Waxhaws

Near Lancaster, South Carolina, on May 29, 1780, forces clashed in what became known by several names: the Waxhaws Massacre, Buford's Massacre, and the Battle of Waxhaw Creek, among others, all referring to the same clash during the American Revolutionary War. Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton led a provincial unit known as the British Legion in catching up with a Patriot detachment under Abraham Buford. While Buford commanded Continental Army soldiers, the ranks under Tarleton were largely filled with Loyalist troops. When the two sides spotted one another, Buford turned down terms offered for surrender, prompting Tarleton to send his cavalry forward in a charge. As some unspecified number of Buford's soldiers tried to give themselves up, Tarleton's horse took a bullet and collapsed, trapping him beneath it. Believing this to be some kind of trick, a number of Loyalist soldiers kept fighting and cut down several Patriots before officers managed to bring the chaos under control.

Buford had 420 men under his command that day. Of these, 104 managed to flee, 113 lost their lives, 150 sustained wounds, and 53 were taken prisoner. On the British side, losses amounted to 5 killed and 12 wounded. Given how one sided the outcome was, Patriots branded it a massacre. This framing fueled a deliberate propaganda effort by Patriots aimed at swelling recruitment numbers and stirring anger toward the British. From this episode arose the phrase "Tarleton's quarter," used afterward to describe combat in which no mercy was shown to those trying to surrender, even though Tarleton himself never gave orders for his men to strike down Patriots who were surrendering. Following this encounter, fighting throughout the Carolinas rarely saw either side take many prisoners.

Prelude

Under Colonel Abraham Buford marched roughly 380 Virginia Continentals, known as the 3rd Virginia Detachment, a blend of raw recruits and seasoned soldiers, supported by an artillery detachment equipped with two six-pounders. While the rank and file lacked combat seasoning, Buford could still rely on several experienced officers within his ranks. Delays in equipping his men meant Buford never made it to Charleston in time to help defend it. General Benjamin Lincoln, in charge at Charleston, had directed him to establish a defensive post near Lenud's Ferry along the Santee River just outside the city, yet Lincoln capitulated around the very moment Buford arrived there. Buford's ranks later grew when roughly 40 troopers from the Virginia 1st and 3rd Light Dragoons, having slipped away from the siege or from fighting near the city, joined him, along with Richard Caswell's militia from North Carolina. Once word of the surrender reached him, General Isaac Huger directed Buford to withdraw toward Hillsborough, North Carolina, prompting him to reverse course and head northward. Near Camden, the paths of Buford and Caswell diverged, and Buford continued north into the Waxhaws district. For part of this journey he traveled alongside South Carolina's governor, John Rutledge, who had been busy raising militia forces throughout the backcountry. When Buford paused to let his men rest at Waxhaw Creek, Rutledge pressed ahead toward Charlotte, North Carolina, on his own.

Word of the movements led by Huger and Rutledge reached General Clinton, who on May 15 instructed Lord Cornwallis to bring the backcountry regions of South Carolina and Georgia under control. Since his main force could not move quickly enough to catch up with Buford, Cornwallis dispatched Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton on May 27 to hunt him down. Tarleton's detachment numbered 170 light dragoons, drawn from the British Legion, a mostly Loyalist provincial unit, and the 17th Light Dragoons, along with 100 mounted infantrymen from the British Legion and a single three-pounder cannon. Arriving at Camden late on May 28, Tarleton pushed onward after Buford beginning early the next morning. By the afternoon of May 29, his forward detachment, consisting of 60 dragoons and 60 mounted infantry, plus a separate flanking group of 30 British Legion dragoons with some infantry support, had caught up to Buford's column. Having received word that Tarleton was closing in, Buford had already started moving his troops northward.

Battle

Captain David Kinlock rode toward the rebel column under a white flag, bearing Tarleton's demand that Buford surrender his men. When Kinlock reached the column, Buford brought his march to a stop and arranged his troops into a battle line while the two sides negotiated. In his message, Tarleton inflated his numbers considerably, asserting he commanded 700 men, in an attempt to influence Buford's choice. He wrote that since resistance would prove useless, he offered terms meant to spare bloodshed, terms he promised would not be extended twice. Buford answered firmly that he would reject the proposals and fight to the utmost. He then reorganized his men back into marching order and pressed onward toward the north, keeping his baggage train positioned near the column's front.

By roughly three o'clock, Tarleton's advance elements reached Buford's rear guard. Decades later, Robert Brownfield, who had served as a surgeon's mate for the Patriots during the engagement, described how the rear guard's five dragoons were taken prisoner, and how their commanding officer, Captain Pearson, suffered brutal saber wounds, several delivered even after he had already fallen. Buford brought the main column to a halt, though he sent the artillery and baggage ahead, and arranged his remaining men

Aftermath

Once the fighting stopped, local congregants opened nearby churches to care for the injured. Tarleton himself claimed that the wounded on both sides received treatment "with equal humanity" and stated the British had offered "every possible convenience." So many men needed care that residents from across the surrounding countryside traveled in to help nurse them. As these caregivers listened to accounts from the wounded, hearing only one side of events, word began to circulate that Tarleton had violated the accepted rules of quarter, and this belief spread quickly throughout the area.

This engagement cemented British dominance over South Carolina at a time when enthusiasm for the Patriot cause had fallen sharply. Before departing Charleston for New York, General Clinton took several actions, including canceling the paroles that had been granted to Patriots who had already surrendered. Combined with what people were hearing about this fight, this decision fundamentally altered the war's trajectory in the southern theater. Numerous individuals who had previously chosen neutrality now joined the Patriot side, and phrases like "Tarleton's Quarter!" and "Remember Buford" emerged as battle cries among the Whigs. Word of the slaughter proved a direct catalyst for organizing volunteer militia units among the Overmountain Men, who came from the Wataugan settlements in and around Sycamore Shoals. These irregular forces would go on to fight Loyalist troops at Musgrove Mill on August 18, 1780, and later delivered a crushing blow to a Loyalist army under Major Patrick Ferguson at Kings Mountain on October 7 of that same year.