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More a major skirmish, the Battle of Black Mingo, just prior to midnight, September 28, 1780, [some accounts incorrectly give the date as September 14th] helped propagate the legend of one who would be termed the ‘Swamp Fox.’ Lt. Colonel Francis Marion was a militia leader and obstinate patriot who preferred to fight his war …
To call the fight there a battle would lend it a formality it did not possess. It was a clash of two armed mobs. Toward the end the fighting resembled an old-fashioned Pier 6 brawl between longshoremen and strikebreakers. Historian/Author John Buchanan The Battle of Ramsour’s Mill, also spelt Ramseur, and Ramsaur, for Derick Ramsaur, …
Battle of Tearcoat Swamp (also known as Tarcote and Tarcot), fought Oct. 25, 1780, was one of a string of battles that highlighted the military ingenuity of what legend has labeled, the Swamp Fox. By the fall of 1780, it became apparent that the new American Congress had blown it in selection of commanders of …
The Battle of Beaufort, also known as the Battle of Port Royal Island, February 3, 1779, near Beaufort, South Carolina, was considered an American victory that, along with the Battle of Kettle Creek, Georgia, exactly one month later, on March 3, 1779, was a shot in the arm for American forces in the south. As …
At the start of the American Revolution, not all British colonies on the mainland of North America rebelled against the mother country. Thirteen did; however, the four distinct colonies to the north that made up Canada and, in the south, East and West Florida, did not. They remained loyal to England. As such, the rebellious …
The Battle of Kettle Creek, February 14, 1779, was a partisan clash of arms between Loyalists and Patriot militias; approximately sixty-five miles northwest of Augusta and eight miles west of present-day Washington, Georgia. By 1778, the southern colonies of the American Revolution had become a battleground of partisan warfare. A bloody civil war had erupted …
Literally caught between a rock and a hard place, the American position at Brier Creek, Georgia, on March 3, 1779, commanded by Brigadier General John Ashe of North Carolina militia, proved to be a death trap. Situated on a triangular plot of land, the American choice of encampment was fatally flawed. Their backs were to …
Steno Ferry was fought on June 20, 1779 just southwest of Charleston, South Carolina, between the British and a slightly larger American force. It was a battle ill-conceived and did nothing to alter the situation of the two opposing armies. England’s troops were completing their retreat from ‘rebel’ defenses outside Charleston, South Carolina, when American …
One may describe the American Revolutionary War general and United States Senator, John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg – referred to as Peter (Oct. 1, 1746 – Oct. 1, 1807), as a man who sought to sever the chains of a chosen destiny to seek his own self. Son of one of America’s most powerful and strong-minded …
The Battle of Great Bridge, December 9, 1775, was Virginia’s major opening salvo of the American Revolution. The buildup to and battle held the fate of who would govern Virginia in the balance. It proved to be a decided victory for the rebellious colonial Whigs, those calling themselves patriots. It pitted undisciplined rebel militia, farmers …
It is a pleasure to present my good friend and American Revolution Photographer Ken Bohrer’s interview with American Revolution reenactor Noah “Ned Hector” Lewis – Black Revolutionary War Hero. This is the first interview of a three part series. Ken Bohrer’s website American Revolution Photos has over eight thousand outstanding photos and dozens of videos of …
February 24, 1781. Lt. Col. Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, Virginia patriot leader of cavalry and light infantry, rode before four hundred North Carolina loyalists. The militia, eager to join British Lt. General Charles Cornwallis’ army, had lined up for review. With Lee’s cavalry by his side, the Continental Army commander was enthusiastically greeted by …
“For damned fighting and drinking, I’ll match you against the world!” Lt. Col. William Meadows cries out leading the 23rd at the Battle of Brandywine Creek, Sept. 11, 1777. The British 23rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Welch Fusiliers) played a crucial role in nearly every major battle during the American Revolution; from the very beginning …
September 8, 1781 and the Battle of Eutaw Springs destroyed any hope England had of reclaiming the southern colonies. But sixteen months earlier, that was nowhere near the case. American General Benjamin Lincoln had just surrendered the southern army at Charleston to British General Henry Clinton on May 12, 1780. The devastating loss of over …
“A downright democracy!“ British officer describes Rhode Island. In the summer of 1772, angry New England zealots carried out a far more hostile and dangerous attack against the British crown’s authority a year and a half later, December 16, 1773, when a bunch of patriots dressed up as Native Americans dumped a ton of tea …