The Battle of Monck's Corner was fought on April 14, 1780, outside of Charleston, South Carolina, which was under siege by British forces under the command of General Sir Henry Clinton in the American Revolutionary War. The British Legion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, surprised a Patriot force stationed at Monck's Corner and drove them away. The action cut off an avenue of escape for Benjamin Lincoln's besieged army. Aside from the British Legion, and the 33rd Foot and 64th Foot led by Lieutenant Colonel James Webster, the force included the American Volunteers led by Major Patrick Ferguson.
The majority of the British soldiers who took part in the Battle of Monck's Corner were Loyalist troops raised from the colony of South Carolina, although a detachment of the 17th Light Dragoons under Captain William Henry Talbotwith also participated. Tarleton's unit was known as the British Legion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton. General Sir Henry Clinton arrived before Charleston, South Carolina on 1 April 1780 and began siege preparations as the opening move in British plan to gain control over the Carolinas. The city was defended by Continental Army troops under the command of General Benjamin Lincoln. Even after the British operations were underway, troops continued to arrive in the city to assist in its defense. On 8 April, after the British had begun establishing siege lines around part of the city, 750 Virginia Continentals, under the command of William Woodford, arrived in the city.
Clinton learned that a supply train, which was actually the baggage train of this company, was nearing the city and decided to cut the supply route. He detached 1,400 men under Lieutenant Colonel James Webster to go inland about 30 miles (48 km) to Biggin's Bridge on the Cooper River to intercept the train.
In order to protect their own lines, the British needed to face General Isaac Huger and his detachment that Lincoln had stationed at Monck's Corner. Huger's force consisted of 500 men, including cavalry under the command of Lt. Col. William Washington, and elements of Pulaski's Legion under the command of Chevalier Pierre-Francois Vernier. On the evening of 13 April, Tarleton intercepted a letter from Huger meant for Lincoln and learned the disposition of Huger's force. His march continued on in silence.
The British attacked at 3 am on 14 April. What followed quickly became a rout.
According to Tarleton, "The Americans were completely surprised, General Huger, Colonels Washington and Jamieson, with many officers and men, fled on foot to the swamps.."
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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