The Pee Dee area was not too involved in the events that led up to the Revolutionary War because it was so isolated from the large population centers. In 1774 William Henry Drayton was sent to the back country to explain to the people how they were being oppressed by the British. Events in 1775 led Royal Governor Lord William Campbell to flee in September of that year.

Little happened during the war in the area until the fall of Charleston in 1780. On August 16,1780 Horatio Gates, sent by General Washington to stop the British drive in South Carolina, was soundly defeated in one of the fiercest fights of the war in Camden. A few days later a British unit taking American prisoners from Camden to Charleston was attacked. The Redcoats were over-powered and over 150 Maryland prisoners were freed.

In 1780 Francis Marion began his exploits that would link his name to the Pee Dee. Because of his success in evading the British in the swampy area of the Pee Dee, Francis Marion became known as the "Swamp Fox". Fighting ended in the area on June 8, 1782

In 1783 the cotton gin was invented and caused a dramatic effect on the South. Soon one half of all U.S. exports was cotton. Darlington district sold 13,000 bales in 1850. This dramatically increased the number of slaves in the area. Land cost 50¢ an acre.

Henry Timrod lived on the plantation of Col. William Henry Cannon, who constructed a school for Timrod to teach the plantation children in 1856 and 1857. This school is located in Timrod Park in Florence today. Three railroads were constructed in the Pee Dee. All intersect in what is known today as Florence.

Florence began as a railroad depot and an inn. The town started as a plot of 577 acres as a grant from the state. In 1859 Jerome P.Chase, a telegraph operator arrived and became a successful businessman, selling insurance real estate and became known as the "Father of Florence. The City of Florence was named for Florence Henning Harlee, daughter of General W.W. Harlee, president of the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad.  In 1860 the first map of Florence was created. Florence was a planned community with seven streets and 96 lots.

Late in 1859 war fever mounted. The Darlington Guards were formed. This unit consisted of 14 officers and 100 enlisted men. They were sent to Charleston before the firing on Fort Sumter. The PeeDee Artillery and Pee Dee Rifles were formed to fight in Northern Virginia and served in many major battles.

During this time the "Wayside House", a relief volunteer hospital, was established in Florence, under the supervision of Dr, Theodore Dargan,with 62 volunteer workers, mostly women. Soldiers who died here were buried in what is now called Mt. Hope Cemetery.

Confederate authorities selected Florence to receive Union prisoners from Southern Georgia and other areas. Florence began to construct a prison stockade on September 17,1864. With construction scarcely begun 6,000 prisoners arrived from Charleston.