Popular among war buffs, here the patriots won an impressive victory against the British. The British commander was a young hothead named “Bloody” Tarleton who had recently killed over 100 men flying a flag of truce at Waxhaws. The patriot commander was 45 year old veteran Daniel Morgan. Morgan chose the site due to thick woods and canebrakes (sugar cane thickets) that would make flanking difficult for the advancing British. His light skirmishers volleyed and fell back, and then his next line was to do similarly. They muffed it, and the British rushed forward, expecting a rout. The patriots about-faced and fired point blank. The British front line faltered while the back was still advancing, and then William Washington’s cavalry, which had emerged from a low spot to keep the enemy cavalry at bay, turned and flanked from the other side. This classic pincer or double envelopment movement is difficult and rare, yet it has won victories for thousands of years.

Tarleton was forced to retreat with his cavalry, reporting over 100 dead and 700 captured. He blamed his troops. After the war he served in the House of Commons, where he argued for continuing the slave trade.

The Mel Gibson movie “Patriot” is based in part on the battle between Morgan and Tarleton here.