The Battle of Long Canes, Prelaud to Battle

Prelude to Battle: British forces captured Charleston in May of 1780 and occupied Forty Niney Six the next month, giving the British hope for a victory in South Carolina. Backcountry Patriot leader Brig. Gen. Andrew Williams and Col. Andrew Pickens accepted parole and left the battlefield, agreeing not to fight against the British. They were offered protection by the British, who hoped to persuade the officers to switch their allegiance. Some of their comrades had resisted parole; many more renounced it when Loyalist intimidation backfire. Patriots and Loyalists maneuvered to win sympathy and gain the leadership of Pickens, who made his home in the Long Canes, and Williamson, who lived at White Hall on Hard Labor Creek.