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| Battle of Fishdam Ford | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theAmerican Revolutionary War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States |  Great Britain | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Thomas Sumter | James Wemyss  | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 525 militia | 210 regulars 40 militia dragoons | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 20 killed or wounded | ||||||
 | |||||||
TheBattle of Fishdam Ford was an attempted surprise attack by British forces under the command of MajorJames Wemyss against an encampment ofPatriot militia under the command of local Brigadier GeneralThomas Sumter around 1 am on the morning of November 9, 1780, late in theAmerican Revolutionary War. Wemyss was wounded and captured in the attack, which failed because of heightened security in Sumter's camp and because Wemyss did not wait until dawn to begin the attack.
Pursuant to the British "southern strategy" for winning theAmerican Revolutionary War, British forces hadcaptured Charleston,South Carolina early in 1780, and had drivenContinental Army forces from South Carolina. Following his successfulrouting of a second Continental Army at Camden in August 1780, British GeneralLord Cornwallis paused with his army in the Waxhaws region of northernSouth Carolina. Believing British andLoyalist forces to be in control ofGeorgia and South Carolina, he decided to turn north and address the threat posed by the Continental Army remnants inNorth Carolina. In mid-September he moved north toCharlotte, North Carolina, where he was virtually surrounded by active North Carolina militia and Continental Army units. Following the importantdefeat of gathering Loyalists at Kings Mountain, Cornwallis retreated back toWinnsboro, South Carolina, where he engaged in attempts to suppress the Patriot militia that were harassing his supply and communication lines.
Two troublesome militia commanders in South Carolina wereThomas Sumter andFrancis Marion. Marion caused trouble for Cornwallis in the northeastern part of the state, east of theSantee River. His activities were successful enough that Cornwallis sent Lieutenant ColonelBanastre Tarleton in November to hunt the wily Marion down. Sumter made similar troubles in the backcountry, where Cornwallis sent MajorJames Wemyss with the 63rd Regiment and some Loyalistdragoons to find him.
Wemyss learned on November 8 from local Loyalists that Sumter was encamped near Fishdam Ford. His intelligence about Sumter's camp was sufficiently detailed that some men were specifically designated to attack Sumter's tent. Moving quickly, Wemyss arrived near Sumter's camp early on November 9. Fearing they would be discovered by Sumter's patrols, Wemyss opted to attack immediately rather than waiting for dawn.
Sumter's men had been wary to the possibility of surprise attacks, which were a popular British tactic. His officers had ordered their men to lie on their arms, to keep their fires burning, and had specific instructions about how to form up in case of attack. When Wemyss led the British attack against Sumter's sentries, he was hit twice by musket fire and went down. His dragoons continued the charge into the camp, where the campfires illuminated them, providing easy targets for Sumter's men, who had lined up in the woods just outside the camp. Their first volley took the British lead company by surprise, killing and wounding several men. They retreated, and Wemyss infantry then advanced into the camp, where they also came under fire from the woods. The British attempted abayonet charge, but it was confounded by a fence between the two lines in the darkness. After twenty minutes of battle, the British retreated, leaving their wounded, including Major Wemyss, on the field; the patriots won.
Sumter played virtually no role in the battle, escaping from his tent to the riverbank early in the action.
Following the British failure,Lord Cornwallis recalled Tarleton to instead go after Sumter, who he believed was preparing an attack onNinety Six. Tarleton and Sumtermet at Blackstock's Farm, in which Sumter very nearly revenged himself[further explanation needed] for Tarleton's near-capture of himat Fishing Creek in August.[citation needed]
