion" from Hilton Head, who retaliated for his killing of Hilton Head planter Charles Davant.(Daufuskie History)

Photographed By Mike Stroud, 2008

2. Revolution War Ambush Marker

Photographed By Mike Stroud, 2008

3. Revolution War Ambush Marker

Nearby Cemetery Marker for Charles Davant about 100 feet away image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, March 2008

4. Nearby Cemetery Marker for Charles Davant about 100 feet away

Revolutionary War Soldier Charles Davant 1750 1781 Placed by Captain William Hilton Chapter DAR

Credits. This page was last revised on April 27, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 2, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 3,474 times since then and 87 times this year. Last updated on July 31, 2010, by Chris Rogers of Atlanta, Georgia. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 2, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.