USA > Georgia > The history of Georgia: containing brief sketches of the most remarkable events, up to the present day, Vol. II > Part 21
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partially enclosed by a fence, and a hill of wood. land, with thick undergrowth, commences and continues two hundred yards further along the margin of the road, and thence the high ground diverges to the left; and on the left, about two hundred and fifty yards from the road, a deep gully makes out from the river, and leads nearly parallel to the road, along the left of the high ground. General Sumpter's tent was pitched on the left of the road, at the ford; colonel Richard Winn's troops, one hundred and twenty-five in number, were encamped on the general's left, and upward along the river ; colonel Taylor's were encamped along the gully, on the left of Winn ; and colonels Lacey, Bratton, and Hills' troops, upward of three hundred men, were encamped on the high ground, in the thick wood, about three hundred and fifty yards in front. During the day of the 9th, colonels Twiggs and Clarke, and ma- jors Chandler and Jackson, with about one hun- dred Georgia militia ; and in the evening, colonel M'Call, with a part of his regiment from Long- cane, joined the camp. These two re-enforce- ments occupied the ground between Winn's and Taylor's commands. On the morning of the 12th, colonel Thomas Taylor, with fifty men, was ordered to proceed toward Winnsborough, to reconnoitre the country and gain intelligence of the enemy's movements. During the day Sump. ter called his field officers into council, who ad- vised him to retire over Broad river, but the gene-
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ral thought otherwise, and kept his ground. Tay- lor returned about midnight, without having gain- ed any information.
Lord Cornwallis had conceived it practicable to surprise Sumpter in his camp; and for that purpose detached major Wemyss, at the head of the 63rd regiment, mounted, and forty or fifty dragoons. The people of the country, surround- ing Sumpter's camp, were generally disaffected to the American cause, which enabled Wemyss to obtain correct intelligence of his force, and the position of every corps in the encampment, and guides to conduct him to the different points. An officer with five dragoons, and a guide, was appointed to attack Sumpter in his tent.
Colonel Winn suggested to some of the offi- cers, the probability of the enemy attacking by surprise ; he took the precaution to order his men to sleep on their arms, and to keep up good fires during the night, and to sleep in the rear of their fires ; and pointed out the ground on which they were to form, in case of attack. Twiggs and M'Call had taken similar precautions, but their ground was not so well calculated for defence.
About four o'clock in the morning of the 13th, the American piquet fired on the British van, and retreated to the camp. Twiggs, Winn, and M'Call immediately formed for action. Sumpter was in profound sleep, and his orderly neglected to awake him on the first alarm ; and the party assigned to that service, were at his ten?
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before he could put on his coat: he ran out, Icap- ed the fence, and escaped by the river bank.
As soon as the piquet fired, the British ad- vanced in full charge into the camp. When the dragoons advanced to the fires, before Winn's command, they came to a halt and paused, per- ceiving no enemy, being blinded by the light of the fires. Winn's troops having a fine view of them, took a steady aim and fired ; the dragoons wheeled about, and in retreat they killed a young man by the name of Sealy, a loyalist, who had been a prisoner, and liberated the day before. The British infantry had dismounted, formed, and advanced near the fires, and Winn having formed his men behind a fence, and Twigg's and M'Call's partially so, they opened their fire, which was briskly returned by the enemy for a short time, when they charged with the bayonet ; but the fence obstructed their intentions, where they received a close fire from the Americans, and commenced a retreat. Taylor advanced on their flank, and gave them three shots from the whole of his troops, during their retreat. On the first advance of the infantry, major Wemyss was wounded, and in a short lapse of time, captain Carr gave him another shot, of which he fell. When the infantry charged with the bayonet, Winn had one man slightly, and captain Samuel Carr, of M'Call's regiment mortally wounded. After an action of twenty minutes, the British infantry re-mounted and retreated.
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Lacey, Bratton, and Hills' corps never fired a shot, fearful that they would kill their friends as the action was close, and the night very dark. The British loss was considerable : major We- myss was badly wounded; about twenty were killed, and the ground strewed with their wound. ed. A surgeon, who was sent with a flag to take care of them declared, when he returned to Winnsborough, that he had never witnessed so much injury being done by so few troops in so short a time, since he had been in America, as had been sustained by the British troops.
