CHAPTER XVI.

Comprising a View of the War in the South.-I. Inert state of the Country in 1779. -II. The British Government adopts views of partial Conquest.-III. Georgia overrun--and Charleston threatened-Unsuccessful Siege of Savannah.-IV. Sir Henry Clinton subdues South Carolina.-V. His measures induce Revolt.-VI. General Gates assumes command of the Southern Army-Battle of Camden.VII. Battle of King's Mountain.-VIII. Cornwallis reinforced.-IX. General Greene appointed to the Southern Department-Battle of the Cowpens-Retreat to Virginia.-X. Cornwallis retires, is pursued-Battle of Guilford Court House. -X1. Cornwallis marches for Petersburg-Greene for South Carolina-Expedition of Arnold against Virginia-Preparations against him-Defence of Virginia entrusted to La Fayette-Cornwallis takes command of the British Forces in Virginia.-XII. Progress of Greene in recovering the Southern States.-XIII. Sufferings of the Inhabitants.

I. The exertions made by the United States, though not beyond their strength, if put forth with system and discretion, were irregular and violent, and followed by that syncope which invariably attends undue efforts. A general langour had diffused itself through all the civil departments. The alliance with France was supposed to have secured independence, and a confidence that the enemy could not longer prosecute the war with success, prevented that activity which was painful to exert. The wretched policy of short enlistments had been pursued, until correction was impossible. The enthusiasm, which, at the commencement of the contest had overcome all personal considerations, had subsided, and was succeeded by views more particularly selfish, and more durable. From these considerations, it was not until the 23d January, 1779, that Congress authorized the re-enlistment of the army; nor until the 9th March, that requisition was made upon the States, for their respective quotas. The bounty offered, being insufficient to bring the men into the field, resort was again had to the special authority of the States. Thus, at a season when the recruits should have been in camp, they were yet to be obtained; and the public service was exposed to great hazard from the delay. At this period, too, several circumstances conspired to foment pernicious divisions and factions in Congress, which greater danger might have prevented or suppressed.

These dissentions, the removal of individuals of the highest influence, from the national councils to offices in the state governments; the depreciation of the paper currency; the destructive spirit of speculation caused by imaginary gain from this depreciation; a general laxity of principles, the inseparable concomitant of civil war and revolution; the indisposition to sacrifice personal convenience for the public weal; were rocks, on which the vessel of state might yet split, and which required the care of those whom influence and patriotism placed at the helm.*

The knowledge of these facts, deeply affected the mind of the commanderin-chief of the American armies, and gave him many apprehensions for the final result of the contest. They, also, had probably great effect upon the British commissioners; who inferred that the people, worn out by the complicated calamities of the struggle, desired an accommodation on the terms proposed by the ministry, and that the increasing difficulties necessarily resulting from the failure of public credit, would induce them to desert Con

* Letter of Washington, Marshall, iv. p. 6.

gress, or compel that body to accede to those terms. These opinions, communicated to their government, undoubtedly continued to protract the contest.

II. The British government, confident of complete conquest, had prosecuted the war with a view to the recovery of the whole of its dominions in America. But the reverses they had sustained, the alliance with France, and the firmness with which the contest had been maintained, together with the rejection of the late pacific propositions, induced a change in the plan of operations. The islands about New York were retained, whilst their arms were principally directed against the southern States, which were less capable of resistance, and on which a considerable impression might certainly be made, and probably extended northward; but, however this might be, the possession of several States, at the negotiation for general peace, would afford plausible ground for claiming to retain them. Of the succeeding campaigns, therefore, the most active and interesting operations were in the southern country. But our limits and our purpose, forbid us to do more than shortly to advert to them.

