Battle of Beaufort

This article is about the battle between Great Britain and the United States during the American Revolutionary War. For the battle between Australia and Japan during World War II, see Battle of Beaufort (1945). For the battle between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization during the 1982 Lebanon War, see Battle of the Beaufort.
Battle of Beaufort
Part of the American Revolutionary War
A head and shoulders portrait of William Moultrie. Painted in middle age, he wears a military uniform jacket that is blue with gold trim.
General William Moultrie, portrait by Charles Willson Peale
DateFebruary 3, 1779
Location
Port Royal Island, South Carolina
32°30′1″N 80°44′37″W / 32.50028°N 80.74361°W / 32.50028; -80.74361
Result American victory
Belligerents
 Great Britain United States
Commanders and leaders
William Gardner[1] William Moultrie
Strength
200 infantry
1 artillery piece		 300 militia
20 infantry
3 artillery pieces
Casualties and losses
40 killed or wounded
7–12 captured[2][3]		 8 killed
22 wounded[2]

The Battle of Beaufort, also known as the Battle of Port Royal Island, was fought on February 3, 1779, near Beaufort, South Carolina, during the American Revolutionary War. The battle took place not long after British forces consolidated control around Savannah, Georgia, which they had captured in December 1778.

Brigadier General Augustine Prevost sent 200 British regulars to seize Port Royal Island at the mouth of the Broad River in South Carolina in late January 1779. Major General Benjamin Lincoln, the American commander in the south, sent South Carolina Brigadier General William Moultrie from Purrysburg, South Carolina with a mixed force composed mainly of militia, but with a few Continental Army men, to meet the British advance. The battle was inconclusive, but the British withdrew first and suffered heavier casualties than the Americans.

  1. ^ The British commander is sometimes misidentified as Major Valentine Gardner of the 16th Foot, who was also on the expedition. William Gardner was a major in the 60th Foot. (Wilson, p. 199) Gardner's name is also sometimes spelled "Gardiner".
  2. ^ a b O'Kelley, p.235
  3. ^ Wilson, p. 100