Sumpter being cut off from his troops, im- magined that all was lost, and had like to have been frozen ; but on ascending a high ground, when it became day-light, he was agreeably dis- appointed by a view of his troops in quiet pos- session of the field of battle.
If Lacey, Bratton, and Hill, had received orders how to attack ; the whole of the British detachment would have been captured ; but by the misfortune that befel Sumpter, which was unknown to his officers, no one assumed the chief command ; and of course, there was no unity of action.
In the British accounts of this skirmish, it is stated that only a few shots were fired. Major Wemyss received two wounds, which disabled him from the further performance of his duty, and the command devolved" on a young lieutenant, who was unacquainted with the ground, the plan,
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or the force to be encountered. That all was confusion ; and that the British retired with the loss of twenty men.
On the 13th, general Sumpter passed over Broad river and encamped at Niam's plantation, on the Enoree : from thence he marched down to Shirer's ferry, where there was a British post, and menaced it ; but the British declined to quit their works and come out to battle : thence he moved up the country ; and on the 18th, took post at Blackstock's, on the south side of the river Tyger, sixty miles from Winnsborough, and thirty-five from fish-dam ford, of Broad river.
Blackstock's house was long and narrow, and of two apartments of eighteen feet square, with eighteen feet space between, and a roof over the whole. In the rear of the house, a few hundred yards, is the crossing place of the river Tyger : midway from the house to the river, is a hill making down from the right, nearly parallel with the house, and terminates at the road : the house is on a second elevated ground, below the hill, covered with open wood land, and lunating with its concave to the front. The road leads from the river by the right of the house, and leads di- rectly forward, as the house fronts and descends through the field about one hundred yards to a small rivulet; and near the road to the right, is low brush wood ; and on the left a field, with the fence on the left, extending a quarter of a mile, in a straight direction, where the road divides. The
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field on the left makes a right angle at the house, and the fence runs directly to the left, to the low grounds of the river ; on the right of the road, op- posite to the end of the house, was a small pole building. On the second elevation, in the rear of the house, and parallel thereto, general Sumpter ericamped his troops, and expecting that he would be attacked, he assigned to each corps their res- pective ground to act on.
Colonel Hampton, of Broad river, with his troops was to occupy the house : colonel Twiggs, the senior officer under general Sumpter, assisted by colonel Clarke, and majors Chandler and Jack- son, with the Georgia militia, were to occupy the fence and wood land to the left of the house : colonels Bratton, Taylor, Hill, and M'Call were to occupy the right of the house, with their right formed on the curve of the rising ground : this corps was to be commanded by the general in person : colonel Lacey was appointed to cover the right; and colonel Winn was to occupy the hill, as corps of reserve. Colonel Chandler had been detached on the march to collect provisions. General Sumpter's force consisted of four hun- dred and twenty men.
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Hearing that Sumpter had crossed Broad river, and calculating that his views were on Ninety. six, Cornwallis determined to make another blow at him. For this purpose, he ordered colone! Tarlton, with his legion, and the 63rd regiment, commanded by major Moncy, to push Sumpter
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to the utmost ; and part of the 71st was advanced to Broad river to cover him, if it should be need- ful. Tarlton had a part of his infantry mounted, making the whole number on horse-back, four hundred ; and three hundred infantry marching on foot. Thus equipped, he advanced in pursuit of Sumpter with his accustomed celerity.
On the morning of the 20th, captain Patrick Carr with a few men was ordered to reconnoitre, and had taken three loyal militia, unarmed, and two boys who had been to mill, prisoners, and was conducting them to camp. Tarlton came up with Carr, who gave him a shot and fled to the camp, leaving the prisoners and mill boys behind; these poor wretches were killed by Tarlton, and were what he denominated " the rebel rear-guard which he had taken and cut to pieces." Colonel Chandler, with his forage wagons, had just pass- ed Sumpter's piquet, when they fired on Tarlton's van : Taylor with his party and wagons, ran in with the piquets and were closely pursued by the British dragoons as they entered the camp.
