The siege of Augusta took place between May 22 and June 6, 1781, during the American Revolutionary War. 1,600 Patriot troops, led by Brigadier General Andrew Pickens and Lieutenant Colonel Henry Lee III successfully besieged Augusta, Georgia, which was defended by 600 Loyalist troops under Thomas Brown. Fort Cornwallis, the primary Loyalist defence, was successfully exposed to cannon fire by the construction of a tower 30 feet (9.1 m) high on which the Patriots mounted a small cannon, resulting in Brown surrendering on June 6.
The arrival of the British regular army in Georgia in 1778 was shortly followed by the occupation of Augusta by loyalist Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Brown, leading the East Florida Rangers on January 31, 1779. Brown and the East Florida Rangers retreated from Augusta following the American victory at the Battle of Kettle Creek in February 1779.
Brown and his unit, renamed the King's Carolina Rangers retook Augusta on June 8, 1780. On 14 September 1780 Elijah Clarke and Patriot forces launched a surprise assault on British-held Augusta. The four day siege was unsuccessful and Clarke raised the siege, retreating on 18 September.
Clarke's militia re-entered Wilkes County in April 1781. Joined by Brigadier General Andrew Pickens' militia and Lieutenant Colonel Henry Lee's continentals, they arrived outside Augusta on May 21, 1781.
On April 16, Patriot militia companies under the command of Micajah Williamson arrived on the outskirts of Augusta, Georgia and established a fortified camp. The garrison of the town's primary fortification, Fort Cornwallis, was held by the King's Carolina Rangers commanded by Loyalist Thomas Brown, and did not immediately confront Williamson due to exaggerated reports of his troop strength. Pickens maneuvered a force of 400 men between Augusta and Ninety Six, South Carolina to prevent the British outpost there from reinforcing Brown. On May 15, Williamson was joined by his commander, Elijah Clarke and another 100 men, effectively cutting British supply lines.
Major General Nathanael Greene had sent Lee to attempt the capture of Ninety Six, but when Lee neared he learned that the town had been fortified in anticipation of Greene's arrival. Greene then ordered Lee to assist Pickens at Augusta. Pressing on, Lee reached Augusta after traveling 75 miles (121 km) in three days. On May 21, the stockaded house of George Galphin, an Indian agent, located 12 miles (19 km) south of Augusta, was attacked by forces under Clarke and Lee. After a brief exchange, in which one American died of heatstroke and eight to ten were wounded, the garrison there surrendered after three or four men were killed. A total of 126 men, mostly regulars, surrendered. The prize (and the reason for the Patriot attack) was much-needed supplies and military equipment which had been intended for distribution to the local Indians.
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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