History of the American Revolution
General John Thomas (November 9, 1724 – June 2, 1776), a medical doctor by trade, was the sixth commissioned major general in the continental army of the American Revolution; right after Major General Richard Montgomery. Ironically, like Montgomery, Thomas would die in the same 1775 – 1776 failed campaign that invaded Canada. In early spring, …
The Battle of Hanging Rock, South Carolina, August 6, 1780, was fought in present day Lancaster County south of Heath Springs. It was a patriot victory between rebel militia (North and South Carolina) that included Catawba Native Americans against a British outpost garrisoned by Tory regulars, mounted infantry of Banastre Tarleton’s Legion (Tarleton was not …
“…we were a set of men acting entirely on our own footing, without the promise or expectation of pay.” –Militiaman Sixteen-year-old James Potter Collins Back country southern militiamen were cut from a far different mold than their northern counterparts. The war in the north, by design, was one of organized armies that marched, positioned along …
July 30, 1780. British Partisan Victory. A force of approximately 600 militia under Colonel Thomas Sumter attacked a fortified British outpost garrisoned by around 300 partisan regular troops and loyalist militia under Lt. Colonel George Turnbull. This was the first battle under the leadership of celebrated rebel leader Thomas Sumter since the fall of Charleston, …
July 30, 1780: American Victory. One week prior to the main Battle of Hanging Rock, a rebel reconnaissance mission surprised and butchered a loyalist force within view of a large British garrison. In July, 1780, militiamen of North and South Carolina flocked to the patriot banner of rebel leader Colonel Thomas Sumter after the July …
My Lord Hook was shot from his horse –James Collins sixteen-year-old rebel militiaman July 12, 1780, Huck’s Defeat, or the Battle of Williamson’s Plantation, was a vengeful sudden strike by patriot backcountry militiamen against a strong, well-trained foe. Though small in scale by comparison, it was considered a gamechanger for patriot militia. It was the …
This battle or large skirmish between partisan militia forces occurred on July 12, 1780. A rebel victory, though small in comparison, it gains importance when considered the first of many skirmishes and battles between loyalist and patriot forces that lead to the all-decisive Battle of King’s Mountain, October 7, 1780. On May 12, 1780, two …
August 18, 1780 American victory. Whenever large partisan militia forces collided, the struggle tended to be brutal and vicious. It had to be. It was personal. By 1780 the patriot and crown factions morphed into a bloody civil war. Mostly the antagonists formed into small raiding parties that attacked without warning. They killed and destroyed …
Hobkirk’s Hill: April 25, 1781. American General Nathanael Greene had yet to achieve a personal victory since he took over command of the American Southern Army in December of 1780. But he did not need to. Either planned, by accident, or a twist of fate, Greene was able to get rid of General Lord Charles …
The nine-day Siege of Fort Watson by American Continentals under Colonel Henry ‘Light-Horse Harry’ Lee and militia under Colonel Francis ‘Swamp Fox’ Marion, April 14 – 23, 1781, ended in the destruction of the first of many British forts and stockades that formed the chain of communication and supply depots across the deep south. It …