Welcome to the Kate Barry Chapter
Spartanburg, SC
South Carolina Society
Daughters of the American Revolution
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR), founded in 1890 and headquartered in Washington, DC, is a volunteer
women's service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving
American history, and securing America's future through better education for children.
Any woman is eligible for membership who is no less than eighteen years of age
and can prove lineal, bloodline descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving
American independence.
Margaret Catherine "Kate" Moore was born in 1752, and she married Andrew Barry in 1767 at the age of fifteen. The two
settled in Spartanburg County across the Tyger River, about two miles from Walnut Grove. Kate Barry was an excellent
horsewoman, and she was very familiar with the wilderness and Indian trails around her plantation.
When the Revolutionary War broke out in 1776, Kate volunteered for the cause as a scout for patriot bands in the area.
Her scouting operations were carried out mostly in the portion of Spartanburg County drained by the three Tyger Rivers.
Her husband, Andrew, her brother, Thomas Moore, and several brothers-in-law were members of the patriot forces. It was not unusual
for Kate or her slave "Uncle Cato" to mount their horses, ride to the patriots' encampment, and warn
her husband and the troops of impending danger. In the winter of 1781, Kate acted as a voluntary scout for Daniel
Morgan, and she gathered patriot bands to send on to him. Her husband, Andrew, was a soldier under the
command of General Pickens in the victorious Battle of Cowpens. For her efforts to increase the number of
American patriots at the Battle of Cowpens, Kate Barry earned her reputation as the Heroine of the Battle of Cowpens.
The name of Kate Barry is also surrounded by a tradition of other heroic deeds. In one of these stories,
Kate heard Tory soldiers coming across the Tyger River near her father's house. She tied her two-year-old daughter, Catherine,
to the bedpost, and rode to her husband's unit for help. In another story, the Tories (Americans who supported the British)
came to her house and demanded information about the whereabouts of her husband and his troops. When she refused to give
them this information, the Tories tied her up and whipped her three times with a leash. In another incident,
Kate Barry barely escaped her Tory enemies as she swam her horse across the rising waters of the Pacolet River to safety.
Today, the spirit of Kate Barry lives on at her restored plantation home, Walnut Grove. Her patriotic spirit christens
the members of the NSDAR in Spartanburg County, as we perpetuate our American heritage with pride and honor.
Recently, the Kate Barry Chapter was successful in having a portion of Highway 29, from East Main Street to the
turnoff for I-85 in Cowpens (thought to be the trail she followed) designated as "Kate Barry Boulevard." Our present project
is to place a bronze marker with her story in an area to be beautified on the Highway 29 exit to Broome High School.
Our chapter is located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and we would love to
talk to you about becoming a member of the
Society. If you would like more information about the DAR,
including membership requirements,
please e-mail our chapter
contact person:
