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15. In July General
Gates,1 who had been appointed to the command of
the southern forces was 
marching
to the relief of the Carolinas. The British, on the approach of
Gates, assembled their whole force at Camden, near which
place a severe battle2 was fought, August 16, and the
Americans were defeated with great loss.
Gates had nearly three times as many
troops as Cornwallis, but they were mostly militia. At the first
onset a large body of Virginia and Carolina militia, under a
charge with fixed bayonets, threw down their arms and fled. The
Continentals, under De Kalb, bravely stood their ground, but were
at length forced to yield. The loss of the Americans in killed was
nine hundred, and as many more were taken prisoners. Baron De
Kalb,3 the second in command, was among the mortally
wounded. The British loss was but little more than three hundred.
By the disastrous defeat at Camden, Gates lost all the laurels he
had won at Saratoga. A few days after this defeat, Sumter's troop
was almost annihilated, at Fishing Creek, by Colonel
Tarleton's cavalry.
16. Cornwallis was now undisputed master
of South Carolina, and treated the Whigs with the greatest
severity.
His tyranny, however, exasperated the
people, and roused their spirit of resistance. Sumter soon
collected another force. Marion had kept his together. These
leaders did valuable service by cutting off straggling parties of
the enemy, and keeping the Tories in check.
17. The British general next advanced
into North Carolina. Colonel Ferguson, who led a body of invaders,
consisting of Tories and regulars, was attacked, October 7, and
utterly defeated at King's Mountain, when Cornwallis,
alarmed, returned to South Carolina.
The patriot force at King's Mountain
consisted of about a thousand mounted backwoodsmen, who had
collected in various bodies, each under its own leader. The
killed, wounded, and prisoners of the enemy exceeded eleven
hundred, while but twenty of the backwoodsmen were
killed.
Early in December General Greene assumed
command in the South, in place of General Gates.
18. No important enterprise was
undertaken in the Northern States this year. The situation of
General Washington -- often, during the war, embarrassing -- had
been distressing,
1 See p. 127, ¶ 20. 2 Sometimes called the battle of Sanders Creek. 3 See p. 125, ¶ 13.
QUESTIONS. -- 15. What is said of Gates? -- What is said of the defeat of Gates at Camden? Give particulars of this battle. What happened a few days after this defeat? 16. What were now Cornwallis's position and course in South Carolina? -- Effect of his tyranny? What of Sumter and Marion? 17. Where did the British general next advance? Give an account of the defeat of the British at King's Mountain? -- What is said of the patriot force at King's Mountain? Loss to each side? -- By whom was Gates superseded, and when? 18. What of the Northern States this year?
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through the winter, in his encampment at
Morristown. The cold was more intense than had ever been known
in this climate. The winter, to this day, bears the epithet of the
"hard winter." The army suffered extremely, and Washington often
had the prospect before him of being obliged to break up his
encampment and disband his soldiers. During the summer, predatory
excursions were made into New Jersey, by the English, from
New York. After plundering the country, and burning Springfield,
the invaders retired before the Americans. New Jersey was not
again molested by the enemy.
19. Lafayette had spent
the previous winter in France, and had induced the king, Louis
XVI., to send another French fleet and army to America. The
fleet arrived at Rhode Island in July, under Admiral de Ternay,
bringing six thousand troops, with Count de Rochambeau as
commander-in-chief. The Americans placed great reliance on the
assistance of so powerful an armament. But the English fleet,
having been reënforced, held the French blocked up at Newport
for some months.
20. Arnold's Treason. --
To add to the embarrassments of this year, General Arnold,
heretofore one of the most active and intrepid defenders of the
patriot cause, entered into an arrangement with the enemy to
surrender the fortress at West Point, where he then had command.
The plot was discovered in time to prevent its accomplishment, but
not in time to prevent the escape of the traitor to the British,
from whom he received, as the reward of his treason, a large sum
of money, and a commission as
brigadier-general.1
The British agent in this affair was the young
and accomplished Major John André, Clinton's
adjutant-general. This officer met Arnold near West Point, and
completed negotiations with him. On his way back to New York, he
was seized, September 23, by three militia
1 An effort was made to capture Arnold, after his escape to the enemy. A Virginian, named John Champe pretended to desert from the American army. Having joined Arnold's legion, then stationed at New York, he planned to seize him, and have him conveyed within the American lines. This plan fell through by Arnold's unexpectedly changing his quarters. Champe was obliged to serve with the enemy for some time, but at length made his escape, and joined his former comrades, who then first learned the cause of his supposed desertion. Washington rewarded him for his daring attempt, and lest some chance of war should throw him into the hands of the British, discharged him from the service. After the close of the war, the traitor Arnold, despised even by those whom he had served, dragged out a miserable life, till the year 1801, when he died in London.
