In May of 1780, Charleston, South Carolina, fell to the British, who quickly overran much of the state, while the only part of South Carolina to mount any sizable resistance was the area of present-day York and Chester counties. Under General Thomas Sumter, William Bratton and other men from the region formed militia companies, and Colonel William Bratton became active in raids on British outposts and Tory meetings. In response, the British sent a combined Provincial and Tory force to arrest him. Captain Christian Huck and about 120 men arrived at the Bratton home on July 11, 1780, where Martha Bratton was questioned about her husband's whereabouts, and Watt, a Bratton slave, was sent to warn Colonel Bratton of Huck's presence near his home. Bratton hastened back with militia units led by Colonels Andrew Neel, Edward Lacey, and John McClure. Early on the morning of July 12, the patriot force of about 140 men found the Tories camped at the nearby plantation of James Williamson, surrounded the encampment during the night, and opened fire at dawn as the British were rising from their bedrolls. Completely surprised and outnumbered, the British and Tory forces were unable to mount an effective counterattack, and Captain Huck was killed during the battle. Historians credit the victory at Williamson's Plantation as the first link in a chain of pivotal events in the South that ultimately led to the British defeat and surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, and Huck's Defeat and other battles in the area boosted patriot morale before later American victories in the Carolina Piedmont, including King's Mountain and Cowpens.