Skirmishes & Huck's Defeat, Summer 1780

Ramsour's Mill set the stage as July and early August of 1780 played out as a series of skirmishes traversing the Carolina backcountry. The absence of regular Continental army and any real general command structure allowed the rise of notable, innovative militia leaders such as Francis Marion, Andrew Pickens, Thomas Sumter (apart from his Fishing Creek episode), William Davie, and others. (Continental Line General Horatio Gates would not arrive in the Carolinas until late July.) Innovation and spontaneity were key factors within the geography of swamps, dense forests, thick underbrush, along with fickle weather patterns, which created challenges not traditionally experienced by British officers. The locals, both Patriot and Loyalist, knew the environment and how to best exploit it to advantage. Loyalists, however, had mostly British commanders who hadn't a clue as to the local terrain, but had to trust the locals for guidance. 

The men of the backcountry had been militarily seasoned, if not trained, by their "savage neighbors."* The Indian tactics they learned, out of necessity, were tree-to-rock, rock-to-tree, rifle, knife, and hatchet. They became experts of the surprise raid and hasty retreat, the silent disappearance into woods and swamps. These were precursors of modern guerrilla warfare.

Incidents at militia outposts such as Earle's Ford, Thicketty Fort, Rocky Mount, Cedar Creek, and Hanging Rock kept the game on, but the most pivotal encounter took place as a side effect of British Commander George Turnbull's order to apprehend backcountry rebel commanders John McClure and William Bratton. Colonel Turnbull was under the impression that Captain McClure and Colonel Bratton had returned home to oversee their wheat harvests. Captain Christian Huck, a fervent Loyalist, was on the receiving end of Turnbull's order and set out from Rocky Mount July 10th with a company of thirty-five British dragoons, twenty New York volunteers, and about fifty mounted Loyalist militia. 

"You are hereby ordered, with the Cavalry under your command, to proceed to the frontier of the province, collecting all the royal militia with you on your march, And with said force to push the rebels as far as you may deem convenient."

—Colonel George Turnbull to Captain Christian Huck, excerpt

Huck and his troops descended upon both the McClure and Bratton households, invoking terror as they might. McClure's brother and brother-in-law were captured and sentenced to hang. The McClure house was set afire. Mrs Bratton put up a good fight, despite being physically threatened with a reaping hook. She stood her ground and refused to give up any information. Huck, frustrated, moved along in his search to James Williamson's plantation. Bratton and McClure, in the meantime, had gotten wind of Captain Huck's pursuit and tactics, and devised a strategy to intercept Huck at Williamson's. They amassed a sizeable militia force from the surrounding countryside. At sunrise on July 12th, the patriot forces managed to trap the Loyalists in a fenced-in lane which ran from the main road to the Williamson home. The attack was a total surprise. Huck tried to rally his dragoons, but a single bullet from a sharpshooter killed the captain instantly. This was Huck's Defeat. The battle lasted only about ten minutes, but its implications would resonate far longer.

[Huck's Defeat] was the first check the enemy had received after the fall of Charleston; and was of greater consequence to the American cause than can be well supposed from an affair of small a magnitude as it had the tendency to inspire the Americans with courage & fortitude & to teach them that the enemy was not invincible. 

—Colonel William Hill*

* A nod to Peter Silver, Our Savage Neighbors, published 2008, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York, N.Y.
* William Hill, Colonel William Hill's Memoirs of the Revolution, Columbia, South Carolina

Rev. John Simpson, "ardent Whig"

From The History of South Carolina in the Revolution, 1775-1780, by Edward McCrady, published 1901, Macmillan & Co., ltd., South Carolina, pp. 591-592:

