Santee National Wildlife Refuge

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Santee National Wildlife Refuge, encompassing 15,000 acres, was established in 1942 and is located in the upper Atlantic Coastal Plain region of South Carolina. The refuge is superimposed on the lands and waters of the 110,600-acre Lake Marion reservoir in Clarendon County. The South Carolina Public Service Authority, a.k.a. Santee Cooper, created Lake Marion as a hydroelectric project on the Santee River.  Santee NWR benefits migratory waterfowl, neo-tropical songbirds and other birds, and terrestrial and aquatic wildlife in this ecosystem.  The refuge contains a wide diversity of habitats including mixed hardwoods, mixed pine hardwoods, pine plantations, marsh, croplands, old fields, ponds, impoundments, and open water.

A myriad of wildlife species inhabit the diverse landscape of Santee NWR. From November through February migrating waterfowl such as ring-necked duck, pintail, teal, and wood ducks, along with Canada geese, are a major attraction. Throughout the year, red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks can be viewed as can a variety of songbirds, wild turkey and wading birds. The forests are home to white-tail deer, squirrels, bobcat and other woodland creatures. Alligators, turtles, fish, insects and other wildlife are found in ponds and marshes.

Santee NWR also contains areas of cultural and local significance. The 420-acre Dingle Pond Unit consists primarily of a Carolina Bay and is a designated public use natural area. A historic site on the refuge is the Santee Indian Mound-Fort Watson area. The mound is over 1200 years old, dated as built sometime between 1200 and 1400 A.D. During the Revolutionary War, a garrison of 100 British soldiers were at the mound, giving strategic control over the Santee River and a road connecting Charleston to Camden. The fort was later captured by American forces under General Francis Marion. 

Santee NWR has several special designations that include an Audubon Important Bird Area, a Refuge Waterfowl Sanctuary and, the Santee Indian Mound-Fort Watson listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Santee Indian Mound - Fort Watson

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The large hill located on Lake Marion adjacent to the Santee National Wildlife Refuge is known as the Santee Indian Mound.  The Santee Indians were part of the Mississippian culture that lived in this area for thousands of years.  The mound itself is approximately 1200 years old.  The mound served as a prehistoric ceremonial center of a native culture that flourished on the coastal plain in the centuries before the founding of Charleston. The site here at Scotts Lake is the largest such ceremonial center discovered on the coastal plain to date.  It appears that the mound, besides being the site of various religious rites, was also used for burials. Archaeologists have excavated at least sixteen graves, each containing artifacts. 

Although the British excavations during the later fortification of the mound destroyed much archaeological evidence, it appears that there may have been native American structures on the summit.  Subsurface remains indicate walls that were built using posts set in the ground and woven with saplings, then plastered with a mud mixture known as “daub”.  These structures consisted of four main poles used to form a circular hut. By the beginning of the American Revolution, the site had been abandoned by the Indians. The site, however, took on a new and more violent role during this period.

Perhaps, the Santee Indian Mound’s greatest notoriety comes from its use as a British fort during the American Revolution. This outpost, named Fort Watson, was part of a chain of British strong points that stretched across South Carolina and included Fort Mott, Granby, Ninety Six, Camden and Charleston. The site was the ideal location for a fort as it provided an elevated vantage point that overlooked the Santee River and the road to Charleston.  The mound was incorporated into a stockade built by Colonel John Watson and his troops. Contemporary descriptions and archaeological evidence point to a stockade of vertical logs around the summit. To make it more difficult to move up the face of the mound, ditches were cut and three rows of pointed stakes were constructed on the slope. 

On February 28, 1781, General Thomas Sumter’s partisans attempted to take the post by storm.  The British had a great advantage with two cannons and the Americans were forced to abandon the attack.   A second attempt in April began as a siege. The new campaign was under the direction of Francis Marion and Lt. Colonel Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee and his Continental troops. The British did not have the advantage as in February, as the two cannons had been moved to another area. The fort was under the command of Lt. James McKay of the British Army.

The stalemate might have gone on for some time had it not been for the ingenuity of Major Hezekiah Maham of Francis Marion’s legion.  He proposed to build a tower to be used to fire into the stockade and thus neutralize the advantage of elevation that the British had. The tower was built out of rifle range of the fort, and then moved into place possibly on wheels or a wagon frame.

Lt. McKay described the day, “They likewise in the afternoon brought down a wooden machine that they had built, and were busy in raising a scaffold made of rails and mold, nearly level with the top of our works for their marksmen to pick off our sentinels”.

The tower made it possible to cover much of the fort with rifle fire.  The Americans, under cover of fire from the tower, pushed their trenches forward until they were able to begin undermining the surrender of Fort Watson.  Following the British surrender, Francis Marion demolished the fort to give the British no opportunity to regarrison it. The action at Fort Watson lasted only eight days and casualties were light on both sides.  However, the fall of Fort Watson was an important link in the chain of events that made the British authorities abandon the back country of South Carolina.

History of Santee Indian Mound and Fort Watson is provided by Refuge staff in cooperation with the Santee Indians and the Clarendon County Archives.