Editing Battle of Beaufort

{{Short description|1779 battle of the American Revolutionary War}}
{{Good article}}
{{About|the battle between Great Britain and the United States during the American Revolutionary War|the battle between Australia and Japan during World War II|Battle of Beaufort (1945)|the battle between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization during the 1982 Lebanon War|Battle of the Beaufort}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict    = Battle of Beaufort
| image       = [[File:William Moultrie portrait.jpg|240px|alt=A head and shoulders portrait of William Moultrie.  Painted in middle age, he wears a military uniform jacket that is blue with gold trim.]]
| caption     = General [[William Moultrie]], portrait by [[Charles Willson Peale]]
| partof      = the [[American Revolutionary War]]
| date        = February 3, 1779
| place       = [[Port Royal Island]], [[South Carolina]]
| coordinates = {{coord|32|30|1|N|80|44|37|W|type:event_region:US-SC|display=inline,title}}
| result      = American victory 
| combatant1  = {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Great Britain}}
| combatant2  = {{flagdeco|United States|1777}} [[United Colonies|United States]]
| commander1  = William Gardner<ref name=WhichGardner>The British commander is sometimes misidentified as Major Valentine Gardner of the 16th Foot, who was also on the expedition.  William Gardner was a major in the 60th Foot. (Wilson, p. 199) Gardner's name is also sometimes spelled "Gardiner".</ref>
| commander2  = [[William Moultrie]]
| strength1   = 200 [[infantry]]<br />1 [[field gun|artillery piece]]
| strength2   = 300 militia<br />20 infantry<br />3 artillery pieces
| casualties1 = 40 killed or wounded<br />7–12 captured<ref name="O'KelleyI235">O'Kelley, p.235</ref><ref name=Wilson100>Wilson, p. 100</ref>
| casualties2 = 8 killed<br />22 wounded<ref name="O'KelleyI235"/>
|campaignbox  = {{Campaignbox American Revolutionary War: Southern 1775-1779}}
}}

The '''Battle of Beaufort''', also known as the '''Battle of Port Royal Island''', was fought on February 3, 1779, near [[Beaufort, South Carolina]], during the [[American Revolutionary War]].  The battle took place not long after [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] forces consolidated control around [[Savannah, Georgia]], which [[Capture of Savannah|they had captured]] in December 1778.

[[Brigadier General]] [[Augustine Prevost]] sent 200 British [[regular army|regulars]] to seize [[Port Royal Island]] at the mouth of the [[Broad River (South Carolina)|Broad River]] in [[South Carolina]] in late January 1779.  [[Major General]] [[Benjamin Lincoln]], the American commander in the south, sent South Carolina Brigadier General [[William Moultrie]] from [[Purrysburg, South Carolina]] with a mixed force composed mainly of [[militia]], but with a few [[Continental Army]] men, to meet the British advance. The battle was inconclusive, but the British withdrew first and suffered heavier casualties than the Americans.

==Background==
The British began their [[Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War|"southern strategy"]] by sending expeditions from [[New York City]] and [[Saint Augustine, Florida|Saint Augustine]], [[East Florida]] to capture [[Savannah, Georgia]] late in 1778.  The New York expedition, under the command of [[Lieutenant Colonel]] [[Archibald Campbell (British Army officer)|Archibald Campbell]], arrived first, and successfully [[Capture of Savannah|captured]] the town on December 29, 1778.<ref>Russell, pp. 100–103</ref>  Remnants of Savannah's defenders combined with South Carolina militia under [[Major General]] [[Benjamin Lincoln]] at an encampment at [[Purrysburg, South Carolina]] to oppose the British.<ref>Wilson, p. 82</ref>

