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THE SIX WEBSITE INFORMATION PATHS
These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it NOW, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. …….
This “path” of the web site is devoted to the presentation of
South Carolina’s participation in
the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution…….
The deadliest battle, the Battle of Camden,
with a total of 6 of the top 25 deadliest American Revolution battles,
occurred in South Carolina.
The videos and articles, within this path, have been selected from web sites with the most comprehensive presentations.
Click one of the dots” above to view Don Troiani’s paintings of
The American Revolution in South Carolina
The Moultrie flag is also known as the Fort Moultrie flag, Liberty flag or Crescent flag. The flag was used June 1776, by Colonel William Moultrie, in the heroic defense of Fort Sullivan (now Fort Moultrie), on Sullivan’s Island, in Charleston Harbor. It was the first American Revolution flag used in the South, and consisted of a dark blue field with a white crescent in the upper right-hand (dexter) corner.
The blue corresponded to their uniform, the silver crescent appeared as a badge worn on their caps. The cause for which they fought—liberty—was emblazoned on the crescent.
The South Carolina Naval Ensign – Although no original of this flag exists, the flag of the South Carolina Navy was depicted in the background of a 1776 English mezzotint of “Commodore Hopkins, Commander-in-Chief of the American Fleet”, by Thomas Hart, 22 August 1776. It depicts two ships, each flying an ensign. One ship flies the New England Pine Tree ensign with the mottos “Liberty Tree” and “An Appeal to God”. The second ship flies an ensign with a rattlesnake, similar to the Gadsden Flag, running diagonally across thirteen stripes, with the motto “Don’t Tread Upon Me”. In a letter from Paris to the Ambassasor of the King of the Two Sicilys dated October 9, 1775, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams wrote: “. . .Some of the States have vessels of war distinct from those of the United States. For example, the vessels of war of the State of Massachusetts Bay have sometimes a Pine Tree; and those of South Carolina a rattlesnake, in the middle of thirteen stripes. . .”
The Gadsden Flag was created by South Carolina general and congressman Christopher Gadsden (1742-1805) to be flown on the flagship of the American Navy. It was first flown on the ship of Commodore Esek Hopkins, first commander of the US Navy. It was the first flag carried into battle by US Marines. The Gadsden flag is a historical American flag with a yellow field depicting a rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike. Positioned below the rattlesnake are the words “DONT TREAD ON ME”.
The Flag of the Second South Carolina Regiment, Continental Line.” The colors are listed as “Blue field, yellow letters, green wreath, red ribbon, red and blue flags within.” The motto in the center reads “VITA POTIOR LIBERTAS,” with the year “1775” just above the ribbon. “This flag with the motto ‘Liberty rather than life,’ was carried by men who meant it. Sgt. Jasper, who had saved the Crescent Flag at Sullivan’s Island, fell carrying this at Savannah. Col. Moultrie first led this regiment, and Francis Marion, the ‘Swamp Fox,’ commanded it at Savannah.”
This flag is listed as “The Eutaw Standard of Colonel William Washington’s Third Regiment Dragoon Cavalry,” and is described as being “all crimson.” The narrative of the flag says: “Colonel Washington spent an hour with the fair Jane Elliott before the campaign through Eutaw and the Cowpens. She [said she] would await news of the triumph of his flag. ‘But I have no flag,’ he said. ‘Then I’ll give you one!’, she replied, and cut a square of brocade from a curtain. It later flew at their wedding.
Battle of Sullivan’s Island
In 1776, the British still did not understand how important it was for them to develop a strategy to defend the uprising in the Colonies. The British knew the Colonies had little time to organize their rebellion and there were still many loyalists who argued against rebellion. They did not give enough credit to the colonists’ anger at being taxed without representation. They did not realize the determination of the Patriots to win their freedom from the oppressive taxation of King George III. The British only tried to stop the Patriots from getting out of hand. In the summer of 1775, the British Army decided they needed to develop strength in the southern colonies in order to protect their interests in the New England colonies. They decided to take control of Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. On June 28, 1776, Sir Henry Clinton sent British troops aboard the ship “Thunder” to attack the Continental Army at Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island. Three other warships ran aground because Sir Clinton did not realize the shallowness of the waters in the channel.
They sent 100 British soldiers by small boat to the shore to siege Fort Moultrie. The Patriots were able to resist the attack and after thirteen hours of intense fighting, the British admitted defeat and the ships drifted out to sea. The British, who were killed or wounded, outnumbered the Patriot casualties five to one. This was a terrible defeat to the British who thought their power was so strong. It wasn’t until May 9, 1780, almost four years later, that the British were able to take control of Charleston by setting the town on fire and force the rebels to surrender.
