page_title: Battle of Kettle Creek
section_title: British reaction
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Kettle Creek / Aftermath / British reaction
caption_attribution_description: English: Kettle Creek Battlefield This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America. Its reference number is 75000617
context_page_description: The Battle of Kettle Creek was a minor encounter in the back country of Georgia during the American Revolutionary War that took place on February 14, 1779. It was fought in Wilkes County about eight miles from present-day Washington, Georgia. A militia force of Patriots decisively defeated and scattered a Loyalist militia force that was on its way to British-controlled Augusta.
  The victory demonstrated the inability of British forces to hold the interior of the state, or to protect even sizable numbers of Loyalist recruits outside their immediate area. The British, who had already decided to abandon Augusta, recovered some prestige a few weeks later, surprising a Patriot force in the Battle of Brier Creek. Georgia's back country would not come fully under British control until after the 1780 Siege of Charleston broke Patriot forces in the South.
context_section_description: In a council held in Augusta on February 12, Campbell decided to abandon Augusta and began the withdrawal to Savannah on February 14 at 2AM, the morning of the battle.  Contrary to opinions expressed by some historians, Campbell did not leave because of the battle's outcome. He did not learn of the battle until after he had already left Augusta; his departure was prompted by the arrival of 1,200 of patriot General John Ashe's forces in General Andrew Williamson's camp across the Savannah River, a shortage of provisions, and uncertainty over whether Boyd would be successful in his mission.  The success of Kettle Creek was undone to some extent by the subsequent British victory at the March 3 Battle of Brier Creek, which took place during Campbell's retreat in present-day Screven County.
  Augusta was later recaptured by the British in June 1780 after Patriot forces collapsed in the aftermath of the Siege of Charleston. It was retaken by siege by Patriot forces on June 5, 1781.
caption: The Kettle Creek battlefield, 2010
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