Snow Campaign
Snow Campaign | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the American Revolutionary War | |||||||
General Richard Richardson | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
South Carolina North Carolina Georgia Patriots | South Carolina Loyalists | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
William Thomson |
Patrick Cuningham Thomas Fletchall | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
5,000 men (peak size) | 400 men (peak size) | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
unknown | 6 killed, 130 captured |
The Snow Campaign was one of the first major military operations of the American Revolutionary War in the southern colonies. An army of up to 3,000 Patriot militia under Colonel Richard Richardson marched against Loyalist recruiting centers in South Carolina, flushing them out and frustrating attempts by the Loyalists to organize. The Patriot expedition became known as the Snow Campaign due to heavy snowfall in the later stages of the campaign.
Background
When the American Revolutionary War began in Massachusetts in April 1775, the free population of the Province of South Carolina was divided in its reaction.[1] Many English coastal residents were either neutral or favored the rebellion, while significant numbers of backcountry residents, many of whom were German and Scottish immigrants, were opposed.[2] Loyalist opposition in the backcountry was dominated by Thomas Fletchall, a vocal and active opponent of attempts to resist King and Parliament.[3][4] By August 1775 tensions between Patriot and Loyalist in the province had escalated to the point where both sides had raised sizable militia forces.[5]
Events were largely nonviolent for some time, although there were isolated instances of
On September 15, Patriot militia seized
Matters also escalated when the Council of Safety began to organize a large-scale response to the seizure by Loyalists in October of a shipment of gunpowder and ammunition intended for the
Siege at Ninety Six
While Richardson gathered forces in Charleston, Major Andrew Williamson, who had been recruiting Patriots in the backcountry, learned of the gunpowder seizure. He arrived at Ninety Six early on November 19 with 560 men. Finding the small town to be not very defensible, he established a camp on John Savage's plantation, which was protected by an improvised stockade and provided a field of fire for the force's three swivel guns.[12] Loyalist recruiting had been more successful: Williamson had learned that Captain Patrick Cuningham and Major Joseph Robinson were leading a large Loyalist force (estimated to number about 1,900) toward Ninety Six.[13][14] In a war council that day, the Patriot leaders decided against marching out to face the Loyalists. The Loyalists arrived the next day, and surrounded the Patriot camp.[15]
The leaders of the two factions were in the midst of negotiating an end to the standoff when two Patriot militiamen were seized by Loyalists outside the stockade. This set off a gunfight that lasted for about two hours, with modest casualties on both sides.[12] For two more days the Patriots were besieged, during which there were occasional exchanges of gunfire. The siege ended after a parley in which the Patriot leaders were allowed to lead their forces out of the encampment in exchange for the surrender of their swivel guns, which were later returned. Both sides withdrew, the Loyalists across the Saluda River, and the Patriots down toward Charleston.[16]
Campaign against Loyalists
Colonel Richardson had in the meantime begun his march into the backcountry. By November 27 he reached the
After issuing proclamations calling for the arrest of Loyalist officers and the return of the stolen munitions, Richardson resumed the march, his force grown to about 2,500.[17] His force, still growing in size, marched toward the Enoree River, chasing down Loyalist leaders. On December 12 Richardson reported that his force numbered 3,000, and that he had captured Fletchall (who was found hiding in a cave) and several other Loyalist leaders.[18] Fletchall's farm was searched and his private correspondence, including letters from Governor Campbell, were found.[19]
At the Enoree Richardson was joined by militia forces under Williamson, as well as additional militia from
The next day, December 23, it began snowing as the Patriot forces made their way back toward the coast. The march home of the Patriot force was difficult because the force was unprepared for the weather. Richardson's army was dissolved, and most of the Patriots returned home.[22] Richardson took 136 prisoners, who were dispatched to Charleston under guard on January 2, 1776.[23]
Aftermath
Governor Campbell continued to live aboard the Tamar, and considered making attacks on Fort Johnson after a third warship arrived.
The campaign resulted in the elimination of large-scale Loyalist activity in the backcountry. Most of the prisoners taken were released by the Patriot leadership "as a conciliatory gesture to their backcountry friends".
See also
- American Revolutionary War §Early Engagements. The ‘Snow Campaign’ placed in overall sequence and strategic context.
Notes
- ^ Alden, pp. 199–200
- ^ Alden, pp. 7, 9, 199–200
- ^ Krawczynski, p. 156
- ^ Alden, p. 200
- ^ Cann, p. 204
- ^ Dunkerly and Williams, p. 21
- ^ Krawczynski, pp. 186–189
- ^ McCrady, pp. 68–69
- ^ McCrady, p. 77
- ^ Cann, p. 207
- ^ Cann, p. 212
- ^ a b Cann, p. 209
- ^ McCrady, p. 89
- ^ Dunkerly and Williams, p. 22
- ^ McCrady, pp. 89–90
- ^ Cann, pp. 210–213
- ^ a b c Landrum, p. 73
- ^ McCrady, p. 96
- ^ Landrum, p. 77
- ^ a b McCrady, p. 97
- ^ a b Landrum, pp. 79–80
- ^ Landrum, pp. 80–81
- ^ a b Cann, p. 213
- ^ McCrady, p. 98
- ^ McCrady, pp. 99–102
- ^ Wilson, p. 56
- ^ Cann, pp. 213–214
- ^ Cashin, p. 73
References
- Alden, John (1981). The South in the Revolution, 1763 to 1789. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press. OCLC 245906364.
- Cann, Marvin (October 1975). "Prelude to War: The First Battle of Ninety Six: November 19–21, 1775". The South Carolina Historical Quarterly. 76 (4): 197–214. JSTOR 27567333.
- Cashin, Edward (1999). The King's Ranger: Thomas Brown and the American Revolution on the Southern Frontier. New York: Fordham University Press. OCLC 246304277.
- Dunkerly, Robert; Williams, Eric (2006). Old Ninety Six: a History and Guide. Charleston, SC: History Press. OCLC 63703788.
- Krawczynski, Keith (2001). William Henry Drayton: South Carolina Revolutionary Patriot. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press. OCLC 248562406.
- Landrum, John Belton O'Neall (1897). Colonial and Revolutionary History of Upper South Carolina. Greenville, SC: Shannon. p. 72. OCLC 187392639.
- McCrady, Edward (1901). The History of South Carolina in the Revolution, Volume 3. New York: Macmillan. OCLC 10492792.
- Wilson, David K (2005). The Southern Strategy: Britain's Conquest of South Carolina and Georgia, 1775–1780. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. OCLC 56951286.