An interesting story from this battle is about William Jasper, who was from Georgia and had been recruited by Francis Marion to join the Second South Carolina Regiment. Fort Moultrie’s flag was blue with a white crescent and it flew through most of the battle letting nearby citizens know that the Patriots were still in control of the fort. When a shot took down the flag, William Jasper shouted to his commanding officer, “Colonel, don’t let us fight without our flag?” When Colonel Moultrie replied, “How can you help it? The staff is gone,” Jasper climbed over the wall to the fort and ran out in sight of the British to retrieve the flag. When he returned it safely to the fort, he pinned it to the wall as though it were hanging, and returned to fighting. Jasper was offered a commission, but turned it down to be a scout for the American forces. He made several trips into enemy lines and always returned with valuable information. William Jasper died at Savannah, Georgia in 1779 while raising the colors of the Second South Carolina Regiment on the British lines. A statute in his memories stands in one of Savannah’s squares. There are eight counties and seven cities and towns in our nation that are named after him. In Charleston, South Carolina, there is also a statute of him with his eyes staring at the harbor. It is inscribed with the words:
“WE SHALL NOT FIGHT WITHOUT OUR FLAG.”
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Battle of Sullivan’s Island Images
Battle of Sullivan’s Island Video
Carolina Day – History in a Nutshell Video
Battle of Stono Ferry
In 1778, facing a stalemate in the northern colonies, Lord George Germain, and North America Commander-in-Chief, General Sir Henry Clinton, turned their attention to the southern colonies. Understanding the strong Loyalist sentiment in the South, the British counted on their help to rise up to suppress and defeat American patriots. British forces dispatched Lt. Colonel Archibald Campbell and his troops from New York in November 1778 to capture Savannah, reinforced by Brigadier General Augustine Prevost who marched north from Saint Augustine, Florida. Campbell made landfall outside of Savannah on December 23 and successfully captured the city six days later. On April 20, 1779, Patriot Major General Benjamin Lincoln moved most of his forces from Purrysburg to Augusta to stage an attack on Savannah. Meanwhile, he ordered Brigadier General William Moultrie to remain at Black Swamp, about twenty-five miles from Purrysburg, with 1,200 men made up of the 2nd and 5th South Carolina and South Carolina militia.
General Augustine Prevost had assumed command of the British forces and established headquarters at Ebenezer on the Georgia side of Savannah River. Lincoln soon realized that Prevost was planning to cross into South Carolina but assumed that this maneuver was simply to draw him out of Augusta. The Swiss General confronted Moultrie at the port of Charles Town in May but caught wind of Lincoln’s approach from the south. Prevost could not return to Georgia in the same manner as he arrived, so he decided to use the Sea Islands as a route of withdrawal until they could get picked up by the British navy. By May 21, Prevost’s troops were distributed through John’s Island and James Island awaiting passage by boat to Port Royal, leaving a rear guard at Stono Ferry commanded by Lt. Colonel John Maitland. At the mainland landing of Stono Ferry, Maitland and his troops erected three redoubts with several cannons and about 800 British, Loyalist and Hessian troops enclosed by an abatis, trees with sharpened branches pointing outward. The row galley Thunder provided support from the river. On May 31, a reconnaissance mission of 1,000 troops, led by Brigadier General Isaac Huger and Casimir Pulaski, approached the British position but reported back that the British post was too strong to attack. Lincoln understood he had no military imperative to attack Stono Ferry, but felt he needed a victory to sustain the morale of his troops and the civilians. Any action would have to come soon because many of his troops were Virginia and North Carolina militiamen whose enlistments were about to expire.
After a council of war on June 19, 1779, at his camp near Wallace Bridge, about three miles northeast of the British camp, Lincoln decided to attack early the next morning. He assembled 1,200 men, both Continental, and militia soldiers and started his advance to Stono Ferry at midnight. On June 17, Lincoln instructed Moultrie “to throw over on James Island all the troops which can be spared from town.” By the morning of June 20, he had 700 men on James Island. About an hour after daybreak, Lincoln formed his lines about three-quarters of a mile from the British encampment, forcing his men, mostly from the Carolinas and Virginia, to march through woods. As the Americans advanced they made contact with the British pickets at 7:00 am and easily drove them into the camp. Henderson’s 6th South Carolina encountered the 2nd Battalion of the 71st Regiment of Foot (Highlanders) who had deployed outside of the British camp. The Highlanders suffered heavy casualties as all of their officers were either killed or wounded and fell back to the camp. Of the two companies of the Highlanders, only twelve men made it back.
