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Fort and Boyd’s defeat under a single rubric of action at Kettle Creek in February, 1779, then Hamilton’s claim is correct. If he implied, however, that he was actually present on the battlefield on February 14, then this is the debatable issue. No other accounts of the battle link him to the battlefield on that day. The traditional scenario voiced by historians is that, once they realized that the siege of Carr’s Fort had been lifted by Colonel Pickens and his men had left the area, Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton and his men emerged from the fort by February 11, and marched rapidly to Wrightsborough, Georgia with the intent of joining up with Lieutenant Colonel Campbell’s army as soon as possible. Following this interpretation, Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton and his troops were nowhere near Kettle Creek on February 14, and could not have participated in the battle. Quite recently, Robert Scott Davis, Jr. challenges this interpretation. Davis questions whether Hamilton and his men actually left on February 11, or even February 12. He offers a scenario where, after several days’ hard march and a scalding engagement at Vann’s Creek, Colonel Boyd and his men established camp on the evening of February 13 at Robert Carr’s Fort, where they found Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton and his detachment. The united forces set out early on the morning of February 14 and reached James Hammett’s plantation on Kettle Creek, where Boyd made the decision to rest and feed his men and all the horses to graze on the pasturage that they found there. Perhaps he saw this as an opportunity to confer with Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton on the unfolding (and deteriorating) military situation in the backcountry. Surprised by the Patriots, the battle ensued. Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton and many of his detachment managed to escape and, along with the other Loyalists, made their way to Wrightsborough. Davis surmises that Hamilton made little mention of his involvement in the battle during the war, since it was an embarrassment. He possibly included it in his list of his military service to King George III in his memorial since it demonstrated the personal losses suffered during the war. This reinterpretation of events bears more consideration. Whether he was present on the battlefield or not, Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton’s actions before and after the battle were an integral part of the drama that makes up the Kettle Creek story. More research on Hamilton and his Royal North Carolina Regiment may produce leads that will help interpret the Kettle Creek battle more accurately. Lieutenant Colonel William Young William Young was an Englishman who fought in Georgia at Kettle Creek. His memorials, filed in London on June 1, 1788 and April 29, 1789, noted that he, “was defeated in action at Kettle Creek while going with party to join Army in Ga.” (Coldham 1980:547-548; Loyalist Claims AO13/10/373-392). William Young filed a memorial in 1789, wherein he attested to his participation in the battle of Kettle Creek. Young stated, “That the Memorialist in 1779 was defeated by the Rebels in an Action at Kettle Creek when going with a party to join the British Forces in Georgia, in which Action his Horse was disabled and his Baggage taken”, and he further described, That in consequence of Colonel Campbells Proclamation on the Arrival of His Majestys Troops in Georgia requiring all Loyal Subjects in Carolina to join the Army the Deponent with a Body of near Five Hundred Loyalists being on their march for that Purpose were pursued by the Enemy. And in an Action at Kettle Creek w[h]ere the Party was Defeated, and many taken and Killed the Deponents Horse worth at Least Forty Guineas Received a Shot which disabled him from which the Deponent having lost also, as his Baggage, Clothing &c, Computes his Loss at Fifty Pounds Sterling (Young 1789). Lieutenant Colonel Young continued to fight with the Loyalists in campaigns in South Carolina in 1779 and 1780. He participated in the British defeat at King’s Mountain, was captured, and later escaped to rejoin the British Army at Ninety-Six. After the reduction of Charleston in 1780 William Young was again taken prisoner, and was “confined nearly two months, then marched on foot nearly 200 miles experiencing great hunger, thirst, and abuse, expecting to be put to death.” After the war William Young lived in Exeter, England. William Young’s rank, while a participant at the battle of Kettle Creek is undetermined. Given his later rank as a Lieutenant Colonel, Young may have commanded a company at the time of the battle. 88
