Mrs. Motte Directing Generals Marion and Lee to Burn Her Mansion to Dislodge the British (n. d.) by John Blake White

During the Revolutionary War, British troops seized the strategically located mansion-house of Rebecca Jacob Motte, a wealthy widow. Located midway between Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina, on the Congaree River, the house became a principal supply depot for the British campaign in the south. Garrisoned with about 200 soldiers, the bulwark was known by the British as Fort Motte. American forces sought to destroy their enemy’s interior chain of military posts, including Fort Motte, to gain control of everything within 30 miles of the sea. Despite the British occupation, Rebecca Motte and her family remained in her house until the American forces—under the command of General Francis Marion and Lieutenant Colonel (later General) Henry Lee—arrived, demanding that the British surrender. The Motte family was asked to retreat to a farmhouse nearby, and on May 8, 1781, Marion and Lee attacked the plantation to reclaim it for the colonial army. Rebecca Motte reportedly encouraged the Americans to set the house afire in order to dislodge the British. She herself is said to have provided the arrows used to ignite the roof. The British soldiers surrendered, fearing they would be blown up if the gunpowder stored in the house were set on fire. Following the successful American siege, Rebecca Motte provided a dinner to the officers of both armies.