The Battle of Monck's Corner was fought on April 14, 1780, outside of

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, which was under siege by British forces under the command of General Sir Henry Clinton in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. The

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, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, surprised a Patriot force stationed at Monck's Corner and drove them away. The action cut off an avenue of escape for

Benjamin Lincoln Benjamin Lincoln (January 24, 1733 ( O.S. January 13, 1733) – May 9, 1810) was an American army officer. He served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Lincoln was involved in three major surrender ...

's besieged army. Aside from the British Legion, and the 33rd Foot and 64th Foot led by Lieutenant Colonel James Webster, the force included the American Volunteers led by Major Patrick Ferguson.Almanac of American Military History, Volume 1 By Spencer Tucker pg. 336

Background

The majority of the British soldiers who took part in the Battle of Monck's Corner were Loyalist troops raised from the colony of South Carolina, although a detachment of the 17th Light Dragoons under Captain William Henry Talbotwith also participated. Tarleton's unit was known as the

, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton. General Sir Henry Clinton arrived before

on 1 April 1780 and began siege preparations as the opening move in British plan to gain control over the

Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the southwes ...

. The city was defended by

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

troops under the command of General Benjamin Lincoln. Even after the British operations were underway, troops continued to arrive in the city to assist in its defense. On 8 April, after the British had begun establishing siege lines around part of the city, 750 Virginia Continentals, under the command of William Woodford, arrived in the city. Clinton learned that a supply train, which was actually the baggage train of this company, was nearing the city and decided to cut the supply route. He detached 1,400 men under Lieutenant Colonel James Webster to go inland about to Biggin's Bridge on the Cooper River to intercept the train. In order to protect their own lines, the British needed to face General Isaac Huger and his detachment that Lincoln had stationed at Monck's Corner. Huger's force consisted of 500 men, including cavalry under the command of Lt. Col. William Washington, and elements of Pulaski's Legion under the command of Chevalier Pierre-Francois Vernier. On the evening of 13 April, Tarleton intercepted a letter from Huger meant for Lincoln and learned the disposition of Huger's force. His march continued on in silence.

Battle

The British attacked at 3 am on 14 April. What followed quickly became a rout.

According to Tarleton, "The Americans were completely surprised, General Huger, Colonels Washington and Jamieson, with many officers and men, fled on foot to the swamps.."

American casualties included 14 killed, 19 wounded and 64 captured. The biggest prize was the capture of the horses belonging to the American officers and cavalry.

Aftermath

Tarleton's reputation for swift surprise attacks started with this first major victory of his in the South. Following the battle, some of Tarleton's Legion

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

s went on a rampage as documented by Charles Stedman, including the killing of Vernier after he had asked for quarter, and "attempts to ravish several ladies" at the Colleton plantation.Wilson, p. 247 Ferguson was offended by these acts, and Webster had the perpetrators sent back to the main army camp outside Charleston, where they were "tried and whipped." Some of the scattered remnants of Huger's force made their way north and east. They eventually regrouped under Colonel Anthony Walton White but were again scattered by Tarleton at Lenud's Ferry on 6 May. Lincoln was forced to surrender Charleston and more than 5,000 Continental Army troops on 12 May. It was the worst American loss of the war. The

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

did not suffer a loss of similar size until the Battle of Harper's Ferry during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

References

Sources

*Ward, Christopher. ''The War of the Revolution''. 1952. *Wilson, David. ''The Southern Strategy''. University of South Carolina Press. 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Moncks Corner Conflicts in 1780 Battles involving the United States Battles involving Great Britain Monck's Corner Berkeley County, South Carolina Monck's Corner 1780 in South Carolina