Answer:
The correct answer is C. During the Battle of Kettle Creek, Georgia, Patriot forces defeated a much larger Loyalist militia.
Explanation:
A British expeditionary force under Major General Henry Clinton took the city of Savannah, Georgia, marking the start of a change in British strategy during the War of Independence. From then on, the great battles happened south of the Potomac River.
The British motivation for moving the war to the south was the belief that a large proportion of the population in the area were loyalists. One of the men sent to recruit a loyalist army was James Boyd of Raeburn Creek, South Carolina. Boyd arrived in Savannah with the first British invasion forces as a colonel to recruit loyalists in the colony of Georgia.
Boyd was able to recruit around 350 loyalists in Augusta, Georgia, and then marched against Savannah. Once during the march, 250 loyalists from North Carolina under Colonel John Moore joined Boyd's men. James Boyd took command of the entire Loyalist force with Major Spurgen as second in command.
What the Loyalists did not know was that a patriotic force of 340 militants from Georgia and South Carolina was waiting, led by Colonels Andrew Pickens of South Carolina, John Dooly and Colonel Lieutenant Elijah Clarke of Georgia.
On February 14, 1779, loyalists camped near Kettle Creek, Georgia. Boyd sent around 150 men to gather food while the rest of his force lay in the camp at a height. The height was a usable defensive position with ants on both sides. The Patriots' plan was simple enough. Pickens was to lead an attack directly up the hill while Dooly and Clarke were to lead separate but simultaneous attacks on the right and left flanks.
The Patriots' commanders hoped to be able to carry on a surprise attack, but Picken's advance surprised elements from the loyalists. Both sides opened fire and the surprise element was gone. Pickens now had to attack and continued to advance. Boyd gathered his men and took up positions behind stones and fallen trees. From these positions, Boyd's men managed to delay the Patriots' attack. Dooly's and Clare's men fought in the marshes and were delayed in reaching their attack positions.
The battle lasted for about three hours. Colonel Boyd's loyalists retreated to their camp when a section of Georgia militia met them. A fire opened, Boyd fatally wounded and Major Spurgen took command of the loyalists. The sparrow managed to get 450 men across Kettle Creek and led them away from the battlefield.
Loyalist losses were between 19 and 70 dead, including Colonel Boyd, while between 22 and 70 were captured. The Patriots lost between 7 and 9 men, while between 14 and 23 were injured. The result of the Battle of Kettle Creek was that the Georgia loyalist movement was largely over.
