Long Canes, December 12, 1780, was a major skirmish resulting in a patriot loss. It occurred twenty-eight miles southwest of British held Fort Ninety-Six at Cambridge, South Carolina in the Long Canes Settlement. An after-action raid by British partisan regulars plundered Andrew Pickens home and molested his family. This, plus a month’s confinement at Fort Ninety-Six, gave cause for the proven militia leader to break his pardon and rejoin the war; just in time to lead militia in the American victory at the Battle of Cowpens.
On December 4, 1780, 100 militiamen under the command of Georgian Elijah Clarke and South Carolina militia leader Lt. Colonel James McCall and Major Samuel Hammond, were in the field recruiting Long Canes settlement patriots. These were militiamen who had given their parole after the British army captured Georgia and much of South Carolina earlier that year. Being so close to the major British outpost at Fort Ninety-Six, the garrison’s commander, Colonel Harris Cruger, ordered the rebels to be attacked. The British force of around 500 men included the Ninety-Six Loyalist militia under the incompetent Brigadier General Robert Cunningham, and a large detachment of the garrison’s partisan regulars, New Jersey Volunteers with one cannon of the New York Delancey Battalion artillery. The force was placed under the command of Cruger’s second, Lt. Colonel Isaac Allen.
Both rebel and loyalist militia were mounted, but the attack was made on foot. Cunningham’s men at first clashed with the rebels, but were driven a mile back to the regular’s camp. As soon as the British regulars rallied, Clarke’s men were overwhelmed by sheer numbers. The rebels retreated and were relentlessly pursued by the superior British regulars, forcing them to scatter throughout the settlement.
When the battle began, Clarke had requested aid from a large rebel militia force only three miles distant under fellow Georgian Colonel Benjamin Few. They failed to respond because Colonel Few had already retreated, but had not informed Clarke. The rebels lost twenty-one men killed and wounded, over a fifth of the command. McCall received a minor wound, but would die of a small pox epidemic in April, 1781. Clarke’s injury, his fourth of the war, was serious and he would not return to lead his Georgia Regiment until March 15th of the following year. The loyalist militia lost two killed and seven wounded; only two British regulars were wounded.
Considered a small action among dozens of similar clashes throughout the south, Long Canes earned its place in history as the catalyst for one of America’s greatest militia leaders to break his parole and rejoin the war; Colonel Andrew Pickens. Picken’s was the hero of the Battle of Kettle Creek, Feb. 14, 1779 that stalled a British invasion of the southern backcountry for a full year. After the fall of Charleston and surrender of the entire American Continental Army on May 12, 1780, Pickens, along with many rebel militiamen, accepted paroles. Pickens returned to his home on the Ceded Lands in what was called the Long Cane Settlement, southwest of Ninety-Six along the Savannah River across from Georgia. Persistent attacks by loyalist raiding parties forced many militiamen to break their paroles and return to the war; however, Pickens continued to honor his parole.
After Clarke arrived at Long Canes, followed by a larger number of rebel militia under Georgian Colonel Benjamin Few, a rebel council sent Colonel James McCall and Major Samuel Hammond to bring Pickens back to their camp. Rebel leaders tried to convince Pickens to break his parole and join them, but Pickens refused, stating honor did not allow him to disavow his word to remain neutral. Pickens was still in camp when Brigadier Cunningham attacked Clarke’s men followed by Allen’s regulars. After Clarke was routed, Lt. Colonel Allen allowed Pickens’ residence to be plundered and his family accosted. When Pickens learned of this, he immediately returned home and was escorted by British regulars to Fort Ninety-Six. The garrison’s commander, Colonel Harris Cruger, had left for Charleston, leaving Lt. Colonel Allen in charge. Pickens was basically kept under house arrest for an entire month in which Allen tried to convince him to side with the loyalists or at least remain neutral. However, after his home was ransacked and family molested, Pickens would have none of it.
Once released, Pickens immediately informed British authorities he had been given ample reasons to break his parole. He quickly gathered a hundred men and rode to Brigadier General Daniel Morgan to offer his leadership abilities to recruit a large militia force. Pickens was true to his word and unlike militia leader General Thomas Sumter, who rarely cooperated with Continental troops, Pickens readily offered his militia under Morgan’s command at The Battle of Cowpens, January 17, 1781. Under his firm leadership, Picken’s militia held the line before charging British steel, fired the required volleys, and withdrew in support of Continental regulars; a stalwart performance that contributed immensely to the American victory.
Cowpens became the key in a chain of events that led to England’s failure to retain the southern colonies, leading to the Battle of Yorktown and the war’s conclusion. Pickens would remain in the field for the war’s duration. He participated in the last major battle in the south; considered the bloodiest of the war with highest percentage of casualties of those who fought; Battle of Eutaw Springs, September 8, 1781.
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RESOURCES
Coleman, Kenneth. The American Revolution in Georgia, 1763-1789. 1958 reissue 2021: University of Georgia Press, Athens, GA.
Hall, Leslie. Land & Allegiance in Revolutionary Georgia. 2001: University of Georgia Press, Athens, GA.
Johnson, Joseph. Traditions and Reminiscences Chiefly on the American Revolution in the South. Reference page 153.1851: Walker & James, Charleston, SC.
McCall, Hugh. The History of Georgia Containing Brief Sketches of the Most Remarkable Events up to the Present. Vol. 2. 1816: Seymour and Williams, Savannah, GA.
Runyan, Conner and Harris, C. Leon. “Colonel Andrew Pickens and the Long Cane Skirmish.” August 15, 2023. All Things Liberty.