And Then There Were Thirteen with Dr. Henry Lumpkin was an instructional series debuted by SCETV in the mid-1970s. The 20-episode series featured lectures by Dr. Henry Lumpkin of the University of South Carolina Department of History filmed on actual battle sites and campaign areas of the American Revolution in South Carolina.
Professor Lumpkin summarizes the tale of Francis Marion, also known as the “Swamp Fox,” who kept the war alive in the forests and swamps of lower South Carolina after the fall of Charleston in May, 1780. The professor then delves into the Backcountry, that land that lay between the Cherokee Tribal Frontier and the mountains and coastal plain in Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia which was the territory of other Southern partisans. In this lecture we learn about Patriots Thomas Sumter of South Carolina, Elijah Clarke of Georgia, Isaac Shelby of Virginia, and William Richardson Davie of North Carolina.
This ETV Classic focuses on the retelling the tales of these lesser known partisans and describes in thrilling detail, the battles, surprise ambushes, a bit too much rum, and more. We learn how, under the eventual coordination of Nathanael Greene, the actions of these heroic partisans led to the ultimate victory at Yorktown and the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. For more greater detail about these heroes and the battles, see the Side Notes below.
Side Notes
- Thomas Sumter (1734 – 1832) was an American military officer, planter, and politician who served in the Continental Army as a brigadier-general during the Revolutionary War. After the war, Sumter was elected to the House of Representatives and to the Senate, where he served from 1801 to 1810, when he retired. Sumter was nicknamed the "Fighting Gamecock" for his military tactics during the Revolutionary War.
- Elijah Clarke (1742 – 1799) was an American military officer and Georgia legislator. Clarke and his actions served as one of the sources for the fictional character of Benjamin Martin in The Patriot, a film released in 2000. He is also a major character in the historical novel The Hornet's Nest by Jimmy Carter.
- William Richardson Davie was one of North Carolina’s most influential citizens. He fought bravely during the American Revolution, helped start the first state university, was elected governor, and rose to national prominence as a statesman who helped the United States avoid war with France.
- Benjamin Lincoln major general in the Continental Army, was one of the few individuals present at the three major surrenders of the American Revolution: Saratoga, Charleston, and Yorktown. He followed his military career with public service at the state and federal level.
- Christian Huck (1747 or 1748 – 1780), a Loyalist soldier from Philadelphia during the American Revolutionary War, was known for Huck's Defeat.
- Hanging Rock Battle Facts - The Battle of Hanging Rock occurred on August 6, 1780, as part of a Patriot drive to reclaim the southern colonies after the siege of Charleston, South Carolina. The Americans attacked the minimally defended British outpost at Hanging Rock, South Carolina, hoping to dislodge the British from the South. Although the Americans withdrew, Hanging Rock is considered a Patriot victory. While the American forces suffered more casualties, The victory at Hanging Rock served to further embolden Patriot efforts to dislodge the British in the south.
- Battle of Fishing Creek - After an exhausting march, Sumter’s column reached his Rocky Mount campsite on August 17, Sumter knew he had eluded Ferguson and Turnbull, but was unaware of Tarleton.
- Hollow Square - An infantry square, also known as a hollow square or square formation, was a musket-era historic close order formation used in combat by infantry units, usually when threatened with cavalry attack.
- Isaac Shelby (1750 - 1826) When the British captured Charleston, South Carolina in 1780, Shelby was surveying land in present-day Kentucky. He assembled a force of militia to resist the British occupation of the South and lead his men to victory at the Battles of Thicketty Fort, King’s Mountain, and at Musgrove’s Mill. Shelby, who had served in Virginia’s House of Delegates in 1779, was elected to North Carolina’s General Assembly in 1781 and again in 1782.
- Major Patrick Ferguson - King's Mountain 1744 – 7 October 1780) was a British Army officer who designed the Ferguson rifle. He is best known for his service in the 1780 military campaign of Charles Cornwallis during the American Revolutionary War in the Carolinas, in which he played a great effort in recruiting American Loyalists to serve in his militia against the Patriots. Ultimately, his activities and military actions led to a Patriot militia force mustered to put an end to his force of Loyalists, and he was killed in the Battle of Kings Mountain, at the border between the colonies of North Carolina and South Carolina.
- Gowen's Old Fort - In 1780, during the American Revolutionary War, a skirmish between Loyalist and Patriot forces occurred at Gowen's Fort, named for soldier John "Buck" Gowen, the namesake of the town of Gowensville. A band of Loyalists and Chickamauga Cherokee, commanded by Captain William Bates, approached the area in an attempt to siege the Patriot stronghold. Despite their strong resistance, Patriot forces succumbed to a lack of ammunition and were forced to surrender. Bates initially promised to protect those within the fort from the Indian fighters, but upon their exit, Bates gave the command for all of his soldiers to kill the resistance. The number of deceased is unknown.
- Battle of Cedar Springs - also called the reportedly skirmishes that happened twice near what is now Spartanburg, South Carolina during the American Revolutionary War. The first happened on July 12, 1780, and there is a question about whether that happened at all, or if so on that night and site. Another Battle of Cedar Springs occurred at a different site.
