May 29, 1780 , Buford County, South Carolina
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| Tarleton's horse falling during the battle of Waxhaws |
In the spring of 1780, as Charleston fell to British forces,
a Virginia Continental officer named Colonel Abraham Buford found himself
racing northward with 380 men, unaware that he was about to become the central
figure in one of the Revolutionary War's most controversial engagements, a
battle that would transform British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton into
the most reviled enemy commander in American memory.
A Desperate Retreat
Colonel Buford had originally been dispatched to reinforce Charleston
but arrived too late. General Benjamin Lincoln had already ordered him to
establish a defensive position at Lenud's Ferry along the Santee River. When
communications with Lincoln's army were severed, Buford remained unaware of
both British troop movements and Charleston's surrender on May 12, 1780.
Eventually joined by the 1st and 3rd Light Dragoons, soldiers
who had narrowly escaped Charleston's fall, and militia forces under Richard
Caswell, Buford received new orders from General Isaac Huger: retreat to
Hillsboro, North Carolina. Upon reaching Camden, Buford parted ways with
Caswell and headed northward into the lush Waxhaws region, a rural area straddling
the South Carolina-North Carolina border.
The Pursuit
British commander Sir Henry Clinton, learning of Buford's
movements, issued orders on May 15 for Lord Cornwallis to secure the
backcountry. When Cornwallis's main army proved too slow to intercept the
retreating Americans, he dispatched his most aggressive officer: Lieutenant
Colonel Banastre Tarleton.
Tarleton's pursuing force consisted of 170 light dragoons,
100 mounted infantry, and a single three-pound cannon, a total of approximately
270 men, though this number would later prove significant. Departing Camden on
the morning of May 29, Tarleton drove his men in a relentless chase, covering
extraordinary ground in pursuit of Buford's column.
The Ultimatum
By 3:00 PM on May 29, Tarleton overtook Buford's position.
Rather than immediately attacking, he sent forward a captain under a white flag
with a demand for unconditional surrender. The message was crafted for maximum
psychological impact, claiming to command "seven hundred light troops on
horseback" with "Earl Cornwallis likewise within a short march with
nine British battalions", a brazen exaggeration of his actual strength
designed to intimidate Buford into capitulation.
The surrender terms offered mirrored those accepted at
Charleston: officers would be paroled to their homes, Continental soldiers
would be held until exchanged, and militia could return home. The message
concluded with an ominous threat: "If you are rash enough to reject them,
the blood be upon your hand."
Buford's response was defiant and brief: "Sir, I reject
your proposals, and shall defend myself to the last extremity."
"Buford's Massacre"
The
battle that followed lasted only fifteen minutes but would reverberate for
years. Buford held his fire until the charging British cavalry closed to within
ten yards, a tactical decision that allowed his men only a single volley before
the enemy was upon them. As the British Legion crashed into the American line,
Continental soldiers began offering surrender.
The British dragoons, however, did not stop.
At a critical moment, Tarleton's horse was shot from beneath
him during the charge. His men, believing their commander had been killed, flew
into a rage and continued their assault on soldiers attempting to surrender. By
the time Tarleton regained control of his troops, the damage was done.
The Aftermath
The casualties told a devastating story. Of Buford's 380
men, 113 were killed and 147 wounded, many sustaining multiple saber wounds
inflicted after attempting to surrender. The British also captured two
six-pounder cannons and 26 supply wagons. British losses, by contrast, were
minimal: 5 killed and 12 wounded, plus 11 horses killed and 19 wounded.
Tarleton himself later described the engagement as a
"slaughter," attributing the violence to "vindictive asperity
not easily restrained" among his troops after his horse fell. Whether the
massacre resulted from loss of command control or deliberate policy remains
debated by historians. Some argue Tarleton bore direct responsibility for
failing to maintain discipline; others note that similar atrocities occurred on
both sides of the conflict.
A Rallying Cry
American propaganda immediately seized upon the brutality at
Waxhaws, portraying Tarleton as a merciless butcher. The phrase
"Tarleton's Quarter", meaning no quarter given, entered the
revolutionary lexicon as shorthand for British savagery. The Buford flag,
captured during the battle, remained with Tarleton's descendants until it was
sold at auction in 2006.
But the massacre's most significant impact was
psychological. The memory of Waxhaws became a powerful recruiting tool and
battle cry throughout the South. When the Overmountain Men faced British forces
at Kings Mountain on October 7, 1780, a battle that marked the turning point of
the Southern campaign, they fought with the memory of Waxhaws fueling their
determination.
The British conquest of South Carolina, seemingly complete
after Charleston's fall, had inadvertently created the conditions for its own
reversal. In trying to terrorize the backcountry into submission, Tarleton had
instead ignited a resistance that would not be extinguished.
or Further Reading:
- Battle of Waxhaws historical marker and site
information: https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=21540
- South Carolina Encyclopedia entry on the Battle of
Waxhaws: https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/waxhaws-battle-of/
- American Battlefield Trust overview: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/waxhaws
Note: The Buford flag, an important artifact from this
battle, was auctioned in 2006 and represents one of the few surviving physical
remnants of this engagement.
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