Battle of James Island

The skirmish at James Island in November 1782 was one of the very last engagements of the Revolutionary War in South Carolina, occurring just weeks before the British evacuation of Charleston. British forces on James Island, protecting the approaches to Charleston, clashed with American troops probing the British perimeter.

The engagement was tactically minor — a skirmish between outposts rather than a significant battle — but it illustrated the continued state of armed tension around Charleston even as peace negotiations in Paris were nearing their conclusion. Both sides maintained active patrols and skirmish lines throughout 1782.

The British evacuation of Charleston came in December 1782, when British ships carried away the garrison along with thousands of Loyalist civilians who feared Patriot retribution. The evacuation ended British occupation of the last major post in the South and effectively concluded the military campaign that had begun with the British capture of Savannah in December 1778.