Action at Combahee Ferry

The Action at Combahee Ferry was one of the final skirmishes of the Revolutionary War in South Carolina, fought as the British prepared to evacuate Charleston in late 1782. A British force crossed the Combahee River and skirmished with American forces attempting to harass the crossing. The engagement was minor but represented the continued friction between the two sides even as peace negotiations proceeded in Paris.

The South Carolina theater remained tense throughout 1782 despite Yorktown, as both sides jockeyed for position and resources. British forces continued to hold Charleston and conducted occasional raids into the surrounding countryside while Patriots maintained pressure on the perimeter. Small engagements like Combahee Ferry were the characteristic military activity of this final phase of the war.

The formal British evacuation of Charleston came in December 1782, ending eight years of conflict in South Carolina that had been among the most brutal of the entire war.