The British troops waited until the Americans were within sixty yards of the abatis. The rest of the South Carolina and North Carolina brigades were much less successful in attacking as they found the creek and marsh in front of the British camp unexpectedly difficult to cross. On the American right, the militia had good success against the Hessians, but Maitland rallied them to stop the militia’s progress. The North Carolina brigade charged but found the abatis impenetrable, with a deep ravine preventing their getting around it. The cannons had little effect on the British fortifications protecting the Hessians and the Royal North Carolina Regiment. Fire from the row galley Thunder drove back some of the Americans on the right wing, and the sight of British reinforcements approaching on the causeway from Johns Island convinced Lincoln to order a retreat.
Moultrie’s assignment was to have detained the British on Johns Island, but historians debate on whether his failure to do so lay with poor weather conditions or his own incompetence. On seeing the American retreat, Maitland advanced his line in pursuit but broke off as the American cavalry in reserve engaged. According to Lincoln: “The retreat was conducted in an orderly and regular manner, our platoons frequently facing about and firing by the word of command upon their pursuers, who, however, very soon gave over the chase.”
In the battle, which lasted for fifty-six minutes, 34 Americans were killed, 113 were wounded, and 155 were missing. Of the 34 Americans, three were key officers. Most notable was Colonel Owen Roberts of the 4th South Carolina Regiment (artillery) who suffered a shattered leg from a British artillery shell. Amongst the American wounded was Major William R. Davie, General Isaac Huger, and Colonel Laumoy, a French engineer. Hugh Jackson, older brother of future President Andrew Jackson, died shortly after the battle from heat and fatigue.3 The British lost 26 killed, 93 wounded, and one missing.
The Battle of Stono Ferry had little, if any, impact on Germain’s southern strategy or the Revolutionary War. Prevost’s rearguard under Maitland abandoned the redoubts as intended and retreated down the coast to Beaufort, while the rest of Prevost’s forces continued to Savannah.
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Battle of Stono Ferry Video
Battle of Stono Ferry Video
Battle of Stono Ferry
The Seige of Charleston
The 1780 siege of Charleston was a decisive success for the British during the War of the American Revolution as they shifted their strategy to focus on the southern theater. Capture of the city and its harbor gave them a vital base from which to conduct operations in their attempt to rally the support of American Loyalists and reconquer the southern states. Conversely, the loss of Charleston was a painful blow to the American cause, made even worse by the capture of over 2,500 Continentals and numerous vital weapons and supplies.
The stalemate in the northern theater of the war after 1778-1779 led the British leadership to renew its interest in the southern theater. The British remained convinced that the erstwhile southern colonies were full of American Loyalists waiting for British authorities to liberate them from Patriot rule. Patriot forces had repelled attempts to gain a foothold in the southern colonies at Moore’s Creek Bridge and Charleston in 1776, but the successful capture of Savannah, Georgia, at the end of 1778 had restored British hopes that Charleston could be captured and that this success would swell Loyalist support for the British campaign to subdue the rebellion.
The Americans, meanwhile, knew that Charleston was a likely target for the British following the capture of Savannah. Major General Benjamin Lincoln was given command of the defense of Charleston in September 1779. In his initial instructions to Lincoln, General George Washington warned him of the impending British attack, but expressed his regrets that he could not offer any military assistance because of the need to maintain adequate Continental forces around the northern British stronghold in New York City. When Lincoln arrived, many of the fortresses defending Charleston’s harbor were in disrepair, and the fortifications on its western and southern sides (the sides facing the city’s landward approaches) were unfinished. Lincoln and his subordinates worked diligently to repair the fortifications around the city and the Continental Army leadership beseeched the southern states to provide men and materiel to defend Charleston.
Lt. General Sir Henry Clinton‘s expeditionary force of some 13,500 British and German soldiers departed New York just after Christmas in 1779 and made its way through stormy winter weather to the Savannah River by the end of January 1780. The force then maneuvered up the coast and over land routes to approach Charleston from its weaker southern and western sides, bypassing the seaward defenses at Fort Moultrie that had rebuffed the 1776 British assault.
