American Revolutionary War
In February 1776, Sumter was elected Lieutenant Colonel of the Second Regiment of the South Carolina Line of which he was later appointed Colonel. He subsequently was appointed Brigadier General of the South Carolina militia, a post he held until the end of the war. He participated in several battles in the early months of the war, including the campaign to prevent an invasion of Georgia. Perhaps his greatest military achievement was his partisan campaigning, which contributed to Lord Cornwallis' decision to leave the Carolinas for Virginia. Cornwallis was defeated there at Yorktown in October 1781.
Sumter acquired the nickname, "The Carolina Gamecock" during the American Revolution for his fierce fighting tactics, regardless of his size. A British General commented that Sumter "fought like a gamecock", and Cornwallis paid him the finest tribute when he described the Gamecock as his greatest plague.
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