III. Lieutenant-colonel Campbell, who sailed from New York, in December, 1777, arrived soon after at Savannah, and, in despite of the opposing efforts of General Howe, captured that place; and, aided by General Prevost, who advanced from Florida, reduced without difficulty, the whole state of Georgia; the inhabitants flocking in numbers to the royal standard. This rapid progress of the enemy calling for more efficient measures of resistance, General Lincoln was appointed to the southern command, in September, 1778. Previously, considerable reinforcements had been ordered from the northern army, particularly in the cavalry regiments of Bland, and Lieutenant-colonel Washington. Their march was, however, some time delayed, in consequence of the invasion of Virginia, in May, by Brigadier-general Matthews. His expedition, undertaken principally with the view of destroying the stores which had been laid up on the waters of that State, was but too successful; he having destroyed, in a few weeks, public and private property of immense value, at Norfolk, Portsmouth, Gosport, and the adjacent country.

The greatest force under Lincoln, assembled and armed with much difficulty, amounted to three thousand six hundred and thirty-nine, of whom two thousand four hundred and twenty eight, rank and file, were effectives; onehalf, however, were militia; whilst Prevost commanded three thousand effective regulars, aided by many provincials. Lincoln proceeded from Purysburg, into Georgia; and, in the mean time, Provost marched on Charleston with two thousand four hundred regular troops, and a considerable body of Indians, driving before him General Moultrie, at the head of an inferior force. He summoned the town, on the 11th of May, 1779, but was compelled soon after, to raise the siege, by the approach of Lincoln, and to retire to the islands on the coast. On the 20th of June, a sharp but indecisive affair took place between twelve hundred Americans and seven hundred British, at Stono Ferry, in which the former lost one hundred and fifty men, with the much lamented Colonel Roberts. Prevost, retreating from island to island, soon after returned to Port Royal and Savannah, his troops enriched by the indiscriminate plunder they had made.

The Count D'Estaing, after a successful cruise to the West Indies, pursuant to the instructions of his court, and the solicitations of Lincoln and the authorities of South Carolina, arrived (September 1st,) on the coast of Georgia. He summoned Savannah, but suffered himself to be amused by Prevost for several days, until the latter had called in his troops, and was fully prepared for defence. Being joined by Lincoln, a formal siege was commenced; the ground being broken on the 23d of the month, and the ad

vances made with every prospect of final success. The impatience of the French commander and his officers, excited by the dangers of the hurricane season, induced an assault on the 9th of October, with thirty-five hundred French, and six hundred continental troops; which, though bravely made, was bravely and successfully repelled. Count D'Estaing and Count Pulaski, were both wounded, the former slightly, the latter mortally. The loss of the French was six hundred and thirty-seven, and of the Americans two hundred, men. The militia returned to their homes, and the French fleet and army to the West Indies. This visit of the fleet, however, disconcerted the British plans for the campaign, and occasioned the withdrawal of their army from Rhode Island; and their efforts in the south resulted in the possession of Savannah merely.

IV. Upon intelligence of these events, both parties sought to strengthen their respective forces, in the south. A large detachment, under Sir Henry Clinton, in person, sailed from New York, late in December, leaving the defence of that city to General Knyphausen; whilst Washington despatched southward, the troops of North Carolina, the new levies of Virginia, the rear division of Bland's and Baylor's cavalry, and afterwards, the Virginia line. In his passage, Sir Henry encountered a storm, which endamaged him so much as to require a reinforcement and supplies from New York. Charleston was his primary object, against which he proceeded from Savannah, on the 10th of February, 1780; approaching by way of the islands with great caution. On the first of April, he broke ground, within eight hundred yards of the American works, and on the 12th of May, the town capitulated. General Lincoln and his army, consisting of two thousand effectives, became prisoners. During the progress of the expedition, several sharp cncounters took place, between small parties. The cavalry under General Huger, stationed about thirty miles above Charleston, was attacked and routed by Colonel Tarleton and Major Ferguson, on the morning of the 14th of April, and four hundred horses captured; and on the 7th of May, the remnant collected under Colonel White, of New Jersey, at Monk's Corner, was again charged and dispersed by the same active British officers.

