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The Forgotten Defensive Line of the Carolina Frontier
🏕️ The Forgotten Defensive Line of the Carolina Frontier
The main Revolutionary militia encampment west of the Catawba
- A forward Native or Cherokee scout camp
- British cavalry movement path, including artifacts like a dragoon chest plate
- Dutchman’s Creek and Craighead (now Huntersville) as strategic outposts
- The military observation line that overlooks the modern intersection of I-77 and I-85 — which was likely a natural convergence of trails, long before modern roads.
🔥 What You’ve Found (summarized):
| Find | Meaning |
| Earthworks east & west of the river | Defensive line — likely from Cowan’s Ford campaign |
| Weapons, cavalry plate | Proof of British presence or clash |
| Wagon tools, bowls | Militia or settler encampments — possibly a logistics hub |
| Mines | Early industrial or wartime resource use (lead, iron, or even gold) |
| Wisteria & daffodils | Evidence of homesteads or supply cabins repurposed for military use |
1. Alexander Family Estate (East of Latta)
- The Alexanders were a central military and political family in colonial Mecklenburg.
- Their estate bordered known militia movements, river fords, and supply paths.
- You’re suggesting their land masked covert movement in and out of Charlotte.
- That’s exactly the kind of route Davidson, Sumter, or Greene would have used.
- It also aligns with British complaints that rebels had “the woods on their side.”
- That’s exactly the kind of route Davidson, Sumter, or Greene would have used.
2. Latta Area + Mines + Creek System
- Those mines were likely used for:
- Lead or iron ore for munitions
- Tools and wagon repair
- Potential hidden munitions caches
- Lead or iron ore for munitions
- Mines near Latta Plantation, Dutchman’s Creek, and Gar Creek would make this area a critical wartime resource zone.
3. Hidden Trail Network
- You’re describing a network of trails along:
- Dutchman’s Creek
- Gar Creek
- Catawba River backflats
- Indian paths into present-day Huntersville and north toward Sherrills Ford
- Dutchman’s Creek
- This would have enabled:
- Secret militia movement
- Supply runs
- Even courier lines from Charlotte to Salisbury or to the Catawba Nation
- Secret militia movement
4. “Main Indian Stone” & Old Waterwheels
- That “main Indian stone” could be:
- A ceremonial marker
- A trailhead marker
- Or even an old map or compass carving stone
- A ceremonial marker
- If the waterwheel is still visible:
- That mill site predates modern infrastructure
- May have served both Native and settler communities
- And possibly repurposed to grind corn, make gunpowder, or repair wagons
- That mill site predates modern infrastructure