After their defeat at the Battle of King's Mountain (October 7, 1780), the British sought revenge on the revolutionary forces in South Carolina while protecting Loyalist outposts. When Lord Cornwallis heard that General Thomas Sumter was heading for Ninety-Six with about 1,000 men, he ordered Colonel Banastre Tarleton to intercept him. Rather than confront the regulars under Tarleton, Sumter decided to retreat to the safety of the backcountry. Tarleton set off in pursuit but found it difficult to catch up to Sumter with his infantry and an artillery piece slowing him down. On the afternoon of November 20, Tarleton took an advance guard of dragoons and mounted infantry of about 300 men to see if he could surprise Sumter; the rest of the force was to follow as quickly as possible. That evening Tarlton found Sumter camped at Blackstocks plantation near the Tyger River in a strong defensive position and decided to delay his attack until the next morning, when the rest of his men would arrive. Sumter, however, would not wait for the British reinforcements and launched an assault, which the vastly outnumbered British repulsed. Tarleton, never one to shy away from battle, then ordered a counterattack, which failed to dislodge the Revolutionaries.

Tarleton pulled his men back from the engagement, knowing that he had reinforcements coming, but the South Carolina militia had had enough and continued its retreat that night. Sumter was severely wounded in the battle, and although his force sustained minimal casualties, much of his command quickly disintegrated. Tarleton's losses were much heavier: As many of half his advance force may have been killed or injured. Both sides claimed victory. Tarleton asserted that he had held the field, at least by the next morning; that the Revolutionaries were in retreat; and that he had diverted the attack on Ninety-Six. The Revolutionaries claimed that on the evening of the battle, they had held the field and inflicted greater casualties on the British.

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