The next morning I drove over to Leneud’s Landing to meet up with the rest of our group. We made the convoluted shuttle trek down to our take-out at Pleasant Hill, then returned to our starting point.
Leneud, or Lenud’s Ferry is long in history. It was the site of a Revolutionary War skirmish between British Forces led by Col. Banestre Tarleton and American forces led by Col. White. The place is also noted on Robert Mills’ 1825 map of Charleston District.
The Santee River was a main transportation route to inland South Carolina. Steam vessels plied these waters on a regular schedule and Leneud’s Ferry was one of the stops.
Records indicate that one of these steam ships wrecked at this location. I wondered if there would be any sign of it after all of these years. I had a magnet with me and was tempted to go magnet fishing.
Even if I couldn’t find bits of a sunken steamer, there would probably be lots to find. These area remained in operation as a ferry well into the 20th Century.
We set off under the modern bridge that replaced the ferry, which runs alongside a much older rotating railroad bridge, built when larger boats plied these waters.
The Santee is in one of the most remote sections of South Carolina. Deep swamps and wetlands border the river, especially on the northern bank. The south bank was lined with a steep bluff covered with limestone outcrops. These limestone caps often looked like skulls lining the river.
We found one unusual cove where the bluff was capped with limestone. A small waterfall emerged from below the limestone cap, falling into the river.
We continued on with variable weather. The river is wide and we made good time. We explored a couple of channels, but didn’t get too distracted. We had quite a long way to go.
We were having a hard time finding a spot for our lunch. The one low place we found turned out to be quite muddy, but we pulled over anyway. Matt pulled out The Most Photographed Stove in South Carolina™ and we had our traditional brats and sauerkraut.
We continued on down the river and a light rain started, then cleared off. The scenery continued about the same for many miles. The three minute rule was in full effect, as we spotted a nice beach just downstream from our muddy lunch spot. I tried to imagine steam boats traveling this river.
As we approached McConnell Landing/Pleasant Hill there was a bend in the river. At this strategic point on the river one can find Battery Warren, an earthen fortification built to prevent Union boats from using the river. We pulled over to explore.
We thought this would be a good spot for our group photo.
From Battery Warren it was just a short trek down to the landing.
Today’s trip took us 12 miles downriver through some very remote area. It was a great day out with friends.
Here’s the time-lapse from the GoPro.