Buford's Massacre/Battle of the Waxhaws
"We marched a few days, headin' home after the British had attacked us at Monck's Corner and captured all our supplies. There was a small bunch of us men, a small group of calvary with just a few horse. My horse was captured at Monck's Creek - the second horse I lost during the war.
"After a few days we run into a group of soldiers that was come up from Charleston which we learned had just fell to the British a few days before. This bunch was led by Colonel Abraham Buford and was about 350 strong with a couple of cannon.
"Colonel Buford told us that we was to join his militia group and that we was to march back to North Carolina to defend our state from the British advancin' behind us. He told us that they had learned that the British general Cornwalis was close on our tail, with the intent to capture or kill us all. So of course, we was all eager to get home and away from that terrible possibility.
"We had marched a road just parallel the Santee River and then later along the Wateree which will lead us to North Carolina. I was drivin' a wagon, being one of the most experienced drivers, that was left from the battle at Monck's Creek which was loaded with supplies.
"Just a couple of days after we met up with Colonel Buford a redcoat caught up to our rear and told us that Cornwalis was upon our rear with just a few hours to catch up to us and that we was to surrender our face a batallion of some one thousand men. Colonel Buford called all us officers together to discuss the matter, and figurin' Cornwalis to be lyin' about the size of his band, ordered the wagons to continue on the march. I was placed in charge of a group of men and instructed to ride with the wind for home! 'Course I was happy about these orders!
"Well we rode on fast as we could and in the distance we could hear the musket fire and terrible booms of cannon. We didn't learn until the next day what had happened - the British attacked our men full force and after our lines had fired they rushed and massacred our men even after they had raised a white flag of surrender. There again the British was massacrin' our men with no care for their lives or their own honor."
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Samuel Patton - Revolutionary War Service Home Page
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