Colson's Supply Depot

Colson's Supply Depot was a fortified Revolutionary War post located in southwestern Montgomery County on the east side of the Pee Dee River, near Mount Gilead (Montgomery County). Constructed in 1781 and designed to safeguard supplies and provisions gathered for the troops under Gen. Nathanael Greene, it was actually the second supply depot on the lands of John and William Colson. The first stood in the vicinity of William Colson's Mill on Rocky River about three miles west of the Pee Dee where, on 21 July 1780, Col. William Lee Davidson's Whig militia had defeated Col. Samuel Bryan's Tories and captured his ammunition and supply wagons. A guard was posted, but no records indicate additional fortification. William Colson supported the American cause, but any role for his mill beyond its basic function cannot be determined.

Records indicate that the second depot may have featured a stockade surrounded by trenches and redoubts, but details of its structure are unknown. Located on a steep hill, it commanded views of the main road (Montgomery-Richmond County Line Road), Colson's Ferry across the Pee Dee, and any approaches from the west across the expanse known as Colson's Low Grounds. Detachments were sent out daily to look for any signs of enemy activity, and anyone traveling the road or attempting to ferry across the river was stopped and questioned.