The day after the British defeated the Continental Army at Camden, Francis Marion knew that something had to be done to delay the British rolling up through the colonies and crushing George Washington in the North. In addition to this, if the British were allowed total control of South Carolina, the colony and its people would no longer have control of its own society, taxes and laws.
Marion traveled 80 miles by horseback arriving at Witherspoon’s Ferry to meet up with the Kingstree Militia on 17AUG1780. As South Carolina’s 2nd Regiment leader, either of his own initiative OR on orders from the South Carolina governor who was in exile in North Carolina, he gave orders for all the boats to be destroyed along the Santee. The Santee served as a highway of sorts for the British to supply their forces inland. It was key for the militia to slow the British advance! On 18AUG1780, the militia dispersed in various directions to do what they could do to preserve the cause.
