The destruction of the Cherokee Nation in the Back Country: Part 4

In August of 1776 the Cherokee and their Loyalist allies decide to attack Col. Williams and his forces gathering to try to prevent the patriots from continuing their counter attack against the Cherokee homelands. To accomplish this 1200 braves attack Williams and his advance force early in the morning of August the first to try to destroy the threat to their Cherokee homes. This attack failed to dislodge Williams and his force because Andrew Pickens and a relief force was able to rush to Williams aid to check the Cherokee attack.  This failed attack was the last major attack of the Cherokee against the patriot force outside their land. Once the Cherokee were beaten back Williams along with Pickens began to enter the Lower Cherokee towns and began to apply the torch to them and their surrounding fields. Thus the total war against the Cherokee Nation began with the torch touching anything that the patriots felt could help the Cherokee in their path.

Andrew Pickens

On August 12^th, 1776 Andrew Pickens along with thirty-five men were caught in an ambush by a large group of Cherokees. This is where Pickens entered the realm of folk lore hero with his famous Ring Fight. Pickens formed his men into a two circles and had them fire two at a time to keep the Cherokee at bay until a relief force commanded by his brother Joseph Pickens could reach them.  Until the relief force reached them the men continued their fire on the Cherokee and even resorted to hand to hand combat when a group of Cherokees tried to charge the circle. Once the Cherokee were driven off it was discovered that only one of Pickens men was wounded, while his man claimed to of killed up to over eighty attackers.

Thomas Sumter

By August the twentieth the Patriots rushed counter attack was starting to fall apart as men began to run out of supplies and the supplies promised from Charlestown had not yet reached them. As a result Williams ordered most of the men home to replenish their supplies and to recruit others to come and join them against the Cherokee. These new recruits would have been the ones left home to protect the towns and settlements as Williams and Pickens began to set up a hurried defense and attack the Cherokee back in early July. To ensure that the Cherokee would know they were not finished and to protect from another Cherokee attack Williams built Fort Rutledge at the destroyed lower town of Essenca (present day Clemson) as a rallying point for the new recruits and as a staging area for the next round of attacks against the Cherokee.  On September the twelve Col. Thomas Sumter and his men along with the promised supplies from Charlestown arrives to help bolster the troop numbers and supplies needed.

By October 1776 Virginia and North Carolina also started attacks again the Cherokee Nation in order to protect their frontier. Thus by October of 1776 the Cherokee were fighting Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia militias at all points along their border. As a result of these fighting everyone and every where the Cherokee were hard pressed to stop the patriots as they went from village to village burning them to the ground. All of their lands are touched by the sword and flame from the lower villages to the over the mountain villages. As winter approached they found themselves without shelter, without food, and without help from their British Allies. They continued to try and fight through the winter and early spring but by May of 1777 they were ready to make peace. As a result of the peace treaty, they gave up all of their lands in the lower villages thus removing the Cherokee from the back country of South Carolina. This brought peace to the back country and South Carolina which was spared from war for the next two years because of it. 

The Patriot Response to the Cherokee Attacks

Gov. Rutledge

Once survivors began to make their way to settlements where they could get protection and spread the alarm the people of the back country began to rally to protect their homes and loved ones. The first major attempt of organizing resistance was with Major Andrew Williams who sent out the word for the word for his Ninety Six Militia Regiment to assemble to repel the Cherokee onslaught. This effort for some days was meet with futility as few people reported to Williams call because of fear of their homes being attacked while they were gone. Also during this time period riders where sent down to Charlestown to inform the government there of what was transpiring on the frontier. At this point the officials in Charlestown, including General Lee and Gov. Rutledge were still watching for a possible second attack from the British forces located in Charlestown Harbor when word reached them of the new enemy attacking along the frontier. After several days of waiting the South Carolina government released the Third South Carolina under Thomson, the Fifth under Huger, and the Sixth South Carolina under Sumter to begin the track up the Cherokee trail to assist the local militias with dealing with the attacks. The first to get up the Cherokee Trail was the Third South Carolina and Fifth South Carolina with the Sixth following behind them collecting supplies for the troops already in the Back Country and for future operations.

