05/17/2026
In May 1781, as Lord Cornwallis was marching up eastern North Carolina toward Virginia, General Nathanael Greene had moved his army into South Carolina, aiming to wrest the state from British and Loyalist control. To do so he would need to capture the British forts and strongholds scattered throughout the upcountry.
Patriot forces led by General Thomas Sumter laid siege to Fort Granby in South Carolina on May 2, 1781. Inside the fort were about 350 British and Loyalist troops under the command of Major Andrew Maxwell, a Maryland Loyalist. Also inside the fort was the plunder Maxwell’s men had accumulated from their systematic looting of the surrounding countryside. With the fort surrounded and Maxwell’s troops trapped inside, Sumter believed it was just a matter of time before the British would have to surrender the fort and their plunder. He left behind a small force to conduct the siege, while he took the rest of his command and moved out to attack the British at Orangeburg.
Ten days later Fort Motte, South Carolina fell to American forces commanded by Francis Marion and Light Horse Harry Lee. As soon as the surrender was complete, General Nathanael Greene dispatched Lee and his men to Fort Granby, to assist in the siege there.
On the night of May 14 Lee arrived, bringing a cannon and about 450 men. Concerned that British reinforcements were on the way, he knew he had to act quickly and decisively.
At first light on May 15, Lee opened fire on the fort with his cannon, then moved his infantry forward and had them fire a volley. Having shown his strength, he invited Maxwell to surrender the fort. Maxwell replied that he would surrender only on the condition that his men be allowed to march out of the fort, with their plunder, and proceed to British-held Charleston where they would remain as paroled prisoners of war until exchanged. If Lee had the luxury of time, the terms would have been patently unacceptable. But with the risk that British regulars would soon appear and lift the siege, he felt he could not risk a lengthy siege. So, he presented a counteroffer.
Among the fort’s defenders were 60 Hessian dragoons (light cavalry) and Lee wanted their horses. Leave the Hessian’s horses, he replied to Maxwell, and we have a deal. But Maxwell’s Hessians were indignant at the suggestion and Maxwell could not agree to it. The negotiations ended.
As Lee was preparing to resume offensive operations, however, he received intelligence that the British reinforcements were coming rapidly. Having no time to lose, he reluctantly accepted Maxwell’s terms. Lee took possession of the fort and a large quantity of arms and ammunition, but Maxwell and his men marched away loaded down with wagons filled with their plunder.
Sumter was livid when he learned that Lee had allowed Maxwell’s men to keep their loot. A prickly (some might say petulant) man, Sumter fired off a letter of resignation to General Greene. Greene refused the resignation and eventually Sumter calmed down, perhaps because Greene ordered that much of the munitions and supplies captured at the fort be delivered to him.
Although the conclusion of the siege may have been anticlimactic, the capture of Fort Granby (which occurred 244 years ago today) was an important Patriot victory and a significant step toward the liberation of South Carolina, leaving the fort at Ninety Six as the only outpost other than Charleston still under British control.
The portraits are of Lee (left) and Sumter (right).
