So now we enter the time in late 1780 where we find the newly promoted Thomas Sumter out-of commission and the entire burden of leading opposition to the British/Tory influence in SC is up to Francis Marion.
At the same time Sumter was heading for a collision with a mix of British Regulars and Tory militia, Marion had taken the initiative towards taking possession of Georgetown, the coastal seaport that the British used along with Charleston to keep the British effort in SC supplied. Apparently, word (intel) came that indicated that the seaport was guarded by only 50 mainly invalid soldiers. Tempting was the stores present in this coastal town like ammunition, clothing and even salt for meat preservation (note to self for when the SHTF). Unknown to Marion was that while he was out-foxing Tarleton, the British had actually moved 200 Tory militia into Georgetown .
1) Marion's recon parties ran into these Tories and it became evident that the fortifications were too strong to take without significant casualties. There was a silver lining in the expedition as on November 13th a Tory captain was killed and Jesse Barefield, the Tory militia leader, was severely wounded. On the flip side, Marion lost his nephew Gabriel, a Lt. who had just turned 21. He was captured and then shot at point blank range when the Tories found out his identity. Francis' favorite nephew from his brother Gabriel (who passed away shortly after the start of the war) who had helped him financially over the years. Gabriel Marion had just made out a will just three weeks before his death. Francis mourned Gabriel's death like a father.
2) Marion's correspondence with Gen. Gates on November 21st lamented his difficult state, 200 Hessians with Tory militia were positioned at Kingtree, another loyalist provincial unit was also on its way there disrupting the countryside again with provisions being destroyed and livestock being driven off. No doubt this was a British attempt to have Marion come out of the swamp and protect the locals. Marion not only asked for a surgeon, but also for militia reinforcements .. and primarily wanted to know if ever the American Continental Army was going to return to SC as morale from the locals was fading.
3) Psychologically, Marion underestimated his recent successes and the impact it had on the British. Marion's numbers were routinely over estimated and even the British presence at Kingtree had the leader Robert McLeroth very, very nervous that Marion's men would swoop in at anytime. Tory reinforcements from Georgetown never showed up so McLeroth left for Nelson's Ferry where reinforcements brought his unit up to 400 men. What McLeroth, a Scotsman, did not do was lay waste to the countryside where many of his Scotch-Irish kinsman lived .. and Cornwallis was not happy. Marion remained hidden from plain view until early in December when he decided to strike out after he learned that Whigs had burnt the Tory houses belonging to brothers of a prominent Tory bandit Major John Harrison. Blowback would ensue and the see-saw of public opinion would boost the Tories. This needed to be checked, so Marion moved out of hiding and ended up picking up quote a few volunteers since harvest time was done and men were once again ready to defend their region.
4) Marion sent Peter Horry and some men to present a show of force in the High Hills .. that action alone scared off the Tory encampment as they retreated to Camden where their leader, Tynes begged to resign. Simultaneously, the British had McLeroth go to Charleston to escort 200 raw recruits back to Cornwallis' army in Winnsboro as he had eyes again on moving into NC now that SC was under control.
5) Marion's force was now at 300 as he learned of the British plans so he intercepted McLeroth, the 64th Foot and the 200 recruits. Riflemen took aim at the pickets which melted back to the main column and then Marion's mounted troops swung around and attacked the enemy's flank and front. McLeroth had no cavalry and panicked, placing his men behind a rail fence in open field. Here it became a standoff. Then, McLeroth under a flag of truce protested the shooting of pickets, and dared Marion to "come outand fight like a gentleman in open field" .. Marion replied that the British practice of burning houses was worse than the shooting of pickets ... and as long as houses were burnt, pickets would be shot. Finally, Marion came up with a practice that dates to Biblical times which involved both sides to supply twenty duelists on open ground which would decide how the contest would end. So, as indicated in the last snippet 11A, Major John Vanderhorst led a group of 20 marksmen to facilitate this duel. The major was a poor judge of distances and so he asked Captain Gavin Witherspoon what distance he would choose for firing the opening buckshot round of the duel. Fifty years was the response and the major then asked the captain to tap him on the shoulder when the enemy was 50 yards away. So two lines of men were over 100 yards apart when they started marching at each other .. when the distance was 100 yards the British shouldered their muskets, turned around and retreated back to the main force. (Psyche!) Marion's men let out a cheer, claimed a moral victory and retired for the evening. McLeroth used the night to keep the campfires lit and leaving supply wagons and heavy baggage behind slipped away 15 miles north before Marion realized it ... he was out-foxed. Singleton's Mills was where McLeroth was reinforced with 130 infantry so Marion backed off. McLeroth and his force then went back to Camden where he resigned and returned to Charleston.
6) McLeroth was in fact the most humane of the British officers, and his light-handed treatment of civilians was noticed, too late, by the British leadership. Marion once again had control the the critical Nelson Ferry crossing on the Santee which upset Cornwallis even more. By mid-December 1780, Cornwallis was tired of hearing Marion's name and wrote his subordinate Rawdon that he wanted Marion "disposed of".
FACTOID: Psychology is very important in warfare!
No comments:
Post a Comment