Washington District Sheriff's Office, South Carolina
End of Watch: Sunday, November 12, 1797
Age: 45
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: November 10, 1797
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Acquitted
Sheriff Robert Maxwell was shot and killed after being ambushed while on his way to court in Pickensville, South Carolina.
He was riding his horse and attempting to cross the Saluda River, near where the modern-day Piedmont Mill Dam is located. The suspects ambushed him because he was a law enforcement officer. One man was arrested but acquitted at trial.
Sheriff Maxwell was a veteran of the Revolutionary War. He was survived by his wife and son and is buried in the Maxwell family cemetery, on what was his plantation near Ware Place, Greenville County, South Carolina.
Washington District consisted of what later became Pendleton County, Greenville County, Anderson County, and Pickens County.