to deny their use to the superior force. When General Lincoln learned that communications with Port Royal Island had been cut off by the British advance, he sent South Carolina Brigadier General William Moultrie, who had distinguished himself in the 1776 Battle of Sullivan's Island, and 300 men to counter the move. Moultrie's force was composed mostly of South Carolina militia from the Beaufort area, but it was accompanied by a few Continental Army regulars, and two companies of artillery from Charleston, which were headed by former Congressmen Edward Rutledge and Thomas Heyward, Jr. This force arrived at the main Port Royal ferry on the 31st, not long after DeTreville had finished destroying the fort. They crossed over to the island on February 1 and occupied Beaufort. Battle Gardner's men landed on Port Royal Island at the plantation of Andrew Deveaux (present-day Laurel Bay), a Loyalist who may have guided them, on February 2. Gardner sent a detachment to secure the island side of the ferry. These men retreated when they encountered Patriot troops, and Gardner began to move his main force toward Beaufort to face the Americans. Early on February 3 General Moultrie was alerted to the British presence, and moved his forces out of town. The two forces met near the highest ground on Port Royal Island, a rise called Gray's Hill that was about south of the ferry and in the middle of the island. Gardner lined his men up at the edge of some woods near the top of the hill and advanced with bayonets fixed. The Americans approached and lined up in an open field outside musket range. General Moultrie positioned two six-pound field cannons in the center of his line, with a smaller two-pounder on the right. The Americans then advanced on the British, Moultrie observing that the action was "reversed from the usual way of fighting between British and Americans; they taking the bushes and we taking the open ground." The Americans opened fire first with the artillery, and then with musket volleys. The battle continued for about 45 minutes, at which point the Americans were running low on ammunition. Moultrie had begun a withdrawal when the British were also observed to retreat, leaving the field to the Americans. A company of light horse militia chased after the British, very nearly cutting them off from their boats. They captured 26 men, but were