The Rev. John Simpson, a Presbyterian minister of Irish descent, a native of New Jersey, had, some years before, succeeded the Rev. William Richardson in charge of the congregations of Upper and Lower Fishing Creek. He was an ardent Whig, and was regarded as the head of the party who had broken up the assemblies of the Tories both at Beckham's Old Field and at Mobley's Meetinghouse. On Sunday morning, June 11, [1780, British captain Christian] Huck and his party took their way to the church, where they expected to find the pastor with his assembled congregation, determined, as was believed at the time, to burn both the church and the people by way of warning to other "disturbers of the King's peace." The pastor had fortunately escaped. The Friday before he had shouldered his rifle and taken the field, joining Captain John McClure, one of the young men of his congregation, who was then with Sumter across the State line. On their way to the church the British killed, with circumstances of great atrocity, William Strong, an inoffensive and pious young man, who was, at the time of their assault upon him, reading his Bible. Mrs. Simpson, the wife of the pastor, while sitting at her breakfast table, heard the report of the gun which killed young Strong and announced the approach of the enemy. The church was but a short distance from the dwelling-house of the minister. Huck's party went first to the house. Mrs. Simpson, seeing their approach, fled with her four children and concealed herself in an orchard. Huck's party rifled the house of everything valuable, destroyed the bedding, and, after taking all the clothing and other articles they fancied, set fire to the house, which was soon burned to the ground, together with a valuable library of books and important manuscripts which were in Mr. Simpson's study.

Ramsour's Mill: America's First Civil War

From The History of South Carolina in the Revolution, 1775-1780, by Edward McCrady, published 1901, Macmillan & Co., ltd., South Carolina, pp. 587-588:

That there were great differences of sentiment in regard to the Revolution even among the people of the Low Country of South Carolina has abundantly appeared in the pages of this history. Friends and families were divided in opinion as to its cause, and still more so in regard to the course of events which had followed resulting in the Declaration of Independence. But these differences in the Low Country had caused little bloodshed by native Carolinians at the hands of each other. Few of the Tories in this section took up arms against their fellow-countrymen. In the new field of war [i.e., the back country], alas! as at Ramsour's Mill, the people who had not been interested in the questions which brought on the trouble were to fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbor. The most dreadful internecine strife was now to rage throughout the country beyond the falls of the rivers. The Scotchmen in Charlestown—especially the Scotch merchants, had almost unanimously opposed the Revolution; and so had the many Scotch traders in the Piedmont region. The Scotchmen in Charlestown, however, contented themselves with passive resistance to the Revolutionary party until the fall of the town, and then did little more than congratulate Sir Henry Clinton upon his victory over their rebellious fellow-townsmen; but in the Up Country they rose with the advance of the British and with heroism and determination took part in the war. It would be well if the historian was bound to add nothing more in regard to their conduct; but truth requires the statement that the heroism of these people in maintaining their loyalty to their King was tarnished by deeds of cruelty and bloodthirstiness. It will indeed appear, as we follow the fortunes of the war in their section, that South Carolina experienced all the dire effects which from civil discords flow.
Before Tarleton had overtaken Buford the Tories in this section had begun to gather and organize. As early as the 26th of May—that is, three days before the massacre in the Waxhaws, a party of them had collected at Mobley's Meeting-house, about six miles west of Winnsboro in the present county of Fairfield; to meet this Colonel William Bratton of York and Captain John McClure of Chester gathered the Whigs and defeated and dispersed them. A similar uprising at Beckham's Old Field in the vicinity of Fishing Creek, in what is now Chester County, had been put down with equal ease, the Rev. John Simpson, then the Presbyterian minister of the congregation in that neighborhood, being one of the principal movers in the affair. We have no account of the casualties on either side of these affairs.

