Download Chapter 28: AMERICA IN A WORLD AT WAR

Chapter 5: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Q #1DQ #4: Describe and evaluate the Revolutionary battles of the Southern Campaign (17781781) from the perspective of the Continental Army.
I.
British Shift to South:
A. Recruitment of Loyalists
o Defeat at Saratoga and French intervention limited military commitment
o Believed in strong Loyalist sentiment in southern colonies, wanted to undermine the revolution effort from the
inside
o Many Tories in Georgia and Carolinas
B. Cause for Failure
o More Patriots than British had believed Virginia as fervent as Massachusetts
o Existing Loyalists fear threats from surrounding Patriots
o Offered slaves freedom if they deserted owners owners outraged, most join Patriot side
o Five percent of slaves take deal
o Patriots able to blend with civilian population
Patriot
C. Colonial Reaction
o Large new groups of population now with motivation to fight- increase in support for independence
II.
Downfall of Cornwallis
A. Arrival of Nathanael Greene
o Replaced Horatio Gates after his defeat
o One of the most able generals of the time
B. Battle of King’s Mountain
o Backcountry Patriots capture 1,100 New York and South Carolina Tories
o Nathanael Greene arrives separates forces into small fast moving contingents- prevented showdown in open
battle
o Victory from unexpected and severe blow by one contingent at Cowpens
C. Battle of Guilford Courthouse
o Greene brings all forces
Nathanael Greene
o Patriots eventually must withdraw
o Heavy British losses also Cornwallis abandons Carolina campaign, retreats to get supplies in Wilimington and
launch raids on Virginia
D. Importance of Battles
o Drove British up to between York and James Rivers
III.
George
Washington
Battle of Yorktown
A. Plan of Action
o George Washington, Count Jean Baptiste de Rochambeau, and Admiral Francois Paul de Grasse- plan to trap
Cornwallis in Yorktown
B. Surrender of Cornwallis
o Washington and Baptiste move French-American army from New York to Lafayette, Virginia joined other French
forces
o de Grasse and additional troops- sail to Chesapeake Bay and York River
o Success from perfectly timed joint operations
o Cornwallis caught between land and sea
o Cornwallis sends deputy- surrenders over 7,000 men
C. Aftermath
o Fighting was over, United States did not win yet
o British occupied seaports of Savannah, Charlestown, Wilmington, and New York
Surrender of Cornwallis
o British fleet defeats Admiral de Grasse’s fleet
o No more French naval assistance for American forces
o Possibility that war might resume struggle for independence might be lost
CONCLUSION: The period of 1778 to 1781 was largely dominated by victories by the Continental Army. These successes
were mainly a result of the British inaccuracies and superior American strategies. The British had sought to rally the Loyalists
in the Southern colonies in order to destroy the revolution internally. However, the British plan failed as a result of their
underestimation of the number of Patriots in the region and their loss of Loyalist supporters when they attempted to take
slaves away from their owners. The Continental Army also had superior commanders who contributed to colonial success, as
demonstrated when Nathanael Green drove Cornwallis out the Carolinas by using small contingents. In the last battle of the
war, colonial victory resulted from George Washington and allied French leaders’ plan to trap the British army in Yorktown.
This plan was a success due to perfectly executed operations by the Colonists. The inaccuracies that the British had made and
the wise actions that the Continental Army had taken are what allowed the Colonies to end and win the war.