Battle of Ramsour's Mill

The Battle of Ramsour's Mill frustrated British plans to raise a large Loyalist force in the North Carolina backcountry. Following the fall of Charleston, British commanders worked to mobilize Loyalists throughout the South. Colonel John Moore had assembled about 1,300 Loyalists in Lincoln County responding to British calls for service.

Patriot commanders Francis Locke and Francis Davidson assembled about 400 militia and moved quickly before the Loyalist force could join the British army. On June 20 they attacked Ramsour's Mill. The battle was chaotic — not unlike many backcountry engagements where neighbors fought neighbors and there were no uniforms to distinguish sides. Both forces intermixed during the fighting.

After about an hour of fierce fighting, the Loyalists broke and fled, leaving their camp and supplies behind. Several hundred were killed, wounded, or captured. The defeat significantly reduced the Loyalist manpower Cornwallis had expected, complicating his subsequent North Carolina campaign. Ramsour's Mill was part of a pattern of backcountry Patriot resistance that showed British optimism about Loyalist support was badly misplaced.