Revolutionary War Battlefield Finally Found

Historians say they've found the site of the Revolutionary War Battle of Grays Hill on the South Carolina coast. There's a roadside marker on US 21 north of Beaufort generally describing the battle, in which "a force of South Carolina militia, continentals, and volunteers ... defeated the British in their attempt to capture Port Royal Island." But the Beaufort Gazette reports the exact site of the Feb. 3, 1779, encounter was only recently discovered.

Historians Daniel Battle and John Allison found the site using metal detectors, reports the AP. Theirs was a "kind of concentrated effort" that the director of the SC Battleground Preservation Trust calls unmatched: Battle and Allison relied on the memoirs of the general who led the force against the British, along with the GPS mapping of items like cannonballs. The location won't be revealed until the property can be purchased. The battlefield spans 12 acres and is owned by three property owners. The historians will present their findings and artifacts during a talk in Beaufort in October. (More Revolutionary War stories.)