ABSTRACT
To most of them democracy and independence sounded unattractive: and although, of course, they were not all of one mind, by and large the British felt able to count on them for support. Inland were poorer farmers of various nationalities – English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, Swiss and German. The Irish tended to hate the English, the Scots to be loyal. Some Highlanders were marching to the coast of North Carolina to prepare a landing-place for a British force that they expected to arrive. They were set upon by patriots at Moore’s Creek, and so badly defeated that the British decided to bypass North Carolina altogether for the time being and try South Carolina instead. On June 28th the British attacked. Clinton landed a party, but it was held up by a stream that proved too deep to cross. Some of Parker’s ships ran aground and stuck fast in the shallows, being battered by Moultrie’s guns on the shore.
