R&P – Battle of Eutaw Springs, May 1781.

Background

In early 1781, Major General Nathanael Greene, commander of the Southern army in the Continental Army, began a campaign to end British control over the South Carolina backcountry. His first major objective was the capture of the British-controlled village of Ninety Six. On May 22, 1781, Greene laid siege to the fortified village. After nearly a month Greene became aware that reinforcements under Lord Rawdon were approaching from Charleston. Forces under Greene’s command assaulted Ninety Six on June 18, but were repelled..

To avoid facing the force commanded by Rawdon, Greene retreated toward Charlotte, North Carolina. Rawdon pursued Greene for several days but abandoned the pursuit because his men were exhausted by days of forced marching and he lacked sufficient supplies to continue. In spite of the fact that Ninety Six was the only remaining inland British outpost after the fall of Augusta, Georgia, Rawdon decided to burn and abandon it, and withdrew the garrison to Charleston. In poor health, Rawdon sailed for England in late August, leaving Charleston under the command of Colonel Alexander Stewart.

On 16 July, Greene moved his army, exhausted by many days of marching and combat, to a campsite on the High Hills of Santee, allowing his main force to rest while awaiting reinforcements. Marion and Sumter continued to harass the British in a “war of posts”. On August 23, his force moved towards Camden to cross the Wateree River, and then Howell’s Ferry to cross the Congaree River. By 4 Sept., they were camped at Fort Motte, then Stoudenmyer’s Plantation on 5–6 Sept.

By 13 Aug., Colonel Stewart had led a force of 2,000–2,300 men from Orangeburg to Thompson’s Plantation, south of the Congaree River. He then fell back to Eutaw Springs on 27 Aug., about 2 miles east of present-day Eutawville, then in Charleston District (but both now in Orangeburg County).

At around 8 am on September 8, Captain John Coffin and a detachment of his South Carolina Loyalist cavalry were reconnoitring ahead of Stewart’s main force when he encountered a mounted American scouting party under Major John Armstrong. Coffin pursued Armstrong, who led him into an ambush. Attacked by Henry Lee’s 2nd Partisan Corps, Coffin escaped but left 4 or 5 of his men killed and 40 more captured. The Americans then came across Stewart’s foragers and captured about 400 of them.

Greene’s force, with around 2,200 men, now approached Stewart’s camp while Stewart, warned by Coffin, deployed his force. When the Americans realized they were approaching the British force, they formed three lines, with the militia in front with 2 3-pounders, followed by the Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina Continentals with 2 6-pounders, with the Delaware Regiment and Washington in reserve. The Americans started the attack at 9 am with artillery and an advance by the militia. This line consisted of, left to right, Hampton, Henderson, Pickens, de Malmedy, Polk, Marion, Lee’s infantry and then Lee’s Cavalry.

They were opposed by the British Line consisting of, left to right, Coffin, 64th, 63rd, New Jersey Volunteers, New York Volunteers, 84th, De Lancey’s, 3rd, and Marjoribanks.  Hand-to-hand combat ensued when the Militia closed with the British Line. Some militia panicked while some held firm, able to fire 17 times, before ordered back and replaced by the North Carolina Continentals in a ‘passage of lines”.

The North Carolina Continentals halted the British advance but were forced back by a British bayonet charge, only to reform and halt the British a second time. Greene then ordered the Maryland and Virginia Continentals forward in another passage of lines, forcing the British back towards their camp. However, two areas of British resistance remained, one under Maj. Henry Sheridan at the Brick House, which included a swivel gun, and another under Maj. Marjoribanks on the northern flank. Washington’s cavalry tried to dislodge Marjoribanks, but Washington was unhorsed, wounded and taken prisoner, sitting out the remainder of the war. Marjoribanks then retreated towards the Brick House.

The Brick House now became the focal point of the battle, and when an American artillery assault failed, the house gave the British a focal point to regroup, rally and reenter the battle. Maj. Marjoribanks then attacked the American flank in the clearing before the house before he was mortally wounded. According to Stewart, the Americans “gave way in all quarters, leaving behind them two brass six pounders and upwards of two hundred killed on the field of action, and sixty prisoners, amongst whom was Colonel Washington, and from every information, about eight hundred wounded…”

According to Otho Williams, some plundering of the British camp occurred, while an attack on the British left by Lee’s cavalry failed. At this point, Greene ordered a retreat with all of the wounded. Greene’s army was then able to march back to Burdell’s Plantation in column formation, with a cavalry picket covering the orderly retreat. According to Greene, “Nothing but the brick house and their strong position at Eutaw’s, hindered the remains of the British army from falling into our hands.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Eutaw_Springs

The Game

We tried the last battle with modified Men Who Would be Kings. This time, we tried this game with modified Rebels and Patriots. The terrain was covered by woods, except the house and gardens area. As such, all troops were treated in cover and visibility was limited to twelve inches. We treated everything as open woods, so it did not limit movement. This tended to limit shooting a bit, as three hits were needed to cause a casualtiy most of the time. Melee was adjusted to one to one, to make it bloodier for the game. Command ranges were limited to six inches, but there were more commanders (one for each brigade). They operated by themselves and did not attach.

I put together unit cards for all the units to simplify play for our group. TJ provided all the troops and terrain (except a few large trees that I helped with). The table was set up wide and concentrated on the historical fight area, with the colonials in range to start the game.

We had a healthy number of players and split the forces, assigning a CinC for each side. Bother sides made their plans and we got started. The Brits planned on a wide defense, falling back when they could to stay in the fight. The continental plan was to pin the entire front, feigning a rush attack, while shifting to the right flank to turn the British position and get behind them before they could escape.

Both sides tried to execute their plan, but the continentals managed to pull the fake out and the British were a bit slow to shift and fall back. The Brits launched a few charges that were successful early, but this opened holes in their lines and the continentals were able to penetrate through the holes and overwhelm the individual British units. This resulted in only remnants of the British force getting back to the stone house, trying to hold out until the end of the game.

The continentals continued to clear most of the British and keep the remnants away from the house. This gave the continentals the chance to launch their late game charge and take the house. The British tried a counter attack, but could not push out the continentals.

The game ended with most of the British army destroyed (the continentals had taken it on the chin also) and the stone house in the Continentals hands. This resulted in a very historical Continental victory!

• Manteuffel