American partisan forces under commanders like Francis Marion harassed the British forces, and Lincoln dispatched a force of 350 dragoons and militia under Brigadier General Isaac Huger to the crossroads at Monck’s Corner 30 miles north of Charleston to keep his lines of communication open. There was little else the American forces could do. Washington had advised to Lincoln to abandon the city to save his force of Continentals if necessary, but the civilian leadership of Charleston convinced Lincoln to stay. At the end of March, British forces under Earl Charles Cornwallis crossed over the Ashley River about 14 miles northwest of Charleston and on April 1, 1780 British forces began digging siege lines across the neck of the Charleston peninsula. Clinton hoped that a methodical siege would capture Charleston and its harbor intact, earning the loyalty of the civilian population and facilitating British use as a base of operations.
The American defenders fought the encroaching British siege works, even resorting to loading cannon with metal refuse and broken glass to conserve meager ammunition stocks. On April 9, the British ships supporting the siege forced their way into the harbor past Fort Moultrie and began shelling the city. Commodore Abraham Whipple, the commander of the small American naval force, scuttled his fleet to obstruct the harbor. At the urging of Charleston’s civilian leaders, Lincoln refused British demands to surrender, but a few days later the South Carolina government secretly fled the city. On the evening of April 13, a British cavalry raid led by Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton routed Huger’s forces at Monck’s Corner, capturing 400 horses and tightening the British stranglehold on the city. The next day, British siege guns began firing on Charleston from the north.
On April 22, Clinton refused Lincoln’s proposal to surrender Charleston in exchange for allowing the Continental forces defending it to go free. Two days later, an American sortie into the first row of British entrenchments inflicted 50 casualties and netted a dozen prisoners, but did little to halt the siege. Well aware that Charleston’s capture was imminent, Lincoln requested permission from Charleston’s remaining civilian leadership to evacuate his force of Continentals. The city’s leaders responded by threatening to destroy any boats used in an evacuation attempt. As April turned to May, Fort Moultrie and its garrison of 200 defenders surrendered to the British. On May 11, the British began firing upon Charleston with heated shells, resulting in several fires, and Charleston’s civilian authorities at last urged Lincoln to surrender to the British, regardless of the terms.
The surrender terms were indeed harsh by the standards of the day. Lincoln and his command were refused the honors of war, and many of the 2,500 Continentals who surrendered would not survive their imprisonment. The British captured over 300 cannons and about 6,000 muskets, along with vast stores of gunpowder. Overall, the casualties in the siege were relatively light, with fewer than 300 killed and wounded on either side; an accidental explosion in a magazine after the surrender killed twice as many as died in the actual siege.
The results of the British victory, though, were decisive. The British had captured the largest city and best harbor in the southern theater and proceeded to follow up this triumph with victories over other American forces at the Waxhaws and Camden. Their success seemed to rally much of South Carolina’s population to the Loyalist side. Washington and the Americans struggled to find an effective way to counter these setbacks, and it would take over a year of bitter partisan warfare and hard campaigning by Major General Nathanael Greene and others to thwart the British campaign in the south.
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The Siege of Charleston
The Siege of Charleston
The Siege of Charleston Video
The Siege of Charleston Video
Battle of the Waxhaws (Buford’s Massacre)
The Battle of Waxhaws was a dreadful defeat for the Patriots. However, Americans were able to turn this stinging tactical loss into a propaganda victory, stirring up anti-British sentiment throughout the colonies.
On May 12th, 1780, Charleston fell to the British under the command of Sir Henry Clinton. A column of reinforcements consisting of 380 troops under the command of Colonel Abraham Buford failed to reach the city before its fall and turned about to retreat back north. This force, known as the Third Virginia Detachment, consisted of two companies of the 2nd Virginia Regiment, 40 Virginia Light Dragoons, and two six pound cannon. As Buford’s detachment travelled north, they met several prominent South Carolina citizens fleeing the British advance. Even Governor John Rutledge joined the column as it moved towards the North Carolina border.
General Clinton returned to New York, leaving General Charles Lord Cornwallis in command of the Southern Army. Cornwallis learned of Buford’s column and sent a force under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton to catch and destroy the Continentals. Tarleton commanded 230 men of his British Legion, mounted on horseback as dragoons or mounted infantry, 40 members of the 17th Light Dragoons, and one three pound cannon.
Even though the Americans were a week ahead of Tarleton, the aggressive British commander moved his men 150 miles at a rapid pace, catching up with Buford in the afternoon of May 29th, 1780. The area in which the two forces caught sight of each other lies along the border of North and South Carolina, in an area called the Waxhaws.
