Tag: Continentals

Big Picture – When an Empire Starts Invading Your Region (Part 2 of 2)

This post is Part #2 of an overview that shows how South Carolina fought to keep the British Empire at bay. This is a continuation of Part #1 where in my previous post I showed how twice South Carolina, specifically the port of Charleston, was able to resist the British advances to date. However, in my last paragraph I mentioned how the American Continental’s unsuccessful siege at Savannah, Georgia in the fall of 1779 caught the attention of British general Clinton in the port of New York City who decided the time was right to send part of his fleet and troops south to the Carolinas and roll them all up the coast to finally crush this rebellion.

Clinton assembled an 8500 man expeditionary force on this large flotilla of ships that would take six-weeks in bad weather to reach the shores of South Carolina about 25 miles south of Charleston. The June 1776 attempt to enter the port taught the British that maybe the land approach would be more successful. The British had to throw all their horses overboard in the rough Atlantic Ocean weather and so targeting replacement horses in South Carolina would be one of the first orders of business.

The British landed on February 11th near Beaufort, South Carolina and joined the British forces from Savannah in an attempt to encircle Charleston, lay siege to the city and force a surrender.  The people of South Carolina were not real excited about the defense of Charleston as the militia refused to deploy there for fear of smallpox, the locals refused to have trees cut down to keep the British from having cover during the siege. Cooperation was at an all-time low.

In early April 1780 the British had laid siege to Charleston and by mid-April, Continental General Benjamin Lincoln ordered all officers without an assigned command and any who were unfit for duty to leave the garrison and retire to the countryside. Francis Marion, who had injured his ankle attempting to escape an officer’s party that had turn into a drunken affair, retired to his plantation 50 miles north and inland from the port of Charleston. On 14APR1780 the noose tightened as the British cavalry commander Tarleton surprised a larger force of American Continentals at Monck’s Corners 30 miles north of Charleston and secured 400 horses for the British. The American commander in Charleston with 5000 men had been requested to defend Charleston at all costs and now had no escape route.

By early May 1780, Charleston was indeed cutoff from the rest of the colony and the British almost had free reign of the land routes throughout the region. Charleston ran up the white flag on 11MAY1780 and the next day the entire Continental force under Lincoln surrendered. The power vacuum was quickly replaced by the British as the following towns also were occupied in the next three days by 15MAY1780:

Monck’s Corners, Cheraw, Orangeburgh, Ninety-Six and Dorchester. The port of Georgetown would be occupied by July 11th.

The next major town to be occupied would be Camden by August 16th and this would be the low-point of the patriot cause in South Carolina during the Revolutionary War or better described as the War for the Independence of Thirteen Sovereign Colonies from the British Empire!

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Big Picture – When an Empire Starts Invading Your Region (Part 1 of 2)

 

(20AUG2018: New image replaces old image that had an error)

You probably thought I would be talking about the Middle East, or Africa, and the American Empire of the 2000s, but this will be about 1776-1780 South Carolina when kicking out an empire is starting to become a lot harder than imagined. The resolve of the British Empire to retain the American colonies was evident in the early part of the war but led to a stalemate in the northern colonies.

In the southern colonies, Savannah fell to the British in late December 1778. Efforts by the Southern Command of the Continentals, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, to get control of Georgia back under patriot control left Charleston vulnerable to British forces elsewhere.

By April 1779, British general  Augustine Prévost, decided to move his forces from Florida and threaten Charleston. By May 11th he arrived near the port and demanded its surrender. The South Carolina legislature, ticked at the lack of northern support, decided to offer the port only if South Carolina could remain neutral during the rest of the war. So much for South Carolina being fire-eaters right?

A politician might have accepted this, but this British military commander would have nothing of that and rejected the offer.  All it took was word that the Continentals under Lincoln were heading back to Charleston to force the British back to Georgia. Charleston dodged a capture like they did back in June 1776 when the British attempted to take the port and South Carolina. John Laurens, age 24, son of the famous Henry Laurens and an aide-de-camp to General George Washington himself suggested arming 3000 black slaves to protect South Carolina from another British threat! Those who served would be freed after the war and their masters would be compensated by South Carolina for their loss of capital. Christopher Gadsden however, fearful of slave insurrection, thought that plan was dangerous on multiple fronts.

The Continental Southern Command decided that the best way to defend Charleston, was to attack and recapture Savannah, Georgia. With the assistance of the French under Admiral d’Estaing who had defeated the British in the West Indies in August 1779. The French had 4000 in their regular army and 500 free Haitian blacks to join the 3000 American Continentals including Francis Marion and his 200 men.

 Replica of French frigate

The French arrived early and never mentioned that the Americans were in route and demanded Savannah’s surrender. The British dug in and then a siege was the only other option as a direct assault was no longer possible. This strategic blunder meant that the clock was ticking as the French navy would only stay for the balance of the hurricane season before returning to its primary mission in the West Indies. By mid-October 1779 the French – American forces made their assault and 1500 died, 70% of them French. OUt of the 600 South Carolina forces, 250 died. The French promptly left and Lincoln returned to Charleston leaving Francis Marion near Beaufort, SC to guard against any possibly movement from Savannah.