When [[Brigadier General]] [[Augustine Prevost]] arrived from Saint Augustine in mid-January 1779, he assumed command of the garrison there, and on the 22nd sent a force under Campbell to take control of [[Augusta, Georgia|Augusta]] and raise [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalist]] militia companies.<ref name="Russell, p. 104">Russell, p. 104</ref>  Prevost decided thereafter to send a force to occupy [[Port Royal Island]] just up the coast in [[South Carolina]], where he had been led to believe that Loyalist sentiment was strong.  On January 29 {{HMS|Vigilant|1774|6}}, an [[unseaworthy]] [[ship of the line]] that had been converted to a [[floating battery]], was towed by [[Royal Navy]] crews in [[longboat]]s through the channel separating [[Hilton Head Island]] from the mainland.  She was accompanied by a flotilla of smaller ships that carried 200 infantry from the [[16th Regiment of Foot|16th]] and [[60th Regiment of Foot|60th]] Regiments under Major William Gardner,<ref name=WhichGardner/> who had orders to take control of [[Beaufort, South Carolina|Beaufort]], the island's main settlement.<ref name=Rowland216>Rowland et al, p. 216</ref>

[[File:BattleOfBeaufortApproach.png|thumb|right|alt=The article text describes the military movements approaching the island.|A 1779 map of the area, annotated to show how forces reached Port Royal Island.  British movements are shown in red, American movements in blue.]]
The only major defense establishment on Port Royal Island was Fort Lyttelton, which was garrisoned by a company of Continental Army troops under Captain John DeTreville.<ref>Rowland et al,  p. 215</ref>  When he learned that a comparatively large British force was moving in his direction, he spiked the fort's cannons and blew up its main bastion in order to deny their use to the superior force.<ref name=Rowland216/>  When General Lincoln learned that communications with Port Royal Island had been cut off by the British advance, he sent South Carolina Brigadier General [[William Moultrie]], who had distinguished himself in the 1776 [[Battle of Sullivan's Island]], and 300 men to counter the move.<ref name=Rowland216/><ref>Wilson, pp. 52–53, 97</ref>  Moultrie's force was composed mostly of South Carolina militia from the Beaufort area, but it was accompanied by a few Continental Army regulars, and two companies of artillery from Charleston, which were headed by former Congressmen [[Edward Rutledge]] and [[Thomas Heyward, Jr.]]<ref name="Russell, p. 104"/>  This force arrived at the main Port Royal ferry on the 31st, not long after DeTreville had finished destroying the fort.<ref>Rowland et al,  pp. 216–217</ref>  They crossed over to the island on February 1 and occupied Beaufort.<ref name=Rowland217>Rowland et al, p. 217</ref>

==Battle==
Gardner's men landed on Port Royal Island at the plantation of [[Andrew Deveaux]] (present-day [[Laurel Bay, South Carolina|Laurel Bay]]), a Loyalist who may have guided them, on February 2.  Gardner sent a detachment to secure the island side of the ferry.  These men retreated when they encountered Patriot troops, and Gardner began to move his main force toward Beaufort to face the Americans.  Early on February 3 General Moultrie was alerted to the British presence, and moved his forces out of town.<ref name=Rowland217/>  The two forces met near the highest ground on Port Royal Island, a rise called Gray's Hill that was about {{convert|3|mi|km}} south of the ferry and in the middle of the island.<ref>Gordon, p. 64</ref>

[[Image:BattleOfBeaufort.png|thumb|left|alt=The article text describes the military movements approaching the island.|Movements after the British landing leading up to the battle]]
Gardner lined his men up at the edge of some woods near the top of the hill and advanced with [[bayonet]]s fixed.  The Americans approached and lined up in an open field outside [[musket]] range.  General Moultrie positioned two six-pound field cannons in the center of his line, with a smaller two-pounder on the right.  The Americans then advanced on the British, Moultrie observing that the action was "reversed from the usual way of fighting between British and Americans; they taking the bushes and we taking the open ground."<ref name=Rowland217/>  The Americans opened fire first with the artillery, and then with musket volleys.  The battle continued for about 45 minutes, at which point the Americans were running low on ammunition.  Moultrie had begun a withdrawal when the British were also observed to retreat, leaving the field to the Americans.<ref name=Rowland218>Rowland et al, p. 218</ref>  A company of light horse militia chased after the British, very nearly cutting them off from their boats.  They successfully captured 26 men, but were unable to hold all of them due to their small numbers.<ref name=Rowland218/>

