The Battle of Kettle Creek: A Valentines Day Fight

[@martinmeltzer2696]

i ALWAYS thought that it was a shame that the struggles of the American Patriots in the South during the Revolution have not received more attention. It is encouraging to see that all that may be changing! Even though the majority of them were Small Actions... with not many troops on either side... they all had an outsized effect on the eventual American victory! Thanks for sharing your experience at Kettle Creek with a wider audience.

[@thedeerskindiary]

I never studied it as hard as I did for this research. In producing my own map copies for the video and then walking the ground- there is something about it that hits different for sure.

[@martinmeltzer2696]

Thank you for making the effort! I had heard about the battle in other books... but at best it was only mentioned in passing... if at all. You might want to put your presentation into a pamphlet form and see if the park would be interested in making copies available to the general public! @@thedeerskindiary

[@philiphales2109]

The American Revolution was WON in the South-make no mistake.

[@NDFlyFisher]

Thank you so much for this great video. And, all the others you make too. This was a fascinating tour of the battlefield and the events that took place there. I’m looking forward to more great history from you.

[@thedeerskindiary]

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for taking the time to say it.

[@CaptRons18thcentury]

Cool Video… Susie and I visited the site summer 2022… and went to the celebration in Washington last Feb, but it was raining too much to visit the battle site… will be back for the anniversary Feb 10 for the SAR celebration…

[@thedeerskindiary]

Take videos!

[@CaptRons18thcentury]

@@thedeerskindiary I plan too… but… Susie got some video last year… it’s hard to shoot video when you are in the firing line…

[@lyonforge3077]

Very good presentation, more history of the birth of a great nation.

[@thedeerskindiary]

Many thanks!

[@macedonianproductions4497]

You always do a great job! Thank you.

[@thedeerskindiary]

Thank you. That means a lot.

[@jeffreybaker4399]

Thank you. Now I need to go take a look.

[@thedeerskindiary]

Please do! It’s a really cool little battlefield.

[@GenerationsFound]

I had not heard this story before. Very interesting.

[@thedeerskindiary]

I’m glad you found this.

[@cecilchristopher5092]

Two weeks later on March 3rd 1779 patriot forces suffered a crushing defeat at the battle of Brier Creek between Savannah and Augusta, contact me if you are interested in learning more

[@thedeerskindiary]

How many miles is Briar Creek from Kettle Creek?

[@WBrownIII]

Another great video. I always learn something.

[@thedeerskindiary]

Awesome, thank you!

[@josephkerley363]

Fascinating! Thanks!

[@thedeerskindiary]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@pitmastersunion1829]

Great story Anthony. Your depictions of the battle, the when and the where are fantastic. I appreciate the efforts to bring this to light.

[@thedeerskindiary]

Thank you for the kind words and support!

[@cdybft9050]

My gggggg grandfather Boles was at this battle.

[@thedeerskindiary]

Did he survive?

[@TheWoodlandEscape]

In a word, Anthony, excellent! Your description of the battle had me hearing musket fire, the screaming of the maimed and the smelling of the acrid black powder smoke.

[@2gpowell]

Great presentation. Love the history.

[@thedeerskindiary]

Thanks for watching!

[@mikesherman4565]

It was a war of tears

[@thedeerskindiary]

Sadly yes.

[@Martin-v3v9p]

Sounds like the loyalist troops weren't properly prepared or positioned properly..a defender will always have tactical advantage over an attacker ..the very few revolutionary casualties would point to incredibly poor choice of an indefensible camp-site by the loyalist commander..which effectively became a Killing ground for his loyalist own troops.. Its interesting that Boyd only took 100 men to engage the enemy..he had absolutely no idea what he was facing and had effectively divided his command and needlessly sacrificed his own life for absolutely no gain..

[@thedeerskindiary]

I had the same thoughts. I can only surmise that his hubris was at play a little also.

[@ashleyanderson2859]

Congratulations on the anniversary!

[@thedeerskindiary]

Thank you!

[@leoscheibelhut940]

Quite interesting! Despite some huge battles like the British taking of New York, Saratoga, and Yorktown, these smaller battles especially around the edges of the colonies and in the West were quite important as well. Thanks for bringing this one to my attention. Part of the reasoning behind Britain's Southern Strategy was their desire to keep the much more valuable southern colonies, if it proved impossible to keep all 13. Battles like this one help prevent the British from breaking the South off.

[@thedeerskindiary]

Thank you for that insight and education.

[@andyhall4599]

Nice work!

[@thedeerskindiary]

Thanks!

[@scottangel6462]

Great video!! Love learning about F+I and Revolutionary war time periods. I grew up in WNC and Ga. and this time period just speaks to me. I now live in East Tn. in the town of Rogersville, where David Crockett's grandparents are buried. The southern frontier is often overlooked in terms of the overall picture I think.

[@thedeerskindiary]

I’m so glad you enjoyed it and found a connection of sorts.

[@dianenorkus9906]

Could you share some of the resources you found to put this video together? I need to learn more about this battle so close to home. Thanks.

[@thedeerskindiary]

I used the maps from the Battlefield Trust (online) and then various accounts that scanned the web for. I did not find anything in my library at home that was really helpful so I dug through scholarly sources online mostly for this one. Once on the battlefield itself I used a mapping app to locate terrain and positions.

[@andrewryder70]

Do you know of any way that they would have quickly loaded their rifles while in a risky situation? Like an alternative to the powder patch ball method?

[@thedeerskindiary]

I do know a little something about that. The most likely answer is undersized balls. It is easier to load balls that are smaller in a pinch. It may not be nearly as acccurate but it gets something out of the barrel and gives you adversary something to think about. It’s fair to say that loading quickly generally meant closer engagement. The second is chewed undersized balls- the chewing and deformation of the ball causing raised dimples that made the ball slightly larger but still easier to load and that may catch more rifling.

[@andrewryder70]

@@thedeerskindiary ok thank you for this info I would think that speeding up the loading process would be very common in close quarters combat as you described thank you again

[@dianenorkus9906]

Just up the road from me (Augusta, GA). Thanks for the story of Kettle Creek.

[@thedeerskindiary]

Very cool!

[@kennethreece502]

Congratulations on a great year! Looking forward to much more.

[@thedeerskindiary]

Thanks so much!