Colonel Tarleton rode from the Broad River towards Ninety Six on 1 January 1781, at the head of the British Legion which contained some 800 infantrymen, 300 dragoons and an artillery section. The British commander attempted to steal up on Morgan’s campsite on the Pacolet River, but rain and swollen rivers hindered his progress. That gave Morgan time to march northwards, drawing Tarleton away from Cornwallis’s army and into a Patriot-friendly region that contained local militia under the command of Brig. Gen. Andrew Pickens. Learning that Morgan had established a camp at Thicketty Creek on 15-16 January, Tarleton led his troops on a fast night march to bring them within striking distance of the Continental force.
"On the 15th circumstantial intelligence was procured by Lt. Col. Tarleton [about Morgan's force] on the Pacolet. A march was commenced in the evening...but in the morning the course was altered and the light troops secured a passage within six miles of the enemy's camp...Tarleton thought it advisable to advance towards some log houses...reported to be unoccupied by Gen. Morgan...Tarleton intended to take post...behind the log houses and wait the motions of the enemy, but a patrole discovering that the Americans were decamped, the British light troops were directed to occupy their position, because it yielded a good post, and afforded plenty of provisions, which they had left behind, half-cooked, in every part of their encampment. "
Lt. Col. Banastre TarletonTarleton, Banastre. “A History of the Campaigns of 1780 And 1781 In the Southern Provinces of North America”. Spartanburg, S.C.: Reprint Co., 1967., pp. 212-213.