Hanging Rock: A Pictorial History

From Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution, Vol. II, by Benson J. Lossing, 1850, Chapter XVII:
Leaving Charley to dine upon the verge of the stream, I proceeded to Hanging Rock, of whose immensity I had heard frequent mention. It is a huge conglomerate bowlder, twenty or thirty feet in diameter, lying upon the verge of the high east bank of the creek, nearly a hundred feet above the stream. Around it are several smaller bowlders of the same materials. It is shelving toward the bank, its concavity being in the form of the quarter of an orange paring, and capacious enough to shelter fifty men from rain. Beneath its canopy, let us turn to the record of history.
Near the Hanging Rock, on the western bank of the creek, Lord Rawdon, the British commander in that section, had established a post, which was garrisoned by the infantry of Tarleton’s legion, part of Brown’s corps of South Carolina and Georgia Provincials, and Colonel Bryan’s North Carolina Loyalists; the whole were under the command of Major Camden, with the Prince of Wales’s American regiment, in number about five hundred. The greater portion were Loyalists, the remainder were regulars. In the formation of the camp, the regulars were on the right; a part of the British legion and Hamilton’s regiment in the center; and Bryan’s corps and other Loyalists some distance on the left, Hanging Rock Creek being in the rear. As we have seen, Major Davie proceeded to an attack upon this post, simultaneously with Sumter’s assault on Rocky Mount. Davie, with his cavalry, and some Mecklenburg militia, under Colonel Higgins, marched toward Hanging Rock. As he approached, he was informed that three companies of Bryan’s Loyalists, returning from a foraging excursion, were encamped at a farm-house. He fell upon them with vigor, in front and rear, and all but a few of them were either killed or wounded. The spoils of this victory were sixty horses with their trappings, and one hundred muskets and rifles. This disaster made the garrison exceedingly vigilant.
We have observed that after the assault on Rocky Mount, Sumter crossed the Catawba, and proceeded toward Hanging Rock [6 August 1780]. He marched early in the morning cautiously, and approached the British camp in three divisions, with the intention of falling upon the main body, stationed upon the plain at Coles’s Old Field. The right was composed of Davie’s corps and some volunteers, under Major Bryan; the center, of Colonel Irwin’s Mecklenburg militia; and the left, of South Carolina regulars, under Colonel Hill. Through the error of his guides, Sumter came first upon Bryan’s corps, on the verge of the western bank of the creek, near the Great Rock, half a mile from the British camp. Irwin made the first attack. The Tories soon yielded and fled toward the main body, many of them throwing away their arms without discharging them. These the Americans seized; and, pursuing this advantage, Sumter next fell upon Brown’s corps, which, being on the alert, poured a heavy fire upon him from a wood. They also received him with the bayonet. A fierce conflict ensued, and for a while the issue was doubtful. The riflemen, with sure aim, soon cut off almost all of Brown’s officers and many of his soldiers; and at length his corps yielded and dispersed in confusion. The arms and ammunition procured from the vanquished were of great service, for when the action commenced, Sumter’s men had not two rounds each.
Now was the moment to strike for decisive victory; it was lost by the criminal indulgence of Sumter’s men in plundering the portion of the British camp already secured, and drinking freely of the liquor found there. A similar cause plucked the palm of victory from the hands of Greene at Eutaw Springs. Sumter’s ranks became disordered; and while endeavoring to bring order out of confusion, the enemy rallied. Of his six hundred men, only about two hundred, with Davie’s cavalry, could be brought to bear upon the remaining portion of the British, who were yet in some confusion, but defended by two cannons. Sumter was not to be foiled. With a shout, he and his handful of brave men rushed forward to the attack. The enemy had formed a hollow square, with the field-pieces in front, and in this position received the charge. The Americans attacked them on three sides, and the contest was severe for a while. At length, just as the British line was yielding, a re-enforcement, under Captains Stewart and M‘Donald, of Tarleton’s legion, returning from an excursion toward Rocky Mount, appeared, and their number being magnified, Sumter deemed a retreat a prudent measure. This was done at meridian, but the enemy had been so severely handled, that they did not attempt a pursuit. A small party appeared upon the Camden road, but was soon dispersed by Davie. Could Sumter have brought all of his forces into action in this last attack, the rout of the British would have been complete.