As Major Andrew Williams was continuing gathering his forces the first of the other Militia Regiments began to combine with his force. The first to come to his assistance was that of Major Andrew Pickens know as the “Wizard Owl” or the “Fighting Elder” with his Lower District Militia Regiment.  Other Militia Regiments began to form and moved towards Major Williams camp to help push back the Cherokee and to punish them for these attacks. These other militia regiments included the New Acquisition Regiment, Spartan Regiment, Little River Regiment, Camden Regiment, Fairfield Regiment, Upper Craven County Regiment, a Georgia Militia Regiment under the command of Col. Samuel Jack, and a group of Catawba Indians who had been fighting against the Cherokee for many generations and were more than happy to help settle an old debt with an old enemy.  Another group also offered their help against the Cherokee also, this was the Loyalist of the Back Country who had only a few months before been fighting against the Patriots in the Snow Campaign. These Loyalist were lead by Captain Robert Cunningham who offered to raise his Loyalist Regiment to help defeat the Cherokees. When Captain Cunningham offered his sword and that of his men to fight along with the Patriots they were refused. For logical reason we can understand why Williams refused Cunningham whom he had just been fighting some months before, but the question must also be asked why Cunningham and his men fighting alongside the Cherokee as other Loyalist wasn’t were at this time?  Did they not know this was an attack orchestrated by the crown or did they not want to be known among their friends and peers as those whom had assisted in this unleashing of total war?

William Henry Drayton

As this back country army formed they received unofficial orders for their expedition against the Cherokee nation from William Henry Drayton. In his letter Word to the Wise he told the expedition to “cut up every Indian corn field and burn every Indian town.” This letter was not official and surely not needed as a catalyst to let the back country know what they could or could not do against the Cherokee. These were people use to no prisoners taken type of fighting against the Cherokee Nation as they had already fought with the Cherokee numerous times and   understood this was not a war of territory, but that of survival for each. Whoever was left standing after this war would be masters of these lands and both knew the cost would be total war along the frontier. Once the Cherokee Nation started these attacks the gloves were off and nobody from Charlestown need worry what the back country population would do to the Cherokee once they organized and went out for vengeance.

On July 15^th it was found out by the Patriots that the Loyalist were more involved than what they thought in the 

Cherokee attacks. On July 15^th a siege lead by the Cherokee was broken by the Patriots at Fort Lyndley which was the first check against the Cherokee since the attacks began two weeks earlier. After the siege was lifted, Loyalist were captured dressed as Indians who had help in the attack against the Patriot fort. This only hardened the feelings of the Patriots against the Cherokee and the Loyalist in the battles to come.

As Major Williams force grew he began to move closer to the Cherokee lands to set up a base of operation to shield the settlements from further attack and to act as a jump off point to attack the Cherokee towns across the border.

Our next article will be about the Patriot Counter Attack against the Cherokee.

Next Series is on the Cherokee Campaign of 1776-1777

Looking forward to learning more about Richard Richardson, Andrew Williams, Andrew Pickens and their Tory counter parts. 

Andrew Pickens the Wizard Owl and also called the Fighting Elder

Thomas Sumter; Part 8 Battle of Sullivan's Island

Thomas Sumter was from the High Hills of the Santee near present day Sumter, South Carolina. He was born in Virginia but immigrated to South Carolina after he made a name for himself fighting in the French and Indian War against the Cherokee as part of the Virginia Militia as a sergeant. He even went to England after the war as an escort for Indian chiefs the British wished to impress. Upon his return he bought land in the High Hills and opened a store, mill, and farm in 1764. As he began to amass wealth over time in the High Hills, he started to resent the taxes he was paying and as a result, he turned to the Patriot cause.

He was elected to the South Carolina Provincial Congress along with a neighbor by the name of Francis Marion in 1774 that first meet on January 11th, 1775. While a member of the Provincial Congress he voted for many acts to distance South Carolina from England, he was considered a radical by many who were at the meetings. Also during this time period Thomas Sumter became a Captain in the local militia of the High Hills area. As a Captain he and his company participated in the Snow Campaign of December 1775 along with others such as Andrew Pickens,  and Lt. Col. William Thomson with the #rd South Crolina Rangers under the command of Col. Richard Richardson with a total force of 4500 men from South and North Carolina which sought out to destroy Tory strong holds and gathering points in the back country of South Carolina. During the Snow Campaign, Sumter was second in command to Col. Richardson and through this opportunity his leadership shown through as the Patriots smashed the Tories in the back country.

