Seneca Town, on the Seneca River east of present-day Seneca, was one of several Cherokee Lower Towns. On August 1, 1776, Major Andrew Williamson’s South Carolina militia, raiding these towns, was ambushed nearby by Loyalists and Cherokees. The eventual Patriot victory was also notable for the death of Francis Salvador, the first Jewish Patriot killed during the Revolution. In September 1776, soon after the Battle of Temassee in present-day Oconee County, Williamson returned to build a nearby log fort named Fort Rutledge in honor of John Rutledge, President of South Carolina. The fort and its 300-man garrison surrendered to Loyalists in 1780.