Having possession of the capital, Sir Henry employed himself in reducing the country; despatching parties in various directions over it. The inhabitants vied with each other in devotion to the royal cause, and many, even of the citizens of Charleston, enlisted under the royal banners. In these operations, the only circumstance meriting special notice, was the surprise and defeat of Colonel Burford, by Colonel Tarleton. Burford commanded a regiment of new levies from Virginia, who arrived too late to aid Charleston. Upon the surrender of the city, he commenced his retreat, but was overtaken by a rapid march of one hundred and five miles in fifty-four hours. No quarter was given, and the carnage was horrible; one hundred and thirteen were killed on the spot; and one hundred and fifty so badly wounded, that they could not be removed. So confident was Sir Henry of having conquered the State, that he proclaimed the pacification, and released from their parole his militia prisoners, those taken in Charleston and Fort Moultrie excepted; and with the most sanguine hope of the recovery of all the southern States, he embarked for New York, on the 5th of June, leaving in South Carolina, about four thousand regulars, under Lord Cornwallis.

V. The parole of the American prisoners recognised their character of aliens to Great Britain; their release from it, avowedly, restored, without their assent, their relation of subjects; and its effect was to compel them to assume arms against their countrymen. Had they been suffered to enjoy the quiet of non-combatants, they might have remained unarmed; but they would not submit to the degradation of fighting the battles of the oppressor.

The proclamation sowed the teeth of the hydra, and armed men sprang up in every direction, to resist the British power.

The Delaware and Maryland lines, with the first regiment of artillery, were ordered to South Carolina, under General de Kalb; and exertions were made in Virginia to increase this force. The exiles from the north and west parts of the State, to the number of six hundred, collected under Colonel Sumpter, and were soon strengthened by a corps of militia, which had been collected by Cornwallis. The latter circumstance demonstrating the temper of the people, induced the British general to draw in his outposts, and arrange his troops in larger bodies.

VI. An army of two thousand men was thus formed, of which General Gates took the command, on the 25th of July. He, changing the dispositions of De Kalb, marched by the most direct route towards the enemy's post at Camden; and, unhappily, through a barren country, in which his troops suffered greatly from famine and unwholesome food. On his way he was joined by the North Carolina militia, under General Caswell, and some troops commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Peterfield. He arrived on the 13th of August, at Clermont, or Rugely's Mills, whence Lord Rawdon withdrew at his approach. And, here, the militia from Virginia, under General Stevens, also came to his aid. With a force, now, of about four thousand men, he marched rapidly, in the hope of surprising 'Camden. At the very hour of his departure from Clermont, Lord Cornwallis left Camden, with the design of striking him a sudden blow; and, to their mutual surprise, the hostile armies encountered in the woods, at about two o'clock of the morning of the 16th of August. The ground did not permit Gates to avail himself of his superiority in numbers, and Cornwallis restrained the ardour of his troops, that he might, with the light, better direct their disciplined valour. With the dawn the action commenced. The militia shamefully fled, carrying Gates with them, from the field of battle, in his endeavours to rally them. De Kalb, at the head of the continental troops, maintained the fight with some success, until overpowered by numbers, they were broken, and he fell under eleven mortal wounds. The Americans lost the greater part of their baggage, stores, and artillery; and by the estimate of the enemy, eight hundred men killed, and one thousand prisoners. Previous to the battle, a party was detached under Lieutenant-colonel Woolford, of Maryland, to unite with Sumpter, to intercept an escort of stores, for the garrison at Camden. This enterprise was successful; but the party was, afterwards, surprised by Tarleton, near the Catawba Ford, and was beaten and dispersed with the loss of between three and four hundred men, killed and wounded.

