Qualla: Battle of Fishdam Ford

Battle of Fishdam Ford: Introduction

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Major James Wemyss had a plan and a sketch. He knew which tent was Thomas Sumter's. He had detached specific men to ride for that tent and kill or capture the Carolina Gamecock the moment the attack began. He had every advantage of intelligence. What he did not have, in the dark hour before 1 a.m. on November 9, 1780, was the patience to wait for dawn. His men were close. He thought Sumter's patrols would spot them. So Wemyss charged in the dark, and by the campfires that the militia had deliberately kept burning, the British became targets while the Americans stayed in shadow. Twenty minutes later it was over. Wemyss was on the ground with two musket wounds, captured. Sumter was on the Broad River bank, having slipped out of his tent at the first shot. The patriots had won a small, important battle by being ready when surprise came.

Read more: Battle of Fishdam Ford on Qualla

Battle of Fishdam Ford: Cornwallis Turns South Again

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

By autumn 1780, Lord Cornwallis was unhappy. The British 'southern strategy' had captured Charleston in early 1780 and routed Continental forces. After his great victory over Horatio Gates at Camden in August, Cornwallis had marched into North Carolina, expected to be greeted by ...

Read more: Battle of Fishdam Ford on Qualla

Battle of Fishdam Ford: Lying on Their Arms

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

On November 8, local Loyalists told Wemyss that Sumter was encamped near Fishdam Ford on the Broad River. The intelligence was good - Wemyss knew the layout of the camp well enough to dispatch men specifically against Sumter's tent. What he did not know was that Sumter's officers...

Read more: Battle of Fishdam Ford on Qualla

Battle of Fishdam Ford: Shot Off His Horse

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Wemyss led from the front. He charged Sumter's sentries himself and was hit twice by musket fire almost immediately, going down. His dragoons kept the charge, riding into the lit camp - and the campfires showed them perfectly to the militia, who had stepped back into the woods ju...

Read more: Battle of Fishdam Ford on Qualla

Battle of Fishdam Ford: Blackstock's Next

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The British failure at Fishdam Ford was small in casualties but large in consequence. Cornwallis recalled Tarleton from the hunt for Francis Marion and sent him after Sumter instead, believing Sumter was about to attack the British post at Ninety Six. The two would meet on Novemb...

Read more: Battle of Fishdam Ford on Qualla