After British forces took Charleston in May 1780, they established outposts in the backcountry and tried to control the state by encouraging Loyalists. Patriot militia from Georgia and North Carolina operated with South Carolina militia as opportunities arose. On the night of July 14-15, 1780, one of a series of engagements in the vicinity took place nearby, just east of Earle’s Ford over the North Pacolet River. Colonel Charles McDowell, with 300 North Carolina militia, and Colonel John Jones, with 35 Georgia militia, camped near the ford on the night of July 14. Major James Dunlap, with 70 British dragoons and Loyalists, surprised the Patriots sleeping in their camp but retreated when he saw he was outnumbered. The Americans lost 8 men killed and 24 men wounded; the British and Loyalists lost a single man wounded.