Finding that his infantry moved too slow, TarIton left them to follow, and rapidly advanced with his cavalry and mounted infantry : when he received the fire from the piquet, he ordered the infantry to dismount, and with the cavalry he made a rapid charge through the field, on the Georgians under colonel Twiggs. The British infantry advanced, and Sumpter led on the right to the attack, and gained their flank. Lacey's
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men were on horse-back, and advanced on the enemy's flank. Tarlton retreated with his caval- ry, formed and returned to the charge, and thus continued directing his chief efforts with his cavalry, against the Georgians, in order to turn the American left. When Sumpter had fairly engaged with the right, which fired obliquely on the British, he received a shot in the right shoul- der : he requested his aid-de-camp, captain Henry Hampton, to put his sword into the scabbard and to direct a man to lead off his horse on which he was mounted, " say nothing about it, and request colonel Twiggs to take the command."
By repeated efforts of the enemy, the Georgi- ans on the left were nearly turned, and their left flank gave way : colonel Winn advanced to sup- port them. . Tarlton was compelled to retire with precipitation, and was pursued by a. party under major James Jackson, which took upward of thirty horses.
In this battle only one man, by the name of Rogers, from Wilkes county, was killed ; and general Sumpter, and two privates were wounded. Of the British, ninety-two were killed and one hundred wounded ; and Tarlton fled from the field with two hundred and eight men : he retreat- ed two miles, where he met his remaining three hundred infantry and a piece of cannon, and en. camped for the night.
The action closed in the afternoon, and soon afterward it began to rain. Colonel Twiggs di-
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rected the enemy's wounded to be collected ; and as many of them as could be sheltered, were laid in the houses. Calculating that Tarlton would renew the action with his increased force, Twiggs ordered the troops to retreat, and pass the Tyger river, where they would be unassailable ; and left colonel Winn with his command on the battle. ground until night ; when Winn caused a num- ber of fires to be lighted up, as indications of an encampment, and he retreated across the river. The ball in Sumpter's shoulder was extracted, and he being placed in a bier, suspended on two horses, the troops retreated slowly up the country, passing Broad river some distance, and dispers- ing in small parties to refresh themselves on such viands as they could find. Tarlton in his usual gasconade, called this defeat " a victory ;" having cut up the " rebel rear-guard ;" this other havock amongst " the rebels," he states at " one hundred killed," and of that number, were three colo. nels ; while in fact there was only one man killed, and the general and two men wounded .* . Tarl- ton acknowledged that the Americans had be- haved with humanity toward his wounded. On his retreat to Winnsborough, he made captive a number of old men and stout boys, and carried them to head-quarters, as trophies won in the re- cent action : many of his captives however, prov. ed their loyalty, and obtained their liberty ; the others were doomed to a tedious imprisonment in
* Ses Tarlton's report to lord Cornwallis in the London Chronicle ...
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Camden gaol. In order to mark his route of re- treat, so that it should be remembered, he hanged Mr. Johnston, a respectable man, and the father of a numerous family of young children.
To the friends of independence, in South- Carolina and Georgia, a ray of hope appeared from the north. General Nathaniel Greene was hourly expected with re-enforcements of conti- nental troops, to take command in the southern department of the United-States. The recent ac- tions at Fish-dam ford and Blackstocks, inspired the militia with confidence in themselves, when opposed to the British troops, especially their cavalry, which had before appeared so formidable to them. The time had nearly arrived, when it became necessary for every man to resume his arms and select his party : neutrality had nearly worn out, and had become of little use in the pro- tection of property or life. The unexampled cruelties and pillage, which had been practised and encouraged by the British, had drawn many into arms in their favour, however unwillingly ; fearful that the struggles for independence would be unavailing. The best affected settlement to the cause of independence, in the neighbourhood of Ninety-six, was that of Long-cane ; to which colonels Clarke and M'Call turned their attention for recruits to their force, and to annoy the enemy about Ninety. six.
