1. Major Battles in
South Carolina

2. Why Charles Town???
One of the most important and strategic ports on the Atlantic Ocean
SC sent money for troop supplies
They shipped rice and indigo to the French islands in the Caribbean
The British wanted to put a stop to this trade

3. Battle of Charles Town June 28, 1776
British decided to capture Charles Town and use it as a base from which to launch attacks on other colonies; specifically capture an unfinished fort on Sullivan’s Island; sent a naval force
SC defended Charles Town with 5000 Continental troops and SC militia; slaves helped construct the fort on Sullivan's Island out of palmetto logs and sand
British planned to station three ships on the southwest side of the fort; nine ships on the southeast; British troops would wade across from Long Island (Isle of Palms) and attack. This should have worked…

4. The water was too deep to wade; the three ships from the southwest ran aground and became easy targets for the Americans; the nine ships had to sail into deeper water right in front of American guns; cannonballs from British ships could not penetrate the palmetto logs because they were spongy enough to absorb the cannon shot
British defeat
Fort renamed Fort Moultrie for Gen. Moultrie, commander of SC militia
State flag came from the battle flag which was blue with a silver crescent moon. A palmetto tree was added because of its importance in the defeat of the British.

6. 2nd Battle of Charles Town
British attacked city when it was unprotected when Gen. Benjamin Lincoln was fighting in GA
Lincoln returned and prevented the fall of Charles Town

7. 3rd Battle of Charles Town
May 19, 1780
Fell into the hands of the British after a long siege when the British had surrounded the city and cut off all supplies
5000 American troops captured including Edward Rutledge and Christopher Gadsden
Loss of important port city for the colonists

8. Battle of Camden Camden was important British outpost August 16, 1780
Gen. Horatio Gates led the American troops to Camden; about half of the troops were untrained
Militia panicked and ran leaving the Continental Army to be overtaken by the British
Of 3,000, 800 were killed and 1,000 were captured

10. Guerrilla Warfare
Several groups of militia in SC used guerrilla warfare against the British
Americans benefited because they knew the land better
Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox, and Thomas Sumter, the Gamecock, were two of their leaders
Marion’s troops would attack the back of a British patrol, kill or wound several soldiers, and disappear into the swamps

11. Battle of Kings Mountain
October 7, 1780
Men from the mountains of NC and SC ambushed the army of Loyalists at Kings Mountain
Over 1,100 loyalists were killed
CONSIDERED THE TURNING POINT OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION IN THE SOUTH; beginning of the end for the British
Caused the British to leave the interior of South Carolina

12. Battle of Cowpens January 17, 1781
American forces defeated the British
Gen. Nathanael Greene and Gen. Daniel Morgan dived the troops into half and separated them east to west
Morgan then divided his troops in half again near Cowpens
The 1st group fired and retreated making Tarleton believe they were running away; when the British fell for the trick, the Americans turned and began firing and defeated the British
Over 900 British killed, wounded, or captured