Shelby was surveying lands in Kentucky in 1780 when he heard of the colonists' defeat at Charleston. He hurried to North Carolina, where he found a request for aid from General Charles McDowell to defend the borders of North Carolina from the British. Shelby assembled three hundred militiamen and joined McDowell at Cherokee Ford in South Carolina. On the morning of July 31, 1780, he surrounded the British stronghold at Thickety Fort on the Pacolet River with 600 men. He immediately demanded a surrender, but the British refused. Shelby brought his men within musket range and again demanded surrender. Though the fort likely would have withstood the attack, the British commander lost his nerve and capitulated. Without firing a shot, Shelby's men captured 94 prisoners.