American Revolution Round Table of Williamsburg/Yorktown

05/29/2026

Sad day https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1422510239901063

As the American Revolution raged through the South, one of its most brutal and galvanizing clashes unfolded near the border of North and South Carolina. On 29 May 1780 the Battle of Waxhaws, remembered by many Patriots as Buford’s Massacre, occurred and ignited a firestorm.

Only weeks after Charleston fell to the British, Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton was ordered by General Charles Lord Cornwallis to deal with a column of Continental reinforcements bound for Charleston under Colonel Abraham Buford. Buford had 350-400 troops, including artillery, and had already gotten word of the fall of Charleston. Realizing he was too late to help at Charleston, Buford turned around and started the march back to the Old Dominion.

On May 27th, Buford’s men were days ahead and around 150 miles from Tarleton’s mounted troops. With astonishing speed and a relentless drive, Tarleton closed the distance, covering around 150 miles at breakneck speed. He caught the Patriots near the Waxhaws settlement by the afternoon of May 29th.

Colonel Buford refused a British demand for surrender and formed a defensive line in an open wood. He sent his wagons and artillery away to escape the battlefield. It proved to be a fatal decision. Caught in the open with no cover, Buford then made another questionable command decision when he ordered his troops to hold their fire until the British charge was 10 yards from his battleline. When Tarleton’s three-pronged assault struck, the Patriots managed a single volley before being overrun. Colonel Buford fled and abandoned his troops on the battlefield.

What happened next became one of the most controversial moments of the Southern Campaign. Many American survivors claimed they were attacked even as they tried to surrender. Tarleton wrote,

“…and to a report amongst the cavalry, that they had lost their commanding officer, which stimulated the soldiers to a vindictive asperity not easily restrained…”

Buford lost 113 men killed, 150 wounded, and over 50 men captured. British losses were 5 men killed and less than 20 men wounded out of the about 170 men engaged. The battle’s aftermath ignited outrage throughout the colonies, fueling support for the Patriot cause and helping shape the fierce resistance that would follow across the South.

Though a devastating loss, the story of Waxhaws became a rallying cry and proof of the resilience and resolve that defined the American fight for independence.



NPS Staff image of the Waxhaws Monument at sunset.

05/29/2026

Happy Birthday Patrick!!!!

05/23/2026

Did you know that there are Rev War veterans buried at Arlington National Cemetery?

05/23/2026

OTD https://www.facebook.com/reel/2473952983080061

05/22/2026

So it begins........ https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1554983699960010 on to Yorktown.

In late May 1781, George Washington, accompanied by Henry Knox, arrived in Wethersfield, Connecticut, to meet with French officers led by the comte de Rochambeau. The officers met at the home of Joseph Webb, brother of Washington’s aide-de-camp Samuel Blachley Webb. The meeting, known as the Wethersfield Conference, resulted in the plan that led to the Siege of Yorktown. During the meeting, Washington argued for a joint assault on the British stronghold in New York City while Rochambeau supported a march south for a combined offensive against the British in Virginia, taking advantage of Admiral de Grasse’s fleet of ships being able to maneuver the Chesapeake Bay.

The conference ended with a flexible strategy. The generals created plans for both New York and Virginia—waiting for information on British troop strength in New York as well as news of the location and expected date of arrival of de Grasse’s fleet.

Image: Detail of Washington et Rochambeau donnant les derniers ordres pour l'attaque d'Yorck-Town, engraved by Felix Massard after Louis-Charles-Auguste Couder. [Paris], ca. 1840. The Society of the Cincinnati.

05/21/2026

Well Done! https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1484589527046879

The Society for History in the Federal Government recently honored the Museum’s special exhibition, “CALL TO Arms: The Soldier and the Revolutionary War," with their 2026 Historic Preservation and Exhibitions Award – recognizing exemplary practices, the quality of historical research and interpretation, and a high level of technical expertise in the field of historic preservation.

The Society’s Leslie and Alexander Poster presented the award to Museum Director Paul Morando during their annual meeting at the Library of Congress on May 14.

“This recognition is an honor and further validates the Museum’s commitment to preserve, interpret, and exhibit invaluable artifacts,” said Morando. “The rarity of the artifacts curated for ‘CALL TO Arms’ is breathtaking, and to have them brought together in this public display is something that may never occur again.”

Plan your visit here to see this special exhibition recognizing the 250th anniversaries of the U.S. Army and the nation. On display through June 2027 and included in your FREE admission! https://www.thenmusa.org/exhibit/special-exhibition-gallery/

Society for History in the Federal Government (SHFG) | U.S. Army Center of Military History

05/17/2026

Prelude to https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1425964112669785

May 17, 1756
England declares war on France, officially launching them into the Seven Years' War, a global conflict played out in North America as the French and Indian War.
After almost two years of fighting, King George II issues a declaration of war against France because of "the unwarrantable Proceedings of the French in the West Indies, and North America." The French Cabinet follows with a declaration of its own on June 9.

05/16/2026

Giving Lord Cornwallis a Carolina send off!!!

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=971623012279302

In May 1781, as Lord Cornwallis was marching up eastern North Carolina toward Virginia, General Nathanael Greene had moved his army into South Carolina, aiming to wrest the state from British and Loyalist control. To do so he would need to capture the British forts and strongholds scattered throughout the upcountry.

