Siege of Savage's Old Fields

Date	November 19–21, 1775
Location	Ninety Six, South Carolina
Result	Inconclusive

Belligerents

South Carolina Patriots

South Carolina Loyalists

Commanders and leaders

Andrew Williamson

Patrick Cuningham
Joseph Robinson

Strength

560 militia

1,900 militia

Casualties and losses

1 killed
12 wounded

4 killed
20 wounded

The Siege of Savage's Old Fields (also known as the First Siege of Ninety Six, November 19–21, 1775) was an encounter between Patriot and Loyalist forces in the back country town of Ninety Six, South Carolina, early in the American Revolutionary War. It was the first major conflict in South Carolina in the war, having been preceded by bloodless seizures of several military fortifications in the province. Patriot forces under the command of Major Andrew Williamson had been dispatched to the area to recover a shipment of gunpowder and ammunition intended for the Cherokees that had been seized by Loyalists. Williamson's force, numbering over 500, established a stockaded fort near Ninety Six, where it was surrounded by some 1,900 Loyalists.

Because the war was in its early days and the partisan war in the southern back country had not become as brutal as it would be later in the war, the siege was conducted desultorily, and was effectively a stalemate. After two days the Loyalists withdrew, having lost four killed and 20 wounded to one Patriot killed and 12 wounded. The Patriots also withdrew toward the coast, but a major Patriot expedition not long after resulted in the arrest or flight of most of the Loyalist leadership.

When the American Revolutionary War began in Massachusetts in April 1775, the free population of the Province of South Carolina was divided in its reaction. Many English coastal residents were either neutral or favored the rebellion, while significant numbers of back country residents, many of whom were German and Scottish immigrants, were opposed.Loyalist sentiment in the back country was dominated by Thomas Fletchall, a vocal and active opponent of Patriot attempts to resist King and Parliament. By August 1775 tensions between Patriot and Loyalist in the province had escalated to the point where both sides had raised sizable militia forces.

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