"He beat them back! beneath the flame
Of valor quailing, or the shock!
He carved, at last, a hero’s name,
Upon the glorious Hanging Rock!"
With his few prisoners and booty, Sumter retreated toward the Waxhaw, bearing away many of his wounded. The engagement lasted about four hours, and was one of the best-fought battles, between militia and British regulars, during the war. Sumter’s loss was twelve killed and forty-one wounded. Among the former were the brave Captain M‘Clure, of South Carolina, and Captain Read, of North Carolina; Colonel Hill, Captain Craighead, Major Winn, Lieutenants Crawford and Fletcher, and Ensign M‘Clure, were wounded. The British loss exceeded that of the Americans. Captain M‘Cullock, commander of the legion infantry, and two officers and twenty privates of the same corps, were killed, and forty were wounded. Brown’s regiment also suffered much. Bryan’s Tories did not stop to fight, "-------------------- but ran away,
And lived to fight another day."

Mrs. Martha Bratton

A toast, during an 1839 celebration commemorating Huck's Defeat in Brattonsville, South Carolina:
"The memory of Mrs. Martha Bratton. In the hands of an infuriated monster, with the instrument of death around her neck, she nobly refused to betray her husband; in the hour of victory she remembered mercy, and as a guardian angel, interposed on behalf of her inhuman enemies. Throughout the Revolution she encouraged the Whigs to fight on to the last; to hope on to the end. Honor and gratitude to the woman and heroine, who proved herself so faithful a wife–so firm a friend to liberty!"
Martha Bratton is known for two heroic acts in which she bravely defied demands from British Officers.
Her husband Colonel William Bratton was away fighting for General Thomas Sumter's army, and Martha Bratton was left in charge of the gunpowder hidden on their property in North Carolina. The British were given a tip about the gunpowder and immediately left to seize the commodity. Martha was alerted they were coming, but did not have enough time to move the gunpowder. Not wanting the British to seize the ammunition, she devised another plan. She poured a trail of powder far away from its location, and, when she heard the British approaching, lit the trail. The British were furious, and demanded to know who had blown up the ammunition. Even with the threat of severe punishment Bratton willfully replied, “It was I who did it…Let the consequence be what it will, I glory in having prevented the mischief contemplated by the cruel enemies of my country.”
On 11 July 1780 Martha Bratton had another encounter with the British where she bravely stood up to their demands. British Captain Christian Huck visited Martha Bratton’s house ask about her husband’s location. Martha told the truth, defiantly saying that he was with Sumter’s army. Huck replied that Colonel Bratton should instead join the loyalists. Martha answered that “she would rather see him remain true to his duty to his country, even if he perished in Sumter’s army." Huck was enraged by this answer and threw her son, who had been sitting on his lap, to the floor. One of Huck’s soldiers held a reaping hook to her throat and threatened to kill her, but Martha still did not tell them of her husband’s location. Another officer persuaded the soldier to let her go.
Captain Huck demanded that Martha prepare and serve dinner. She considered poisoning the food, but knew her husband was close, and instead sent word to his troops that the British were there. After preparing the dinner, she and her children went upstairs and left the British to finish eating. After dinner the British went to neighbor James Williamson’s house to sleep. With about 75 men, Colonel Bratton and Captain McClure executed a surprise attack on the sleeping soldiers. The battle spread towards the Bratton house and Martha Bratton and her children were endangered. Martha hid her son in the chimney where he would be safe from stray shots. After the battle was over, she went outside and found that all of her relatives had survived. The Patriots were victorious and many of the British soldiers, including Captain Huck, were killed while others retreated into the surrounding woods. In the aftermath, Martha Bratton opened her house to care for wounded soldiers of both sides. Many British soldiers taken hostage were also held at her house, including the officer that had saved her life. She returned his favor by persuading the Patriots not to hang him, but instead to include him in a prisoner exchange.
(info: National Women's History Museum, http://www.nwhm.org/Education/biography_mbratton.html)