As a result of the name he made for himself in the Snow Campaign in February 1776 Thomas Sumter was appointed Lt. Colonel of a new regiment that was being formed in South Carolina. The new regiment would be called the 2nd South Carolina Rifle Regiment and would be made up of recruits from the Northwestern part of the state. They were to be primarily a sharp shooting regiment hence the name rifle regiment; instead of muskets they were issued rifles when possible as their primary weapon. Their name would later be changed to the 6th South Carolina a fact which will help the reader at a later date. They became an active regiment on March 25th, 1776 in Charleston after Sumter began recruiting for the regiment in the back country.

The 2nd South Carolina Rifles at the Battle of Sullivan’s Island under the command of Lt. Col. Sumter was stationed at Haddrell’s Point on Mount Pleasant on June 6th, 1776. They were being used as a ready reserve force with other regiments to meet the British if they should try to land on Mount Pleasant, but could also be ferried over to Sullivan’s Island if needed.

So on June the 6th we Find Thomas Sumter not yet the “Gamecock” he would become, eagerly waiting with his men to see what the British next move was to be.

Francis Marion enters the picture: Part 8 Battle of Sullivan's Island

With this blog being named after Marion’s Brigade you would figure it would be about Marion. Well to be honest it is, but we had to set the tone for Marion to enter the picture and there are lots of interesting stories about the revolution in South Carolina that we want to share also. So we will try to blend the two at times and concentrate on one or the other at other times.

Francis Marion by the fall of 1775 was a respected elected official in South Carolina politics which had voted for independence and was an officer in the 2nd South Carolina. He was also an experienced militia soldier who had served as an enlisted member of South Carolina Provincial Calvary with his brother and as a lieutenant in the infantry fighting the Cherokee in the back country of South Carolina and Eastern Tennessee in two different wars serving with such men as William Moultrie, Andrew Pickens, and Peter Horry. This military experience served him well in the inner circles of planter aristocracy in Charleston where they selected him to become a captain in the 2nd South Carolina, serving under his old commander from fighting the Cherokees, William Moultrie.

He first is to see action when he was chosen along with two other highly recognized militia military leaders who had join the line infantry Captain Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and Captain Barnard Elliot to take Fort Johnson from the British on June 21st, 1775 by the South Carolina Council of Safety. However, Marion and his men did not take part on the assault against Fort Johnson, which was not defended, since Lord Campbell had already left it earlier and spiked the cannons to keep them out of Patriot use. Marion and his men were still off loading at the transport when the others decide to attack because of  fear of alerting the fort to their presence. With Marion being selected for this assignment it shows just how highly he was thought of in early South Carolina military circles.

After the taking of Fort Johnson the Patriots started to build up defenses in the harbor proper to eject Lord Campbell and the two British ships which he maintained in the harbor to try to keep some control of the colony and to rally Loyalist support to the crown which never materialized. As a result a military depot to store powered, munitions, cannons, and important papers was established at the old fort at the town of Dorchester thirty miles up the Ashley River from Charleston. This fortification  was built in 1757 to protect a brick powder magazine and surrounded by a tabby wall for extra protection during the French and Indian War. As the supplies built up the fears of Loyalist coming from the back country of South Carolina to take the material there increased. As a result Moultrie sent Marion on November 19th, 1775 to Dorchester with command of his company and Captain Huger’s to secure the tabby fort there and make it ready for any possible attack. This was accomplished by Marion without incident and he remanded at Dorchester for some months protecting the very valuable material stored at this site.

The order reads as follows

Dated: November 19, 1775

"To Captain Francis Marion

     You are to proceed with all expeditions with yours, and Cap. Huger's companies to Dorchester, to reinforce the troops there, and to take specialcare in guarding and defending the cannon, gunpowder, and public records at that place. you are to take command of the whole of the troops at that place, till further orders. You are to apply to the commottee in Dorchester, for a sufficient number of negroes in the public service, to remove the cannon lying by the water-side to a spot more safe, and convenient, near the fort or bacrraks, etc.

Willaim Moultrie"

In late January or early February Marion and his detachment was ordered to Fort Johnson on James Island and then to Haddrell’s Point where a battery was nearing completion by the Continental forces while Moultrie and most of the 2nd South Carolina was starting in earnest to build the main fortifications on Sullivans Island. While at the fortifications at Haddrell’s Point, Marion was promoted to Major in the 2nd South Carolina and took his place as second in command to Moultrie. Once this occurred he along with his detachment transferred to Sullivans Island to help with the work on the fortifications there.

