On May 29, 1780, at this place, Colonel Abraham Buford commanded a regiment of 350 Virginians in a battle against Colonel Tarelton of the British Army, who had 350 cavalry and a like number of infantry. Nearly Buford's entire command was killed or wounded. The soldiers buried here had left their homes to help relieve Charleston, learned at Camden that the city had surrendered, and were returning when their lives ended in the service of their country. After Colonel Buford and his regiment surrendered, Tarleton and his command committed a cruel and barbarous massacre that gave rise to the war cry "Remember Tarleton's Quarters," and a British historian admitted that at this battle the virtue of humanity was totally forgot.