National Society

Daughters of the American Revolution

In South Carolina the most pressing problem was to win the people of the back country to the cause of independence. Feeling they had been unjustly treated by their own government, many of these people saw no reason to rebel against British rule. There were bitter feelings between the two groups.

In late fall of 1775 the discontent in the back country broke out into open war. In December, 1775, Colonel William Thomson marched into the back country with a strong force. The loyalists retreated and made a stand at a place known as Great Cane Brake in what is now lower Greenville County. Then a battle took place in which nearly all the loyalists' leaders were captured, a great victory for the patriots.

The day after the Battle it began to snow. For thirty hours the snow fell. The groups suffered so terribly because of the snow that the expedition became known as The Snow Campaign.

The Snow Campaign Chapter of the DAR was organized September 23, 1972.

Petition from Loyalists Prisoners -January 1776
This page and the parent site provide an extensive amount of information about South Carolina loyalists and rebels researched by Philip C. Norfleet.