The Battle of Waxhaws was a military engagement which took place on May 29, 1780 during the American Revolutionary War between a Patriot force led by Abraham Buford and a British force led by Banastre Tarleton near Lancaster, South Carolina. Buford's men consisted of Continental Army soldiers, while Tarleton's force was mostly made up of Loyalist troops. After the two forces sighted each other, Buford rejected an initial demand to surrender. Tarleton's cavalrymen launched a charge against the Patriot troops, which led many of Buford's men to throw their arms down in surrender. However, as Tarleton was shot under his horse during the charge, his infuriated soldiers attacked their Patriot opponents, killing several.
19th-century sketch of the battle
Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton by Joshua Reynolds
Monument and mass grave at the battle site
Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet was a British general and politician. He is best known as the lieutenant colonel leading the British Legion at the end of the American Revolutionary War. He later served in Portugal and held commands in Ireland and England.
Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton by Sir Joshua Reynolds, in the uniform of the British Legion, wearing a "Tarleton helmet". National Gallery, London.
The Battle of Waxhaw Creek (29 May 1780), in Lancaster County, South Carolina
Tarleton's Movements historical marker in Adams Grove, Virginia
Portrait of Mary Robinson by Thomas Gainsborough, 1781
