According to long and persistent tradition, one of Sergeant William Jasper's most famous exploits during the American Revolution occurred here in 1779 at the spring then located along the road to Augusta, when Sergeant Jasper and Sergeant John Newton ambushed a detachment of ten British soldiers and liberated several Patriot prisoners who were being taken to Savannah. Although no contemporary confirmation of Jasper's feat exists and it was first publicized by Parson Weems in 1809 in his Life of Gen. Francis Marion, the exploit was regarded as characteristic of the sergeant. His courage and resourcefulness also appeared in a report published in the Virginia Gazette of May 15, 1779, which said that he and another sergeant had recently crossed the Savannah River and taken two British captains, Scott and Young, bringing them to Major General Lincoln's headquarters. Sergeant Jasper was mortally wounded on Oct. 9, 1779, while bearing the colors of the 2nd South Carolina Continental Regiment in the assault on the British entrenchments at Savannah.