Notwithstanding the victory, Lord Cornwallis was unable to proceed against North Carolina, and to prosecute the career which he had proposed; his troops being enfeebled by sickness, and the hostile disposition of the citizens rendering it unsafe to remove any considerable portion of them from the State. The disasters, however, of the American arms, chilled the spirit of resistance; yet it was kept alive by the exertions of those able partisans, Sumpter and Marion, and was again reanimated, by the severity with which Cornwallis punished, as traitors, the militia who deserted his standard-producing but a fiercer resistance, and a capacity to brave and to bear the extremity of suffering. But the designs of the British commander were only suspended. He resumed them by despatching Major Ferguson into the western part of North Carolina, to rouse and organize the tory inhabitants; whilst he marched himself, late in September, to Charlotte, where he proposed to await the result of Ferguson's endeavours. That officer, attempting to intercept Colonel Clarke of Georgia, in his retreat from an unsuccessful attack upon Augusta, removed nearer to the mountains, where

a short delay proved fatal to him. Several corps of hardy mountaineers, from the western parts of Virginia and North Carolina, under Colonels Campbell, Cleaveland, Shelby, and Servier, moved upon him with great celerity, whilst Colonels Williams, Tracy, and Brannan, from South Carolina, approached the same point. These forces, together three thousand strong, united at Gilbertstown. Sixteen hundred of the best mounted marksmen pursued Ferguson, who, apprized of their approach, pushed for Charlotte. He was overtaken, on the seventh of October, upon King's Mountain, attacked by three divisions, respectively, commanded by Shelby, Campbell, and Cleaveland, against each of whom, in the order of their arrival, he turned with considerable effect, the fearful bayonet; sustaining the conflict for more than an hour, and until he received a wound which caused his instant death. His second in command instantly demanded quarter. Of the enemy one hundred and fifty were killed, as many wounded, and eight hundred and ten were made prisoners; among the latter were one hundred English regulars. A valuable and timely prize was obtained in fifteen hundred stand of arms. The American loss was inconsiderable, but among the slain was Colonel Williams. Ten of the most active tories were selected and hung on the spot, in retaliation of the cruelties committed on the whigs at Camden. This misfortune compelled Cornwallis, who had crossed the Yadkin, to retrace his steps as far as Wynnesborough, where he awaited reinforcement. The militia were unable to follow up their successful blow for want of provisions.

VIII. Confident in the progress of Cornwallis, Sir Henry Clinton despatched from New York, on the 16th of October, three thousand men, under General Leslie, against Virginia, who, after some depredations, were ordered to Charleston, by sea, in consequence of the defeat of Ferguson. In the interim, Cornwallis was employed in suppressing the hostile efforts of the inhabitants, under Marion, Sumpter, Clarke, and Brannan. The most important of these affairs was that with Sumpter, on November 20th, at Blackstocks, near Tyger river, in which he repulsed Colonel Tarleton, with great loss.

IX. Gates slowly collected, at Hillsborough, the shattered remains of his army defeated at Camden. Being recalled, he delivered the command to his successor, General Greene, at Charlotte, on the 2d of December. His greatest efforts had not collected more than two thousand men, of whom a full third were militia, with which Greene took the field against a superior regular force, flushed with successive victories. But even this small army he soon divided; sending Morgan, with a considerable detachment to the western extremity of South Carolina, whilst he conducted the main body to Hicks's Creek, on the north side of the Pedee river, opposite the Cheraw Hills. Cornwallis, who was, again, preparing to proceed against North Carolina, but could not leave Morgan in his rear, sent Carleton against him, with orders to push him to the utmost. Morgan, with an inferior force, consisting, in a great measure, of militia, firmly awaited his approach, at the Cowpens, three miles from the line separating North and South Carolina. In the encounter which ensued, on the 17th of January, 1781, Tarleton was defeated with the loss of three hundred killed and wounded, and five hundred prisoners, eight hundred muskets, thirty-five baggage wagons, and one hundred dragoon horses. The impetuosity which had frequently served this energetic partisan, was, now, the cause of his defeat. Upon tidings of this victory, Greene hastened to join Morgan, directing his own corps to Guilford Court-house; and with great exertions, the prisoners and baggage were se cured. In the pursuit, the British army sacrificed its baggage and every thing, not indispensable to action or the existence of the troops, and hung, almost constantly, on the American rear. Twice, at the Catawba and the Yadkin, the Americans were saved by the rising of the waters after their