Captain George Carter Captain George Carter commanded a company of the South Carolina loyalists and fought with Colonel Boyd at Kettle Creek. Carter owned numerous tracts of land in the South Carolina piedmont with the earliest dating to 1768 (SCDAH 2008). Apparently many of the men under Captain Carter’s command were killed or deserted at Kettle Creek since Carter was not given command of a company when the South Carolina Royalists were organized at Hudson’s Ferry, Georgia on February 22, 1779 (Brice 1779). Carter was instead promised half-pay at a Captain’s rate for his service prior to February 22, which was fulfilled in Savannah later that year. From these British payroll documents we may infer that Carter’s Company found themselves in the heat of the battle and suffered severe casualties. Captain Zachariahs Gibbes Captain Zachariahs Gibbes was from the Ninety-Six District of South Carolina where he had lived since about 1763. Gibbes commanded a company of the South Carolina Loyalists and was with Colonel Boyd at Kettle Creek. Gibbes was captured during the battle and was marched in irons as a prisoner of the Patriots to Ninety-Six, South Carolina. He was sentenced to death but received a reprieve after 15 months of imprisonment. He was released and continued to serve the British cause after the capture of Charleston in 1780. Gibbes went with other South Carolina Loyalist refugees to settle in Nova Scotia after the war (Jones 1921:79-82). Gibbes later testified that while he had served under Boyd, his Patriot neighbors had burned two of his houses (Davis 1986:22). Captain James Harvey Captain James Harvey commanded a company of South Carolina Loyalists in the battle of Kettle Creek. Harvey owned numerous tracts of land in the South Carolina piedmont at the beginning of the American Revolution (SCDAH 2008). His name was among those Loyalists listed in a November 1779 proclamation by the Patriot South Carolina Governor, which threatened those listed with confiscation of their property unless they renounced their allegiance to King George III (SCAGG 1779a). Harvey filed a memorial in 1780 in Savannah attesting to his service to the King, which began, That your Memorialist Raised Soon After the Commencement of the Present Rebellion a Compleat Company of Men Consisting of Fifty three Rank & file Exclusive of officers, All which your Petitioner brought into this Province. That Your Memorialist in Company with with [sic] Many others of the 2nd Battn. So: Carolina Royalists was Attacked by a Considerable number of the Rebells at Kettle Creek, Where your Petisioner & his men was Defeated by the Enemy & his Company Dispersed. Your Petitioner After this Action did every thing in his Power to Collect his Men together, which he did to the amount of Thirty odd Men, which your Petitioner Deliverd up by order of Colo. Campbell to fill up the other Companies called the 2nd Battn: of Carolina Royalists – on his Promise before the Revd: Mr. Devaux & Several others that I shoud Receive half Pay as a Capt: untill Shuch time as I coud Compleat my Compy. That Your Petisioner ever since his Arrival in this Province, in the Begining of February last has been in every action the English Troops has had with the Rebells both in this Province & So: Carolina….(Harvey 1780). Captain Harvey’s statement that he entered Georgia with 53 rank and file and an unspecified number of officers and that by February 22, when he turned his company over to Lieutenant Colonel Campbell for its reorganization, they were reduced to “Thirty odd Men”. This indicates that Harvey’s Company lost at least 23 men at battles of Vann’s Creek and Kettle Creek prior to their arrival at Hudson’s Ferry on February 22. Some percentage of them were undoubtedly killed or deserted at Kettle Creek but the scant records do no permit any further breakdown of his casualty figures (Brice 1779). Captain James Lindley James Lindley was born in Pennsylvania in 1735. His father moved their family to North Carolina, where James was married. James Lindley owned land in Orange County, North Carolina, where he received a plat 89
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Stirring Up a Hornet’s Nest: The
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BTable of Contents Table of Content
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Figure 42. Composite Map Showing Ar
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BAcknowledgements Thanks to the sta
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� Live Oak Library, Bull Street B
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was short by at least 30 men, in ad
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Published sources included: � All
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� Hays (1946, 1950) � Hill (192
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for any materials from North Caroli
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The North Carolina Archives was als
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Figure 2. Kettle Creek Battlefield
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Fifteen activity loci were defined
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BPREVIOUS HISTORICAL RESEARCH BIII.
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eceived, that a body of the loyalis
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his militia; and finding that he co
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Alexander Garden, a Revolutionary W
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them. Lossing visited Savannah, Geo
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position. Colonel Boyd defended the
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stand a large tree, Walnut I think,
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Mr. William Lake, a newspaper man f
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etc. of the war period but there ar
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� John Newton--1784 till 1796.
