Background
In February, 1780, Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton, Major Patrick Ferguson, their cavalry and a diversionary force of infantry were put ashore in Savannah, Georgia. Tarleton and Ferguson had to first remount their cavalry since their horses had been put overboard because of the stormy sea voyage south from New York. Once remounted, they made their way north, twice skirmishing with Lt. Colonel William Washington.
In March, they joined Lt. General Sir Henry Clinton and the main British force in its thirty mile approach to Charleston. Finally on April 2nd, the Siege of Charleston was officially underway. On April 12th, General Clinton ordered Lt. Colonel Tarleton into the countryside as part of an effort to cut Charleston off from its lines of communication and supply. His first objective was to take possession of Monck's Corner and Biggins' Bridge, where a force of 500 Continentals under Brig. General Isaac Huger were stationed.
Lt. Colonel Tarleton and his British Legion were supported by Major Ferguson and his American Volunteers. On the 13th, they were joined by Lt. Colonel James Webster and his infantry. The plan was for Tarleton and Ferguson to proceed ahead quickly and silently to Monck's Corner and take General Huger by surprise at night. Along the way, they captured a black man who was carrying a letter from Huger to Maj. General Benjamin Lincoln in Charleston, which told Tarleton how the troops were deployed.
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