The American Continentals are now on the defensive and British general Clinton in New York harbor senses an opportunity to exploit this and by December 1779 sets a plan in motion to move ships and troops into the South towards wrapping up this rebellion in the American colonies.

Part 2 of this overview will be covered in a subsequent post. A handy resource for this piece in history can be found in John Oller’s book “The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution”

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August 16, 1780 – British Empire vs. Continentals/Militia : Battle of Camden

The darkest hour of the War for Independence from the British Empire in South Carolina was on this day 238 years ago. As mentioned in my previous post, the 4000 Continentals led by Horatio Gates, hero of Saratoga, and Major General Johann DeKalb faced Lord Cornwallis and Lt. Colonel James Webster and other British leadership on the fields just south and west of present day DeKalb, SC which is north and west of Camden, SC.  More in depth information on the Battle of Camden can be researched here.

The mismatch in the troops was apparent from the first shots as volunteers from Virginia were ordered to march within 50 yards of the British and hesitated at that command. Facing the best of the British army, the 23rd and 33rd regiments, is an unnerving experience. The Virginians saw the expertise being aimed at them and broke. The ripple effect of this continued past the Virginia militia, to the North Carolina militia and even to the Maryland Continentals.

This alone was all it took to have Major General Horatio Gates mount a fast horse and ride hard and long for 60 miles, about 2-3 hours, leaving any further damage control and subsequent retreat to other officers on the field.

The 1st Maryland Brigade put up a heroic fight against the British as things were coming apart at the seams, keeping this event from being a rout. This delay helped other units on the field but ultimately the troops had to flee into the nearby swamps that kept Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton’s horse from pursuing them in this terrain allowing them to live to fight another day.

The 2nd Maryland, Delaware Continentals and North Carolina militia (one unit) remained on the field but were outnumbered 600 to 2000. Major General Baron Johann DeKalb led many bayonet charges for over an hour and had his horse shot out from under him.  In his final assault he killed a British soldier and then went down to bayonet and bullet wounds. His troops protectively closed around him and opposed another bayonet charge from the overwhelming British forces.

Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton returned from his pursuit of the 1st Maryland in the swamps and chased the rear of the balance of the American troops. This battle was over.

The type of warfare typical to the 18th Century had Lord Cornwallis taking Baron DeKalb back to Camden and had him seen by his personal physician. Unfortunately Baron DeKalb died in Camden and is buried in Camden with a monument that has been erected to his memory on the old battlefield.

The final tally was about 700 American troops killed or taken prisoner out of 3000 troops that actually engaged in fighting, that Gates had abandoned, while the British lost 300 troops who were wounded or killed (68) out of 2200 engaged in this fight.

This fight effectively left a huge power vacuum in South Carolina that would take the Americans months to recover from. It is into this vacuum that men like Francis Marion would step up and into for the cause they had on their hearts.

August 1780 was a time when men of this region had to put into action, the words they had on their lips for the previous four years. Effectively, the resulted in an internal civil war in South Carolina. The method that men chose to fight would be known for generations to come and the legacy of the Swamp Fox would be born.

July 1780 Continentals Attempt Quick Victory Against British in South Carolina

13JUL1780: Major General Horatio Gates (BLUE) arrives in Hillsborough, NC. He served the British army before he moved to the American Colonies and volunteered as a Staff Officer in the Continental Army in 1775. In September and October 1777 he commanded the army that defeated the British invasion from Canada at Saratoga, NY. He sends out notice to all Continental officers still at liberty in the south to join him as soon as possible.

Note that for South Carolina forces alone, most regiments were at 10% strength as compared to their JAN1780 numbers. While SC Governor John Rutledge fled to North Carolina before MAY1780, SC Lt. Governor Christopher Gadsden was a POW, as well as 10 of 13 officers (Major General Lincoln, Brigadier Generals and Colonels) in the highest ranks. In addition to this, the British have occupied SIX major areas of South Carolina since the fall of Charleston on 12MAY1780.

One would think that this is the low ebb for the patriot/rebel cause in South Carolina, but things are going to get much worse before they get better.

25JUL1780: Gates meets Major General Baron DeKalb at Deep River, NC (just south of Greensboro) and assumed command of the Southern Military Department of the Continental Army. Lt. Colonel Francis Marion (decades later called “Swamp Fox”) and Lt. Colonel Peter Horry along with 20 others including servants are present to offer their services and receive direction.

27JUL1780: The Continentals and the SC militia unit start their 150 mile march toward Camden, SC. Faulty intelligence and a route that offered little in the way of food for these troops meant that their condition upon arrival in South Carolina will not be good.

03AUG1780: The Continentals and SC militia are joined by NC militia at the Pee Dee River in Anson County, NC. A week later Lt. General Lord Cornwallis would lead his British forces north from Charleston, SC for a showdown.

Stay tuned.

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