Battle of Blue Licks

Overview

The Battle of Blue Licks, fought on August 19, 1782, was one of the last battles of the American Revolutionary War. The battle occurred ten months after Lord Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown, which had effectively ended the war in the east. On a hill next to the Licking River in what is now Robertson County, Kentucky, a force of 50 Butler's Rangers and 300 Indigenous warriors ambushed and routed 182 Kentucky militia, who were partially led by Daniel Boone, the famed frontiersman.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Blue Licks, fought on August 19, 1782, stands as one of the last engagements of the American Revolutionary War, occurring ten months after Lord Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown had effectively ended the war in the eastern theater. Despite the cessation of major hostilities in the east, frontier conflict in Kentucky continued, and Blue Licks illustrates the degree to which the war's formal conclusion at Yorktown did not immediately halt violence on the western periphery of the new American nation. A combined British and Indigenous force routed a Kentucky militia contingent, demonstrating that British-allied irregular forces retained offensive capability well into the post-Yorktown period. The battle's participants included Daniel Boone among the militia commanders, alongside British officers William Caldwell and Alexander McKee and the controversial figure Simon Girty on the opposing side.

Tactics

Commanders (7)