Siege of Fort Motte

Last updated
Siege of Fort Motte
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Mrs. Motte Directing Generals Marion and Lee to Burn Her Mansion John Blake White.jpg
Mrs. Motte Directing Generals Marion and Lee to Burn Her Mansion, by John Blake White (painted before 1859)
DateMay 8–12, 1781
Location 33°45′39″N80°40′11″W / 33.76084°N 80.66965°W / 33.76084; -80.66965 Coordinates: 33°45′39″N80°40′11″W / 33.76084°N 80.66965°W / 33.76084; -80.66965
Result American victory
Belligerents

Union flag 1606 (Kings Colors).svg  Great Britain

Flag of the United States (1777-1795).svg United States
Commanders and leaders
Union flag 1606 (Kings Colors).svg Daniel McPherson  White flag icon.svg

Flag of the United States (1777-1795).svg Francis Marion

Flag of the United States (1777-1795).svg Henry Lee
Strength
About 140 [1] About 450
Casualties and losses
all captured [1] 2 wounded

The siege of Fort Motte was a military operation during the American Revolutionary War. A force of Patriots led by General Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion and Lt. Colonel "Light Horse" Harry Lee set out to capture the British post at Fort Motte, the informal name of a plantation mansion fortified by the British for use as a depot because of its strategic location at the confluence of the Congaree and Wateree rivers. The British garrisoned roughly 175 British soldiers under Lt. Daniel McPherson at the fort.

Contents

Marion and Lee learned that Lord Rawdon was retreating towards Fort Motte in the aftermath of the Battle of Hobkirk's Hill. The Americans forces invested the place on May 8 and wanted to capture the fort before Rawdon arrived. Two days later, Marion called for the British to surrender and McPherson refused. The next day, Colonel Lee informed Mrs. Motte that he intended to burn the mansion down to force the British out. On May 12, 1781, the American forces had entrenched themselves close enough to the mansion they were able to hit the roof with flaming arrows. Mrs Motte, a patriot, accepted Lee's plan, and offered her own arrows for it. The mansion was set on fire. Marion's artillery fire added to the desperation of the British and, by one o'clock that afternoon, Lt. McPherson surrendered the garrison to the Patriots.

Background

Great Britain's "southern strategy" for winning the American Revolutionary War appeared in some ways to be going well after the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in March 1781. General Lord Cornwallis had defeated General Nathanael Greene, but his army was short on supplies and had suffered significant casualties, so he decided to move to Wilmington, North Carolina to resupply and refit his troops. Greene, while he had lost the battlefield, still had his army intact. After shadowing Cornwallis for a time, he turned south, and embarked on an expedition to recover Patriot control of South Carolina and Georgia, where British and Loyalist forces were thinly distributed, and smaller outposts were subject to attack from larger forces under the command of Greene or one of the Patriot militia commanders in the area.

He first ordered Colonel Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee to continue shadowing Cornwallis so that his southward movement was screened. Once he was on his way into South Carolina, he ordered Lee to abandon Cornwallis and instead join forces with militia Colonel Francis Marion in the eastern part of the state. Lee and Marion met on April 14, and first targeted Fort Watson, a small stockaded fort on the east side of the Santee River, which fell after a short siege. They chased after John Watson, the fort's usual commander, who had led a force away from it in search of Marion, but was forced onto the defensive when Lee arrived.

Lee and Marion then targeted Fort Motte, a key British supply depot and communication point not far from the confluence of the Congaree and Wateree Rivers. The British had taken over Mount Joseph Plantation, owned by Miles Brewton and then occupied by his sister, the widowed Rebecca Brewton Motte and her children, who had left the city of Charleston. The British fortified the area around the mansion, building palisades, ramparts, trenches and abatis. [2] They garrisoned a force of roughly 175, made up of British soldiers, Hessians, and Provincials under Capt. Lt. Donald McPherson at the fort. [2]

Siege

Arriving May 8, Lee and Marion immediately surrounded the fort, which was dominated by the two-story Motte residence and garrisoned by about 140 British and Hessian regulars under Capt. Lt. McPherson. On the approach of the Americans, the British had evicted the widowed Rebecca Motte from the main house, and she had taken up residence outside the fort at the overseer's house.

