The Rebellion Burns Bright

Orangeburg, South Carolina (Stateburg aligned)
May 23rd, 1776

Brigadier General Robert Howe grinned as he watched the British and Loyalists futile attack the defenses of Orangeburg. He was leading from the front and directing troops to defend the town while General Kim was off hunting Major Marion. The townsfolk that were not participating in the fighting had been evacuated into the woods just a mile northeast from the town. Meanwhile, thousands of Patriots, both regulars and irregulars, resisted the British assault. General Kim's operation had worked dividends and the British, who were expecting the Patriots to be low on ammunition, were caught completely off guard by the organized and constant stream of fire coming from the Continental Army's lines. With nearly 5,000 soldiers, 1,000 militiamen, and a handful of former slaves that took up arms to defend their new home, the defenses were holding steadily and the British were finding themselves stuck in a stalemate against their enemy.

While General Howe wanted to rush the British positions and gain recognition for himself, he knew that he was doing plenty of damage already and held his men back until General Kim and the others arrived. The last thing he wanted was a repeat of General Lee's embarrassing retreat at Georgetown and destroy General Kim's carefully trained and collected troops. After all, while they had the advantage in morale, arms, and positioning, the British still outnumbered them by a margin.

A messenger from the 1st Canadian arrived and saluted to the general before delivering his message, "Sir, Colonel Hazen is requesting support from his position. The British are attempting to breach our defenses through the left flank and the 1st Canadian Regiment has taken numerous casualties."

General Howe looked at his current troop deployment and nodded, "Tell Colonel Hazen that the 1st Pennsylvania will move towards his position and help him wear down the British attack. Inform him that reinforcements will arrive soon and for him to hold his position as long as he can."

"Will do, sir."

The messenger ran off and General Howe scribbled a message for Colonel Thompson. He knew that the British often deployed their most veteran soldiers on their right flank, so it was expected that Colonel Hazen would come under pressure. This was why Colonel Hazen and his men were deployed to the very left of the colonial positions, as he and his men were well disciplined and veterans themselves. Colonel Hazen was commissioned as an officer of the 1st Canadian Regiment once the regiment grew in size and most of the members of the regiment partook in the Invasion of Quebec or fought in the Battle of Quebec City. All in all, they were somewhat of a match for the more experienced British troops that they were facing. Regardless, he could not leave them to wither away and needed the men for a potential counterattack if General Kim arrived.

After several seconds of writing, he called for one of his aides and handed the message to the man, "Tell Colonel Thompson to follow this order with due haste. If his position is contested, then tell him to send as many of his men as he can to Colonel Hazen immediately."

After an additional hour, it became clear that there were no clear winners, with a significant amount of casualties taken by both sides. However, that changed when a flurry of horseriders came charging from the northern road out of Orangeburg and directly towards the British right flank. There was a mix of Indian war cries and "Oorahs!" that boomed throughout the battlefield as the Indian cavalry units struck the British right flank swiftly and moved back into the woods before the British could reorganize their lines.

This was the moment he was waiting for.

General Howe himself moved to the front of the pack, "All the Massachusetts and 4th Pennsylvania regiments, fix bayonets and charge! The remaining units are to advance and fire upon the enemy!"

The British commanding general, Brigadier General Charles Grey, saw the immediate American counteroffensive and feared a potential flanking attack by General Kim and his marines. He had heard stories about General Kim's marines and his Native American horsemen and suspected that Colonel (who was promoted, which was unknown to the Colonials at the time) Marion failed in his attempt to ambush the convoy due to the presence of the Native Americans. Fearing the total loss of his 10,000 troops, General Grey ordered an immediate retreat, which was harassed by the advancing Continental Army.

When the British retreated, it became clear that the battle was an American victory, though it was a closer battle than the previous ones. The American casualties stood at four hundred casualties, with one hundred and sixty dead. The British casualties stood at nine hundred, with approximately four hundred dead.

By the time General Kim and his men returned to Orangeburg, the battle was over and the American flag in Orangeburg remained flying proudly.