Battle of Stono Ferry

Battle of Stono Ferry
Part of the American Revolutionary War
The Death of Colonel Owen Roberts by Henry Benbridge
Date June 20, 1779 Location Charleston County, near present day Rantowles, South Carolina 32°45′25.33″N 80°8′2.16″W / 32.7570361°N 80.1339333°W / 32.7570361; -80.1339333Coordinates: 32°45′25.33″N 80°8′2.16″W / 32.7570361°N 80.1339333°W / 32.7570361; -80.1339333 Result British victory
Belligerents
United States	Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
Benjamin Lincoln	John Maitland
Strength
1,500 militia 6 artillery pieces	900 infantry
Casualties and losses
34 killed 113 wounded 155 missing	26 killed 93 wounded 1 missing

The Battle of Stono Ferry was an American Revolutionary War battle, fought on June 20, 1779, near Charleston, South Carolina. The rear guard from a British expedition retreating from an aborted attempt to take Charleston held off an assault by poorly trained militia forces under American General Benjamin Lincoln.

The opening move in Britain's "southern strategy" to regain control of its rebellious colonies was Admiral Peter Parker and General Henry Clinton's ignominious defeat in June 1776 to a vastly smaller militia force at a partially-constructed palmetto palisade on Sullivan's Island off Charlestown (now Charleston), South Carolina, the Royal Navy's first repulse in a century. In December 1778, however, Savannah was captured and Charleston again exposed to danger. At the time, it was the site of the Continental Army's southern command under General Benjamin Lincoln. The British garrison at Savannah was about the same size as his own. Throughout the early months of 1779, Lincoln was reinforced by local militia as well as militia from North Carolina and Georgia. From a base at Purrysburg, South Carolina, Lincoln directed these forces to monitor key points on the Savannah River between the coast and Augusta, Georgia, which fell into British hands in late January. This buildup of forces prompted the British to withdraw their force from Augusta back to Ebenezer, Georgia, across the river from Purrysburg. During these maneuvers a Loyalist force was defeated in the Battle of Kettle Creek, and a North Carolina militia force was defeated in the Battle of Brier Creek.

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