The Battle of James Island was a minor engagement on November 14, 1782, just outside Charleston, South Carolina, between American and British forces. British troops were on the move attempting to evacuate. In an effort to encourage the British evacuation, American forces led by Tadeusz Kościuszko attempted to ambush British troops under William Dansey who were cutting wood; however, reinforcements were quickly brought to the British side and Kościuszko's soldiers, numbering 70 men, were forced to retreat.
The British, after receiving reinforcements, numbered more than 300 soldiers and vastly outnumbered the Americans. Several Americans were killed, including Captain William Wilmont, the last Continental Army soldier killed in action in the Carolinas. In addition to Wilmont, William Smith, a Black slave who assisted American troops during the battle, was taken captive by Dansey's forces and subsequently died in captivity. As the skirmish finished, the remaining American troops retreated. The British would soon withdraw from the region, marking the end of the American Revolutionary War.
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.
This page covers Battle of Snow's Island (SC, 1781). A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside historic sites, land records, and everything else the record holds within a few miles:
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