Blackstocks

On November 20, 1780, forces clashed near Cross Anchor in what is now Union County, South Carolina, in an engagement known variously as Blackstock's Farm, Blackstock's Plantation, Blackstock's Hill, or simply Blackstocks. This clash stands out as a notable moment of the Revolutionary War, since it was the first occasion in the conflict when American militia managed to defeat British regulars in combat. That said, the victory came under favorable circumstances: the militia held a three-to-one numerical edge and fought from a fortified position rather than meeting the British in open battle.

Background

A month earlier, Major Patrick Ferguson had suffered total defeat at the Battle of Kings Mountain, his entire 900-man force either killed or captured, and in the aftermath the thinly populated Carolina Backcountry began slipping further into Patriot hands.

In response, Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis, who held command of British forces in the Southern theater, directed Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton to call off his pursuit of the guerrilla leader Brigadier General Francis Marion. Tarleton and his British Legion were instead to turn their attention toward Patriot militia commander Brigadier General Thomas Sumter, with the aim of disrupting his operations and restoring the morale of Tories in the region. At that point, Sumter had been busy recruiting partisan fighters and had built up a force numbering a thousand men.

Preliminaries

On November 18, dragoons from Tarleton's British Legion along with mounted troops from the 63d Regiment stopped to water and bathe their horses along the Broad River, only to come under fire from some of Sumter's raiders positioned on the far bank. In response, the British wheeled out a 3-pounder "grasshopper" gun, which made short work of dispersing the partisan fighters. That night, Tarleton ferried his men across the river using flat boats and began a determined pursuit of Sumter the following day. By the next evening his advance guard had closed the distance enough to compel Sumter's men into a confrontation. Sumter caught a break, however, when a man who had deserted from the 63d Regiment tipped him off about Tarleton's whereabouts and intentions.

At this point Sumter commanded roughly a thousand militiamen drawn from the backcountry, while Tarleton led over five hundred regular troops, three hundred of whom made up his core force. Rather than initiate an attack themselves, Sumter and his officers agreed it would be wiser to locate defensible terrain and let Tarleton come to them. It was Colonel Thomas Brandon, familiar with the local landscape, who pointed them toward William Blackstock's farm, situated on high ground overlooking the Tyger River. The cleared fields there gave defenders open lines of fire and space to shift position, and the farm's hardwood log buildings, left unchinked, offered what could be described as narrow but useful gaps for men shooting from cover. Any approach Tarleton's forces attempted would require crossing open ground, climbing over fences, and fording a creek before reaching Sumter's chosen position.

Battle

Colonel Henry Hampton and his South Carolina riflemen took up positions inside the farm's outbuildings on Sumter's orders. Additional units found cover behind sturdy fences, while still more waited concealed among the trees nearby. Arriving late in the afternoon that fall day, Tarleton opted for a direct assault against a force that outnumbered his own, pressing forward rather than waiting for his infantry and cannon to arrive.

His gamble paid off initially. The militia opened fire from too far away, and before they had a chance to reload, Major John Money and his 63d Regiment closed in with bayonets. This push, however, carried the 63d dangerously close to the farm structures, exposing them to gunfire from Hampton's concealed men. Money fell dead alongside two of his lieutenants, and roughly a third of his enlisted men perished as well. At the same time, partisan fighters slipped around the flank on the right and struck at Tarleton's dragoons, who sat mounted and idle, merely observing the fighting unfold.

Seeing their fellow soldiers in peril, Tarleton and his cavalry disregarded the threat posed by sharpshooters firing from secure cover. They pushed uphill in an effort to save the 63d, sustaining heavy losses among both riders and horses. Tarleton himself took the considerable risk of dismounting to carry the gravely injured Money out of harm's way. Even as injured men attempted to crawl toward safety, Patriot fighters kept firing on them. Despite this brutal exchange, the British managed an orderly retreat.

Described as being every bit as bold as Tarleton, Sumter rode forward to observe the retreating British forces, only to be struck by a volley fired from the 63d aimed at him and his officers. The wound was serious enough that he had to hand over command to his ranking colonel, John Twiggs.

Pulling back roughly two miles, Tarleton intended to gather reinforcements and renew the assault come morning. Twiggs, however, abandoned the camp under cover of darkness, leaving the fires burning to mask the withdrawal. When daylight came, Tarleton's men were left to bury the fallen from both sides. According to Tarleton's own count, 51 of his soldiers were killed or wounded, though an American source from the time put British losses considerably higher, at 92 dead and between 75 and 100 wounded. On the American side, the toll came to 3 killed, 4 wounded, and 50 taken prisoner.

Aftermath

Cornwallis received word from Tarleton claiming victory: the Americans had scattered under his assault, and Sumpter himself lay gravely wounded. Tarleton further noted that three of his men had vowed to "fix Sumter immediately," a promise he rewarded in advance with fifty guineas to each.

Yet holding the ground told only part of the story. Militia forces, fighting from cover rather than confronting the British Legion in a conventional clash, had managed to stop these regulars in their tracks. Sumter's injury, painful as it was, may ultimately have served the Patriot cause well, since it opened the door for Washington to place Nathanael Greene at the head of the Southern department.

In 1974, the site of this engagement, now known as the Battle of Blackstock's Historic Site, earned a place on the National Register of Historic Places.