Tarleton sent ahead a message to Buford, demanding that the Americans surrender, but they refused. Buford then ordered all of his heavy baggage and weapons to continue moving northward. This included his artillery, which would not play a role in the battle. He then formed a line to stand against the advancing British and Loyalists. His position was in an open wood to the right of the route of march, with all of his infantry in a single line. The American colors were placed in the center of this line. Buford ordered his men to hold their fire until the British were within 10 yards.
Seeing the Rebel line deployed for battle, Tarleton divided his force into three attacking columns. He deployed 60 British Legion dragoons as well as about the same number of mounted infantry as the right column, with the intention of having the mounted infantry dismount and pour fire upon the Americans, pinning them down. At the same time, he formed a center column of his elite troops, the regular soldiers of the 17th Light Dragoons, as well as 40 Legion dragoons, to charge straight towards the American center under the covering fire of the Loyalists to their right. The left column was led by Tarleton himself and consisted of 30 handpicked men of the Legion, ready to sweep the American right flank and drive for their baggage and reserves. Tarleton kept his single cannon in reserve with the remaining Legion Dragoons.
The British attack commenced as soon as all of their troops were in position. Given Colonel Buford’s order to refrain from firing until the British were within 10 yards, the American forces were overrun by the speed and aggressiveness of the British mounted attack. The three columns broke through the thin American line and began cutting down soldiers left and right. Many American survivors of the battle claimed that their comrades were massacred while trying to surrender.
Just as quickly as it had begun, the Battle of Waxhaws was over. British casualties were slight, with 5 killed and 14 wounded. The Americans lost 113 men killed and 203 wounded. Colonel Buford managed to escape from the slaughter. He reported what he saw on the battlefield to Patriot officials and the effect was electrifying. The Battle of Waxhaws became known as “Buford’s Massacre” and Tarleton, already known as an aggressive commander, was condemned as a butcher.
There is much debate as to whether or not these killings took place. The British reported that all wounded of both sides were treated fairly as was custom of the day. While today historians debate the truth behind the claims of the killing of prisoners, the effect in 1780 was dramatic. As the British advanced further into North Carolina, men from all over the South took up arms in order to defeat the butchers of Waxhaws. Men from across the Appalachians, the “Overmountain Men” would take up arms and defeat a Loyalist force at the Battle of King’s Mountain in October, 1780. There they attacked the Loyalist position with cries of “Remember Waxhaws!” Resistance to the British campaign in the South continued to intensify, and in October, 1781, the British Army in the south would finally meet its fate around the Virginia port of Yorktown.
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Battle of Waxhaws Video
Battle of Waxhaws Video
Battle of Waxhaws Video
Battle of Waxhaws
Battle of Hanging Rock
(August 6, 1780). After the capitulation of Charleston in May 1780, the British moved quickly to gain a foothold in the South Carolina backcountry. Hanging Rock, so named for a large boulder perched on a knob, was one of several outposts situated to protect the main British base at Camden. The stronghold was nothing more than an open field encampment protected by a makeshift earthen berm. Major William Richardson Davie led a successful partisan raid on the outpost on July 30, 1780. Colonel Thomas Sumter planned to follow up with a full assault on Hanging Rock for the morning of August 6. In avoiding an enemy sentry, the patriots’ line of march took them too far right for a frontal attack. However, they struck a concentrated blow on the vulnerable British left, where the surprised North Carolinian Volunteers fell back in disorder. Pressing the attack, Sumter’s men pushed through to the center of the line. At the height of the battle, the Prince of Wales’ American Regiment rallied and regrouped, unperceived under the protection of the woods, and poured a deadly fire on the Americans. The Americans returned the fire so effectively that the Loyalist regiment was almost obliterated. This action allowed the detachment of the British Legion on the British right to form a hollow square defense. Moreover, many partisan soldiers stopped fighting to loot the British camp. Sumter learned of the approach of forty dragoons from Rocky Mount and ordered a withdrawal with minimal losses, leaving behind not quite two hundred British killed and wounded. The Battle of Hanging Rock, though not a complete victory, was a significant setback for British forces in the backcountry.
Davie, William R. The Revolutionary War Sketches of William R. Davie. Edited by Blackwell P. Robinson. Raleigh: North Carolina Department of Cul- tural Resources, Division of Archives and History, 1976.
Edgar, Walter. Partisans and Redcoats: The Southern Conflict That Turned the Tide of the American Revolution. New York: Morrow, 2001.
Lumpkin, Henry. From Savannah to Yorktown: The American Revolution in the South. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1981.