QUESTIONS. -- What is said of English predatory excursions in New Jersey? 19 What had Lafayette induced the King of France to do? When and where did a French fleet and army arrive, and under what commanders? How were the French prevented from aiding the Americans? 20. Give an account of Arnold's treason. -- Give an account of André's connection with this affair, and of his seizure and execution.
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men, John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Van Wart, who,
spurning the large bribes by which he sought to secure his
release, delivered him up to the military authorities. Soon after
he was executed as a spy.
21. Events of 1781. --
This year opened with an event, which, for a time, seriously
endangered the American cause. This was the revolt of the
Pennsylvania troops, at Morristown, to the number of
thirteen hundred. But the difficulty was speedily adjusted, and
those whose terms of service had not expired returned to duty.
Great disorder pervaded the department of
supplies for the army. Abuses had crept in. Frauds were practised.
The soldiers had been unpaid for many months, and suffered for the
want of clothing and provisions. Besides these hardships and
privations, to which all the troops had been exposed, the
Pennsylvanians had a special grievance, growing out of a
misunderstanding as to the term of their enlistment. The
mutineers1 declared their intention of appearing before
Congress to demand redress. At Princeton agents of Sir Henry
Clinton offered them large rewards to join the British army. These
emissaries they promptly arrested, and gave up to be treated as
spies. Soon after Congress considered the complaints of the
insurgents, and took measures for their
relief.
22. A few weeks afterwards, the example
of the Pennsylvania troops was followed by a part of the New
Jersey line.
1 General Wayne, who commanded these troops, used every exertion to restrain them. in his zeal he turned towards them, and cocked his pistol, when, instantly, a hundred bayonets were directed towards him, and the men cried out, "We love you, we respect you; but you are a dead man if you fire. Do not mistake us; we are not going to the enemy. On the contrary, were they now to appear, you should see us fight under your orders with as much resolution and alacrity as ever."
QUESTIONS -- 21. Give an account of the revolt of the Pennsylvania troops. -- Causes of this revolt? Course of the mutineers in obtaining redress? 22. Give an account of the revolt of the New Jersey line.
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This mutiny was, however, quickly suppressed by
the military power. These revolts roused the states and
Congress to intake greater exertions to provide for the
necessities of the soldiers. Robert Morris, a wealthy
merchant
of Philadelphia, was appointed financial agent for the general
government, and to his exertions was it largely owing that the
country was enabled to continue the war with vigor.
23. In January, the traitor
Arnold, with sixteen hundred Tories, and a number of armed
vessels, invaded Virginia, and destroyed a large amount of
property. To drive him back, Washington despatched Lafayette, with
about twelve hundred men, whom the generous Frenchman clothed for
the expedition, to join Steuben, already in Virginia. The French
fleet front Rhode Island1 was sent to cut off Arnold's
retreat by water. This fleet engaged a pursuing squadron of the
British off the capes of Virginia, was worsted, and returned to
Newport. Reënforcements were now able to reach Arnold under
General Phillips, who took command, and continued to ravage the
state.
24. General
Greene,2 who had superseded Gates, was, next to
Washington, the ablest of the American generals. He found the army
reduced to about two thousand men, of whom one half were militia,
and not more than eight hundred fit for service. He first divided
this force, small as it was. Sending a detachment, under General
Morgan,3 to the western part of the state, Greene
encamped with the remainder on the Great Pedee, where he was
joined by new recruits. Cornwallis despatched Tarleton in pursuit
of Morgan, who retreated to a place called the Cowpens,
where, January 17, he gained a brilliant victory over his
pursuer.
1 See p. 139, ¶ 19. 2 See p. 138, 17. 3 See p. 128, note 1.
QUESTIONS. -- Effect of these revolts? What is said of Robert Morris? 23. Wh What happened to the French fleet? Effect in Virginia? 24. What is said of General Greene? In what condition did he find the southern army? How did he dispose of this force? Give an account of the victory at the Cowpens.
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Tarleton fled, leaving
three hundred dead and wounded on the field; five hundred
prisoners, all the 
baggage
and artillery, fell into the hands of the victors. The loss of the
Americans was less than eighty. The opposing forces were nearly
equal, each near one thousand; but while more than half of
Morgan's men were undisciplined militia, Tarleton's were all
well-trained soldiers.1
25. Learning of Tarleton's defeat,
Cornwallis started in pursuit of Morgan, who immediately fell back
into North Carolina. Here Greene came to his aid, and assuming
command, conducted a masterly retreat across North
Carolina, into Virginia, closely followed by the British.
The whole American force being too weak
to cope with Cornwallis, nothing remained but to retreat; and this
was hazardous. The troops were poorly clad, almost without shoes,
without sufficient food, and encumbered with the spoils of the
recent victory. The British, having destroyed their heavy baggage,
and divested themselves of everything that could impede their
march, urged the pursuit with such rapidity, that when they
reached the Catawba, the Americans had but just gained the
opposite bank. Before the pursuers could cross, a heavy rain
rendered the river impassable. Again, at the Yadkin the pursuit
was so close, that the rear guard of the retreating army was
attacked, and part of the baggage abandoned. Here again a sudden
rise of the river detained the enemy. Greene now hastened to the
Dan, and just as the last of his army was crossing, the British
van appeared.
