ing of
two divisions under Lord Rawdon and Colonel Webster, and the second
consisting of the seventy-first regiment, and some squadrons of horse
under his Own command. The arrangement of the enemy was similar; but
Gates made some disposition on the left, as if intending to change
his position, and Lord Cornwallis seizing the critical moment, ordered
Webster to advance and charge the enemy on their left. This division was
chiefly composed of Virginia militia, and as Webster advanced they threw
down their loaded muskets and fled from the field. Their example was
soon followed by the North Carolina division, which formed the centre
of Gates's army. Gates now brought up his second line, or reserve, and
endeavoured to rally his militia. It was all in vain; the reserve corps
were utterly routed, and the militiamen ran for their lives into the
woods. Gates, aware that all was lost, fled with a few friends to
Charlotte, about eighty miles off; and in this battle he lost nearly
nine hundred slain, among whom was Baron de Kalb, and about 1000 were
taken prisoners, he also lost all his baggage and camp-equipage, many
stands of colours, seven pieces of cannon, and one hundred and fifty
waggons, containing a large quantity of military stores and provisions.
The English lost about three hundred and fifty men in killed and
wounded, nearly all belonging to the regiment under Webster, and the
Irish volunteers under Lord Rawdon, who had borne the chief weight of
the action. This victory was followed by another. At this time Colonel
Sumter was on the other side of the Wateree, with the intention of
striking into the heart of South Carolina, and Tarleton, with some
cavalry and mounted infantry, was dispatched against him. Sumter, warned
of Gates's disaster, had already began a retreat towards North Carolina,
when he was overtaken by Tarleton near the Catawba Fords, where his
corps were almost annihilated. He lost one hundred and fifty men killed,
three hundred prisoners, and an immense quantity of arms and military
stores: two hundred and fifty British prisoners were also recaptured.
Thus victorious, Lord Cornwallis again sent emissaries into North
Carolina, to assure the royalists there, that he would march into their
country as soon as he received necessary supplies from Charlestown. In
the meantime, as lenity had not disarmed the hostility of the disloyal,
he gave some examples of severity. He sequestered the estates of all
those who had