Loyalist Occupation of Beaufort

By March 1782, the British “Southern Strategy” was in a state of terminal collapse. Cornwallis had surrendered at Yorktown months prior, and the British high command in Charleston was preparing for an eventual evacuation of the entire colony. However, a bold and opportunistic Loyalist leader named Andrew DeVeaux—a native of the Beaufort District who had become a famous colonel in the British service—refused to go quietly.

On March 4, 1782, DeVeaux led a daring amphibious force of Loyalist militia and provincial troops into Beaufort. They took advantage of a temporary gap in the Patriot coastal defenses to seize the town. This was not an attempt to win the war, but rather a high-stakes “prestige” raid. DeVeaux and his men occupied the town’s strategic waterfront and administrative buildings, briefly re-hoisting the British flag over the Beaufort township.

The occupation lasted only a few days. The local Patriot militia, bolstered by the news of the war’s end elsewhere, quickly mobilized to trap the Loyalists on the peninsula. Realizing he was surrounded and that no reinforcements were coming from the Royal Navy, DeVeaux conducted a tactical withdrawal, plundering what supplies he could before retreating back to the safety of the British fleet. This brief, final “flare-up” of Crown authority in Beaufort serves as a poignant reminder of how personal and stubborn the Loyalist resistance remained in the Lowcountry until the very last ships departed.

Historical Significance

• The “Last Gasp” of the Crown: This was the final time a British-aligned force successfully occupied a major South Carolina town outside of Charleston.
• Andrew DeVeaux’s Ambition: DeVeaux would later use the experience gained in these Lowcountry raids to lead the successful (and bloodless) recapture of the Bahamas from the Spanish in 1783.
• Civilian Resilience: The occupation was met with immediate civilian resistance, proving that the British had lost all “hearts and minds” in the Beaufort District by the spring of 1782.