Siege of Savage's Old Fields

Siege of Savage's Old Fields
Part of the Southern Theatre of the American Revolutionary War
A portrait of Richard Richardson
Date November 19–21, 1775 Location Ninety Six, South Carolina Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
South Carolina	Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
Andrew Williamson	Patrick Cuningham Joseph Robinson
Strength
560 militia and regulars	1,892 militia
Casualties and losses
1 killed 12 wounded	4 killed 20 wounded

The siege of Savage's Old Fields (also known as the first siege of Ninety Six, November 19–21, 1775) was an encounter between Patriot and Loyalist forces in the back country town of Ninety Six, South Carolina, early in the American Revolutionary War. It was the first major conflict in South Carolina in the war, having been preceded by bloodless seizures of several military fortifications in the province.

Patriot forces under the command of Major Andrew Williamson had been dispatched to the area to recover a shipment of gunpowder and ammunition intended for the Cherokee that had been seized by Loyalists. Williamson's force, numbering over 500, established a stockaded fort near Ninety Six, where it was surrounded by some 1,900 Loyalists.

Because the war was in its early days and the partisan war in the southern back country had not become as brutal as it would be later in the war, the siege was conducted desultorily, and was effectively a stalemate. After two days the Loyalists withdrew, having lost four killed and 20 wounded to one Patriot killed and 12 wounded. The Patriots also withdrew toward the coast, but a major Patriot expedition not long after resulted in the arrest or flight of most of the Loyalist leadership.