The Battle of Waxhaws (Buford's Massacre)

May 29, 1780 at Waxhaws, South Carolina

Battle Summary

Buford's Massacre monument
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Buford's Massacre monument

The Battle of Waxhaws was also known as the Waxhaws or Waxhaw massacre, and Buford's massacre took  near Lancaster, South Carolina, between a Continental Army force and a mainly Loyalist force. Colonel Buford refused an initial demand to surrender, but when his men were attacked by Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton's  British cavalry, many threw down their arms to surrender. Buford apparently attempted to surrender.

However, Tarleton was shot at during the truce, having his horse fall and trap him. Loyalists and British troops were outraged at the breaking of the truce in this manner and proceeded to fall on the Americans.

While Tarleton was trapped under his dead horse, men continued killing the Continental soldiers, including men who were not resisting. Little quarter was given to the patriots/rebels. Of the 400 or so Continentals, 113 were killed with sabers, 150 so badly injured they could not be moved and 53 prisoners were taken by the British and Loyalists. "Tarleton's quarter", thereafter became a common expression for refusing to take prisoners.

In some subsequent battles in the Carolinas, few of the defeated were taken alive by either side. This 'Battle of Waxhaws' became the subject of an intensive propaganda campaign by the Continental Army to bolster recruitment and incite resentment against the British. Equally valid accounts of the battle by soldiers from both sides describe Tarleton as having no part in ordering a massacre as he had been trapped under his horse, and when freed immediately ordered thorough medical treatment of American prisoners and wounded.

Facts about the Battle of Waxhaws (Buford's Massacre)

  • Armies - American Forces was commanded by Col. Abraham Buford and consisted of about 350 Soldiers. British Forces was commanded by Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton and consisted of about 275 Soldiers.
  • Casualties - American casualties were estimated to be 113 killed, 150 wounded, and 53 captured. British casualties were estimated to be 5 killed and 12 wounded.


Regimental Color of the 3rd Virginia Detachment captured at the Battle of Waxhaws
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However, Tarleton heard that South Carolina's Patriot Governor John Rutledge was traveling with Buford. Anxious to capture Rutledge, Tarleton pursued with a force of roughly 230 men, consisting of 130 Legion dragoons, 100 Mounted British Legion infantry, and a 3-lb. cannon. In the event, only an advance force of 60 dragoons from the 17th Light Dragoons and the British Legion cavalry, 60 mounted infantry from the British Legion, and an additional flanking force of 30 British Legion dragoons and some infantry actually engaged in the main attack.


British continue attacking after the Continentals lay down their arms at the Battle of Waxhaws
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Battle Begins

Battle of Waxhaws marker and map
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Battle of Waxhaws marker and map






Battle of Waxhaws marker
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Battle of Waxhaws marker





After the battle, the wounded were treated at nearby churches by the congregants, one of whom was a young Andrew Jackson. Tarleton claimed that after the battle ended, the wounded of both sides were treated "with equal humanity" and that the British provided "every possible convenience". Due to the large number of wounded, people from all over the countryside came to assist in their care. When they learned of what had happened, albeit one-sidedly, news of the apparent "violation" of "quarter" on Tarleton's part spread rapidly through the region.

The battle, at least temporarily, consolidated British control over South Carolina, and Patriot sentiment was at a low ebb. General Clinton, among other acts before he left Charleston for New York, revoked the parole of surrendered Patriots. This affront (violating accepted "rules of war"), and reports of this battle, may have changed the direction of the war in the South. Many who might have stayed neutral flocked to the Patriots, and "Tarleton's Quarter!" and "Remember Buford" became rallying cries for the Whigs.

News of the "massacre" directly inspired the creation of volunteer militia forces among the "over-mountain men" (from the Wataugan settlements at and near Sycamore Shoals). These militia participated in actions against British Loyalists at both the Battle of Musgrove Mill on August 18 (near present-day Clinton, South Carolina) and in the decisive defeat of British Major Patrick Ferguson's command on October 7, 1780 at Kings Mountain (near present-day Blacksburg, South Carolina).

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