Battle of McIntyre Farm
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Era | Date not recorded (no reliable year in Wikidata) | derived from year |
|---|---|---|
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| Coordinates | 35.3130, -80.8640 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of McIntyre Farm took place on October 3, 1780 between Patriot militia under Captain James Thompson and a combined force of British regulars and Loyalists under Captain John Doyle in northern Mecklenburg county, North Carolina. The event is also known as the "Battle of the Bees" or the "Battle of the Hornets Nest".
Lt. General Charles Cornwallis had occupied Charlotte since September 26, 1780. While there, he sent a foraging party of 450 infantry, 60 cavalry, and about 40 wagons to the countryside to search for supplies. Captain James Thompson of the local militia was warned by a local boy who had spotted them. The British forces had stopped seven miles up the road at McIntyre's Farm with the Patriot militia behind them out of sight. It was at McIntyre's farm that Doyle left behind 100 soldiers and 10 wagons to forage supplies.
As some of the British were loading up wagons with supplies, some others had accidentally knocked over some bee hives causing a commotion. As this happened, the Patriots opened fire. Hitting their targets with accuracy and constantly changing position, it appeared to the British that the Patriots were in larger number than perceived. Many patriots from the neighborhood and surrounding area would join in on the fight. Capt.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of McIntyre Farm (revision 1378239829), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Charlotte 1780 · 10 km
- Battle of Cowan's Ford 1781 · 15 km
- Battle of Torrence's Tavern 1781 · 31 km
- Battle of Ramsour's Mill 1780 · 40 km
- Battle of Kings Mountain 1780 · 51 km
- Battle of Wahab's Plantation 1780 · 51 km
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