The American Revolution In The South by Dave Booz

The British decide to conquer the South Benjamin Lincoln The Americans, led by General Benjamin Lincoln, held Savannah and Charleston but the British thought that most of the population would be on the King’s side. Savannah fell quickly to the British at the end of 1778. The Americans, with French help, tried to re-capture the city.

The Charleston Campaign

British Leaders in the South Lord Charles Cornwallis Colonel Banastre Tarleton

The Swamp Fox Francis Marion

Gates and de Kalb Horatio Gates Baron Johan de Kalb

Battle of Camden, August 1780 Gates had moved his men through barren land and he placed too much hope on his militia. The British routed the American militia within minutes and the Maryland and Delaware Continentals fought to the finish. Gates, on his race horse, ran off when the militia broke and did not stop until he got tot Charlotte, N.C. De Kalb stood and died with his men.

Hessians – These troops continued to fight for the King of England

The Southern Campaigns in 1780

Morgan and Greene Daniel Morgan Nathanael Greene

The Southern Campaign in 1781

The Continentals – from Maryland, Delaware and Virginia – outfought the British regulars

Tarleton’s force was destroyed The Americans lost 12 killed and 124 wounded; the British lost 110 killed, 229 wounded and 900 prisoners, plus 2 cannons. Tarleton did manage to escape. Another wing of the British force in the South was destroyed. Morgan’s use of the militia was brilliant. American morale soared and many Tories switched sides.

Washington moves to Virginia Cornwallis had moved into Virginia after the battle at Guilford Court House and established a base at Yorktown. During the summer of 1781 the British raided into Virginia and hoped that they would receive large reinforcements. Washington had sent the Marquis de Lafayette and Baron von Steuben to watch Cornwallis and try to stop him. With the help of the French Washington moves south

The Siege of Yorktown The French navy, under Admiral Comte de Grasse, beat the British under Admiral Graves at the Battle of the Chesapeake and the British were trapped in Yorktown. The Americans and French cooperated wonderfully and laid siege to the British. The cannons fired day and night and the Allies dug trenches to get closer to the British forts. The Allies captured several British forts and made it impossible for the British to get any rest.

Yorktown

Washington and Rochambeau formed a great team

The British Surrender at Yorktown

Results of Yorktown The Allies lost 72 killed and 180 wounded. The British lost 309 killed, 326 wounded, and 8,087 prisoners – another army was captured by the Rebels. British public opinion was very much against continuing this war. The British had now lost almost all of their conquests except New York. British diplomats agree to meet the Americans and French to conclude a peace treaty. This treaty will be the Treaty of Paris of 1783 in which the British recognize the independence of the United States of America.

Summary of the War in the South The British were very successful at first but they could not control all of the land and American forces survived disasters to fight another day. The Americans finally found the right leaders and gained local support; they did not win all of the big battles but they always managed to inflict heavy loses on the British after Kings Mountain. The British lost the support of the local populations in the South and also lost the support of the people at home so that the war became very unpopular in Britain. This led to the end of the war.