Andrew Pickens (1739 –1817) was born in 1739 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  His family traveled to the Shenandoah Valley where they stayed a short time.  Then the family permanently located to the frontier in South Carolina.

Andrew married Rebecca Calhoun at age 25.  They had 12 children and raised their family at their “Hopewell” plantation on the Keowee River.

When the Revolutionary War started, he sided with the rebel militia. Early in 1779 Henry Clinton deployed British soldiers to the Carolinas. In the same year, Colonel Pickens and his 300-man militia overtook the larger British force of 700–800 men under Colonel Boyd at the Battle of Kettle Creek. His victory was later marred by the Siege of Charleston, where he surrendered a fort.  He and his men agreed to set out the war and were paroled by the British.

After Tory raiders destroyed most of his property and accosted his family, he notified the British that they had violated the terms of parole. He rejoined the war, serving with Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox.

Pickens led a successful campaign in north Georgia against the Cherokee late in the war, as well as serving at the Battle of Cowpens.

Under the command of General Greene, Pickens led his militia in one of the final major battles in the South. With the aid of Henry Lee and Francis Marion, the Patriots fought the British at the Battle of Eutaw Springs. Although more Patriots died, their efforts made by the forced the British to permanently lose control of the South.

Pickens died in Oconee County South Carolina in 1817. He is buried at Clemson, South Carolina.