[.ca] South Carolinas Revolutionary War Battlefields: A Tour Guide (ISBN 1589800087)

Best Book on American Revolutionary War Sites in SC:
This is a succinct book complete with maps, pictures and directions on historical sites relating to the American Revolution in South Carolina (almost 50 entries). The author rightly asserts South Carolina's preeminence in having the most battles during the war, and the important contributions of her patriotic sons, such as Generals Sumter and Marion-without whom there would have been no victory. The war may have started in New England, but it ended here in the South-particularly SC. By reading this book one can gather a quick understanding of the beginning and ending of the conflict as all entries are arranged in chronological order, and the pictures show the actual monuments as they exist today, thus preventing any great expectations of park-like settings if there is none. The directions are very easy to follow, even to the more obscure sites, and it lets the reader know if the site is on private land or not. An excellent source to draw on by South Carolinians and a must for anyone interested in visiting any of these sites while touring South Carolina.

- Extremely Modest Effort -:
The author deserves credit for what he has begun here. Apart from Boatner's excellent 'Landmarks of the American Revolution' amd Sol Stember's 'Bicentennial Guide' (vol. 3), both of which have been out of print for decades, there are no guide books to Rev War battle sites, certainly not for the southern states. Barbour's little paperback fills a niche of sorts, but his effort falls far short of the need. Each clash is summarized in a very few paragraphs and is accompanied by a directional map showing contemporary access roads. However, troop positions and movements are absent, as are natural or man-made landmarks relevant to the site. The shortcomings are three-fold: the SCOPE is far too limited to do the subject decent justice, the MAPS are less than adequate, and there is a woeful lack of BIBLIOGRAPHY which might lead to further research. Thus Mr. Barbour's effort appears amatuerish, and the overall impression is given that his work is that of neophyte historian with just one summer and a modest South Carolina Highway Dept. grant to justify him making what effort he does make. In short, this result is far too modest, even given is limited SCOPE, to rate more than a couple of stars. The limitation to South Carolina is extremely arbitrary, as the southern campaigns of Lincoln, Prevost, Clinton, Cornwallis, and Greene as well as the activities of leaders like Ferguson, Tareleton, Sumter, Pickens, Marion, and Lee were not confined to solely to South Carolina nor for that matter is the modern highway system. For whatever reason, the author limits himself to the Palmetto State, leading to the surmise that a grant from the SC state tourist board or highway department was behind the effort. Given Mr. Barbour's arbitrary limitation of scope, to have made the guide really useful the book should have included all relevant Rev War sites, such as Cheraws, Round O, Monck's Corner, Winnsboro, Camden, Georgetown, Charles Town, as well as identifying the relevant mills, home sites, and ferry crossings mentioned repeatedly in the histories of the southern campaigns, not merely an enumeration of battle sites and descriptions lifted from Boatner. The extra effort would have greatly served public awareness of local Rev War history and the needs of enthusiasts who may only have limted opportunity and time to visit the region. The sole inexplicable exception to the rule of including only battle sites in the work is a final section describing Francis Marion's gravesite, but unfortunately like many others in the book, it is unaccompanied by an adequate map, so that during a recent trip to the area, I was unable to find the site and pay my respects. Having included the grave of Marion, why does Barbour omit the gravesites of other notables, and their homesites, such as Sumter and Pickens, or those of lesser known leaders on both sides? Especially helpful would have been a section on those remaining living history sites dedicated to the period, not only the great plantations, like Drayton Hall, but the lesser dwellings of ordinary settlers. South Carolina is especially rich in architectural and natural sites related to the Rev War and deserves a more thorough survey. The subject, even if Georgia and North Carolina sites are arbitrarily (and unjustifiably) omitted, is certainly worthy of greater scholarship that Mr. Barbour evinces. The MAPS, though useful, should have been better. Little more than amateur sketches, they do not conform to a uniform scale, indeed they lack any indication of scale whatsoever. They are not uniformly oriented to north, causing unnecessary confusion and difficulty to the user. A number of battle sites are not accompanied by maps at all. Furthermore, the maps fail to include any information regarding the identity, initial positions, or subsequent movements of opposing units making them far less informative than one might have expected, given the price. The author would have done well to have examined the superb 'Civil War Battlefield Guide' (Kennedy ed. - 1998) for a standard on how to do this sort of thing. The superficiality of the author's efforts in this regard is probably the guide's primary failing. The lack of BIBLIOGRAPHY regarding each action is severely damning, suggesting that that the author did not do his homework. All of the description couls have been gleaned from Boatner's two works or Christoper Ward's two volume history. Although each section begins with indications of each side's commander, and of the approximate numbers involved as well as casualty estimates, there are no orders of battle listing the regiments, officers, or militia companies involved, which would have made the this little book a good deal more valuable. Anyone with a more than slight interest in the period who orders the book sight unseen will be disappointed. At the end of my five days in South Carolina, I was happy to be able to return it to the book dealer, for it wasn't worth the price. The subject awaits a definitive work. Stember and Boatner have already covered this ground. This book is a little lesson in what NOT to do, but again, Barbour deserves a star for putting into print a guide, however limited, of this sort. Pity he didn't deign to include the other Carolina and the handful of sites in Georgia, which would have made it worthwhile, despite its other shortcomings.