The Rebellion Burns Bright

Roads between Amelia and Orangeburg (Stateburg aligned)

May 23rd, 1776

General Kim waited patiently with his men on the northwestern side of the road between Amelia and Orangeburg. With him were the First Marine Regiment and the Free Seventh South Carolina Regiment, approximately two thousand men in total. The remainder of his army was towards Orangeburg but were ready to deploy towards his position once they were given the signal.

The plan that was underway was the brainchild of Colonel Knowlton and himself. The operation's name was "Michael," named after the angel in the Bible. A White woman from Amelia was sent to Moncks Corner, which was under British/Loyalist control. The woman was the sister of one of the South Carolina militiamen and volunteered for the operation, with the approval from the militiaman himself. While General Kim thought of sending a slave woman to enemy lines for the operation initially, he immediately rejected the idea as it would most likely end up with the woman being enslaved again or even executed. The organizers of the operation's beliefs were that the British and the Loyalists would not attempt to interrogate or torture a woman and be more convinced of the woman's story using a fake personal story to draw away suspicion. The lady, by the name of Elizabeth Lane, was instructed to pretend that she had lost her husband due to General Kim's various raids and ran to Moncks Corner with "valuable information" about a "dire situation at Orangeburg." The dire situation was that an accidental fire caused much of the ammunition to explode and the units in Orangeburg, due to their extensive training under General Kim, were low on gunpowder and ammunition. To make the deception believable, a controlled explosion was carried out in the ammunition building where much of the ammunition and gunpowder were originally stored. Colonel Knowlton and his men were able to spot and predict the approximate times when a British or Loyalist scout made their patrol near the town and timed the explosion to match with when the patrols came by.

As such, Elizabeth was tasked with informing Major Marion and the other Loyalists/British that an emergency shipment of ammunition and gunpowder was being sent to Orangeburg from Amelia and was due to arrive within a week. General Kim and Colonel Knowlton believed that the Swamp Devil would take the bait and most likely follow up with a direct attack on Orangeburg itself. So while the marine regiment and the former slave regiment awaited for Major Marion and his ambushers, the remaining defenders of Orangeburg were preparing to intercept Major Marion if necessary and defend the town from an imminent British attack.

The decoy convoy, which consisted of wagons carrying bags and barrels filled with dirt and sand, was moving slowly on the road while General Kim and his men watched. The several dozen soldiers with the convoy consisted of marines wearing the regular Continental Army uniform. All of them looked on guard and peered into the surrounding woods carefully. The convoy was only several hours away from Orangeburg now, and Major Marion was still yet to be seen.

Suddenly, shots were fired from the southeastern parts of the woods and a thousand men charged towards the convoy. Several of the marines with the convoy were taken down immediately, but most of them fled towards the hidden positions of the marines and the Free Regiment.

Major Marion and his men did not give chase and instead began to tear apart the convoy. Only after they were distracted did General Kim commenced his attack, "For General Arnold!"

"Oorah!"

Disciplined volleys of fire, followed by a much less disciplined volley of fire, struck Major Marion and his men while they were distracted. Hundreds of Marion's men were downed by the volley, but Major Marion, who was still alive, barked orders to retreat. Immediately, the marine regiment moved forward along with the Free Regiment and engaged in hand to hand combat to prevent their escape. The Native American cavalry units thundered behind Major Marion and his men, cutting off their escape route into the forest.

The general himself rushed at the front of the pack with his men and disarmed several of his enemies directly. Within minutes, the fighting was already over. The initial volley from the Continental Army absolutely devastated the Swamp Devil and his unit, and with the escape route cut off, the Loyalist militiamen surrendered in droves.

And towards the center of the pack was a single man dressed in a fancier uniform compared to the other Loyalists, surrounded by bayonets held by the soldiers of the Free Regiment.