On Friday morning after breakfast, a whole bunch of us loaded up and headed over towards the Pee Dee River to Old St. David's Church. We first stopped at the Chamber of Commerce so Rich could pick up the key that would let us go inside the church.
During the Revolution, Cheraw was a the center of a wide area of unrest and was considered strategic by both sides. It was used by the SC militia as quarters on several occasions and in the summer of 1780, the Fraser Highlanders 71st Regiment used the church as a hospital. Following the Fall of Charleston to the British in May of 1780, Lord Cornwallis ordered soldiers under the command of Major Archibald McArthur to camp not far from the church. Many of his soldiers became ill with fever, died, and are buried in the church cemetery. In November 2011, a new headstone and markers at the graves were dedicated, telling more of the story about these Fraser Highlanders who died |
with honor serving their King, far away from their Scottish homeland. The church grew and prospered until the Civil War. The church was damaged in a munitions explosion that destroyed most of the business area during Sherman's stay in 1865. Years after the end of the war, the church began to grow and the members eventually felt the need to expand into a new building on Market Street and moved there in 1916. |