Battle of Great Cane Break

The Battle of Great Cane Break on December 22, 1775 was part of the Snow Campaign — the Patriot winter offensive that swept through South Carolina's backcountry suppressing Loyalist uprisings. Colonel William Thomson led a surprise attack on a Loyalist encampment at Great Cane Break in the South Carolina interior.

Thomson's militia caught the Loyalists under Patrick Cunningham off guard, routing the force and capturing their camp. The action was part of a coordinated effort by South Carolina Patriots to eliminate organized Loyalist resistance before it could coalesce into a force capable of joining British regular troops.

The engagement demonstrated the effectiveness of rapid offensive operations against Loyalist networks. Thomson, who would later win fame at the Battle of Sullivan's Island, showed the aggressive spirit that characterized South Carolina's Patriot militia leadership. The Great Cane Break action, combined with other engagements of the Snow Campaign, secured South Carolina's interior for the Patriot cause for over four years until the British invasion of 1780.