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A History | Revolutionary War Battles | Southern Campaign of the American Revolution
Southern Campaign of the American Revolution
The British Strategy
By 1778, British and American combatants in the north were stalemated, and a quick end to the Revolutionary
War was doubtful. The British now rekindled a plan for putting down the rebellion by first controlling the southern
colonies and then sweeping north to total victory. The strategy began well. Savannah was captured in late 1778, and
Charleston fell in 1780. Lord Cornwallis, the British commander in the south, then planned to move his troops through
the Carolina backcountry providing encouragement to loyalists there. Cornwallis' intent was to enlist a strong loyalist
militia which, supported by British regulars, would control the backcountry. This proved successful as loyalist
militia units formed and maneuvered throughout the area. By the summer of 1780, British control of South Carolina
seemed assured, especially after Cornwallis' crushing defeat of American forces at Camden
in August, 1780. Cornwallis was ready to begin his march northward.
The British had secured Ninety Six as a base of operations in the backcountry in June, 1780, and Cornwallis
believed Ninety Six would be crucial to control of the backcountry once the British Army moved northward out of South
Carolina. Cornwallis left Lieutenant-Colonel John Harris Cruger, a loyalist from New York, in charge of Ninety Six.
Cruger's instructions were to be "vigorous" in punishing rebels and maintaining order in the area.
The Tide Turns
A series of events beginning in autumn, 1780, put the success of the British Southern Campaign in doubt.
In October, 1780, a patriot militia force defeated Patrick Ferguson and his corps of loyalists at
Kings Mountain (see map above). Francis Marion
was campaigning against British loyalists in the low country of South Carolina, and Thomas Sumter maneuvered his
patriot forces against loyalists targets in the South Carolina upcountry. In addition,
Nathanael Greene, the new commander of American forces in the south, had split his army to move more widely
through the Carolinas.
Cornwallls, fearing for Ninety Six and overall British control of South Carolina, sent units to remove the patriot
threat. The British lost many of the ensuing encounters including a significant defeat at The Cowpens In January, 1781.
Cornwallis and Greene met each other in March, 1781, at Guilford Courthouse; the British won this encounter but lost
nearly a third of its force including some of the best officers. Cornwallis then moved his army to Wilmington, and Greene
turned his attention back to South Carolina and Ninety Six. Greene hoped to loosen the British hold on the backcountry by
taking Ninety Six and forcing the enemy to Charleston.
Greene set siege to Ninety Six in May, 1781, but never took the fort. He was forced to lift the siege a month
later as British reinforcements advanced toward Ninety Six. The British abandoned Ninety Six in July and moved to the
coast. This signaled the end of British control of the interior. The Southern Campaign was over. British forces
surrendered at Yorktown four months later, effectively ending the war.
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