Rivers Bridge State Historic Site

About Rivers Bridge State Historic Site

Nestled into the back country of South Carolina is a historic gem.  Remnants of the earthen fortifications still stand as a testament to the battle fought here on February 2-3, 1865.  The site of the only major resistance to General Sherman's march through South Carolina, visitors can see the Cyprus swamp, original causeway road, cannon emplacements and earthen fortifications that still remain over 140 years later.   Rivers Bridge is the only Civil War Battlefield protected by the State of South Carolina.

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Pictured above: Historic Causeway Road

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Pictured above: Earthen Fortification Remnants & Battlefield

Originally the site of a field hospital during the Civil War, the Memorial Grounds became a reburial site for Confederate dead taken off the battlefield.  By 1876, the grief of a wartime generation that lost so many of its young lead to the founding of the Rivers Bridge Memorial Association and the Confederate Memorial Day services held onsite annually to the present day.  Keynote speakers at the Memorial Grounds services have included James Byrnes, J. Strom Thurmond, and Fritz Hollings.

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Pictured Above: Confederate Mass Grave

Tradition of Remembering, Legacy of Preservation wayside at pedestrian entrance, close-up, 12-10-07 - compressed
Pictured Above: Memorial Grounds Shelter & WPA Building

Park Hours:  Th - M    9 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Location:  7 miles west of Ehrhardt, S.C.

From I-95: Take exit 57 at Walterboro onto Hwy 64 W toward Barnwell. Turn ont

o Hwy 641 toward Allendale and follow the Rivers Bridge State Historic Site directional signs. 

From I-26: Take exit 145 at Orangeburg onto Hwy 601 toward Bamberg. Turn onto Hwy 301 toward Allendale and follow the Rivers Bridge State Historic Site directional signs. 

From I-20: Take exit #18 at Aiken onto Hwy 19 S toward Aiken. Turn onto Hwy 78 E toward Denmark. Turn onto Hwy 321 S toward Savannah and follow the Rivers Bridge State Historic Site directional signs.


Reserve Rivers Bridge Facilities

Hold your next wedding, family reunion, or picnic at Rivers Bridge.   Community Building and Picnic Shelter Available

 1-866-345-PARK
 

or call the park office Thursday through Monday, 11am-12pm. 803-267-3675    Credit cards, cash, or checks welcome.

Thank you for visiting our website.  If you would like to contact us, please use the link on the "Contact Us" page.  


You can visit the official State website of Rivers Bridge State Historic Site by clicking this link


The South Carolina State Park Service is a division of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism, a state agency that serves as the leading marketing organization for South Carolina tourism.  SCPRT also operates 46 state parks and administers federal and state grants for recreation development.  You can visit their website at www.SouthCarolinaParks.com