Dec 31, 1780
245 years ago today the Battle of Ft. Williams occurred. This battle occurred the day after the overwhelming victory at Hammond’s Old Store (HOS), which happened the day before.
At HOS, a 250 man band of Loyalist “plundering Villains” was attacked by 80 men of the 3rd Continental Light Dragoons and 200 mounted militia riflemen from Laurens, Spartanburg and Newberry Counties. The Loyalists were neighbors of these men from the same counties.
150 Loyalists were killed or wounded, 50 captured and 60 escaped to Ft Williams, which was about 15 miles away.
Ft Williams was the plantation home of Gen. James Williams. James Williams was the last Patriot casualty at Kings Mountain. His homeplace was located 15 miles from Ninety Six, and it changed hands 6 times during the war. Ft Williams suffered more turnovers than any place in America.
The 60 men who survived HOS escaped to Ft. Williams, which was commanded by Loyalist General Robert Cunningham. In this battle Col. Joseph Hayes of the 80 man Little River Regiment (present day Laurens County) and Cornet James Simmons leading 10 men from the 1st Continental Light Dragoons, sent Gen. Cunningham a demand for surrender.
Gen Cunningham demurred and asked for time to consider. In the meantime his men began slipping out the back. As soon as Col. Hayes saw this, he attacked. 8 more Loyalists were killed, the rest escaped back to Ninety Six.
Ft. Williams was about 5 miles from Hayes Station, the home of Col. Hayes. Joseph Hayes and James Williams were best friends. Col. Hayes was the executor of Gen Williams estate.
After the battle, Col. Hayes burned Ft. Williams to the ground. It was a valuable place, coveted by both Patriots and Loyalists alike. In fact, Gen. Greene and the Continental Army camped there after they retreated from the 2nd Siege of Ninety Six. This was one of the turnovers.
Back and forth, and back and forth Ft Williams changed hands. A total of 6 times. Does anyone reading this know of a location that turned over this many times? I believe Ft. Williams deserves a special place in American Revolutionary War history.
Sadly, the location of Ft. Williams has been lost to history. It is most likely on a tract of private property the owners choose to not be studied.
The painting is “The Battle of Ft. Williams” by Jorge Perez-Rubio. It shows the charge led by Col. Hayes. It is the property of the Laurens County Museum, soon to be displayed in a grand new Rev War exhibition.
Posted to Facebook 12/31/2025