Siege of Fort Watson 1781
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate. Wikidata lists more than one location for this battle; the first is shown.
Key facts
| Year | 1781 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Revolutionary War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 33.5390, -80.4378 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Fort Watson was an American Revolutionary War confrontation in South Carolina that began on April 15, 1781, and lasted until April 23, 1781. Continental Army forces under Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee and South Carolina militia under Francis Marion besieged Fort Watson, a fortified British outpost that formed part of the communication and supply chain between Charleston and other British outposts further inland.
The attackers, lacking artillery, were unable to make a dent in the fortified works, and failed in attempts to deny the garrison of a water supply. They then devised a plan to build a tower from which sharpshooters could fire into the fort's walls. Fort Watson was once again attacked by the Americans on April 23, with the British forces unable to control the walls due to musket fire from the tower. They surrendered shortly afterwards.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Fort Watson (revision 1370741262), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the American Revolutionary War
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- Siege of Charleston 1780
- Action of 21 July 1781 1781
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- Battle of Cowan's Ford 1781
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All 190 battles of the American Revolutionary War →
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