After resting for a few days, near Berwick's iron works, they advanced by an upper route
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toward Long-cane, early in December, and on the way, were joined by colonel Benjamin Few, with a part of the refugees from Georgia : the at- tention of this force was turned toward Ninety- six, and encamped on Long-cane creek. Colonel Few being the senior officer, assumed the com- . mand. The position of the encampment was fa: vourable for the augmentation of their numbers, and the prospect was flattering that in a short time they would be sufficiently strong to confine the British within their strong hold.
Colonel Cruger, who commanded at Ninety- six, aware of the consequences which would re- sult from permitting Few to remain unmolested in his position, determined to attack him in his camp ; the irregularity of which, he was fully in- formed of, and hoped to take him by surprise. For this purpose, he detached lieutenant-colonel Allen with two hundred regular troops, two hun- dred loyalists, and fifty dragoons. The enemy were within three miles of Few's camp before he was apprized of their approach. Colonel Clarke, lieutenant-colonel M'Call, and major Lindsey, with one hundred Georgia and Carolina militia, were ordered to meet the enemy, commence the action, and sustain it until the main body could be brought up to their assistance. They advanced about one mile and a half and engaged the ene- my's front, which was composed of royal militia. The action was lively for a short time, and Clarke sent an express to Few to hasten the march of the
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main body. In about ten minutes the loyalists retreated, some of them fled, and the remainder formed in the rear of the regular troops. Clarke received a wound in the shoulder, which was at first supposed to be mortal, and he was carried off the field.
Colonel Allen ordered the loyalists to com- mence and sustain the attack, until the regular troops were formed : when this was effected, the bayonet was presented and the loyalists were ordered to form in the rear and turn upon the American flanks. About this time, M'Call was wounded in the arm, and his horse killed, and he was so entangled by the horse falling upon him, that he narrowly escaped. The Americans re- treated and were charged by the enemy's dra- goons. Major Lindsey had fallen under three wounds, and was left on the ground ; in that con- dition, captain Lang, of dragoons, fell upon him while he lay on the ground, chopped his head and arms in several places, and cut off one of his hands.
Fourteen Americans were killed, and seven wounded. Several of the wounded were killed, who lay upon the ground and were unable to make resistance ; which accounts for the number of wounded being less than that of the slain. The loss of the enemy was very trifling, and is not ac- curately known.
When the remains of colonel Clarke's com- mand returned to the camp, they found colonel Few and the main body of the troops under orders
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for retreat, and ready to move off, without giving any previous intimation to those in advance, of such intention. Some harsh observations were made by some of the officers who had been en- gaged, relative to Few's courage; whether cor- rect on that occasion is unknown : he had previ- ously given proofs of courage and good conduct. He justified himself by saying, that the intelli- gence he received after colonel Clarke was engag- ed, induced a belief that the force of the enemy was so far superior to his own, that it would have been imprudent to have met them in a general en- gagement : but this was not considered as a jus- tification for withholding from Clarke a notice of his intentions, or of making an effort to secure his retreat. The American force was five hundred men ; the British was four hundred and fifty.
Colonel Clarke was placed upon a bier, sup- ported by two horses, and with great difficulty conveyed to a place of safety. The Americans re- treated to North Carolina, and during the confine- ment of colonel Clarke, by his wound, major John Cunningham commanded the Georgia troops.
Colonel Pickens, and other influential charac- ters in Ninety-six district, had been urged to the resumption of their arms in the American cause. To these remonstrances, Pickens replied that his honour was pledged, and that he was bound by the solemnity of an oath, not to take up arms until the conditions of that protection were vio- lated by the British, or those who acted under the
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royal government. But the time now approach- ed, when the order of the British commander-in- chief was to be promulgated generally, its ope- rations rigorously enforced, and neutrality no longer admissible. All those who refused to take up arms in support of the British government, were plundered of their property by parties of loyalists and British troops. Captain Dunlop's dragoons, united with parties of loyalists, made a general sweep over the country. Colonel Pick- ens' house was plundered of moveable property, and the remainder wantonly destroyed. M'Call's family was left without a change of clothing or bedding, and a halter put round the neck of one of his sons, by order of Dunlop, with threats of exe- cution, to extort secrets of which the youth was ignorant. The conditions of protection were now broken on the part of the British, and colonel Pickens with many of his officers and men, deter- mined to resume their arms in the defence of their property and the rights of their country. After this determination was taken by colonel Pickens, he had an interview with captain Ker, a British officer, at White-hall, to whom he made a disclosure of his intentions, and assigned his reasons. Ker strongly advised him against the measure, assuring him that his execution was certain in case he should thereafter fall into the hands of the British, and that he would literally fight with a halter around his neck : that though their countries were at war, he had given him
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proofs of personal friendship, and ardently hoped he might never fall into the power of the British government. Colonel Pickens replied, that he had honourably and conscientiously adhered to - the rules laid down in his protection, but that he considered himself completely absolved from its obligations, by the plunder and wanton waste which had been committed upon his farm, and the insults and indignities which had been offered to his family. Captain Ker was requested to com- municate these remarks to colonel Cruger, the commanding-officer at Ninety-six, and to thank him for his civilities, while he was under the pro- tection of the British government.
