Rebecca Motte and the Revolution

Rebecca Motte and the Revolution. . , When travellers heading south had crossed over the Congaree River via McCord's Ferry, they would then follow this road (today's Bates Ferry Trail) past the nearby Mt. Joseph Plantation. In 1781, the plantation had become the home of Rebecca Brewton Motte. Her brother, Miles Brewton, was one of the wealthiest men and the largest slave trader in colonial South Carolina. Miles and his family were lost at sea while travelling to Philadelphia in 1775, where he was to serve as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress. Rebecca inherited her brother's fortune, which included Mt. Joseph Plantation. In 1780, her husband Jacob died suddenly and she inherited his fortunes too. Likely the wealthiest woman in South Carolina at that time, Rebecca Motte owned two working plantations, elegant homes in Charleston, and over 240 enslaved people., When Charleston surrendered to the British on May 12, 1780, British commander Sir Henry Clinton made one of Rebecca's homes his headquarters and forced her and her three daughters to live in the servant quarters upstairs. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Motte and her children left Charleston for Mt. Joseph, which overlooked the Congaree River. The British, however, would not be far behind as they soon occupied neighboring Belleville Plantation., Rebecca Motte was a devoted supporter of the Revolution. She and her late husband contributed food from their plantations for the war effort and she opened her house at Mt. Joseph to be used as a hospital for sick and wounded soldiers. It must have been difficult for her to watch as the nearby British garrison left Belleville and came to Mt. Joseph in early 1781. This was now the second time one of her homes had been taken over by the British. Her home was transformed into a fortified outpost for the purpose of guarding McCord's Ferry and the road to Camden. Because of what would happen soon after the unwelcome British takeover, her home would become better known in American history as "Fort Motte." The ensuing struggle for her strategically important home would be a critical event that would help lead to the American victory in South Carolina's backcountry., (caption) , The drawing to the right shows Belleville Plantation (largest house in the foreground), home of wealthy landowner Colonel William Thomson. The house on the next hill behind Belleville is likely Mt. Joseph Plantation. Rebecca Brewton Motte (above) inherited Mt. Joseph in 1775. While little is known about how her plantation was used, records indicate that Thomson's plantation produced indigo dye, lending support to the theory that this cash crop was cultivated at Mt. Joseph as well. When the British occupied Belleville and Mt. Joseph in 1781, much of the land had been cleared for planting crops. The combination of high terrain and lack of trees allowed unobstructed views of the surrounding landscape. The occupier would be able to monitor operations at McCord's Ferry, road traffic coming to and from Camden, and boat activity on the Congaree and Wateree Rivers. Additionally, this strategic location allowed the observer opportunities to spot suspicious activity from many miles away (i.e. smoke from enemy camps, sound of gunfire).