As the forces of Watson and Rawdon were still active and might come to relieve the siege, Marion and Lee needed to bring the siege rapidly to a conclusion. At Fort Watson they had constructed a tower from which the attackers could fire into the fort, but this idea was not workable under the conditions at Fort Motte. The idea was then put forward to set fire to the buildings within the defenses. Mrs. Motte, apparently sympathetic to the Patriot cause, provided the arrows that were used to ignite the roof of the house on May 12. When the defenders tried to go onto the roof to extinguish the flames, the attackers fired on them with their six-pound gun, driving them off. The garrison surrendered shortly after, and the Americans moved quickly to put out the fires before the whole house was engulfed.

Aftermath

The captured garrison was released on parole to return to Charleston. Before they left, Mrs. Motte and the American and British officers shared a meal. General Marion proceeded to the port of Georgetown, where the British garrison fled without resisting, while Lee was ordered by General Greene to assist in recapturing Augusta, Georgia.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Marion</span> American military officer, planter and politician (1732–1795)

Brigadier General Francis Marion, also known as the Swamp Fox, was an American military officer, planter, and politician who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. During the American Revolution, Marion supported the Patriot cause and enlisted in the Continental Army, fighting against British forces in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War from 1780 to 1781.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathanael Greene</span> American military officer and planter (1742-1786)

Major-General Nathanael Greene was an American military officer and planter who served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as one of George Washington's most talented and dependable officers, and is known for his successful command in the Southern theater of the conflict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Camden</span> 1780 battle of the American Revolutionary War

The Battle of Camden, also known as the Battle of Camden Court House, was a major victory for the British in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War. On August 16, 1780, British forces under Lieutenant General Charles, Lord Cornwallis routed the numerically superior U.S. forces led by Major General Horatio Gates about four miles north of Camden, South Carolina, thus strengthening the British hold on the Carolinas following the capture of Charleston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Pickens (congressman)</span> Revolutionary War militia general in South Carolina (1739-1817)

Andrew Pickens was a militia leader in the American Revolution. A planter and slaveowner, he developed his Hopewell plantation on the east side of the Keowee River across from the Cherokee town of Isunigu (Seneca) in western South Carolina. He was elected as a member of the United States House of Representatives from western South Carolina. Several treaties with the Cherokee were negotiated and signed at his plantation of Hopewell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Eutaw Springs</span> Battle of the American Revolution

The Battle of Eutaw Springs was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, and was the last major engagement of the war in the Carolinas. Both sides claimed a victory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Charleston</span> 1780 battle of the American Revolutionary War

The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the environs of Charles Town, the capital of South Carolina, between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The British, following the collapse of their northern strategy in late 1777 and their withdrawal from Philadelphia in 1778, shifted their focus to the American Southern Colonies. After approximately six weeks of siege, Major General Benjamin Lincoln, commanding the Charleston garrison, surrendered his forces to the British. It was one of the worst American defeats of the war.

The Battle of Hobkirk's Hill was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on April 25, 1781, near Camden, South Carolina. A small American force under Nathanael Greene occupying Hobkirk's Hill, north of Camden, was attacked by British troops led by Francis Rawdon. After a fierce clash, Greene retreated, leaving Rawdon's smaller force in possession of the hill.

Fort Motte was developed first as Mt. Joseph Plantation; it was commandeered in 1780 by the British and fortified as a temporary military outpost in what is now South Carolina during the American Revolutionary War. It was significant for its military use as a depot for their convoys between Camden and Charleston, which they occupied. Located along the Congaree River, it is roughly 90–95 miles from Charleston by 21st-century roadways. The British had fortified the big house and surrounds, and it became known as Fort Motte, after Rebecca Brewton Motte, who had been occupying it with her family. During the Patriot Siege of Fort Motte, the plantation mansion was set on fire. The British surrendered at this site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles O'Hara</span> 18th/19th century British military officer

General Charles O'Hara was a British Army officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary War and later served as governor of Gibraltar. He served with distinction during the American War of Independence, commanding a brigade of Foot Guards as part of the army of Charles Cornwallis and was wounded during the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. He offered the British surrender during the siege of Yorktown on behalf of his superior Charles Cornwallis and is depicted in the eponymous painting by John Trumbull. During his career O'Hara personally surrendered to both George Washington and Napoleon Bonaparte.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants)</span> Military unit

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War</span> Military conflicts in the southeastern United States during the American Revolution

The southern theater of the American Revolutionary War was the central theater of military operations in the second half of the American Revolutionary War, 1778–1781. It encompassed engagements primarily in Virginia, Georgia and South Carolina. Tactics consisted of both strategic battles and guerrilla warfare.

