The Carolinas: Where the American Revolution was won.
- Dallas Reese
- Jan 30
- 7 min read
The pivotal role of the Carolinas (and Georgia) in securing the United States' freedom 250 years ago.
2026 is set to be a big year as America celebrates 250 years of Freedom.
There will be celebrations and commemorations galore as we approach July 4th and the Semiquincentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. My goal is to educate and inform, and to tell the forgotten stories of the Carolinas (and Georgia, which played a much more minor but equally important role) during the American Revolution. Over the coming years, I'll be traveling the Carolinas to capture the stories as we commemorate 250 years of freedom. I'll take you to the places events happened and talk with historians, authors, re-enactors, and many who are helping to make the American Revolution come alive for all Americans over the next half decade. I'm no Charles Kuralt, but I certainly learned how to tell stories from him, as well as from C.J. Underwood, Bob Inman, and others who traveled the Carolinas in my youth, seeking out the stories of her people and places. My greatest love, besides God and my family, is these two Carolinas, where my family has lived since the 17th and 18th centuries. I treasure every small town, big city, county, and district of what was originally known as Carolana before the two split into North and South Carolina in the early 1700s.
Welcome to Carolina stories of the American Revolution with Dallas Reese
– Battles, engagements, and skirmishes: Counting the Clashes
Welcome to this edition of a Carolinas 250 historical deep dive. Today, we'll begin exploring the often-underestimated role of the Carolinas in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1782). This is of particular interest to me as my family’s roots run deep in the Carolinas and Georgia, especially during the American Revolution.
I have ancestors who were patriots and loyalists. While the spotlight frequently shines on the northern battles such as Concord, Lexington, Bunker Hill, Trenton, Princeton, Saratoga, and the final battle at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781,the Southern colonies—particularly in North and South Carolina—were a hotbed of conflict between 1775 and 1781. Guerrilla warfare, partisan raids, Loyalist-Patriot feuds, and major engagements turned these colonies into a brutal front line. But just how many battles, skirmishes, and military actions occurred here? Estimates vary widely because of differing definitions: some count only large-scale battles involving hundreds of troops, whereas others include every ambush, raid, and clash.
My research draws on many primary accounts written by participants and on secondary analyses by historians spanning centuries to the present. I have intensely studied the work of historians like David Ramsay, Edward McCrady, and William Draper and other southerners who sought to record the events of the American Revolution in the South.
We'll unpack the numbers, highlight key events, and provide a combined view of the "broad array" of developments.
Understanding these figures reveals why the Carolinas were pivotal in wearing down British forces, leading to their ultimate surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, in the fall of 1781.
Let's break it down state by state before combining them for a fuller picture.
South Carolina: The Bloodiest Battleground
South Carolina holds a unique distinction: it hosted more Revolutionary War engagements than any other state. Many people I meet don't know this.
Conservative estimates from state archives indicate at least 200 battles, skirmishes, and other engagements. Depending on the criteria used, there are many more.
Although there are other estimates, including those from the South Carolina 250th Anniversary Commission, that elevate this to over 400 when encompassing every documented event, from major sieges to minor raids and partisan ambushes.
The discrepancies arise from how historians classify "engagements": Edward McCrady was one of the foremost 19th and 20th-century historians writing about South Carolina’s role in the American Revolution. In his 1901 history, he lists 137 formal ones, while modern inclusive tallies also include guerrilla actions by figures such as Francis Marion (the "Swamp Fox").
We can break down the American Revolution in South Carolina into three easily digestible phases:
Early Resistance (1775–1777): The Snow Campaign (1775) subdued Loyalists in the backcountry; the Battle of Sullivan's Island (1776) repelled a British fleet, delaying invasion for years.
British Invasion (1778–1780): The fall of Charleston (1780) was a Patriot catastrophe, with 5,000 captured; Camden (1780) routed Horatio Gates' army.
Patriot Resurgence (1780–1782): Kings Mountain (1780, border clash), Cowpens (1781), and Eutaw Springs (1781) turned the tide through attrition.
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Partisan warfare plagued British supply lines until their 1782 evacuation of Charleston (at that time spelled Charlestown)
The state's 495 historical markers attest to this density, making it a prime spot for Revolutionary tourism. By the end of 2031, my hope is to visit every American Revolution historical marker in North and South Carolina and share those stories with you.
North Carolina: From Coastal Skirmishes to Inland Guerrilla War
North Carolina's count is similarly debated but is generally lower than that of its southern neighbor. Detailed compilations list 177 known battles and skirmishes, while some sources suggest as many as 230 large-scale engagements.
Conservative timelines highlight about 27 major events,
Many overviews I have researched about North Carolina’s role don't provide exact totals but emphasize the state's role in guerrilla conflicts and as a staging ground for the Southern Campaign.
