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Posted on 04/29/2004 12:00:03 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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Summary General Isaac Huger, who had been surprised by Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton at the Battle of Monck's Corner on April 14, ordered Buford to retreat to Hillsborough, North Carolina.  On May 27, Tarleton set out from Nelson's Ferry with 270 men in pursuit of South Carolina Governor John Rutledge, who was said to be travelling with Buford. On May 29, Tarleton caught up with Buford and his men. Buford refused to surrender and was quickly defeated by Tarleton's cavalry. The aftermath of the battle became controversial and settled Tarleton's reputation in the South for no mercy. On May 7, 1780 at Lenud's Ferry, Colonel Abraham Buford and 350 Virginia Continentals had watched helplessly from the far bank of the Santee River when Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton had dispersed a force of Continentals including Lt. Colonel William Washington. They had been on their way to Charleston as reinforcements. On May 12, however, the Siege of Charleston ended when Maj. General Benjamin Lincoln surrendered to Lt. General Henry Clinton. When word of the surrender reached Colonel Buford, he held his position and awaited new orders. General Isaac Huger, who had been surprised by Lt. Colonel Tarleton at the Battle of Monck's Corner on April 14, ordered Buford to retreat to Hillsborough, North Carolina. On May 18, 1780, Lt. General Charles Cornwallis commanding 2,500 men marched out of Charleston with orders from General Clinton to subdue the backcountry and establish outposts. He made his way to Lenud's Ferry and crossed the Santee River and made for Camden. Along the way, Cornwallis learned that South Carolina Governor John Rutledge had used the same route under the escort of Colonel Buford. Rutledge had managed to flee Charleston during the early stages of the siege.  South Carolina Governor John Rutledge However, Colonel Buford was ten days ahead, so General Cornwallis' only chance was to send Lt. Colonel Tarleton after Buford. On May 27, Tarleton set out from Nelson's Ferry with 270 men. His command force included forty British regulars of the 17th Dragoons, 130 of his British Legion cavalry , 100 of his British Legion infantry, mounted on this occasion, and one three-pound artillery piece. Since Colonel Buford had such a large lead on them, General Cornwallis had given Lt. Colonel Tarleton discretion to continue the pursuit, turn back or attack Buford if he caught up with him. Tarleton was at Camden the next day. At 2:00 A.M. on May 29, he set out again and reached Rugeley's Mill by mid-morning. There, he learned that Governor Rutledge had been there the night before and Colonel Buford was now only 20 miles ahead. Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton sent a messenger ahead requesting that Colonel Abraham Buford surrender. In the message, Tarleton exaggerated his forces in hopes of scaring Buford into surrender, or at least delaying him. After delaying the messenger, while his infantry reached a favorable position, Buford declined in a one sentence reply: "Sir, I reject your proposals, and shall defend myself to the last extremity."  Around three o'clock in the afternoon on May 29, 1780, Lt. Colonel Tarleton caught up with Colonel Buford near the Waxhaws district on the border of North and South Carolina. Tarleton's advance guard slashed through Buford's rear guard. Buford now formed his men up in a single line, while it is unknown what he did with Lt. Colonel William Washington's dragoons. Meanwhile, Tarleton did not wait for his stragglers to catch up, but continued to press the attack. Lt. Colonel Tarleton assigned fifty cavalry and fifty infantry to harass Colonel Buford's left flank. Another forty cavalry were to charge at the center of Buford's line, while Tarleton would take another thirty cavalry to Buford's right flank and reserves. He formed up his troops on a low hill opposite the American line. At 300 yards, his cavalry began their charge. When Lt. Colonel Tarleton's cavalry was fifty yards from Colonel Buford's line, the Americans presented their muskets, but they were ordered to hold their fire until the British were closer. Finally, at ten yards, Buford's men opened up, but that was too close for cavalry. Tarleton's horse was killed under him, but the American line was broken and in some cases, ridden down. The rout began and controversy soon followed. The details of what happened following the battle are still under controversy. Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton claimed that his horse was shot out from under him and he was pinned. His men, thinking that their commander had been shot and killed under a flag of truce, angrily attacked again. They slashed at anyone and everyone, including men who were kneeling with their hands up in surrender. Patriots claimed that Lt. Colonel Tarleton himself ordered the renewed attack because he didn't want to bother with taking prisoners. Based on his aggressive style and zeal for brutal charges in other engagements, the Patriot claims are usually given more credence. Although the first complete statement claiming a massacre did not appear until 1821 in a letter from Dr. Robert Brownfield to William Dobein James.  Either way, the slaughter lasted fifteen minutes. The result was 113 Continentals killed and 203 captured with 150 of those wounded. Colonel Buford himself managed to escape. There were only five killed and twelve wounded on the British side. The controversy continues to this day, but it took only days for Lt. Colonel Tarleton to be branded with the reputation for which he is remembered even now. Lt. Colonel Tarleton became known as 'Bloody Ban' or 'Ban the Butcher.' For the remainder of the war in the South, 'Tarleton's Quarter' meant no quarter and Buford's Massacre became a rallying cry for Patriots. It was on the lips of the Over Mountain Men at the Battle of King's Mountain in October 1780 during their defeat of Major Patrick Ferguson. There was no indication that Tarleton minded the nickname. Meanwhile, Lt. General Charles Cornwallis occasionally reminded Tarleton to look after the behavior of his men.
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Me too! ;-)
I'd love to do stuff like this.
Someday...
The last I'd heard, the effort had cost in the $20 million range. Not bad, considering NASA would cost 10 or 100 times as much. Paul Allen, co-founder of Microshaft, is the primary investor in the project.
Speaking of Prince John.
I've always hated this picture of Tarleton. It never goes with the description of him. Nothing manly about this portrait, of course, maybe he wasn't. LOL.
Ugh. A reminder of how far behind I am. Okay, okay...I'll get busy. ;-)
LOL. Now if that was the case I'll forgive her.
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