The Battles of Fort Watson and Fort Motte, 1781

On May 9, 1781, American general Nathanael Greene and his Continental army were outside of British-held Camden, South Carolina. Greene was despondent and contemplating resigning his commission, believing he could not force the British out of the fortified village. His compatriot Francis Marion, standing before Fort Motte forty miles to the south, was also in the same mood, informing Greene that he was frustrated by the militia, and he was going to resign after the fort’s capture. The next day, Lord Francis Rawdon, commander of the Camden garrison and all British field forces in South Carolina, abandoned that backcountry village. Marion would capture Fort Motte two days later. In The Battles of Fort Watson and Fort Motte, 1781, the latest in the Small Battles Series, historian and archaeologist Steven D. Smith relates the history of four critical weeks from April 12 until May 12, 1781, in which the tide of the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War turned in favor of the Americans. The book focuses on General Francis Marion’s and Colonel Henry Lee’s capture of two key British forts, Fort Watson and Fort Motte, coordinating with Nathanael Greene in retaking the South Carolina backcountry. These posts defended the supply line between Charleston and the British-occupied villages of Camden and Ninety Six. Although there would be much more fighting to do, once the two forts were lost, the British had to abandon the backcountry or starve. The British would never again be on the strategic offensive and were confined to the Charleston environs until they abandoned the city in December 1782. The story of the capture of the forts is enhanced and enlightened by the findings of archaeological investigation at each site--and even mythology, such as Mrs. Motte providing the fire arrows used to burn her fortified house--which are seamlessly integrated into the account, providing a unique perspective on these important events during the Southern Campaign.

Steven D. Smith, Ph. D., is a Research Professor and archaeologist at the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina. He is the author of Francis Marion and the Snow’s Island Community: Myth, History, and Archaeology, and co-author, with Kevin Dougherty, of Leading Like the Swamp Fox: The Leadership Lessons of Francis Marion. He lives in Columbia, South Carolina.