On August 30, 1781, Francis Marion’s militia prepared an ambush near Parker’s Ferry in the South Carolina Lowcountry. The ferry crossed the river then called the Pon Pon, now the Edisto. Marion positioned his men in woods beside the road, using the terrain to conceal them from an approaching mounted force. The action occurred during the later stages of the southern campaign, when militia operations continued to challenge British movement through the countryside.

Major Thomas Fraser’s British dragoons charged toward Marion’s concealed force. The militia fired into the mounted troops at close range. Marion then withdrew when enemy infantry approached and his ammunition ran low. The encounter checked the cavalry through an ambush rather than a prolonged defense of a fixed position. Its importance lies in the use of concealment, timing, and knowledge of the local road and swamp landscape.

The battlefield’s preservation is a later chapter in the site’s history. In 2021, partners secured approximately 31 acres from Weyerhaeuser for conservation through the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust. The American Battlefield Trust included the acquisition among its preservation successes. Protecting land associated with the action retains part of the setting that helps explain Marion’s tactics. The conserved tract is only part of the broader historical landscape, which also includes the road and ferry area.

A highway marker commemorates the battle near SC 64 and Parker’s Ferry Road. That memorial and the protected acreage serve different purposes: one identifies the episode for travelers, while the other preserves land associated with the fighting. Neither supplies a complete survey of all troop positions. The entry’s roadside visitor reference should therefore be read alongside the conservation history when locating the battle in today’s landscape.