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BUFORD'S DEFEA COLO An Interesting Story of triotic Force During t lution Told by The following story of the massacre f 1 of the patriotic force of Colonel Bu- \ ford by Colonel Tarleton, in Lancas- ( tpr pnuntv during the American revo- j lution, was written for the Yorkville ' Enquirer by the late Rev. Robert Lathan, D. D., and was first publish-;1 ed in the issue of this paper of Sep- j' tember 30, 1891. It is being repub- j lished now by special request in order I ! J to stimulate interest in the famous .' battleground more especially with a ^ view to raising subscriptions for the j purchase of the land?about two acres?so the historic spot, together with the monument thereon may be propertly taken care of: * Nearly every neighborhood in the: ^ upper counties of South Carolina is ^ memorable on account of some tragical affair w-hich occurred in it during ^ the years of 1780 and 1781. On the ^ 26th of December, 1779, Sir Henry j Clinton with a corps of more than < 8,000 British soldiers, well provided j with everything necessary for the , efficiency of such a force, cleared the harbor of New York and directed his course towards South Carolina. Four { things?the mildness of the climate, * the richness of the soil, the nearness ' to Georgia, and the distance from ^ General Washington ? suggested South Carolina to the British commander as the fittest region, in all North America, in which to crush out of existence the rebellion against the British government. His conclusion, judging from the past history of the contest and present condition of the colonies, was correct. The war of the rebellion had been raging, with all the fierceness the contending par- > ties were able to effect for a period . of more than four years, and not a ; single decisive battle had beenj fought. I The forces of Sir Henry Clinton,; designed to operate in the South, i were conveyed by Vice Admiral Ar- j buthnot. The voyage was not a pros-' perous one. A storm scattered the j fleet; some of the ships were captur-: ed, one ordnance vessel foundered, most of the artillery, and all of the j cavalry horses perished. It was not, until near the middle of February that the forces were landed and ready for action. With promptness, energy and skill the British commander began to exe- j cute the work which he had under-j taken. The country, far and near,! was scoured by armed parties for ] the purpose of securing horses to j supply the place of those lost on the | voyage. Notwithstanding the many difficulties which beset the British' commander on all sides, he began, j with a large force, the work of throwing up redoubts in front of the city j of Charleston. The siege began on land on the night of the 1st of April,! the British ships Roebuck, Richmond, j Romulus, Blonde, Virginia, Raleigh, Sandwich and Renown, closed in up- ^ on the city, and with the land forces ( cut it off entirely from communica- j tion with the country at every point, j ^ except that which faced the Cooper 1 . river. The American forces were com- j < manded by Brigadier General Benja- ' min Lincoln. On the 10th of April,!, x the commanders of the British land , and naval forces, jointly summoned ! the American general to surrender, j General Lincoln replied that "Sixty j, days have passed since it has been j krown that your intentions againstj this town were hostile, in which time > has been afforded to abandon it; but | duty and inclination point to tne propriety of supporting it to the last ex- : tremity." On the rejection of the summons, i the British batteries were opened and a continual firing kept up until the 12th of May when the city was sur-j rendered on the same terms as those i offered on the 10th of April. As Charleston was the largest, and I in every respect the most important I town in the State, its capture was; ' regarded by the British, and by many of the inhabitants of the State, and a considerable number of inhabitants of Charleston itself, as equivalent to the j reduction of the whole State. No less j than 210 of the inhabitants of the city I petitioned the commanders of the British forces to be readmitted to the character of British subjects, and in the same petition, declared their dis- j approbation of the doctrine of Ameri- j can independence. Time has dealt gently with this petition and its signers. Both have been preserved. The fall of Charleston was a terrible calamity to the struggling colo nies, but it was regarded a grand success for the British. The loss to the Americans, in prisoners alone, was! 5,618, besides near 1,000 seamen, j That the besieged might be able to resist the besiegers, all the cannon and fire arms of every description in T BY NEL TARLETON.; the Massacre of a Pahe American RevoJ Rev. Lathan. < the colony, had been transported to ; :he city. All this fell into the hands Df the British. To announce the fall of Charleston, ' the Earl of Lincoln was sent to Europe. On the reception of the news, ! ill England was jubilant. So soon as 1 Charleston surrendered, Sir Henry Clinton set about to establish a civil J government in the city and State. Having reduced as he supposed, 1 Charleston to a stage of subjection ' :o the king of England, he returned 1 :o New York, taking with him a part ' if his army, while the remainder was - . 1 placed under Cornwallis. tfeiore ;aking his departure, Sir Henry Clin- 1 :on planned three expeditions. One ! :o move up the Savannah river to Augusta; another to pass through ' :he country to Ninety-Six; and the 1 :hird, commanded by Cornwallis, to pass through the eastern part of the ? State in pursuit of Colonel Abraham Buford. It is with this last that we ire at present concerned. During the siege of Charleston, :roops from different sections of the State, and from other States, were >ent to assist the besieged in repellng the assaults of the enemy. The mtrance to the city was, soon after ;he work of throwing up redoubts vas bgun, entirely cut off. Among ;he troops cut off were those led by Colonel Abraham Buford. The exact lumber of his command cannot, at his late day, be ascertained. An old tnd trustworthy authority says: "It r>f about. 