Salkehatchie River Barnwell South Carolina United States
Related Events
Showing 1 events out of 1 total
The Yamasee War is the first major test of South Carolina's militia.
Governor Craven leads a force of about two hundred and forty militia against the Yamasee.
The Yamasee war parties have little choice but to join together to engage Craven's militia.
Near the native town of Salkehatchie (or "Saltcatchers" in English), on the Salkehatchie River, a pitched battle is fought on open terrain.
It is the kind of battle conditions that Craven and the militia officers desire and the natives are poorly suited for.
Several hundred Yamasee warriors attack the two hundred and forty or so members of the militia.
The Yamasee try to outflank the South Carolinians but find it difficult.
After several head warriors are killed, the Yamasee abandon the battle and disperse into nearby swamps.
The casualties are about equal, twenty-four or so on each side, but the practical result is a decisive victory for South Carolina.
Other smaller militia forces press the Yamasee and win a series of further victories.
Alexander MacKay, experienced with native warfare, leads a force south.
They find and attack a group of about two hundred Yamasee who have taken refuge in a palisade-fortified encampment.
After a relatively small Carolinian party makes two sorties over the walls of the fort, the Yamasee decide to retreat.
The Yamasee are ambushed outside the fort and decimated by MacKay and about a hundred men.