Battle of Lindley ' s Fort The Battle of Lindley ' s Fort ( July 15 , 1776 ) was part of a campaign by Loyalist and Cherokee forces to gain control over the South Carolina backcountry from Patriot forces early in the American Revolutionary War . The Cherokees were involved because ongoing encroachment of their territory in the area had led them to take up arms . These activities prompted settlers to seek refuge at Lindley ' s Fort in present - day Laurens County . A joint force of Cherokee and Loyalists adorned with Indian warpaint descended on the fort one day after about 150 militiamen arrived at the stockade fort . The defenders repulsed the attackers , and when they withdrew , made a sortie and pursued them . Two Loyalists were killed and 13 taken prisoner . Background . The American Revolutionary War in the southern of the Thirteen Colonies did not at first involve Native Americans directly . Conflicts between Loyalist and Patriot colonists in the backcountry of South Carolina in late 1775 had resulted in the arrest , flight , or expulsion of most of the prominent Loyalist leaders . A number of Loyalists fled to the nearby Cherokee towns ( located in and around present - day western South Carolina in the southern Appalachian Mountains ) , where they were given refuge . By early 1776 , a delegation of northern Indians had arrived in the Cherokee villages , and convinced the younger generation of warriors to " take up the hatchet " against the colonists . Although the British Indian agent John Stuart tried to keep the Cherokee neutral , he realized that war was inevitable , and sought to channel Cherokee military activities to coordinate with British efforts . Battle . The Cherokee went on the warpath on July 1 , 1776 . Henry Laurens wrote that the Cherokee " very suddenly , without any pretense to Provocation those treacherous Devils in various Parties headed by White Men " , killing as many as 60 South Carolinians . The timing of this campaign was fortuitous for the Cherokee : a major British force had been anchored off Charleston , South Carolina since early June , but its attack on the city had been repulsed in the June 28 Battle of Sullivan ' s Island . As a result , Continental Army general Charles Lee was unable to provide any sort of relief . When the Cherokee attacks began in South Carolina , refugees began fleeing the outlying settlements for frontier fortifications . One of these was Lindley ' s Fort , a vestige of the Anglo - Cherokee War of the early 1760s that was rehabilitated and strengthened by the refugees . A militia company under Major Jonathan Downs arrived at the fort on July 14 , raising the total number of armed defenders to about 150 . The next day a force of about 190 Loyalists and Cherokee arrived . Although they attempted an assault on the fort , its stockade walls were sufficient to withstand their weaponry , which was limited to musket s and Indian weapons such as tomahawk s . When the attackers began to abandon the attempt on the fort in favor of easier raiding targets nearby , Major Downs led a sortie from the fort . In a running battle he managed to capture about 10 Loyalists . Aftermath . The Cherokee raids in the spring and summer of 1776 sparked a major backlash . The Carolinas , Georgia , and Virginia all devoted significant militia resources to campaign against the Cherokee . Between late July and early October 1776 , militia forces numbering in the thousands entered Cherokee land , destroying crops and villages . The Cherokee themselves fled before the advance , and ended up taking refuge in lands further west and south . The site of Lindley ' s Fort outside Laurens , South Carolina is listed on the National Register of Historic Places .