War in the Backcountry

War in the Backcountry. . A few weeks of peace followed the British capture of Charleston in May 1780 and their occupation of the South Carolina and Georgia backcountry. However, determined patriots like Francis Marion and Thomas Sumter soon organized partisan units and launched a guerrilla campaign against British posts and Loyalist militia., "The approach of General Gates's Army unveiled to Us a Fund of disaffection in this Province, of which we could have formed no Idea: And even the dispersion of that force, did not extinguish the Ferment." , Lord Rawdon, General Horatio Gates's advance into South Carolina inspired more Americans to join the partisans. The guerrilla war included numerous minor engagements at Rocky Mount, Musgrove's Mill, and other backcountry locations, as well as major battles such as the American victory at Kings Mountain., The constant fighting tied down large numbers of British troops, harassed the Loyalist militia, and disrupted British efforts to move soldiers and supplies across the interior of South Carolina and Georgia.