The Two Old Guns Of Captain Henry Felder
The setting was the small village of
Orangeburgh. May 11,1781. Cannons
roared as a vital sequence of the
American-British Revolution took
place within the boundries of the
Orangeburgh District.
The two old cannons before you
played a vital part in making the
Orangeburgh District free of British
tyranny and alive with the American
freedom we enjoy today.
Under command of General Sumter,
Capt. Henry Felder's Militia Company
(including seven of Capt. Felder's
sons) guided Sumter's troops by way
of the Belleview Road, down Russell
Street and into Orangeburgh village.
Firing cannons along the way, Capt.
Felder's troops defeated the British
Militia and gained control of the
Orangeburgh post.
These cannons were Capt. Henry
Felder's pride and joy. For may years
there could be seen, plainly cut, on
these old guns "HP" on one and
"H. Felder 1781" on the other.
Felder was a staunch, patriotic man
who brought love of liberty from his
native Swiss land. He spoke of his
fatherland with pride and was willing
to risk all, rather then submit to the
tyrannies of the British. Nearing the
end of the Revolution Capt. Felder
was killed by British tories while
defending his home. He is gone, but
to this day, the freedom he fought
and died for in the village of
Orangeburgh lives within us all.
By: Kelly H.S. Felder
May 11, 1989
Marker can be reached from Russell Street (State Highway 33), on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
