Battle of Brier Creek presented by Nathan Chapman: About this Project

This project examines the history of The Battle of Brier Creek, which took place during the American Revolution. The battlefield is located in Screven County in today’s city of Sylvania, Georgia. The project works in close conjunction with the Brier Creek Revolutionary War Battlefield Association, Inc. (BCRWBA). Specifically, the project involves the creation of a digital trail that spans the landscape and focuses on the battle, influential leaders of the battle, and the ecosystem of today’s Screven County. In addition to the digital trail, the project examines events before and after the battle and the impact the Patriot defeat had on the American Revolution and the war in the South through a historical animated battle video titled A Devastating Patriot Defeat: The Battle of Brier Creek.

Georgia Southern University’s Public History program was founded in Fall 2012 as a non-thesis track for the Department of History's Master of Arts in History program. The program allows students to pursue studies outside the traditional classroom setting in a variety of hands-on courses. The program concludes with a capstone project in cooperation with historical sites and museums throughout the region. To learn more, visit the Department of History's website.

The Brier Creek Revolutionary War Battlefield Association (BCRWBA) is a local organization headed by the President, Stephen Hammond, and a board of directors that consists of 1st Vice-President Sonny Pittman, 2nd Vice-President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Tommy Christopher, Secretary State Senator Jesse Stone, Treasurer John Fitzner, Parliamentarian Homer “Chip” Durden. The BCRWBA board members, to name a few, consist of Dr. John Derden, Dess Smith III, and Dianne Fitzner. The BCRWBA consistently works to preserve the land, restore the main battlefield site, and promote the battlefield to the public.

Nathan Chapman is a graduate student in the Master of History with a Public History concentration program at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia. He currently works as a graduate assistant in Special Collections at the Georgia Southern Museum, where he works on the Fred and Dinah Gretsch Collection at Georgia Southern University. His project details the American Revolutionary War battle of Brier Creek in Screven County, Georgia. Nathan graduated with his Bachelor of Arts in History from Georgia Southern and will become a Double Eagle upon his graduation in the Graduate Program. The academic committee advising this project consists of Dr. Solomon Smith (chair), Dr. Bill Allison, and Dr. Michael Van Wagenen.