200 Continentals. ;he rear of the Virginia line." This mobably was only the nucleus to vhich many others connected themselves temporarily. How near Col. 3uford had approached Charleston s not certain, but the probability is 1 hat he had reached the neighborhood )f Monck's Corner. On the 18th day )f May, Cornwallis began his pursuit >f Colonel Buford. With some diffi;ulty he crossed the Santee river at lianeau's ferry. The difficulty arose rom the fact that all the ferries on ;he river had been destroyed by the Americans?some probably by Colo- i lei Buford?for it seems that Cornvallis learned, on crossing the river, j )n the 22nd, that Colonel Buford had \ eft that point ten days previous. Immediately on getting all his roops across the Santee, at Laneau's erry, Cornwallis set out in hot pursuit of Buford, following in his racks. On the 27th, at Nelson's erry, on the Santee, Cornwallis deached Colonel Tarleton with a comnand consisting of forty cavalry? me hundred and thirty of the legion; me hundred mounted infantry, and a hree-pounder, to pursue the Ameri???? TVi a xrhnlo forr>p nf Tar ,CLL1 x uv n uvtv vw ^ eton, exclusive of the three-pounder, vas two hundred and seventy, all of 1 vhich -were either cavalry or mount- 1 id infantry. The pursuit by this de?chment began on the 27th of May. Camden was reached on the next day. Sere Tarleton learned that Colonel Buford had left Rugeley's mill, on ;he 26th, and was hastening to join i body of troops on their way from Salisbury to Charlotte. At 2 o'clock Dn the morning of the 29th, Tarle:on's detachment was again in mo:ion. At daylight, Rugeley's mill was reached, where it was learned that Colonel Buford and his command ' were about twenty miles distant. It was manifest that Colonel Buford thought he was entirely out of danger, and, as the weather was very warm, moved forward very leisurely. He seemed to have halted for some days at Camden, and then went to Rugeley's mill. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon of the 29th of May, TonlfltAri'i! nrortdnlr him. lanctvu o uviuvuuivub vt w* At Rugeley's mill, however, Tarleton sent Gapt. Kinlock to summon Colonel Buford to surrender. To this summons Colonel Buford returned the following reply: "I reject your proposal, and shall defend myself to the last extremity." The place where Tarleton overtook Colonel Buford, is about ten miles, by the road, nearly east of Lancaster, the county seat of Lancaster county. Although it is more than 111 years since the battle?if battle it may be called?was fought, scarcely any change has taken place on the battleground. The road runs where it did then, and with the exception of a small amount of undergrowth, the trees which were the silent witnesses of the slaughter, stand there to-day. The land on which Colonel Buford was defeated, is now the property of Rev. P. M. Plyler, of Tradesville, a few miles distant, in a northeastern direction. Colonel Tarleton gives a strictly accurate description of the battle ground in these words: "An open wood." It is, with the exception of a small amount of under growth, an open wood to-day. j| In full view of Colonel Tarleton J and Colonel Buford, the advanced j| guard of Tarleton captured four *1 Americans who were in the rear of their line. Whether or not Colonel f| Buford had placed videttes in his gg rear for the purpose of learning the m approach of the British is not certain- J [y known, but it seems that he had "1 not, and that after receiving the sum- ^ mons to surrender, continued his ^ march. This is what Tarleton says jg he did: Immediately on taking four of the jf * ?- - ~ ~ ~ nx'nnnnvn VifttVl TarlotfSTI ^ flJLLltJI JLVJdilO p i 1DUUC1 O | UVCXA lUiiviuii I and Buford began to put their forces ! in position for action. Tarlton's de- ffl scription of the order of his own gfl troops and also that of Colonel Bu- ^ ford, is perhaps correct, and is as j| follows. Of Colonel Buford he says: ~1 'He chose his post in an open wood, to the right of the road. He formed his infantry in one line, with a small ?fl reserve. He placed his colors in the center, and he ordered his cannon, ? baggage and wagons to continue ^ their march." Of the disposition of 1 bis own troops, Colonel Tarleton says: "He confided his right wing, which was composed of 60 dragoons and nearly as many mounted infant- T ry, to Major Cochran, desiring him to J (Continued on page 7.) *| HOW CHROMIC 00U6HS J Are Being Cured by Vinol *1 New Haven, Conn.?"I was troubled ^ with a most. nerRistent chronic coueh for a long time and had tried so many ? remedies and prescriptions without benefit that I was discouraged. I was afl persuaded by my friends to try. VI- J nol. After taking the second bottle, 1 my cough left me, and I must say I *1 never felt better in my life. I can al- i| so recommend Vinol to any one in a J run-down condition as the best possi- * ble remedy." ~1 It is the combined action of the medicinal elements of the cods' liv- of ers, aided by the blood-making and ^ strength-creating properties of tonic j iron which makes Vinol so efficient in *| curing chronic coughs, colds and ^ bronchitis?at the same time building J up the weakened, run-down system. jj Try a bottle of Vinol with the understanding that your money will be a| returned if it does not help you. ^ Peoples Drug Co., Bamberg, S. C. j S. G. MAYFEELD. W. E. FREE. g| MAYFIELD & FREE 4 ATTORNEYS AT LAW ?| BAMBERG, S. C. jj Practice iii all the Courts, both gfl State and Federal. Corporation J practice and the winding up of estates a specialty. Business entrust- ? trusted to us will be promptly at- _ tended to. ||. 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