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The Day it Rained Militia: Huck's Defeat and the Revolution in the South Carolina Backcountry May-July 1780: Huck's Defeat and the Revolution in the South ... Backcountry, May-July 1780 (Military) Kindle Edition

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 34 ratings

Discover how "Huck's Defeat" spurred on the South Carolina militiamen to future victories during the Revolutionary War.


In July of 1780, when the Revolutionary War in the Southern states seemed doomed to failure, a small but important battle took place on James Williamson's plantation in what is now York County, South Carolina. The Battle of Williamson's Plantation, or "Huck's Defeat" as it later came to be known, laid the groundwork for the vicious partisan warfare waged by the militiamen on the Carolina frontier against the superior forces of the British Army, and it paved the way for the calamitous defeats that the British suffered at Hanging Rock, Musgrove's Mill, Kings Mountain, Blackstock's Plantation and Cowpens, all in the South Carolina backcountry. In this groundbreaking new study, historian Michael C. Scoggins provides an in-depth account of the events that unfolded in the Broad and Catawba River valleys of upper South Carolina during the critical summer of 1780. Drawing extensively on first-person accounts and military correspondence, much of which has never been published before, Scoggins tells a dramatic story that begins with the capture of an entire American army at Charleston in May and ends with a resounding series of Patriot victories in the Carolina Piedmont during the late summer of 1780---victories that set Lord Cornwallis and the British Army irrevocably on the road to defeat and to surrender at Yorktown in October 1781.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael C. Scoggins is research historian at the Culture & Heritage Museums of York County, South Carolina. He has a lifelong interest in military and Southern history and has spent the last six years researching the colonial and Revolutionary War history of South Carolina for The Day it Rained Militia. He is co-author of the acclaimed African-American Patriots in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution, and contributed to the forthcoming South Carolina Encyclopedia. Scoggins also writes regularly for several historical and genealogical journals, and wrote the introduction for the History Press re-edition of the 1889 classic Hours with the Living Men and Women of the Revolution (June 2005).

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00XR20KEO
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The History Press (September 1, 2005)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 1, 2005
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 6436 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 550 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 34 ratings

About the author

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Michael C. Scoggins
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Michael C. Scoggins is the historian for the Culture & Heritage Museums (CHM) and is research director of the Southern Revolutionary War Institute (SRWI) in York, South Carolina. Michael has an Associate Degree in Science from the University of South Carolina at Union, an Associate Degree in Engineering Technology from York Technical College, and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Winthrop University. He was employed as an electronics engineer for almost twenty years before changing careers in 1999 to pursue his life-long interest in military history and Southern history. He is the author of "The Great Awakening and Southern Backcountry Revolutionaries" (Springer, 2014, with Rick Chacon); "The Scotch-Irish Influence of Country Music in the Carolinas: Border Ballads, Fiddle Tunes and Sacred Songs" (History Press, 2013); "Cavalry of the American Revolution" (Westholme, 2012, contributor); "Historic York County: An Illustrated History" (Historic Publishing Network, 2009); "The Day It Rained Militia: Huck’s Defeat and the Revolution in the South Carolina Backcountry, May-July 1780" (History Press, 2005); "Relentless Fury: The Revolutionary War in the Southern Piedmont" (CHM, 2006); and "A Brief History of Historic Brattonsville" (CHM, 2003). Scoggins also edited the republication of Benson Lossing’s 1889 classic, "Reflections of Rebellion: Hours with the Living Men and Women of the Revolution" (History Press, 2005), and co-wrote (with Dr. Bobby G. Moss) the highly acclaimed "African-American Patriots in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution" (Scotia-Hibernia Press, 2004) and "African-American Loyalists in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution" (Scotia-Hibernia Press, 2005). He has contributed articles to numerous historical publications and journals, including "Patriots of the American Revolution;" "War, Literature and the Arts;" "Military Collector and Historian;" "The South Carolina Encyclopedia;" "Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution;" "Carologue;" "American Revolution Magazine;" and "York County Magazine." Scoggins served as editor of the "York County Genealogical and Historical Society Quarterly" for seven years; as president of the Confederation of South Carolina Local Historical Societies for two years; and currently serves as an officer in the Scotch-Irish Society of the USA and the Sons of Confederate Veterans. He is a frequent lecturer on topics of local and regional history and resides near McConnells, South Carolina.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
34 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2013
The book was well written with the facts and information contained therein having been judiciously researched. I believe Mr. Scoggins was successful in clarifying any number of critical points which have been debated by scholars and history buffs alike for decades. In addition, he proved/confirmed that the Revolutionary War was won in SC by the Partisan men and women from the New Acquisition lands and the frontiers of SC and the neighboring states
Past authors have done us a great disservice by naming only the smallest number of the brave and hearty individuals from SC and the region that made the United States a reality.
6 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2013
The book brings to light history that most just don't know. That is, how many Tories there really were in South Carolina, how the opposing forces simply went home after an engagement, how much the civilians of South Carolina really suffered. It puts a new perspective on the local conflict during the Revolution. With the exception of the regular army forces on both sides, the war, in a larger context, just didn't seem to matter. This was a local war. The book is very informative but doesn't flow well from one event to the other.
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2011
Michael Scoggins has captured the backcountry of South Carolina during the Revolutionary War period as it was, a Civil War. This book is a must for anyone interested in the Revolutionary War in the South. It presents real history, not a fiction account or story.
4 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2016
I learned a great deal about how the militia in the upstate of SC were motivated to fight on after the British had reasserted their control. A very detailed account with lots of insights.
2 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2015
South Carolinan's bitter battles and skirmishes are often over looked (and frankly ignored by American Revolution historians).Michael C. Scoggins gives a vivid and well documented study on the South Carolina contribution to winning the American Revolution.
2 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2012
One thing not mentioned by previous reviewers that increased my pleasure in reading this book:
It contains 18 pages of color photos of reenactors portraying scenes from the stories. Nice.
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2014
Great book!!! Quick delivery...Good price "used". .. Like new condition.
Thanks!
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2016
It only comes in a digital version, and I wanted it for a reference work! I can't return it, because supposedly I still have access to it, although I don't have a clue as how to read it on some electronic gadget or my computer. For people who use their personal library as a collection of reference works, "digital" does not work! We have bookshelves. We write in our books and highlight in them. We're not really reading them just for pleasure, but to learn something. This is one of the very few detailed books on this subject and it is highly recommended. I just went back and read the other reviews again. I see that it is available in paperback, However, even the cheapest used paperback would be about $19 with shipping. I rarely want to pay that much for a used book, because I often buy used books to save money. I buy a lot of books.
One person found this helpful
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