227th Anniversary of

Buford’s Massacre, Battle of the Waxhaws

Saturday May 26, 2007

 

Redding I. Corbett III, PhD, M.P.H., President, SCSSAR

 

We are gathered here today to commemorate the event that happened here on May 29, 1780, known variously as Buford’s Massacre, Buford’s Defeat, or the Battle of the Waxhaws. The word – commemorate – is important. We are here not just to remember the event, but to recall to our collective memory the sacrifice made here.

 

The American forces, led by Colonel Abraham Buford and consisting of between 350 and 380 Virginian Continentals (the 3rd Virginia Detachment), had been dispatched to assist Patriot forces in the Siege of Charleston. However, before arriving, they learned that the city had already been captured by the British and thus turned back for Virginia.

 

British Colonel Banastre Tarleton heard that John Rutledge, South Carolina ’s Patriot Governor, was traveling with Buford and he set out to capture the fleeing head of state. Tarleton’s combined force consisted of approximately 230 men (130 dragoons, 100 Mounted British Legion infantry, and a three-pounder cannon). However, on this fateful day in 1780, he brought with him only an advance force of 60 dragoons, 60 mounted infantry, an additional flanking force of 30 British Legion dragoons and some infantry.  It was this smaller force which actually engaged in the main attack.

 

On May 29 Tarleton caught up with Buford in the Waxhaws.  Unknown to the pursuing cavalry, Governor Rutledge had already left Buford’s detachment. Tarleton sent Captain David Kinlock to demand Buford’s surrender. Buford refused and then made an unwise decision to keep marching, rather than prepare for battle. When Tarleton’s attack came, Buford waited until the enemy was within ten yards of his own line to give the order to fire. Unfortunately this tactic had minimal effect on the charging cavalry and it resulted in a rout of the Virginians. Buford escaped and was later court-martialed for losing his command. He was acquitted and exonerated of blame.

 

This battle has been labeled an undisputed defeat, with the immediate deaths of 113 Americans, 150 wounded, and 53 taken prisoner; many of the wounded soldiers died within a day of the battle.  More importantly, it was widely reported that many of the Patriots were killed as they tried to surrender.

 

So, why should we remember, much less celebrate this event?

 

One reason is that Buford’s Massacre may well have been the turning point in the war in the South.  The killing of surrendering soldiers was a barbaric atrocity that became to be known as “Tarleton’s Quarter” and it earned the British Colonel the nickname “Bloody Ban.”  Tarleton epitomized a relentless enemy who needed to be destroyed.  If they hadn’t felt it before, the soldiers in the Carolinas now had a visceral reason to rise up against a heartless foe.  We celebrate this.

 

We must also acknowledge the personal costs and be thankful for those who paid it. If we look at the conditions under which the American Colonials lived, we understand that our forefathers had no choice. Freedom was the only option. And that freedom cost – it cost dearly. The men who died here, along with many others, helped to pay for that freedom. We must be thankful to them and remember them well.

 

However, this commemoration can only be complete if we use it to re-present and teach the principles on which this nation was founded. All too many of us fail to appreciate the freedoms that we enjoy.

 

We must remember how freedom was gained and we must be willing to defend it – not just through military action, but in this day and in this time, we must battle for the hearts and minds of our citizens and all others who live or work in this country. We must win this good fight or we stand to lose what our glorious forefathers gained for us.

 

May we here, in the silence of this place, hear the sound of freedom. May it ring in our hearts.