EUTAW SPRINGS, BATTLE OF

(Sept. 8, 1781), U.S. War of Independence engagement fought near Charleston, S.C., between British troops under Col. Alexander Stewart and American forces commanded by Gen. Nathanael Greene. Greene wished to prevent Stewart from joining Cornwallis in the event of that leader's retreat south from Yorktown. About 2,000 American troops, many ill-clad and barefoot, were slightly outnumbered. In the early fighting the British were more successful; on September 9, however, Stewart withdrew his forces to Charleston, where they remained until the end of the war.