| Battle of Cedar Springs | |||||
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| Part of the American Revolutionary War | |||||
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 United States |  Great Britain | ||||
Battle of Cedar Springs, also called the Battle of Cedar Spring reportedly skirmishes that happened twice near what is now Spartanburg, South Carolina during the American Revolutionary War. The first happened on July 12, 1780, and there is a question about whether that happened at all, or if so on that night and site. Another Battle of Cedar Springs occurred at a different site. [1]
A group of 150 Tory militiamen, led by British Maj. Patrick Ferguson, planned to attack the Spartan Regiment, led by Col. John Thomas, Jr., at their encampment at Cedar Springs on July 12, 1780. According to a long-standing and well-documented legent, Thomas and his soldiers, most of whom were members of the Fair Forest Presbyterian Church, were notified about the plans by Jane Thomas. She was the wife of Col. John Thomas, Sr., who was imprisoned at Ninety Six, and the mother of Col. John Thomas, Jr. [1] Having overheard two loyalists discuss the plan when she visited her husband at Ninety Six, she was compelled to ride her horse 60 miles (97 km) to Cedar Springs. She met up with her son and told him of the Loyalists' plan to attack during the night. [2] [3] Thomas and his 60 men hid in strategic locations behind and around their campsite, with the intention of surprising the loyalists when they attempted to attack the patriots. There was a short skirmish, during which John White, a loyalist was killed. Thomas and his men went to join Thomas Sumter and 35 loyalists went to Gowen's Old Fort, an encampment of loyalist militia men. The fate of the other loyalists from the skirmish is not known. [1] The First Battle of Cedar Springs has been described as the first in a series of events that led to the Battle of King's Mountain. Its site is among those included in the Revolutionary War Trail, a driving tour around Spartanburg. [1] [4] A monument is located near the Cedar Spring Baptist Church in Spartanburg. [4]
Two days later, on the night of July 14, 1780, Col. John Jones and his men attacked and took control of Gowen's Old Fort. This event, said to have followed the First Battle of Cedar Springs, was described as follows,
As they passed through the disaffected country, they pretended to be a company of loyalists, engaged in the king's service; and in many instances were furnished with pilots, under that impression. When they had passed the head waters of Saluda River, one of these guides informed them, that 'a party of rebels had attacked some loyalists the preceding night, a short distance in front, and defeated them.' Jones expressed a wish to be conducted to the place, that he might join the loyalists, and have it in his power to take revenge for the blood of the king’s subjects which had been selected to pursue the Americans who had retreated to the north. About eleven o'clock on the night of the 14th of July, Jones was conducted to the royal party, where about forty were collected.
— Lyman Draper, author of King's Mountain and Its Heroes [1] [lower-alpha 1] Conner Runyan questions the conclusions that Draper made from the three sources, specifically regarding dates and places that were discussed from these three sources. [1]
The incident described as "a party of rebels had attacked some loyalists the preceding night" could also be in reference to Huck's Defeat of July 12, 1780. Major Joseph McJunkin, a son-in-law of Jane Thomas, had said that there were three conflicts in or near Cedar Springs based upon the 1837 The Memoirs of Major Joseph McJunkin compiled by his grandson-in-law. The three conflicts near the Battle of Cedar Springs could refer to two skirmishes (rather than three) that happened near the site of the Second Battle of Cedar Springs. [1]
The Second Battle of Cedar Springs, also called the Battle of Wofford's Iron Work, occurred in August 1780. It occurred near the site of the first battle. [1] British Major Ferguson and his troops, who were generally on foot, came to Wofford's Iron Works to fight patriots led by Col. Clarke and Col. Shelby. The loyalists had a hard time fighting against the patriots that were on horseback at the site near Lawsons Fork Creek. The loyalists returned to their camp at Cedar Springs. The patriots retreated, wanting to avoid Ferguson and his troops after their earlier experiences at the Battle of the Peach Trees. The Wofford's Iron Works building was destroyed in 1781 by "Bloody Bill" Cunningham, an enemy of the patriots. [4] A marker was installed in the general area where the fight is thought to have occurred.
The Battle of Kings Mountain was a military engagement between Patriot and Loyalist militias in South Carolina during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolutionary War, resulting in a decisive victory for the Patriots. The battle took place on October 7, 1780, 9 miles (14 km) south of the present-day town of Kings Mountain, North Carolina. In what is now rural Cherokee County, South Carolina, the Patriot militia defeated the Loyalist militia commanded by British Major Patrick Ferguson of the 71st Foot. The battle has been described as "the war's largest all-American fight".
Patrick Ferguson was a Scottish officer in the British Army, an early advocate of light infantry and the designer of the Ferguson rifle. He is best known for his service in the 1780 military campaign of Charles Cornwallis during the American Revolutionary War in the Carolinas, in which he played a great effort in recruiting American Loyalists to serve in his militia against the Patriots.
The Battle of Kettle Creek was the first major victory for Patriots in the back country of Georgia during the American Revolutionary War that took place on February 14, 1779. It was fought in Wilkes County about eleven miles (18 km) from present-day Washington, Georgia. A militia force of Patriots decisively defeated and scattered a Loyalist militia force that was on its way to British-controlled Augusta.
The Overmountain Men were American frontiersmen from west of the Blue Ridge Mountains which are the leading edge of the Appalachian Mountains, who took part in the American Revolutionary War. While they were present at multiple engagements in the war's southern campaign, they are best known for their role in the American victory at the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780. The term "overmountain" arose because their settlements were west of, or "over", the Blue Ridge, which was the primary geographical boundary dividing several of the 13 American states from the Native American lands to the west. The Overmountain Men hailed from parts of Virginia, North Carolina, and what is now Tennessee and Kentucky.