So in early June 1776, we find Francis Marion, a Major in the 2nd South Carolina and second in command of the major fortification on the South Eastern side of the island ready to meet their fate against the British Empire.

The Battle of Stono Ferry Part III: The Conclusion

On the morning of June 20th General Lincoln was now set to attack the British works protecting the Stono Ferry with the Southern Continental Army. His two prong plan of attack using General Moultrie as a diversion on James Island is sound to keep the attention of the main British force from coming to the aid of the troops at the Stono Ferry while he attacks with the main force. His pickets and skirmishers are already in contact the with their British counter parts taking shots at each other and he is ready to begin the attack at 7AM. On the British side they know that the Americans are camped not to far away and they are waiting for a possible attack, they are not surprised when the Americans start to advance towards them. They were however caught in an interesting situation, with the main part of their army on Johns Island with the rest still holding the position on the Stono Ferry. Remember Prevost was trying to get back to Savannah with his army in tack and this was his most vulnerable point on the way back. So he was hoping to avoid a fight but had set his defenses up to give him the most effective defense with the least amount of troops. He also had a British Navy barge armed with heavy cannons on his left flank in the Stono River to add to his defenses.

With these two enemey armies in the initial phase of combat the American attack was dealt a major blow to its efforts without General Lincoln realizing it. General Moultrie and his diversionary force of militia had not crossed in significant numbers onto James Island because of a shortage of boats and as a result General Moultrie called of his diversion. This allowed the British to have their main army ready to reinforce the troops at Stono Ferry, because they were not threatened elsewhere once the American attack was known to be in full force at the Stone bridge head.



General Lincoln started his attack without knowing his diversion from General Moultrie was not happening. He sent his North Carolina militia to attack the Hessians on the British left flank and his Continentals from North and South Carolina to attack the British right flanks which were both guarded by cannon fortified redoubts. As they moved towards their objectives the attack started to gain steam as they started to push the British pickets back to the fortifications. However the attack on the British right by the Continentals was halted almost immediately, not by the British fire but by a marsh creek that was unknown to the Americans. For those who don’t live in the Low Country these marsh creeks are filled with pluff mud that’s like quick sand and water mixture. Once the Continentals reach this marsh creek it stopped their part of the attack instantly. On the British left flank the North Carolina militia was making head ways against the Hessians stationed there until the British barge on the Stono River started to open fire along with members of the 71st who were sent to that section to help secure their flank.



Once the attack was going the British started to send reinforcements back across the Stono River as fast as the boats could take them. The British started to rush down the cause way to get to the boats that were stationed there. General Lincoln saw that he was not making head way and that the British reinforcements were already crossing back across the river, so he called off the attack after only 55 minutes. He ordered a retreat back away from the battle field to be covered by his reserve force of Brigadier General Count Kazimierz Pulaski and his Legion along with Andrew Pickens and his upstate militia which had not been deployed in the battle. This was a good thing because the 71st sallied out towards the retreating Americans and was driven back by Count Pulaski and his force as the main force retreated towards their camps.



In the after math of the battle it was learned that out of the 900 originally deployed by Prevost 26 were killed and 163 wounded. Lincoln’s force of 1200 reported 146 killed/wounded and 150 men missing or captured after the battle in reports. These numbers are not great, but the battle won by the British allowed them to evacuate the Stono Ferry bridge head three days later with no more loss of life and to make their way to Savannah without further inference from the Americans.



The result of this battle was that South Carolina was still free of British troops near Charleston, but the British army which was out in the open and vulnerable was allowed to escape back to Savannah and its defenses. If the Americans would have been able to defeat this British force it would of been a major blow to Prevost and his army’s chances of holding Georgia. Instead as the future would show this Prevost and his army that made it back to Savannah would play a major role in the defeat of the combined French/American force that attacks Savannah and in the final attack on Charleston.

Below is a map of the South Carolina and Georgia's coast line and the roads system from around the time of the Revolution. By looking at it you can see the trail Prevost used to get to Charleston and his escape route using the coast and the sea islands to make his way back to Savannah.