In the summer of 1781, as the British hold on the interior of South Carolina weakened, Continental commander Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Greene sent Brig. Gen. Thomas Sumter, with Brig. Gen. Francis Marion and Lt. Col. Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, to force the British to abandon the area around Charleston and retreat into the city. As Sumter led nearly a thousand men from Orangeburg, British Col. James Coates evacuated the post at Monck’s Corner and moved toward Charleston. On July 17, 1781, near Quinby Bridge, Lee’s cavalry captured Coates’s rear guard and baggage caravan. Some of Lee’s riders crossed the bridge and clashed with British infantry, loosening so many planks that the rest of Lee’s and Marion’s forces had to march upstream and ford Quinby Creek. By then, the British had taken a strong position in the main house, outbuildings, and slave quarters of Shubrick’s Plantation. Against the advice of Marion and Lee, Sumter ordered an assault that quickly became a costly stalemate. Marion’s Brigade alone reported eight or nine killed and eighteen wounded. Accustomed to conservative tactics that did not unnecessarily risk their lives, many of Marion’s men deserted after the battle, and Marion himself resolved never again to fight under Sumter.