==Aftermath==
In addition to the prisoners taken (sources cite either seven or twelve were retained), the British reportedly suffered 40 killed or wounded,<ref name="O'KelleyI235"/><ref name=Wilson100/> although deserters reported that nearly half of Gardner's men had been hit by American fire.<ref name=Rowland218/>  The Americans, in contrast, suffered only 8 killed and 22 wounded.<ref name="O'KelleyI235"/>

Gardner was criticized by Prevost for the mauling his detachment received because he strayed too far from his boats.  It was not Gardner's fault, however, that he had no Loyalist support.<ref name="Wilson101">Wilson, p. 101</ref>  The victory of a largely militia force over British regulars was a boost to the Americans' morale.  However, severe losses incurred in early March at [[Battle of Brier Creek|Brier Creek]] delayed American plans to move against Prevost's forces in Georgia.<ref name="Wilson101"/>  When Lincoln began moving troops toward Augusta in April, Prevost moved in force toward Charleston, but was able to do little more than briefly blockade the city before retreating back to Savannah.  Port Royal Island was again occupied by the British during this campaign.<ref>Wilson, pp. 101–112</ref>

The battle is commemorated by a highway marker on [[U. S. Route 21]] near the battle site.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=14738|title=Battle of Port Royal Island Marker|publisher=HMDB.org|access-date=2012-01-05}}</ref>  [[Fort Lyttelton Site|Fort Lyttelton's remains]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref> As of mid-2023, the [[American Battlefield Trust]] and its partners have preserved more than 12 acres of the battlefield.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.battlefields.org/visit/battlefields/port-royal-island-battlefield|title=Port Royal Island Battlefield|website=[[American Battlefield Trust]]|access-date=June 19, 2023}}</ref>

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==References==
*{{cite book|title=South Carolina and the American Revolution: a Battlefield History|first=John W|last=Gordon|publisher=[[University of South Carolina Press]]|year=2003|isbn=978-1-57003-480-0|ref=Gordon}}
*{{cite book|title=Nothing but Blood and Slaughter: Military Operations and Order of Battle of the Revolutionary War in the Carolinas, Volume One, 1771–1779|first=Patrick|last=O'Kelley|publisher=Press|year=2004|isbn=1-59113-458-7|ref=O'Kelley}}
*{{cite book|last1=Rowland|first1=Lawrence|last2=Moore|first2=Alexander|last3=Rogers|first3=George|title=The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina: 1514–1861|publisher=University of South Carolina Press|year=1996|location=Columbia, SC|isbn=978-1-57003-090-1|oclc=194626437}}
*{{cite book|last= Russell| first=David Lee|title=The American Revolution in the Southern Colonies | publisher=McFarland| year=2000| isbn=978-0-7864-0783-5 |location=Jefferson, NC| oclc=248087936}}
*{{cite book|title=The Southern Strategy: Britain's Conquest of South Carolina and Georgia, 1775–1780|first=David K|last=Wilson|publisher=University of South Carolina Press|year=2005|isbn=1-57003-573-3|location=Columbia, SC|oclc=232001108}}

{{South Carolina in the American Revolution|state=expanded}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaufort, Battle of}}
[[Category:Conflicts in 1779]]
[[Category:Battles involving the United States]]
[[Category:Battles involving Great Britain]]
[[Category:Battles of the American Revolutionary War in South Carolina|Beaufort]]
[[Category:Beaufort County, South Carolina]]
[[Category:Battles in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War 1775–1779|Beaufort]]
[[Category:1779 in South Carolina|Battle of Beaufort]]
[[Category:Beaufort, South Carolina]]