The Battle of Cowan's Ford was a battle in the Southern Theater of Cornwallis's 1780–1782 Campaign that eventually led to the British Army's surrender at Yorktown during the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on February 1, 1781, at Cowan's ford on the Catawba River in northwestern Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, between a force of about 2,400 British and about 800 Whig militia who were attempting to slow the British advance across the river. The American general William Lee Davidson was killed in this battle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Fort Watson</span>

The siege of Fort Watson was an American Revolutionary War confrontation in South Carolina that began on April 15, 1781 and lasted until April 23, 1781. Continental Army forces under Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee and South Carolina militia under Francis Marion besieged Fort Watson, a fortified British outpost that formed part of the communication and supply chain between Charleston and other British outposts further inland.

The siege of Augusta took place between May 22, 1781, and June 6, 1781. American Patriot forces, led by General Andrew Pickens and Colonel Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee, were successful in capturing Augusta, Georgia held by British loyalist militia. Fort Cornwallis, the primary British defence, was successfully exposed to cannon fire by the construction of a tower 30 feet (9.1 m) high on which the Americans mounted a small cannon. The British surrendered on June 6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Ninety-Six</span> Siege (1781) in the American Revolutionary War

The siege of Ninety Six was a siege in western South Carolina late in the American Revolutionary War. From May 22 to June 18, 1781, Continental Army Major General Nathanael Greene led 1,000 troops in a siege against the 550 Loyalists in the fortified village of Ninety Six, South Carolina. The 28-day siege centered on an earthen fortification known as Star Fort. Despite having more troops, Greene was unsuccessful in taking the town, and was forced to lift the siege when Lord Rawdon approached from Charleston with British troops.

John Gunby was an American planter and soldier from Somerset County, Maryland, who is considered by many to be "one of the most gallant officers of the Maryland Line under Gen. Smallwood". He entered service volunteering as a minuteman in 1775 and fought for the American cause until the end earning praise as probably the most brilliant soldier whom Maryland contributed to the War of Independence. Gunby was also the grandfather of Senator Ephraim King Wilson II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornwallis in North America</span> British Army officer in the American War of Independence

Charles, Earl Cornwallis (1738–1805) was a military officer who served in the British Army during the American War of Independence. He is best known for surrendering his army after the 1781 siege of Yorktown, an act that ended major hostilities in North America and led directly to peace negotiations and the eventual end of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca Brewton Motte</span>

Rebecca Brewton Motte (1737–1815) was a plantation owner in South Carolina and townhouse owner in its chief city of Charleston. She was known as a patriot in the American Revolution, supplying continental forces with food and supplies for five years. By the end of the war, she had become one of the wealthiest individuals in the state, having inherited property from both her older brother Miles Brewton, who was lost at sea in 1775, and her husband Jacob Motte, who died in 1780.

Emily Geiger (1765–1825) was a Patriot messenger active during the American Revolutionary War. Captured by Loyalists whilst on a mission to deliver a message on behalf of General Nathanael Greene, Geiger ate the written message in her possession. Upon release she verbally delivered the letter to its recipient.

Granby was the first European settlement in the area of present-day Columbia in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Settlement began around 1718 with the establishment of a trading post by the British on the Congaree River. Many small farms were settled by German, Swiss, and Scots-Irish immigrants. Granby was the largest town and county seat of Lexington County until the early 19th century, when the town began to gradually decline as Columbia, the state capital, grew. The once thriving colonial town was mostly unoccupied after the first quarter of the 19th century. Today, the area is part of present-day Cayce.

References

  1. 1 2 Cate, p. 162
  2. 1 2 Letter, Sumter to Greene, May 2nd 1781. Greene Papers, Volume III. p. 193