Patriot forces led by General Thomas Sumter laid siege to Fort Granby in South Carolina on May 2, 1781. Inside the fort were about 350 British and Loyalist troops under the command of Major Andrew Maxwell, a Maryland Loyalist. Also inside the fort was the plunder Maxwell’s men had accumulated from their systematic looting of the surrounding countryside. With the fort surrounded and Maxwell’s troops trapped inside, Sumter believed it was just a matter of time before the British would have to surrender the fort and their plunder. He left behind a small force to conduct the siege, while he took the rest of his command and moved out to attack the British at Orangeburg.

Ten days later Fort Motte, South Carolina fell to American forces commanded by Francis Marion and Light Horse Harry Lee. As soon as the surrender was complete, General Nathanael Greene dispatched Lee and his men to Fort Granby, to assist in the siege there.

On the night of May 14 Lee arrived, bringing a cannon and about 450 men. Concerned that British reinforcements were on the way, he knew he had to act quickly and decisively.

At first light on May 15, Lee opened fire on the fort with his cannon, then moved his infantry forward and had them fire a volley. Having shown his strength, he invited Maxwell to surrender the fort. Maxwell replied that he would surrender only on the condition that his men be allowed to march out of the fort, with their plunder, and proceed to British-held Charleston where they would remain as paroled prisoners of war until exchanged. If Lee had the luxury of time, the terms would have been patently unacceptable. But with the risk that British regulars would soon appear and lift the siege, he felt he could not risk a lengthy siege. So, he presented a counteroffer.

Among the fort’s defenders were 60 Hessian dragoons (light cavalry) and Lee wanted their horses. Leave the Hessian’s horses, he replied to Maxwell, and we have a deal. But Maxwell’s Hessians were indignant at the suggestion and Maxwell could not agree to it. The negotiations ended.

As Lee was preparing to resume offensive operations, however, he received intelligence that the British reinforcements were coming rapidly. Having no time to lose, he reluctantly accepted Maxwell’s terms. Lee took possession of the fort and a large quantity of arms and ammunition, but Maxwell and his men marched away loaded down with wagons filled with their plunder.

Sumter was livid when he learned that Lee had allowed Maxwell’s men to keep their loot. A prickly (some might say petulant) man, Sumter fired off a letter of resignation to General Greene. Greene refused the resignation and eventually Sumter calmed down, perhaps because Greene ordered that much of the munitions and supplies captured at the fort be delivered to him.

Although the conclusion of the siege may have been anticlimactic, the capture of Fort Granby (which occurred 244 years ago today) was an important Patriot victory and a significant step toward the liberation of South Carolina, leaving the fort at Ninety Six as the only outpost other than Charleston still under British control.

The portraits are of Lee (left) and Sumter (right).

05/15/2026

Getting serious........ https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1037471568940068

This Day the Congress has passed the most important Resolution, that ever was taken in America.

John Adams, May 15, 1776

May 15th, 1776 Preamble:
As was the custom, Congress appointed a committee to draft a preamble to explain the purpose of the resolution. John Adams wrote the preamble, which stated that because King George had rejected reconciliation and was hiring foreign mercenaries to use against the colonies, "it is necessary that the exercise of every kind of authority under the said crown should be totally suppressed". Adams' preamble was meant to encourage the overthrow of the governments of Pennsylvania and Maryland, which were still under proprietary governance. Congress passed the preamble on May 15 after several days of debate, but four of the middle colonies voted against it, and the Maryland delegation walked out in protest. Adams regarded his May 15 preamble effectively as an American declaration of independence, although a formal declaration would still have to be made.

The Lee Resolution
On the same day that Congress passed Adams' preamble, the Virginia Convention set the stage for a formal Congressional declaration of independence. On May 15, the Convention instructed Virginia's congressional delegation "to propose to that respectable body to declare the United Colonies free and independent States, absolved from all allegiance to, or dependence upon, the Crown or Parliament of Great Britain".
In accordance with those instructions, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia presented a three-part resolution to Congress on June 7. The motion was seconded by John Adams, calling on Congress to declare independence, form foreign alliances, and prepare a plan of colonial confederation. The part of the resolution relating to declaring independence read: "Resolved, that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved."

Lee's resolution met with resistance in the ensuing debate. Opponents of the resolution conceded that reconciliation was unlikely with Great Britain, while arguing that declaring independence was premature, and that securing foreign aid should take priority.
Advocates of the resolution countered that foreign governments would not intervene in an internal British struggle, and so a formal declaration of independence was needed before foreign aid was possible. All Congress needed to do, they insisted, was to "declare a fact which already exists". Delegates from Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, and New York were still not yet authorized to vote for independence, however, and some of them threatened to leave Congress if the resolution were adopted. Congress, therefore, voted on June 10 to postpone further discussion of Lee's resolution for three weeks. Until then, Congress decided that a committee should prepare a document announcing and explaining independence in case Lee's resolution was approved when it was brought up again in July.

Primary information and images source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_

First image: The Committee of Five presents their draft of the Declaration of Independence to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Artist: John Trumbull. Oil-on-canvas: Dimensions 3.7 m × 5.5 m (12 ft × 18 ft).
Location: U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C., U.S.
Commissioned in 1817; and purchased in 1819; placed in U.S. Capitol rotunda 1826.