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“P” is for Pickens, Andrew (1739-1817)

“P” is for Pickens, Andrew (1739-1817). Soldier, legislator, congressman. A native of Pennsylvania, Pickens moved with his parents to South Carolina and settled in the Waxhaws. During the Cherokee War he served as a company grade officer. After the war Pickens moved to Long Canes District. During the Revolutionary War Pickens became one of the most significant leaders of patriot forces in the backcountry. By 1778 he had become a colonel in the Upper Ninety Six Regiment. At the Battle of Cowpens he commanded the South Carolina militia. Afterward he was promoted to brigadier general and was wounded at the Battle of Eutaw Springs. A recognized expert on Indian affairs, Andrew Pickens served as a federal commissioner to negotiate peace independently with the southern Indian nations—culminating in the Treaty of Colerain in 1796.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.