South Carolina During the 1760's the British passed laws that caused problems in South Carolina. Most of these new laws were about taxes. There were some people that lived in South Carolina called, Tories, that urged loyalty to Britain in spite of the laws. But the majority of the people were called, Whigs, who were in favor of independence. South Carolina had many important battles of the Revolutionary War. In 1776, British land and sea forces attacked Charleston. But the colonist defeated the British in what was called, the Battle of Sullivan's Island. There was a second British attack on Charleston in 1779, and the British captured the city in 1780. Later that year, the British troops, lead by General Horatio Gates, defeated the colonial troops at Camden. After that the British and their Tori allies controlled most of South Carolina. Colonial victories on October 7, 1780, in the Battle of King Mountain, where 900 colonials soldiers defeated 1,100 British soldiers, and on January 17, 1781 at Cowpens, were turning points in the war for the South.
South Carolina State House
English: Oil painting of Continental Army general ...
South CarolinaIn 1781, General Nathanael Greene lead his colonial troops, and drove the main British army out of South Carolina to Virginia. The British evacuated Charleston in 1782. Between the course of the war, 137 battles were fought in the state. Most being fought between Tories and Whigs.