Battle of Lenud's Ferry

On May 6, 1780, forces clashed at what became known as the Battle of Lenud's Ferry, sometimes rendered Lanneau's Ferry, a clash of the American Revolutionary War situated in what is today Berkeley County, South Carolina.

Nearly every man fighting on the British side that day had been born and raised in South Carolina itself, loyal colonists rather than soldiers sent from abroad. The single exception was the officer leading them, Banastre Tarleton, who held command over the group known as the Loyalist British Legion. Under Tarleton's direction as lieutenant colonel, this Legion fell upon a company of Patriot militia stationed at Lenud's Ferry, a crossing along the Santee River, and drove them into disarray. This crossing point lay just south of the area now recognized as Georgetown County.

Battle

Tarleton pushed his men forward at top speed to reach the crossing point. Because White had posted no scouts or patrols, his force found itself caught entirely off guard when Tarleton's troops arrived. The toll was severe: five officers and 36 men fell as casualties, while White, Jamieson, and Washington managed to escape along with others by plunging into the river. Tarleton, by contrast, suffered the loss of only 2 men and 4 horses.

Tarleton himself described the encounter this way: the Americans, caught completely unaware, offered little resistance before the fighting and killing came to an end. Every horse, weapon, and piece of equipment belonging to the Americans fell into his hands. Colonels White, Washington, and Jamieson, along with a handful of officers and soldiers, managed to save themselves by swimming away, though a number of others who attempted the same escape drowned in the attempt.

Aftermath

Cornwallis insisted the clash had left their cavalry entirely wrecked. What the fighting revealed was that British forces now dominated the routes leading north out of Charleston, cutting off any hope of escape in that direction. Within weeks, on May 12, Lincoln gave up both the city and his entire force, numbering over 5,000 men.