Battle of Kettle Creek

Battle of Kettle Creek
	Part of the American Revolutionary War
	; Andrew Pickens, portrait by Thomas Sully
Date	February 14, 1779
Location	Near present-day Washington, Georgia33.690796°N 82.884563°W
Result	United States victory
Belligerents
Great Britain	United States
Commanders and leaders
John Boyd †; William Spurgen	Andrew Pickens; John Dooly; Elijah Clarke ; Col. James Little
Strength
600–700 militia	340–420 militia
Casualties and losses
40–70 killed; 75 wounded or captured	7–9 killed; 14–23 wounded or missing

The Battle of Kettle Creek was the first major victory for Patriots 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 eleven miles (18 km) 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.

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