- Written by Samuel K. Fore
Citation Information
The following information is provided for citations.
- Title Hanging Rock, Battle of
- Coverage August 6, 1780
- Author Samuel K. Fore
- Keywords large boulder perched on a knob, Major William Richardson Davie, Colonel Thomas Sumter, setback for British forces
- Website Name South Carolina Encyclopedia
- Publisher University of South Carolina, Institute for Southern Studies
- URLhttps://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/hanging-rock-battle-of/
- Access Date July 31, 2022
- Original Published Date April 15, 2016
- Date of Last Update July 25, 2016
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Battle of Hanging Rock Facts and Summary
Hidden Treasure in South Carolina
Battle of Camden
Fought on August 16, 1780, the Revolutionary War Battle of Camden, South Carolina, pitted American forces under Major General Horatio Gates against a small British field force commanded by Lieutenant General CharleS Lord Cornwallis. Despite numerical superiority, the Patriot forces suffered a humiliating rout, one of the worse defeats in American military history.
After capturing Charleston in May, 1780, British forces established a number of posts in the interior of South Carolina to exert control over the state and to quell rising Patriot militia activity. One of their main bases was at Camden, an important transportation and communications hub in the center of the state. Opposing them by late July were several groups of South Carolina partisans, North Carolina militia troops, and a small nucleus of Maryland and Delaware Continentals. Gates, who three years earlier had stopped another major British invasion at Saratoga, New York, commanded all these Patriot forces.
From North Carolina, Gates quickly moved into South Carolina, where he hoped to take up a defensive position north of Camden in order to compel the British to attack him or quit their strong post there. After a grueling march through a Tory-infested country, Gates brought his tattered troops to Rugeley’s Mills, a dozen miles north of Camden, by August 13. The American force of about four thousand men included twelve hundred veteran Continentals, augmented by three thousand state troops and inexperienced militia units. On August 15, Gates ordered a night march toward Camden, to begin at ten p.m. that night.
Coincidentally, the British also set out from Camden at ten p.m., directly for Gates’ camp. Cornwallis sought to attack the Americans on the march, as they approached his position. The armies blundered into each other early on the morning of August16, and after a brief firefight, the two belligerents waited for daylight. Initially, the British deployed into line with their veteran regiments on their right flank, with cavalry in reserve to exploit success. Gates, too, arranged his forces and therein made a critical mistake. The American commander posted the Continentals, his best troops, on the right flank. On his left, Gates deployed the inexperienced militia, thereby placing them opposite the best troops the British had on the field.
Cornwallis was quick to take advantage of Gates’ improper arrangements. After a few volleys, the redcoats advanced with bayonets leveled, which immediately routed the militia, many of whom threw down their arms and fled the field. While Gates and several of his officers vainly tried to rally the panicked militia, the Continentals fought valiantly on the American right. Despite initial success, they were eventually overwhelmed after the flight of the militia. Hundreds of Continentals were captured, while others fled to safety through the surrounding forests and swamps. Gates managed to regroup the remnants of his command in the coming weeks at Hillsborough, North Carolina, almost two hundred miles away.
Once news of the defeat became known, Congress moved to replace Gates, whose reputation never fully recovered from the debacle in South Carolina. One general or one battle, however, does not determine the outcome of a campaign or a war. American forces would rally under a new commanding general, Nathanael Greene. Within fifteen months they would confine the British to a few coastal enclaves in the Carolinas and Georgia. Meantime, Cornwallis would march off through North Carolina into Virginia — to another coastal port called Yorktown.
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Battle of Camden
Battle of Camden
Battle of Camden Video
Battle of Camden Video
Battle of Fishing Creek
The Battle of Fishing Creek was also known as the Battle of Catawba Ford / Sumter’s Defeat / War on Sugar Creek. It was fought near the junction of Fishing Creek and the Catawba River in South Carolina.
British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton surprised the militia company of Thomas Sumter, killing a significant number, taking about 300 captives, and very nearly capturing Sumter, who some say was asleep at the time of the attack.
- Armies – American Forces was commanded by Col. Thomas Sumter and consisted of about 700 Soldiers and militia. British Forces was commanded by Lt Col. Banastre Tarleton and consisted of about 160 Soldiers and militia.
- Casualties – American casualties were estimated to be 150 killed and 300 captured. British casualties was approximately 16 killed/wounded.
- Outcome – The result of the battle was a British victory. The battle was part of the Southern Theater 1775-82.