Waxhaws

On May 29, 1780, at the Battle of Waxhaw Creek, the alleged massacre of 113 of Colonel Abraham Buford's Continentals by Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton's troops took place after the Continentals raised a white flag. From the article:

"Just as quickly as it had begun, the Battle of Waxhaws was over. British casualties were slight, with 5 killed and 14 wounded. The Americans lost 113 men killed and 203 wounded. Colonel Buford managed to escape from the slaughter. He reported what he saw on the battlefield to Patriot officials and the effect was electrifying. The Battle of Waxhaws became known as “Buford’s Massacre” and Tarleton, already known as an aggressive commander, was condemned as a butcher.

There is much debate as to whether or not these killings took place. The British reported that all wounded of both sides were treated fairly as was custom of the day. While today historians debate the truth behind the claims of the killing of prisoners, the effect in 1780 was dramatic. As the British advanced further into North Carolina, men from all over the South took up arms in order to defeat the butchers of Waxhaws. Men from across the Appalachians, the “Overmountain Men” would take up arms and defeat a Loyalist force at the Battle of King’s Mountain in October, 1780. There they attacked the Loyalist position with cries of “Remember Waxhaws!” Resistance to the British campaign in the South continued to intensify, and in October, 1781, the British Army in the south would finally meet its fate around the Virginia port of Yorktown."