Brattonsville - Choosing Sides | The Southern Campaign

After the crushing defeat at Waxhaws, the people of the South Carolina back country had a decision to make.  Were they “Tories”—loyal to the crown; or would they become “Whigs” or “partisans” and fight the British invaders?  

General Thomas Sumter gathered militia troops in South Carolina. Militia units consisted of “civilian” farmers and sometimes included Catawba Indians and slaves. The American militia and partisans couldn’t just line up and take on the British. The British forces were too well-trained and disciplined.  =The Americans had to whittle away at the enemy, strike their supply lines—fight dozens of little battles, rather than one big battle.  This strategy became known as “guerilla warfare.”

In June 1780, the British had established an "outpost" at Rocky Mount, in the Catawba Valley. Lieutenant Colonel George Turnbull sent troops into what are now York and Chester counties to round up and eliminate the rebels. Captain Christian Huck, a loyalist from Philadelphia, was the leader.

In the community of Brattonsville, Martha Bratton sent a message to warn her husband, Colonel William Bratton, that Captain Huck was on his way. The message was delivered by Watt, the family’s African-American slave.

On July 12, 1780, the Patriot militia, led by Colonel Bratton, defeated the British Legion. This battle became known as the "Battle at Williamson's Plantation" or "Huck's Defeat."

Standards

• 4.2.CE Examine the economic and political motivations for colonists to declare independence from Great Britain.
• 4.2.CX Contextualize South Carolina’s role in the development of the new nation.
• 8.2.CO Compare the motives and demographics of loyalists and patriots within South Carolina and the colonies.
• This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the economic, political, and social motivations of the patriots and the loyalists in the era of the American Revolution.
• 8.2.CE Explain the economic, political, and social factors surrounding the American Revolution.
• This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into how the colonies began to unify to create a distinctive American identity over the course of events of the American Revolution.
• 8.2.CX Contextualize the roles of various groups of South Carolinians as the colonies moved toward becoming an independent nation.
• This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the motivations of colonists during the American Revolution and the progression of conflict and failed compromise that ultimately led to revolution.

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