Waxhaws

May 29, 1780

The British Legion, led by Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, attacked Patriot militia, commanded by Colonel Abraham Buford, who were retreating through Waxhaws toward North Carolina. The encounter soon turned into a bloodbath, with Tarleton’s men offering no “quarter,” or mercy, to the defeated American troops. Known afterward as “Buford’s Massacre,” the engagement inspired Patriot defiance and “Remember Waxhaws!” became a rallying cry.