Interview with Jeffrey Keenan, author of Benning's War - Page 3

As far as medicine, they had leeches for bleeding, and amputations for bad
wounds. They suffered from smallpox, typhus, and dysentery. Prisoners of the
British faced starvation and disease on the dreaded prison ships.

Discipline was spotty at first, but became harsher as the war went on and Washington
needed a more disciplined army. Hanging offenses included striking an officer
and desertion. Flogging was a common form of punishment.

The Battle of The Waxhaws was an unimportant skirmish of the American Revolution,
fought at the border of the Carolinas in 1780. The results of that battle would
have consequences for the Loyalists not long after at the Battle of Kings Mountain.

Tarleton's 'British Legion' was sent to prevent the last American Army in the
Southern Theater from escaping into North Carolina. On the other side, Colonel
Buford, the commander of the Third Virginia Regiment, made two huge mistakes.

Upon learning that Tarleton was closing in on him, he sent his wagons and artillery
ahead into North Carolina to prevent their capture. Instead, they could have
stopped Tarleton's force.

When Tarleton brought the Virginian's to bay, Buford gave the order to hold
fire until the Legion had come within thirty yards. The Virginians would have
no time to reload their muskets in the face of charging cavalry. That was an
inexcusable blunder that led to defeat. The British Legion refused to accept
the surrender of the defeated Americans. After that battle the cry of 'Tarleton's
Quarter', meaning 'No surrender accepted!' became a rallying cry. It would be
heard in many places in the south after that.

Of course, the Americans defeated the British in this war for Independence
from Great Britain.

My other book tells the story of the French and Indian War in the late 1750's
through 1763. The American colonists and British fought the French and their
Indian Allies for control of the Ohio Valley. That war spread worldwide and
British victory over the French resulted in the loss of Canada to the British
Empire, as well as India. It also aroused feelings of independence and American
pride in the colonists, which would later lead to the Revolution. Many who fought
in that war would later fight in the Revolution on both sides.

Article Author: Parker Owens

Visit Parker Owens's author page — Parker Owens's Blog