Fort Charlotte ( South Carolina ) Fort Charlotte is located in McCormick County , South Carolina beneath the waters of the Strom Thurmond Lake . It was named for the reigning queen at the time . The Fort was made mostly of granite quarried from across the Savannah River . Construction began in the summer of 1765 and took a couple of years to complete because of structural complications as well as the constant threat of attack by the Creek Native Americans . The Fort measured approximately 170 foot squared with bastions at every corner and a wall height of between 10 and 20 feet . The Fort was built for defensive purposes — to protect local settlers , as opposed to being a trading fort , meant for Native American / European trading . Almost as soon as the Fort was completed the British Royal ( Federal ) government abandoned the Fort by placing it under the care and authority of the South Carolina government . During that time ( 1768 ) several forts were closed in the area , and in many cases guns , cannon , powder , bullets and other military supplies were sent to Fort Charlotte for safe keeping . These same supplies were later used by Patriot forces against Carolina Backcountry Tories and in at least one case these supplies found their way into a major battle — the Second Siege of Fort Ninety - Six . At the same time the Fort was housing war supplies , the Patriots were meeting with leaders of the Cherokee at Fort Charlotte in an attempt to sway the Cherokee in their favor . The “ good talks ” however did not work and South Carolina entered the American Revolutionary War with the English and the Cherokee opposing them . Also worthy of note is that the Fort housed an undisclosed number of Prisoners - of - War . Exactly how many is unclear , but given the number of individuals loyal to the King that lived in the Carolina Backcountry , their numbers could have been numerous . The fate of the Fort after the Revolution is unclear , but certainly by the great flood , called the “ Yazoo Freshet ” of 1797 , the standing walls would have been mostly leveled . This did not end the history of the Fort . After the Revolution the Fort became a popular spot for gentlemen to settle their differences via dueling . Several texts have referred to Fort Charlotte as “ that popular old spot for dueling . ” Evidence suggests that there were about 10 known duels there . The most famous of the duels to occur there was the Crawford - Van Alen duel , in which Van Alen was shot dead by future Georgia senator William H . Crawford . The grievance between Crawford and Van Alen was over land schemes which eventually culminated in the Supreme Court case Worchester v . Georgia . At the end of the Civil War , Confederate President Jefferson Davis and some of his cabinet fled through South Carolina into Georgia crossing the Savannah River at Fort Charlotte . Also with Davis was the Confederate seal and a substantial portion of the treasury . The treasury has yet to be found , but it is not beyond reason to think that perhaps the treasury was stashed at Fort Charlotte . An archaeological survey was conducted at the site in the 1950s , but , strangely , all of the artifacts were lost , and the official report was not released until after the death of the primary archaeologist . It was shortly thereafter that the lake was built and the site of Fort Charlotte flooded .