Why Did Pierce Butler Contribute To The American Revolution
646 Words3 Pages
Pierce Butler was very important to the Patriot cause. He gave up everything but his life for the 13 colonies to finally be freed from Britain, which is even more than many of the other founders gave. Butler left from the British army to join in the revolution, commanded many continental army’s, and gave up all of his wealth to help carry the colonies through the revolution.
Pierce Butler was born on July 11, 1744 in County Carlow Ireland. He was part of a wealthy family and at the age of 12 his father bought him a commission in the 22nd Regiment Foot. At the age of 14, Butler came to the colonies as part of the 22nd Regiment foot in the British army. He was in North America four years and helped fight in the French Indian war before he transferred to the 29th Regiment Foot in 1762 and returned to Ireland. He then returned to the…show more content… Although he could not be in active duty, he still held the rank of General, and helped direct troops to improve South Carolina’s defenses. By the end of 1779, Butler had improved South Carolina’s defenses and had successfully repelled an attempted invasion from the British. He then helped plan to retake Savannah, which was taken by the British in 1778. The attempt failed ending in many casualties of South Carolina soldiers. In 1780, the British captured Charleston along with a majority of South Carolina’s military power. Butler and most of South Carolina's leaders escaped Charleston without being captured. The British then demanded that they surrender, but they denied. Instead they created a resistance group and with help from North Carolina and Georgia continued to fight the British. This campaign was very risky for Butler, being a target for the British because of his former position in the British military. Butler narrowly escaped many times, sometimes even having to sneak out of his house in the middle of the night, to escape British