This state of things was communicated to the commanding-officer of the Georgia troops, who made another diversion into the neighbourhood of Ninety-six to favor the assemblage of Pickens and his friends in that quarter. From the friendly dis- position which general Williamson had evinced to the families of those who had espoused and adhered to the cause of their country, the reality of his at- tachment to the royal government was considered doubtful; Pickens and the other chiefs determin- ed to seize his person; which was accomplished at Williamson's residence, at White-hall, by a small party, who conveyed him to the encampment on Long-cane: his defection was ascertained; and by negligence, he was suffered to make his escape.
Pickens being the senior colonel in Ninety- six district, succeeded Williamson in the rank of
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brigadier-general, and directed the march of the troops toward Pacolate river, and joined genera! Morgan at Grindal's ford. Lieutenant-colonel M'Call was ordered to make a selection of forty. five men, to be equipped as dragoons, in which there were several Georgians, to act with colonel Washington's regiment. Major John Cunning. ham commanded the Georgia troops, under the orders of general Morgan.
Morgan detached colonel Washington with his regiment, with those enrolled by lieutenant-colonel M'Call and major Cunningham, with the Georgia .. troops, into the neighbouring country, to disperse some parties of the enemy. Frequent skirmishes occurred ; and on one occasion he came up with a party of two hundred and fifty loyalists, at Ham- mond's old store, forty miles from Morgan's camp, and charged them : nearly two hundred of the ene- my were killed, wounded, and taken prisoners.
When general Morgan learned that Tarleton was advancing on him, he recalled Washington to his head-quarters, at Grindal's ford ; and be- lieving that Tarleton would attempt to gain his rear, he retreated across the Pacolate on the 14th of January, toward the Cowpens, where he arriv- ed on the evening of the 16th ; and finding that Tarleton was gaining on him, he determined to repose his troops and wait the event.
Morgan's corps was composed of the Ist re- giment of Maryland, of near four hundred men, commanded by lieutenant-colonel Howard ; the
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militia companies of captains Triplet and Tait, which were equal to regular troops, and consisted of about one hundred men ; Washington's dra- goons, consisting of eighty men, with M'Call's militia dragoons, forty-five in number; and three hundred and fifty of the Georgia and North and South-Carolina militia, commanded by general Pickens ; making a total of nine hundred and se- venty- five men.
Before day-light Morgan's videttes gave no- tice of Tarleton's approach; and the order of battle was immediately formed on an elevated ground, in an open wood, with a slight hollow way passing through it from left to right : the first corps was composed of the militia, under general Pickens, and formed in advance of the hollow way about two hundred yards ; from this corps two others of select troops were formed, one of Georgians, un -. der major Cunningham, and the other from the North and South-Carolinas, under major M'Dow- ell, and placed one hundred and fifty yards in ad- vance of the first corps; the second corps was composed of the Maryland regiment, Triplet's and Tait's companies, and captain Beale's compa- ny of Georgia militia ; which was formed fifty yards in advance of the hollow way, with Trip- let's, Tait's, and Beale's on the right; and the third corps under colonel Washington, composed of his dragoons, and those of M'Call, was formed in the rear of the hollow way behind an eminence, and held in reserve. The custom of militia war-
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