Graveyard on Highway 34 between Ridgeway and Winnsboro, S.C. where Thomas Woodward was buried after being killed by Tories.
An imposing gray obelisk pierces the sky in a forlorn cemetery alongside Highway 34. The centuries- old graveyard between Ridgeway and Winnsboro, S.C. lies in silent testimony of early settler’s struggle for survival.
The tall grave- stone is inscribed, “THOMAS WOODWARD, the Regulator, killed by Tories, May 12, 1779.”
Thousands of travelers pass by this little gem of American history every year, possibly without a second glance. Throughout the years, researcher’s have pieced together what they could of the story of Captain Woodward’s life.
As it turns out, Thomas Woodward was born in Virginia nearly three centuries ago in the year 1729. Researchers believe he was the son of blacksmith John Smith of Prince William Country, Virginia.
It was no surprise that he became a leader. It was said Captain Woodward grew to be a “large man of commanding presence to whom people turned to in times of stress.”
Woodward was a family man, marrying Jemima Collins between 1746- 1755. She died in late 1762 at the age of 32.
After his wife’s death, South Carolina land grants indicate that Woodward most likely brought his six children, his widowed moth- er, and his three half brothers to South Carolina.
Woodward’s second marriage was to Elizabeth Stokes May who also bore him several children.
Woodward spent his life in the service of his country, serving active duty in both the French and Indian Wars. In the 1760s, he became a leader in the Regulator Movement in the area between the Broad and Catawba Rivers in South Carolina thus receiving the name “The Regulator.”
He went on to serve as a justice of the peace and a leading citizen of nearby Fairfield County. He was elected to the 1st Provincial Congress of 1775.
On June 17, 1775, Woodward became a captain in the Rangers under Colonel Thomson. He and his men took part in the “Snow Campaign” against the Tories in 1775. Woodward resigned his commission on January 30, 1776, but later that same year, he made a fatal mistake. He again led volunteers against Indians and Tories and on May 12, 1779, Captain Woodward died from wounds received while fighting the Tories on Little Dutchman’s Creek in Fairfield County.
Some researchers say his body was buried somewhere in the woods so the Tories who killed him could not find it. Other researchers say his body was later moved to the forlorn Woodward Family Cemetery alongside Highway 34 between Ridgeway and Winnsboro.
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