The Battle of Eutaw Springs was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, and was the last major engagement of the war in the Carolinas.
Background
On May 22, 1781, General Nathanael Greene of the Continental Army began a campaign to end British control over the South Carolina backcountry. His first major objective was the capture of the British controlled village of Ninety Six. Before the main attack had begun, Greene became aware that a supporting force under Lord Rawdon was approaching from Charleston. Forces under Greene's command assaulted Ninety Six on June 18, but were repelled. To avoid facing the force commanded by Rawdon, Greene retreated toward Charlotte, North Carolina. Rawdon pursued Greene for several days, but was compelled to abandon the pursut because his men were exhausted by days of forced marching and he lacked sufficient supplies to continue. Despite the fact Ninety Six was the only remaining inland British outpost after Augusta Georgia fell, Rawdon decided to abandon it, and withdrew the garrison to Charleston. Rawdon sailed for England in late August, leaving Charleston under the command of Colonel Alexander Stewart.
After Rawdon's departure, Greene turned his army around and headed toward Charleston. His men were also exhausted by many days of marching and combat, so he set up camp above the Santee River to allow his main force to rest, while several detachments continued to harass the British as they withdrew toward Charleston. On August 22, his force prepared to face the remaining British forces garrisoned in Charleston.
Colonel Stewart led a force of 2,000 men from Charleston's British garrison in search of Greene's army. The force camped at Eutaw Springs, about 10 kilometers east of present-day Eutawville, then in Charleston District (but both now in Orangeburg County).
Battle
Greene's force, with around 2,200 men, approached Stewart's camp while some of Stewart's men were investigating what turned out to be the vanguard of Greene's army. When the Americans realized they were approaching the British force, they formed two lines, with the militia in the front line and the North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia regulars in the second line. The British charged the American position and broke the center of the American forces first line. The North Caroling regulars in the second line reinforced the first, and were temporarily successful until they too were broken by a British charge. The Virginia and Maryland regulars then came to the aid of their comrades. This attack stopped the British advance and the British began to retreat in disorder.
The Americans pursued the retreating British soldiers into the British camp, where a majority of the Americans stopped to plunder the British supplies. The tables now turned again. At the north-east corner of the camp was a strong brick house defended by a British battalion commanded by Major John Majoribanks. This battalion had driven off an earlier American cavalry attack before falling back to the house. An American assault on the house failed, and Majoribanks was able to restore order to the rest of the British force. The British forces launched a counterattack and drove the American forces from the British camp. One American battalion was able to delay the British advance sufficiently to allow the American army to retreat in good order.
Aftermath
The claim of several historians that the British won the battle is challenged by Christine Swager in her book The Valiant Died: The Battle of Eutaw Springs September 8, 1781. The book argues that, first, at the end of the battle, the British held the majority, but not the entirety, of the field where the main battle took place. Greene held part of the field where the initial skirmish spilled out of the woods into the clearings. Swager also argues that Greene meant to re-engage the enemy on the following day, but was prevented from doing so because the excssively wet weather conditions negated much of his firepower.
Both armies did not leave the vicinity for at least a full day following the battle. When Greene withdrew, he left a strong picket to oppose a possible British advance, while Stewart withdrew the remnants of his force towards Charleston.[1] His rear was apparently under constant fire at least until rendezvousing with reinforcements near Moncks Corner.
Stewart reported casualties of 85 killed, 351 wounded and possibly as many as 420 missing,[2] a casualty rate of over 40%. Some evidence suggests these numbers were higher. American losses as reported by Greene were 139 dead, 375 wounded, and 41 missing.
Despite winning a tactical military victory the British lost strategically. Their inability to stop Greene's continuing operations forced them to abandon most of their conquests in the South, leaving them in control of a small number of isolated enclaves at Wilmington, Charleston, and Savannah. The British attempt to pacify the south with Loyalist support had failed even before Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown.
Lord Edward Fitzgerald, later to become famous as a United Irish rebel, served as a British officer at the battle and was badly wounded.
The State Song of South Carolina contains the line "Point to Eutaw's Battle Bed" in reference to this battle.
References
- ^ Pancake, p. 221
- ^ Swager, p. 119
Further reading
- Morrill, Dan (1993). Southern campaigns of the American Revolution. Nautical & Aviation Publishing. ISBN 1877853216.
- Ward, Christopher War of the Revolution 2 Volumes. MacMillan, New York 1952