26. Here Cornwallis gave up the
pursuit, and, turning South, took post at Hillsboro'.
Greene in a few days turned back into North Carolina, and
having received considerable accession from the militia,
encountered Cornwallis, March 15, at Guilford Court-House.
The British remained masters of the field, but at such a cost that
they thought it prudent to withdraw to Wilmington.2
The English lost nearly six hundred men,
the Americans less than three hundred; but after the defeat, many
of the militia went home.
While General Greene was on his way to Guilford,
Tarleton was beating up recruits for the royal cause. Colonel
Henry Lee, pursuing him with
1 In this engagement two of Morgan's officers greatly distinguished themselves, Colonels William A. Washington, a kinsman to General Washington, and John Eager Howard, a Marylander, afterwards distinguished as a statesman. To their gallantry the victory was largely owing. During the battle, Colonel Washington had a hand-to-hand conflict with Tarleton, and both were wounded. Some time afterwards Tarleton, speaking of him to a lady, said he was so ignorant that he could scarcely write his name -- a charge by no means true. "Ah, well," the lady, glancing significantly at the wound inflicted by Washington, "you bear evidence that he can make his mark."
2 The English statesman Fox, when the battle of Guilford was mentioned in the house of Commons as a victory, exclaimed, "Another such victory will ruin the British army."
QUESTIONS. -- What more is said of the battle at the Cowpens? 25. What is said of Cornwallis and Morgan? Of Greene? -- Give an account of Greene's retreat. 26. What was next the course of Cornwallis? of Greene? What is said of the battle of Guilford Court-House?
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a body of cavalry, fell in with some four hundred Carolina
Tories, on their way to the English camp, and cut them to
pieces without mercy.
27. The American general did not long
remain inactive after the battle at Guilford Court-House, but
advanced boldly into South Carolina, to attack the British
posts1 in that state.
He encamped on Hobkirk's Hill,
near Camden, where was a large force of the enemy, under Lord
Rawdon. The latter, April 25, made a furious attack upon the
American camp. The superiority of British discipline was again
manifested, and after a desperate struggle, in which the loss on
each side was nearly equal, Greene was forced to retreat. But
Rawdon soon after, learning that recruits were joining the
Americans, and that Lee and Marion2 were threatening
his communications, withdrew towards Charleston. Greene next moved
upon Ninety-Six, a strong post in possession of the Tories.
But after four weeks of fruitless effort, he raised the siege,
June 19, and retreated, pursued for a short distance by Rawdon,
who had come to the relief of the besieged garrison. Ninety Six
was soon after deserted by the enemy, and Rawdon, leaving Colonel
Stewart in command of the army, sailed for
England.3
28. During the hot and sickly season,
General Greene gave his forces rest among the high bills of
Santee. Early in September be approached the enemy, concentrated
at Eutaw Springs. Here, on the 8th, occurred a hard-fought
battle, in which both sides claimed the victory.
After a sanguinary conflict, the
Americans lost the field, but the English during the night
retreated towards Charleston. In this battle the loss of the
Americans was over five hundred, that of the enemy near seven
hundred. Soon after, the British, weakened by victories not less
than by defeats, and threatened by detachments, that scoured the
country, under Lee, Pickens, Sumter, and Marion, were pushed out
of the interior.
29. At the close of the year, of all
their conquests in Georgia and the Carolinas, the English held
only Savannah and Charleston. The battle of Eutaw Springs was the
last general engagement of the war south of Virginia.
In Greene's campaign in the Carolinas, it
is not a little singular to notice that the British retreated
after each victory claimed, and only vigorously pursued after
their single decided defeat at the Cowpens.
1 See p. 137, ¶ 14. 2 See p. 137. ¶ 14.
3 One of the last acts of Rawdon, and one that greatly inflamed the southern Whigs against the enemy, was the sanctioning of the execution of Colonel Isaac Hayne, a distinguished citizen of South Carolina. Hayne had been taken prisoner at the capture of Charleston, and liberated on parole. Not long afterwards he was ordered to join the British standard. This he refused to do, and considering himself free from a parole which the enemy did not regard, joined the American army, and was taken prisoner. Without trial, he was sentenced to death by Colonel Balfour, the British commandant at Charleston, Rawdon consenting.
QUESTIONS. -- What of Colonel Lee and the Carolina Tories? 27. What did the American general next do? -- Give an account of the affair at Hobkirk's Hill. Of the attack upon Ninety-Six. 28. How did Greene pass the sickly season? What is said of the battle of Eutaw Springs? 29. What did the English hold in Georgia and the Carolinas at the close of the year? What is singular to notice respecting Greene's campaign in the Carolinas?
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© 1999, 2000, 2001 for NEGenWeb Project by Ted & Carole Miller