| The Battle of Kettle Creek, fought February 14, 1779, was one of the most |
| important battles of the Revolutionary War in Georgia. At that time, the State |
| was almost completely under British control. Col. Boyd with 600 British |
| sympathizers (Loyalists or Tories) crossed the Savannah River into present- |
| day Elbert County enroute to the British army then at Augusta. Patriots Col. |
| Andrew Pickens with 200 S.C. militia and Col. John Dooly and Lt. Colonel |
| Elijah Clark with 140 Georgia militia marched to overtake the Loyalists. On |
| the morning of the 14th, Boyd and his men were camped here at a bend in the |
| then flooded Kettle Creek. Their horses were grazing, sentries were posted, |
| and most of the men were slaughtering cattle or searching for food. The |
| Patriots attempted to attack the Loyalist camp by surprise but failed and a |
| desperate battle raged on both sides of the creek for three hours before the |
| Loyalists finally broke and fled. Col. Boyd and 20 of his men were killed and |
| 22 captured. Pickens and Dooly lost seven men killed and 14 or 15 wounded. |
