General Nathanael Greene had fought the British 3 times in 1781 and was narrowly defeated each time. He reseted his 2200 troops on the hills above the Santee River. Greene moved his troops to Orangeburg SC forcing the British, now under the command of Lt. Colonel Alexander Stuart to move east to Eutaw Springs.
Greene followed the British who had 2000 men of their own. The Americans attacked, leading the way with their militia who eventually faltered. The redcoats counterattacked but were driven back by the second line composed of Continental regulars from North Carolina. The regulars pushed the British back, but stopped to loot the British camp. Stuarts troops rallied and counterattacked the Americans, taking the field. The Americans reformed in the woods and held the British off.
Casualties on both side were heavy, the Americans had 139 killed, 375 wounded and 8 missing. The British lost more than 40% of their line, 85 killed, 351 wounded and 430 missing. Once again Greene was defeated by the British, but gave enough of a blow to the redcoats that they were forced to withdraw to Charleston. After 3 years of occupation, the British army now held Savannah GA, and Charleston SC after controlling most of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
