Battle of Waxhaws

Overview

The Battle of Waxhaws was a military engagement which took place near Lancaster, South Carolina on May 29, 1780, during the American Revolutionary War. A provincial unit, the British Legion commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, overtook a Patriot force led by Abraham Buford. Buford's men consisted of Continental Army soldiers, while Tarleton's force was mostly made up of Loyalist troops. After the two forces sighted each other, Buford rejected an offer of surrender terms, and Tarleton's cavalry charged. An unknown number of Buford's men then attempted to surrender at the same time as Tarleton's horse was shot, pinning him underneath. An unknown number of Loyalists, angered by this apparent perfidy, continued their attack, killing some Patriots until order was restored.

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

Significance

The Battle of Waxhaws, fought near Lancaster, South Carolina on May 29, 1780, resulted in severe casualties for Abraham Buford's Continental force at the hands of Banastre Tarleton's British Legion. With 113 to 150 Americans killed from a force of approximately 420, the engagement effectively destroyed the Patriot unit engaged. The battle's broader impact on the American Revolution stemmed less from its tactical outcome than from the circumstances of the killing. After an unknown number of Buford's men attempted to surrender, Loyalist troops continued attacking, a disputed episode attributed by Patriot accounts to Tarleton's horse being shot and falling on him during the cease-fire. The incident generated the rallying cry 'Tarleton's Quarter' among Patriots across the Southern theater, hardening resistance and inflaming recruitment sentiment at a moment when British forces had recently taken Charleston and were consolidating control of South Carolina.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (2)