The 84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants) was a British regiment in the American Revolutionary War that was raised to defend present day Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada from the constant land and sea attacks by American Revolutionaries. The 84th Regiment was also involved in offensive action in the Thirteen Colonies; including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and what is now Maine, as well as raids upon Lake Champlain and the Mohawk Valley. The regiment consisted of 2,000 men in twenty companies. The 84th Regiment was raised from Scottish soldiers who had served in the Seven Years' War and stayed in North America. As a result, the 84th Regiment had one of the oldest and most experienced officer corps of any regiment in North America. The Scottish Highland regiments were a key element of the British Army in the American Revolution. The 84th Regiment was clothed, armed and accoutred the same as the Black Watch, with Lieutenant Colonel Allan Maclean commanding the first battalion and Major General John Small of Strathardle commanding the second. The two Battalions operated independently of each other and saw little action together.
The Battle of Johnstown was one of the last battles in the northern theatre of the American Revolutionary War, with approximately 1,400 engaged at Johnstown, New York on October 25, 1781. British regulars and militia, commanded by Major John Ross of the King's Royal Regiment of New York and Captain Walter Butler of Butler's Rangers, had raided the border area. Local American forces, led by Colonel Marinus Willett, blocked the British advance. As the British withdrew northwards Willett and his men marched to German Flatts to try to cut them off. The British managed to escape, but Walter Butler was killed.
The Battle of Charlotte was an American Revolutionary War battle fought in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 26, 1780. The battle took place at the Mecklenburg County Court House; which is now the site of the Bank of America tower at Trade and Tryon Streets in uptown Charlotte. An advance guard of General Charles Cornwallis' army rode into town and encountered a well-prepared Patriot militia under the command of William R. Davie in front of the court house. A skirmish ensued in which George Hanger, leading the British cavalry, was wounded. The small Patriot force, which had not intended more than token resistance, withdrew north toward Salisbury upon the arrival of Cornwallis and the main army.
Camp Hill, near Spartanburg, South Carolina, is the site of a plantation house built by Dr. John Winsmith in 1835. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.
The Battle of Musgrove Mill, August 19, 1780, occurred near a ford of the Enoree River, near the present-day border between Spartanburg, Laurens and Union Counties in South Carolina. During the course of the battle, 200 Patriot militiamen defeated a combined force of approximately 300 Loyalist militiamen and 200 provincial regulars.
The Battle of Rocky Mount took place on August 1, 1780 as part of the American Revolutionary War. 600 Loyalists commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George Turnbull occupying an outpost in northern South Carolina withstood an attack by 300 American Patriots led by Colonel Thomas Sumter.
The Battle of Hanging Rock was a battle in the American Revolutionary War that occurred between the American Patriots and the British. It was part of a campaign by militia General Thomas Sumter to harass or destroy British outposts in the South Carolina back-country that had been established after the fall of Charleston in May 1780.
Major Joseph Caldewll McJunkin was an American Revolutionary War patriot serving in the battle of Kings Mountain, North Carolina.
Jane Thomas was the wife of John Thomas, a colonel in South Carolina who fought for the rebels in the American Revolution. She passed key intelligence that thwarted an ambush of Whig forces.
Huck's Defeat or the Battle of Williamson's Plantation was an engagement of the American Revolutionary War that occurred in present York County, South Carolina on July 12, 1780, and was one of the first battles of the southern campaign to be won by Patriot militia.
Frederick Hambright was a military officer who fought in both the local militia and in the North Carolina Line of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He is best known for his participation in the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780. Serving as a statesman early in the Revolution, Hambright joined the war in 1777, ranked a lieutenant colonel in a local militia. His early actions were limited to occasional checks on Loyalist groups. This changed in 1780 with Hambright's important role at the Battle of Kings Mountain, which occurred near his lands in the newly formed Lincoln County, North Carolina. Hambright was commended for his bravery during the battle, though suffering a wound which forced him to permanently resign from military service.
Musgrove Mill State Historic Site was the site of the Battle of Musgrove Mill, an action in the American Revolutionary War, which occurred on August 19, 1780, near the Enoree River, on what is the border between Spartanburg, Laurens, and Union Counties in South Carolina, approximately seven miles from Interstate 26.
Colonists who supported the British cause in the American Revolution were Loyalists, often called Tories, or, occasionally, Royalists or King's Men. George Washington's winning side in the war called themselves "Patriots", and in this article Americans on the revolutionary side are called Patriots. For a detailed analysis of the psychology and social origins of the Loyalists, see Loyalist.
The King's Carolina Rangers (KCR) was a loyalist militia regiment active during the American War of Independence. The KCR was composed of nine infantry companies, of which one was converted into a troop of dragoons in 1782. The unit primarily saw action in the South Carolina and Georgia theatres of the conflict.
Gowensville is an unincorporated community in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. The community sits along the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway and South Carolina Highway 14, flanking the Spartanburg County border to its east.
John Thomas, Sr. was a colonel during the American Revolutionary War who led the Spartan Regiment against the Loyalists. He was a representative of the Provincial Congress in 1776. During the fall of Charleston, Thomas was captured and was imprisoned at the Ninety Six prison and later at Charleston until the end of the war.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .Ellet, Elizabeth Fries (1849). The Women of the American Revolution. Original from the New York Public Library: Baker and Scribner. pp. 250–262.
