Combat· American Revolutionary War
Siege of Charleston 1780
British forces under General Sir Henry Clinton captured Charleston, South Carolina, in 1780, taking the Continental ships and Marines sent to defend it.
Commodore Abraham Whipple's squadron, the Providence, Boston, Ranger and Queen of France, had arrived off Charleston on December 18, 1779, to aid Major General Benjamin Lincoln's weak garrison. Clinton's troops landed on Johns Island on February 11, 1780. Marines and seamen from the squadron blew up the harbor lighthouse on February 14, and two days later Continental Marines surrounded Fort Johnston on James Island while sailors demolished it. After Whipple withdrew up the Cooper River, the Marines were ordered ashore to bolster artillery units. Captain Palmes' Marines served at Craven's Battery and the Granville Bastion, and Captain Arrowsmith's at Gibb's Battery. Charleston fell on May 12, 1780. The surrender terms made the Marines prisoners of war until exchanged; the officers were paroled, and the enlisted Marines were sent home in cartels in June. The capture of the three Continental ships left only five Marine detachments afloat.
Engagements in this conflict (1)
Record no. 168