Battle of Ramsour ' s Mill The Battle of Ramsour ' s Mill took place on June 20 , 1780 near present - day Lincolnton , North Carolina , during the British campaign to gain control of the southern colonies in the American Revolutionary War . About 400 American militia defeated 1 , 300 Loyalist militiamen . The battle did not involve any regular army forces from either side , and was literally fought between neighbors . Despite being outnumbered , the Patriot militia defeated the Loyalists . The battle was significant in that it lowered the morale of Loyalists in the south , weakening their support of the British . Background . On June 18 , 1780 , Patriot General Griffith Rutherford , camped near Charlotte , North Carolina , learned that a large force of Loyalist s was assembling at Ramsour ' s Mill , west of Charlotte ( near present - day Lincolnton ) . Rutherford began moving his troops in that direction , and on June 19 he sent orders to Lieutenant Colonel Francis Locke and other local militia leaders call up their men . Locke gathered 400 men at Mountain Creek , about from Ramsour ' s Mill . Their intelligence showed that the Loyalist force was more than three times their size , but it was decided to attack early the next morning without waiting for Rutherford ' s forces . At daybreak on June 20 , they were one mile from the Loyalist camp , located on a hill about east of the mill . Loyalist recruiting . Loyalist John Moore had served with the British at the Siege of Charleston and returned to his home a few miles from Ramsour ' s Mill with tales of battle . He called together a group of about 40 Loyalists on June 10 and shared with them instructions from Cornwallis that for safety they should avoid organizing before British troops entered the area . News came to the meeting that a group of about twenty Patriots was looking for Moore and other Loyalist leaders . Moore and his men decided to find and confront them , but were unsuccessful . Moore then told his men to return home , and instructed them to join him in a few days at Ramsour ' s Mill . On June 13 , 200 men arrived there , and the number grew in the following days , buoyed by news of the British victory at Waxhaws . By June 20 the Loyalist camp had grown to about 1 , 300 men . Battle . When the cavalry leading the Patriot column approached , the Loyalist sentries on the road fired at them and retreated to their main body . After an initial cavalry charge , the Patriot infantry moved up . In the confusion of the battle , the Patriots were able to turn the Loyalist ' s flank and gain control of the ridge . General Rutherford , then only a few miles from Ramsour ' s Mill , received word of the action and immediately dispatched his cavalry to assist and hurried the infantry along . According to firsthand accounts on file in the National Archives : Patriot Colonel Francis Locke was unable to reform his line on the ridge and ordered his men to fall back . However , Captain John Dickey refused and led his company to higher ground , where their rifle marksmanship turned the battle into victory . When ordered to retreat by Colonel Locke , he had soundly cursed ( Presbyterian elder though he was ) , saying he would not retreat . Captain Dickey was credited with saving the day at the Battle of Ramsour ' s Mill . The Patriot soldiers composed a ballad , which for many years was sung about the countryside in Captain Dickey ' s honor . Only one verse is preserved in the National Archives in Washington : " Old Colonel Locke kept pretty well back , < br > While brave Captain Dickey commenced the attack . < br > He , Colonel Locke , ordered us to retreat and reform , < br > Which made our old hero mightily storm . " One affidavit in the National Archives Pension Files tells that Captain Dickey called out , “ Shoot straight , my boys , and keep on fighting . I see some of them beginning to tumble . ” The Loyalists were in disarray and many fled . When Colonel Rutherford reached the field he was met by a white flag , and the Loyalists requested a truce to treat the wounded . Rutherford , whose entire force had yet to arrive , instead demanded an immediate surrender . As the discussions went on , most of the remaining Loyalists fled , and only about 50 were taken prisoner . Aftermath . Casualties were difficult to assign since almost no one was wearing any sort of uniform . Estimates of dead on each side were between 50 to 70 , with about 100 wounded on each side . The battle , in which muskets were sometimes used as clubs because of little ammunition , was fought between " neighbors , near relations , and friends " . Their defeat so badly demoralized the Loyalists that they never organized again in that area . Moore and about 30 men managed to reach Cornwallis at Camden , where Cornwallis threatened him with charges for disobeying his orders .