Some Notable phases of the war in North Carolina:
Pre-Invasion Tensions (1775–1777): Moore's Creek Bridge (1776) crushed Loyalist recruitment; Rutherford's Cherokee Expedition (1776) neutralized Native threats.
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Northern Contributions (1777–1780): NC Continentals fought at Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth; heavy losses at Charleston (1780) and Camden.
The Turning Point (1780–1781): Kings Mountain (shared with SC), Cowpens, and Guilford Courthouse (1781)—a "pyrrhic" British win that bled Cornwallis dry.
The "Race to the Dan" involved engagements such as Cowan's Ford and Weitzell's Mill.
Civil Strife (1781–1782): Loyalist raids by David Fanning, including Pyle's Massacre and the capture of Governor Burke.
North Carolina's militia incentives, like land bounties and even slaves as rewards, underscore the desperate mobilization attempts made to win the war.
Combining the Carolinas: Over 578 Engagements
Aggregating expansive estimates—over 400 for South Carolina and 178 for North Carolina—yields a combined total of more than 578 military actions of the American Revolution across the region.
This dwarfs the Northern theater of war from 1775 until the official truce in the fall of 1781,with more clashes in the Carolinas than in all other colonies combined, in some accounts.
Border overlaps (e.g., Kings Mountain) are minimal in state-specific counts. The "broad array" includes not just battles but raids, sieges, privateering, Cherokee wars of 1776, and internal Tory hunts—reflecting a war of attrition that exhausted British resources.
African Americans' escapes to British lines (up to 25,000 in SC alone) added social upheaval. This intensity stemmed from Britain's "Southern Strategy" after 1778, which aimed to rally Loyalists but instead ignited civil war.
The Carolinas' contributions were crucial to the eventual success of the American Revolution: victories here paved the way to Yorktown.
Sources:
Let’s take a look at our numbers. Let's first look at firsthand accounts
(1782–present compilations):
1. Moultrie, William. Memoirs of the American Revolution: So Far as It Related to the States of North and South-Carolina, and Georgia. 2 vols. New York: David Longworth, 1802. (Details sieges like Charleston and Sullivan's Island.)
2."Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files." Record Group M804. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC, 1832–. (Veteran affidavits listing engagements; basis for many counts.)
3. Gibbes, R. W., ed. Documentary History of the American Revolution: Consisting of Letters and Papers Relating to the Contest for Liberty, Chiefly in South Carolina. 3 vols. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1855–1857. (Letters from SC participants.)
4. Washington, George. The Papers of George Washington: Revolutionary War Series. Edited by Philander D. Chase et al. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1985–. (Correspondence on Carolina campaigns.)
5. "Archibald Maclaine Papers, 1783; 1788; 1790." North Carolina Digital Collections, State Archives of North Carolina. https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p16062coll15/id/136.
6."The American Revolution in South Carolina Digital Collection." South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina. https://digital.library.sc.edu/collections/the-american-revolution-in-south-carolina/.
These offer insights, from battle reports to personal letters.
Secondary Sources: Scholarly Interpretations.
Historians have built on primary sources to refine the counts:
1. McCrady, Edward. The History of South Carolina in the Revolution, 1775–1780. New York: Macmillan, 1901. (Lists 137 SC engagements.)
2. Rankin, Hugh F. The North Carolina Continentals. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1971. (NC troop history using pensions.)
3. Babits, Lawrence E., and Joshua B. Howard. Long, Obstinate, and Bloody: The Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009. (In-depth on key NC battle.)
4. Lambert, Robert Stansbury. South Carolina Loyalists in the American Revolution. 2nd ed. Clemson: Clemson University Digital Press, 2011.
5. Brannon, Rebecca. From Revolution to Reunion: The Reintegration of the South Carolina Loyalists. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2016.
6. "Resources on South Carolina in the American Revolution." South Carolina Historical Society. https://schistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Revolution-to-Republic-Research-Guide.pdf.
These works explain variations and contextualize the war here in the Carolinas.
Make no mistake about it, the Carolinas were a pivotal part of the American Revolution—they were the war's turning point, as evidenced by the Declaration of Independence's principal author.
Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to John Campbell on November 10, 1822, from Monticello, in which he defended the role of Colonel William Campbell in the Battle of Kings Mountain and described the battle's significance. In the letter, Jefferson states: "I remember well the deep and grateful impression made on the minds of everyone by that memorable victory. It was the joyful annunciation of that turn of the tide of success which terminated the Revolutionary War, with the seal of our independence."
If you're near a battlefield this year, visit and reflect.
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And thanks so much for reading.
Blessings to you and your family in 2026.
Here are some great battleground sites to visit in the Carolinas:
South Carolina
North Carolina
Georgia
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