The War Moves West and South Chapter 6, Lesson 3

Prologue Francis Marion led a small but expert fighting force in South Carolina. They lived off the land. Marion’s soldiers harassed British Troops. Staged daring surprise attacks. Sabotaged communications and supply lines. Rescued American Prisoners. After these actions he would retreat into the Swamps to get away from the British. This earned him the nickname, “The Swamp Fox.”

War in the West Important battles of the Revolutionary War were taking place in the western frontier. The Patriots were assisted by some Native Americans, although the majority still sided with the British. Many believed that the British were less of a threat than the Americans. West of the Appalachian Mountains, the British and Natives attacked American settlements. Mohawk chief Joseph Brant led many brutal attacks in southwestern New York and northern Pennsylvania.

War in the West Joseph Brant would also serve as a representative to the Mohawk in the Continental Congress. He would try to get fair land settlements for his people. This would fail, and his people moved to Canada. Henry Hamilton commanded Detroit, the main British base in the West. He had been called by some as “hair buyer”, due to his purchases of scalps of settlers from the Native Americans.

Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant Francis Marion Henry Hamilton

Victory at Vincennes George Rogers Clark, a lieutenant colonel in the Virginia militia set out to end British attacks on western settlers. In July 1778, he and 175 soldiers sailed down the Ohio River to the mouth of the Tennessee River. After a 120 mile march, the Patriots seized control of the British post at Kaskaskia (ka-SKAH-kee-uh) in present-day Illinois. Following this, they captured the British town of Vincennes (vihn-SEHNZ) in present-day Indiana.

Victory at Vincennes In his absences in December, the British under Henry Hamilton, reclaimed Vincennes. Clark didn’t appreciate this, and vowed to get it back. In February 1779, after a march through the countryside flooded with icy waters, Clark and his troops surprised the British, forcing Hamilton to surrender (Take that Britain!) Clark’s victory strengthened the Americans position in the west.

Glory at Sea As the fight was going on in the western Frontier, other battles were occurring at sea. Britain used its ridiculously powerful navy to patrol the American waterways in order to prevent Patriot ships and those of their allies from entering or leaving. This blockade prevented supplies and reinforcements from reaching the Continental Army.

Privateers In order to break through the British Naval Blockade, the second Continental Congress ordered that 13 warships be constructed. Only two would end up sailing to sea. The Americans were forced to destroy four of their own to keep them out of British hands. The others were captured by the British. Other states maintained their own fleets, but they were too weak to operate effectively.

Privateers American Privateers were more efficient at capturing British vessels at sea than the American navy. These were privately owned merchant ships equipped with weapons. The Congress authorized 2,000 ships to sail as privateers and attack enemy ships. Finding crewmembers was not difficult as most sailors from the whaling and fishing ports of New England signed on eagerly for the profitable privateering trade.

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones began raiding British Ports in 1777. He sailed in an old French ship that Ben Franklin had attained for him. Jones gave the ship a French name, “Bonhoumme Richard”, after Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack. In September 1779, he was sailing along the British coast when he meets with a large British fleet of merchant ships escorted by the Serapis. The Bonhoumme Richard moved close to the Serapis before attacking.

John Paul Jones The two ships battled for more than 3 hours. At one point, Jones’ ship was so badly damaged that the British captain asked if he wanted to surrender. To which Jones responded, “I have not yet begun to fight!” In the end the Serapis surrendered, but the Bonhoumme sank not long after the battle. Despite this, he was still considered a naval hero to the American Patriots.

Struggles in the South In the early years of the war, the Americans had won some battles in the South. In 1776, the British were defeated at the Battle of Moore’s Creek, near Wilmington, North Carolina also saving Charles Town, South Carolina, from the British. By 1778, the British understood reclaiming control of the colonies would not be so easy. They planned out a hard-hitting offense to finish the war.

Struggles in the South The focus turned to the South, where they had many Loyalist. They hoped that through their power at sea as well as the support of the Loyalist they could take some decisive victories and at first, it was working.

British Victories In late 1778, General Henry Clinton sent 3,500 troops from New York to Savannah. The British occupied the city and overran most of the state. Clinton was leading a troop in early 1780 to attack the Port of Charles Town, South Carolina. Charles Town surrendered in May, and the British took thousands of prisoners. This was the worst American defeat of the war.

British Victories Clinton returned to New York and left General Charles Cornwallis in charge of the troops in the South. The Continental Congress sent General Horatio Gates to face Cornwallis. The two forces met at Camden, South Carolina in 1780. Although Cornwallis won, he soon realized he could not control the area he had conquered. His troops faced a new kind of warfare.

Guerilla Warfare The British did not receive as much help from the Loyalists as they thought. As they moved through the country side, small groups of Patriots attacked them. They used a hit-and-run technique of guerilla warfare to catch them off guard. Francis Marion (The Swamp Fox) was one of the most successful guerilla leaders. A British colonel was believed to have said “the devil himself” could not catch Marion.

Help from Spain In January 1777, 30-year-old Bernardo de Gálvez became governor of the Spanish territory of Louisiana while Spain was neutral. Despite this Gálvez loaned thousands of dollars to the Americans and opened the port of New Orleans to the colonists for free trade. He also sent tons of supplies and ammunitions to the army of George Rogers Clark in the Northwest territory up the Mississippi River. Through this help Clark was able to capture Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes.

Help from Spain In the summer of 1779, Spain declared war on Britain. Gálvez raised an army of Spanish soldiers, Creoles, Native Americans, and African Americans to attack areas in the lower Mississippi. He took Baton Rouge, Natchez, and Pensacola. This opened up supply lines for military goods from Spain, Frace, Cuba, and Mexico. Historian Buchanan Parker Thomas believed that Gálvez had given the most vital aid to the struggling American colonies.

Patriot Victories After the British victory at Camden, South Carolina, the British moved northward through the Carolinas in September 1780. At Kings Mountain, a British officer and more than 1,000 Loyalists defended an outposts from Patriot Sharpshooters. The British were forced to retreat bringing new support for independence from Southerners who wanted to see an end to the war that had been destroying their homes and farms.

Patriot Victories In October 1780, Nathanael Greene replaced Gates as commander of the Continental forces in the South. Instead of going all out on Cornwallis’s army, he split them in two. In January 1781, one section led by Daniel Morgan defeated the British at Cowpens, South Carolina. Another section joined Marion’s guerilla raids. In March he reunited his forces to take on Cornwallis at Guilford Courthouse, at present-day Greensboro, North Carolina. Greene’s Army was forced to retreat but the British suffered heavy losses. Cornwallis had abandoned his Carolina campaign.

Horatio Gates Nathanael Greene Daniel Morgan General Cornwallis

British Retreat Cornwallis decided to march north to Virginia in April 1781. His troops carried out raids throughout the state, almost capturing Governor Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature in June. Thomas Jefferson fled on horseback, just before the troops arrived. General Washington sent Lafayette and General Anthony Wayne south to fight Cornwallis. Cornwallis set up in Yorktown, along the Virginia coast to wait for further orders from Clinton in New York. The battle for control of the South was entering its final phase.