Battle of Rivers Bridge Guided Tour

On Feb. 2-3, 1865, 1,200 Confederate soldiers made a stand at Rivers Bridge on the Salkehatchie River against Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s sweep across South Carolina during the final months of the Civil War. Behind stout earthen fortifications, the Southerners fought a division of about 5,000 Union soldiers. Union troops crossed the swollen swamp on both ends of the Confederate line to finally win the battle. The tour will examine the still intact fortifications as well as the natural topography that led one Union general to call Rivers Bridge "… the strongest position I ever saw in my life."