The Battle of Black Mingo was a skirmish during the American Revolution. It took place in September 29, 1780 in the vicinity of Dollard's Tavern (also known as Red House) at Willtown near Rhems, South Carolina.
General Francis Marion leading Revolutionary forces attacked and scattered a contingent of Loyalist troops that had been left to secure the region by British Colonel Banastre Tarleton after his destructive march through the area.
The Loyalists, under Colonel John Coming Ball, were driven into Black Mingo swamp after suffering significant casualties.
Following the defeat of General Horatio Gates’ Continental Army regulars by British forces at the Battle of Camden on August 16, 1780, organized military opposition to British occupation all but ceased in the South.
In the aftermath of the British victory, armed Loyalist contingents of between 200-250 men were deployed to secure the countryside to suppress Patriot guerrilla activity, including that of General Francis Marion’s irregular fighting units.
On September 3, Marion and his 50-man mounted company attacked the Loyalist forces near the Little Pee Dee River, routing their 45-man advance guard. The next day at dawn, Marion’s men charged the Loyalist militia, drawing their 200 men into an ambush and dispersing them.
The British traveled across South Carolina, plundering and destroying Revolutionary properties. This prompted Marion to move into South Carolina, where Revolutionaries angered by the British action signed up in large numbers. Marion was alerted to the presence of Loyalists at Shepherd's Ferry, on the south side of Black Mingo Creek, then 15 miles (24 km) away. While the reports indicated that the Loyalist numbers were larger than his own, the enthusiasm of his men prompted him to agree to an attack.
Marion had wanted to surprise the Loyalists with an early morning attack. The surprise was spoiled when, at nearly midnight, the lead horses in his column began crossing Black Mingo Creek via the wooden plank bridge 1 mile (1.6 km) downstream from the Loyalist Camp alerting camp sentinels. Alarm shots were heard in the Loyalist camp and British Colonel John Coming Ball mobilized his forces to repulse the rebel attatck.
Marion divided his small force into three groups sending them down the main road, and off to the right and left, surrounding the Loyalist troops. Ball formed up his men in a moonlit field adjacent to Dollard's Tavern, and ordered them to hold their fire until rebel fighters were within 30 yards (27 meters). The Loyalists, although greater in number, found themselves between two firing lines, gave way after just a few rounds and retreated into the swamp.
The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) grew from colonial resistance to British taxation without parliamentary representation — a dispute that radicalized through the Stamp Act (1765), the Townshend Acts (1767), and the Boston Massacre (1770). Fighting began at Lexington and Concord in April 1775; the Continental Congress declared independence on July 4, 1776. The Continental Army under George Washington faced severe shortages of supplies and troops, enduring the brutal winter at Valley Forge (1777–1778) before French alliance and French financing turned the military balance. Major engagements included Bunker Hill (1775), Trenton (1776), Saratoga (1777) — which secured French intervention — and Yorktown (1781), where British General Cornwallis surrendered to Washington. An estimated 25,000 American soldiers died in service, from combat, disease, and captivity. The Treaty of Paris (1783) recognized American independence and ceded British territory east of the Mississippi, though it left unresolved questions about Indigenous land rights and the status of Loyalists.
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