This Battle of Ramseur’s Mill historical marker was cast in 2014 - Photo courtesy of the NC Dept. of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Ramsour’s or Ramseur’s? Another historic name question!

Research shows the historically correct spelling is Ramseur’s. If you have additional info to share, please let us know!

Ramseur’s Mill - General William H. Graham’s spelling in his 1904 report.

Ramsour’s Mill - How it’s spelled on some local monuments and recent news articles.

Ramsaur’s Mill - How it’s spelled in some NC Patriot Pension applications and family letters.

This Revolutionary War battle, fought on June 20, 1780, was on a site that today is nestled between three schools, yet is not shared in most history books.

While conflict began in the northern states, British troops weren’t getting the results they wanted, and so they headed south, which they believed was a Loyalist stronghold. While the British had victories in the lower southern states, when they began to infiltrate North Carolina in 1780, they found it more difficult to recruit sufficient Loyalists than they had expected. Settlers in the south were, in fact, divided in support of either Britain or America.

About 1300 Tories had been organized by John Moore and were camped near the mill with some Whigs whom they had captured and were planning to hang on that morning.

The Battle of Ramseur’s Mill was fought by neighbor against neighbor, and sometimes even family loyalties were divided with brother fighting against brother and sons against fathers.

The battle “did not involve any regular army forces from either side and was literally fought between family, friends, and neighbors with muskets sometimes being used as clubs because of a lack of ammunition

Battle of Ramseur’s Mill Facts

Also Known As: The Battle of Ramsour’s Mill, the Battle of Ramsauer’s Mill, and the Battle of Ramsay’s Mill.

Date Started: June 20, 1780

Date Ended: June 20, 1780

Location: The battle was fought at Jacob Ramseur’s Mill on the Christian Reihnhart Farm, near present-day Lincolnton, North Carolina.

Theater: The battle took place in the Southern Theater of the American Revolutionary War.

Campaign: The battle was part of the Southern Campaign of the American Revolutionary War.

Who Won: The United States won the Battle of Ramsour’s Mill.

Names of Those Who Fought and Died: For a comprehensive list of the Patriots and of the Loyalists who fought in the Battle at Ramseur’s Mill, according to Captain William A. Graham’s 1904 statement and an extensive review of NC Patriots' pension applications, you can visit the online archive at Carolana.com. It is important to note this list might not be accurate because Graham’s report is not a firsthand account; Graham wrote his report 124 years after the battle took place. Additionally, the list is a compilation of names in Graham’s report and of the names collected from NC Patriots' pension applications as having participated in the battle, of which there are more applications naming captains and men in the battle than are accounted for in Graham’s report.

Video courtesy of My Lincoln Library.

A depiction of the Battle at Ramseur’s Mill - Photo courtesy of the NC Sons of the American Revolution.

The battle left at about 100 dead and 200 wounded, with the wounded and the casualties on each side being about equal.

Because the men on both sides had no uniforms, it was not known who was a Patriot or who was a Loyalist.

The dead who weren’t claimed were buried in a mass grave on the site.

Many believe that the Battle of Ramsour’s Mill led to the unraveling of British strategy in the Carolinas.

The Battle of Ramseur’s Mill is considered pivotal because, even though the Patriots were outnumbered more than three to one, under the leadership of Col. Francis Locke, they defeated the Loyalists.

This battle was the first one won by Patriots after the fall of Charleston.

Another crucial Patriot victory was to follow less than 30 miles away at the better-known Battle of King’s Mountain on Oct. 7, 1780.

The main sources of information on the battle of Ramseur’s Mill are first and second-hand accounts written during the 19th Century. There’s only a 1904 account from William A. Graham while serving as the Major on Staff of the Adjutant General of North Carolina and a number of NC Patriots' pension applications that mention the battle. Locals, however, not only know about the events surrounding the battle, they celebrate them.

Video courtesy of The Old North State.