In honor of Independence Twenty-four hours, during the month of July, #MarkerMonday will be exploring individuals and events related to the Revolutionary State of war in Georgia. Bring together GHS as we learn more about the part Georgia and her people played in the fight for independence.

Paradigm Credit: David Seibert

This week'due south #MarkerMonday highlights the Battle of Kettle Creek. After capturing Savannah in 1778, British forces prepared to march on Augusta, Georgia, in early 1779. British Regular army Colonel James Boyd from South Carolina, traveled to Georgia with orders to recruit southerners sympathetic to the British cause (Loyalists) into the British military. Boyd and his British forces raised roughly 600 Loyalists and crossed the Savannah River into present day Elbert County to bring together the British Army at Augusta. Pocket-size groups of rebel militia pursued the Loyalists during their march through South Carolina and Georgia to no avail. During the march, Boyd and his forces fabricated army camp at Kettle Creek in present 24-hour interval Wilkes County. Boyd was to rendezvous with British reinforcements further up along Kettle Creek but was unaware that the reinforcements had already begun to withdraw back to Savannah.

Georgians in the Revolution At Kettle Creek (Wilkes Co.) and Burke State. Principal Drove. F292 B95 D39 1986. Courtesy of the Georgia Historical Guild.

Meanwhile, 340 Southward Carolina and Georgia militiamen, under Colonel Andrew Pickens of South Carolina, and Colonel John Dooly and Lieutenant Colonel Elijah Clarke of Georgia, had pursued Boyd for several days. Pickens, Dooly, and Clarke planned to surprise Boyd's men by attacking earlier they could rendezvous with reinforcements. On February 14, 1779, Pickens led the chief body of troops, 200 men, confronting Boyd'southward army camp at Kettle Creek. Dooly and Clarke attacked from beyond the creek on the left and correct, respectively. During the boxing, Boyd was mortally wounded. With their commanding officer injured, many Loyalists panicked and began to retreat. The Patriot victory at the Battle of Kettle Creek boosted the moral of other Patriots afterward Savannah had fallen to the British in late 1778. The results of the battle also stunted British attempts to recruit loyalists to their cause in Georgia.

Top Epitome taken from larger image of the American flag. Public Domain.

Explore the links below to larn more about the Battle of Kettle Creek and the Revolutionary State of war in Georgia.

GHS is proud to firm a letter of the alphabet written by John Dooly, one of the commanding officers leading the Patriots attack at the Battle of Kettle Creek.

Full Marker Text

New Georgia Encyclopedia (Battle of Kettle Creek)

New Georgia Encyclopedia (Revolutionary War in Georgia)

Today in Georgia History

Kettle Creek Battleground

Explore Southern History: The Battle of Kettle Creek- Wilkes County, Georgia

Myrevolutionarywar.com: Battle of Kettle Creek

National Register of Historic Places: Kettle Creek Battlefield

American Military machine History Podcast: Ep. 49- Georgia on My Mind: Capture of Savanah and the Battle of Kettle Creek (Link to heed via Youtube)

The News Reporter: Sons of American Revolution brainstorm events leading up to observance at Kettle Creek

Further Reading

The Georgia Historical Quarterly has published the post-obit article about the Battle of Kettle Creek which tin be accessed on JSTOR. If your library does not have access to JSTOR, you can become to www.jstor.org and create a free MyJSTOR Account.

  • Ashmore, Otis, and Charles H. Olmstead. "THE BATTLES OF KETTLE CREEK AND BRIER CREEK." The Georgia Historical Quarterly 10, no. 2 (1926): 85-125. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40575848.

Davis, Robert Scott. "Kettle Creek, Georgia: The Revolutionary State of war Battle of The Canebrakes." Kettle Creek Battlefield. Accessed June 13, 2017. http://www.kettlecreekbattlefield.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/canebrakes.pdf.

Davis, Robert Scott, Jr., Georgians in the Revolution: At Kettle Creek (Wilkes Co.) and Burke County (Easley, Due south.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1986).

Elliot, Daniel T., LAMAR Institute Publications Series, Report Number 131. "Stirring Upward a Hornet's Nest: The Kettle Creek Battleground Survey." The LAMAR Institute. 2008. Accessed June 13, 2017. http://thelamarinstitute.org/images/PDFs/publication_131.pdf.

Elliott, Daniel T., and Robert Scott Davis, Jr. LAMR Institute Publications Series, Report Number 189. "The Search and Discovery of Captain Robert Carr's Fort and Its Revolutionary State of war Battleground Wilkes County, Georgia." The LAMAR Institute. 2014. Accessed June 13, 2017. http://www.thelamarinstitute.org/images/PDFs/publication_189.pdf.