Thomas Sumter was born on August 14, 1734 in Virginia. His father had been an indentured servant. Thomas got little formal education. He joined the militia and participated in Braddock’s defeat in the Battle of the Wilderness. After this, he spent some time in a debtor’s prison. Things picked up and he became a plantation owner. In 1776, he joined the Revolution as a Lt. Colonel in the Second Regiment of the South Carolina Line. He went from that to Colonel and later Brigadier General. His unit conducted guerrilla warfare against Loyalists and Cornwallis’ Redcoats. He fought in several small battles. In 1778, he retired, but returned to duty after the fall of Charleston and the defeat at Camden. He was not going to allow Cornwallis to control South Carolina.
The British burned his plantation as retaliation for his partisan attacks. These included raids on British supplies. In 1780, he ambushed a Loyalist/British convoy, but was soon ambushed while camped by Banestre Tarleton’s British Legion. His unit was wiped out. He recruited a new force from the backwoods. After defeating Tarleton in a skirmish, his unit was chased by Tarleton. Sumter positioned his men at Blackstock’s Farm. It was a very strong position. The British would have to cross a creek and fence to reach the open ground created by the Americans. On Nov. 20, 1780, the Battle of Blackstock’s Farm. British infantry initiated the attack although Tarleton faced double his 500 men. The militia fired too soon allowing the British to come at them with the bayonet. But this put the British in range of a large number of veteran marksmen firing from log buildings. The British were decimated with several officers killed or wounded. Meanwhile, Tarleton and his dragoons watched. Suddenly, militia attacked his dragoon’s on the flank after filtering through the woods. Tarleton charged forward to aid his infantry and came under heavy fire. He managed to pull back carrying his wounded. Sumter was wounded in the battle and retired. This was Tarleton’s first defeat. He later said Sumter “fought like a gamecock”. This resulted in Sumter’s nickname “Fighting Gamecock”. Cornwallis called him his “greatest plague.” Sumter went on to serve terms as a Congressman and a Senator. He was the last Revolutionary War general to pass away. He died in 1832 at age 97.
https://www.nps.gov/people/thomas-sumter.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Sumter
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