Battle of Colson's Mill

On July 21, 1780, North Carolina became the setting for the Battle of Colson's Mill, one of the many clashes of the American Revolutionary War. There, William Lee Davidson led a militia force that broke up an assembly of Loyalists gathering near Colson's Mill, a site close to where the Rocky and Pee Dee Rivers meet in what is now Stanly County, North Carolina.

Background

After the clash at Ramsour's Mill on June 20, 1780, General Griffith Rutherford brought more than 1,200 men from the Salisbury District Brigade to hunt down survivors who hoped to link up with British forces elsewhere. This effort yielded some results, though his ranks dwindled to roughly 200 as enlistments ran out and furloughed soldiers departed. Two days later, word reached him that Colonel Samuel Bryan had gathered several hundred Loyalist recruits some 75 miles (121 km) away to the northeast, close to the Yadkin River. Rutherford issued a summons for reinforcements and pressed forward in pursuit; by the time he closed to within 15 miles (24 km) of Bryan's camp, his numbers had climbed back to 600.

Bryan, expecting Rutherford's arrival, began pulling back along the eastern bank of the Yadkin, intending to reach British regulars stationed on the Pee Dee River. Though Rutherford pursued him, every effort to sever this retreat came to nothing. From Salisbury he dispatched Colonel William Lee Davidson with a select detachment to sweep down the Yadkin's western side, guarding against the possibility that Bryan might attempt a crossing there. This plan unraveled when Bryan, pushing his men through continuous day and night marching, managed to link up with the British before Davidson could intervene.

Two days into this pursuit, Davidson received intelligence that a sizable body of Loyalists, numbering in the hundreds, had assembled near Colson's Mill, close to where the Rocky and Pee Dee Rivers meet.

Hoping to catch them unprepared, Davidson pushed his force forward at speed, aiming to encircle the farm where the Loyalists had massed. The plan faltered when his advance was spotted before his flanking parties could get into position, and shooting broke out. As the sole soldier wearing a uniform, Davidson drew the attention of Loyalist sharpshooters and suffered a serious wound from a shot to the abdomen. Despite his fall, his troops held firm, and Colonel Francis Locke stepped in to lead them. Under his command they broke the Loyalist force, leaving three dead, several wounded, and ten captured. What allowed the remaining Loyalists to get away was their superior knowledge of the surrounding countryside.

Battle

Alongside Davidson, another of his soldiers suffered wounds during the fighting. It took Davidson a pair of months to heal before he returned to active duty. His military career ended in death at Cowan's Ford in February 1781.

Together with the earlier triumph at Ramsour's Mill the prior month, the success at Colson's Mill significantly discouraged Tories from actively backing the British cause as their forces pushed deeper into the Carolinas. Cornwallis may well have forfeited as many as 3,000 auxiliary Tory soldiers at a pivotal juncture of the Southern Campaign as a result.