Page 48 and 49: Table 1. Timeline of Significant En
Page 50 and 51: A detachment of North Carolina mili
Page 52 and 53: Table 4. South Carolina and North C
Page 54 and 55: Table 5. Georgia Militiamen Who Fou
Page 56 and 57: Figure 8. General Andrew Pickens (S
Page 58 and 59: BColonel John Dooly Colonel John Do
Page 60 and 61: his family, along with several hund
Page 62 and 63: Figure 9. Portrait of Elijah Clarke
Page 64 and 65: Greene County, Georgia in 1788 (Kni
Page 66 and 67: BCaptain Joseph Collins Joseph Coll
Page 68 and 69: Table 7. Captain Robert Carr's Comp
Page 70 and 71: egiment has survived (Davis 1979a).
Page 72 and 73: ecame Rowan County, North Carolina.
Page 74 and 75: Creek, fought and Defeated them the
Page 76 and 77: horses and cows which the Indians h
Page 78 and 79: BPrivate Micajah Brooks, Sr. Privat
Page 80 and 81: the rank of colonel at the time of
Page 82 and 83: BPrivate John McClaskey Private Joh
Page 84 and 85: of a broken leg. He joined the Sout
Page 86 and 87: BOTHER PATRIOTS LINKED TO KETTLE CR
Page 88 and 89: John Finley entered the service of
Page 90 and 91: Private Henry Mayner Private Henry
Page 92 and 93: Table 8. Known Loyalists in Battle
Page 94 and 95: One family of Boyds was living in t
Page 96 and 97: SPURGEON, WILLIAM. Of North Carolin
Page 100 and 101: for 200 acres in 1756 and by 1761 h
Page 102 and 103: North Carolina Regiment. John Marti
Page 104 and 105: in 1779 and was promoted to a Lieut
Page 106 and 107: Almost all of the Loyalists who wer
Page 108 and 109: Figure 82. Portion of Davis' Redraf
Page 110 and 111: Figure 15. Portion of U.S.G.S. Quad
Page 112 and 113: Figure 18. 1942 Aerial Photograph S
Page 114 and 115: Cowan’s Ferry Cowan’s Ferry was
Page 116 and 117: Dooly’s Fort John Dooly’s Fort
Page 118 and 119: Knox’s Fort/Cherokee Corner/Gourd
Page 120 and 121: That he enlisted in the Army of the
Page 122 and 123: The rock dwelling of Thomas Ansley
Page 124 and 125: Joseph White, a North Carolinian wi
Page 126 and 127: The Williamses Rowland Williams was
Page 128 and 129: Henry Thomas Slaton was unmarried a
Page 130 and 131: Book G: 98). The land had been prev
Page 132 and 133: Robert McGinty and his wife, Debora
Page 134 and 135: ecorded on December 7, 1773 at Wrig
Page 136 and 137: 126
Page 138 and 139: Figure 29 is a schematic showing th
Page 140 and 141: Figure 26. Kettle Creek Immediately
Page 142 and 143: Locus A 132 Figure 30. Kettle Creek
Page 144 and 145: Locus C Locus C is situated on the
Page 146 and 147: an animal pen that was maintained b
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systematic shovel testing). The pro
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Figure 33. Selected Arms Group Arti
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Figure 35. Selected Clothing, Perso
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Three main types of refined earthen
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Figure 37. Distribution of Arms Gro
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ullets that struck organic targets
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The concentration of fire of the la
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lead supplies during the war. Fort
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of South Carolina militia, witnesse
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Tobacco Group The survey yielded no
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Figure 40. Distribution of Activiti
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BEXECUTIVE SUMMARY BVI. Summary and
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Colonel Dooly and Lieutenant Colone
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might have turned in their favor. O
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corridor should be at least 1,000 f
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Figure 46. Core Area of Kettle Cree
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Babits, L. E. 1998 A Devil of a Whi
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Cary, John 1806 A New Map of Part o
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1994 DeBolt's Dictionary of America
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Garden, Alexander 1822 Anecdotes of
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Hartgrove, W.B. 1916 The Negro Sold
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1857 Nancy Hart [Engraving], in Nan
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2004 Roster of Revolutionary Soldie
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Newman, D.L., and D.N. Ham 1974 Lis
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1986 The New York Loyalists. Univer
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1996 Vanishing Sites of Old Wilkes.
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1910 Monument to Commemorate Battle
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n.d. Unsigned Account of Revolution
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Appendix 1. Artifact Inventory, Ket
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PP# Northing Easting Northing Easti
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Page 215 and 216:
Page 217 and 218:
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Appendix II. Kettle Creek Roster. S
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Surname Name Rank Army Regiment/Bat
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show all

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