Battle of Charlotte

Battle of Charlotte Part of the American Revolutionary War Date September 26, 1780 Location Charlotte, North Carolina 35°13′37″N 80°50′36″W / 35.22694°N 80.84333°W / 35.22694; -80.84333Coordinates: 35°13′37″N 80°50′36″W / 35.22694°N 80.84333°W / 35.22694; -80.84333 Result American victory; strategic withdrawal Belligerents United States Great Britain Commanders William R. Davie Charles Cornwallis Strength 150 Casualties and losses 6 killed 12 killed 47 wounded[1]

v • d • e Southern theater, 1780–81 Charleston – Moncks Corner – Lenud's Ferry – Waxhaws – Ramsour's Mill – Mobley's Meeting House – Huck’s Defeat – Colson's Mill – Rocky Mount – Hanging Rock – Camden – Fishing Creek – Musgrove Mill – Wahab's Plantation – Black Mingo – Charlotte – Kings Mountain – Fishdam Ford – Blackstock's Farm – Cowpens – Cowan's Ford – Haw River – Wetzell's Mill – Guilford Court House – Fort Watson – Hobkirk's Hill – Fort Motte – Augusta – Ninety-Six – Francisco – Eutaw Springs – Lindley's Mill – Combahee River

The Battle of Charlotte was an American Revolutionary War battle fought in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 26, 1780. The battle took place at the Mecklenburg County Court House, which is now the site of the Bank of America tower at Trade and Tryon Streets in downtown Charlotte. General Charles Cornwallis of the British command marched into town and encountered a Patriot militia under the command of William R. Davie in front of the court house. A skirmish ensued, and the Patriots withdrew north toward Salisbury.

Background

Pursuant to the British "southern strategy" for winning the American Revolutionary War, British forces had captured Charleston, South Carolina early in 1780, and had driven Continental Army forces from South Carolina. Following his successful routing of a second Continental Army at Camden in August 1780, British General Lord Cornwallis paused with his army in the Waxhaws region of northern South Carolina. Believing British and Loyalist forces to be in control of Georgia and South Carolina, he decided to turn north and address the threat posed by the Continental Army remnants in North Carolina. In mid-September he began moving north toward Charlotte, North Carolina.

Cornwallis' movements were shadowed by companies of North Carolina militia. One force under Thomas Sumter stayed back and harassed British and Loyalist outposts in the South Carolina backcountry, while another, under Major William R. Davie, maintained fairly close contact with portions of his force as it moved northward. Davie successfully surprised a detachment of Cornwallis' Loyalist forces at Wahab's Plantation on September 20, and then moved on to Charlotte, where he set up an ambush to harass Cornwallis' vanguard.^[2]

Battle

On September 26, Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton's British Legion, temporarily under the command of Major George Hanger, the advance forces of Cornwallis' army, entered Charlotte. Davie had arrayed about 150 men in the streets and buildings near the courthouse. Some of these men opened fire on the Legion, and Hanger ordered a charge. Concealed riflemen opened fire on the flanks of the charging men, dropping twenty men including Hanger and pushing the rest back toward the main army column. Davie and his men withdrew as the main army neared.^[2]

Aftermath

Cornwallis occupied Charlotte without further direct contact, but his position was never entirely secure, as the Patriot militia interfered with any significant attempts to communicate with the countryside. Cornwallis' left flank, commanded by Patrick Ferguson, was virtually destroyed in early October at Kings Mountain, and Cornwallis eventually withdrew to Winnsboro, South Carolina in November on reports of persistent Patriot militia activity in South Carolina.

References

• Lossing
• Pancake, John (1985). This Destructive War. University of Alabama Press. ISBN 0817301917.