245th Anniversary Celebration of the Battle of Colson’s Mill
Please join the Colson’s Mill Chapter of the North Carolina Society of the Sons of the American Revolution in celebrating the 245th Anniversary of the Battle at Colson’s Mill
A supper buffet of various Southern dishes will be prepared by
Dwight S. Eudy, Member, Colson’s Mill Chapter
Donations for the meal and the SAR’s ongoing efforts to preserve our Revolutionary War history will be graciously accepted.
Tentative Schedule of Events
11 am Registration for Attending Chapters
NCSSAR Color Guard Presentation of Colors
Welcome
Recognition of Guests
Battle of Colson’s Mill Memorial and Wreath Laying
1130 am Lunch Buffet (Donations Accepted)
Guest Speaker: TBA
Dismissal and Recession
History of the Battle of Colson’s Mill
In the spring of 1780 General Cornwallis’ victories in South Carolina had created enough excitement in North Carolina to inspire a loyalist force to emerge in the Yadkin River Valley under the leadership of Colonel Samuel Bryan.
About June 30 Bryan and nearly 800 men began marching south down the Yadkin-Pee Dee River Valley toward Cheraw, there to join up with British forces.
American General Griffith Rutherford ordered his adjutant, Colonel William Lee Davidson, and about 200 men to pursue the Tories, and a race ensued down the Yadkin River Valley. Believing themselves to be out of harm’s way and close enough to Cornwallis’ headquarters to prevent attack, Bryan’s Tories pitched camp near an inn and a mill on the Cheraw Road called Colson’s.
However, Colonel Davidson had no intention of letting the loyalists escape and on the morning of July 21 he surprised the enemy and drove the loyalists into the woods—and back to their homes. Davidson thus denied Cornwallis an addition of nearly 1000 troops and effectively broke any remaining loyalist sympathies along the Yadkin River Valley.
For more information, contact Colson’s Mill Chapter President Daniel Burleson