"split by nearly 50/50. Many of the South Carolinian battles fought during the American Revolution were with loyalist Carolinians and the part of the Cherokee tribe that allied with the British. This was to General Henry Clinton's advantage. His strategy was to march his troops north from St. Augustine, Florida, and sandwich George Washington in the North. Clinton alienated Loyalists and enraged Patriots by attacking a fleeing army of Patriot soldiers who posed no threat. Enslaved Africans and African Americans chose independence by escaping to British lines where they were promised freedom. Combined Continental Army and state militia forces under"
"Siege of Charleston The Siege of Charleston was a major engagement fought between March 29 to May 12, 1780 during the American Revolutionary War. The British, following the collapse of their northern strategy in late 1777 and their withdrawal from Philadelphia in 1778, shifted their focus to the American Southern Colonies. After approximately six weeks of siege, Major General Benjamin Lincoln, commanding the Charleston garrison, surrendered his forces to the British, resulting in one of the worst American defeats of the war. By late 1779, two major British strategic efforts had failed. An army invading from Quebec under John Burgoyne"
"pass through South Carolina. The loss of the southern army at Charleston was one of the worst Continental defeats of the war. He was denied the honors of war in surrendering, due to the British annoyance at his facilitating the escape of SC militia units and some Continental forces, such as those with Lafayette and Lee, which deeply rankled Lincoln. Lincoln was paroled, and in the court of inquiry no charges were ever brought against him. The British subsequently sought to enlist large numbers of black soldiers. After being exchanged for the British Major General William Phillips in November 1780,"
"from the sea and bases in Florida, the state legislature voted to raise a force of 4,000 men to assist South Carolina. When Governor Richard Caswell, with the rank of major general, took to the field at the head of these citizen-soldiers, he named Williamson to serve as the state's Physician and Surgeon General, a post Williamson held until the end of the war. The capture of Charleston, South Carolina in 1780 not only marked a stunning defeat for American forces, but also signaled the end of the first phase in a new British war strategy. Under this strategy British"
"troops commanded by Capt. Henry Lee III, of the Continental Army, who repulsed the British attack, and in which Major Tarleton was wounded. After becoming commander of the British Legion, a force of American Loyalist cavalry and light infantry, also called Tarleton's Raiders, Tarleton went to South Carolina, at the beginning of 1780. There, Tarleton's Raiders supported Sir Henry Clinton in the siege operations that culminated in the capture of Charleston. The siege and capture of the city were part of the British strategy in the southern military theatre meant to restore royal authority over the southern colonies of British"
"17 January 1779 which was protected by British Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Campbell. Prévost assumed command but also sent the message to General Clinton that he wished to resign, believing that a younger man should take his place. His forces launched an unsuccessful raid against Charles Town, South Carolina, whose indiscriminate looting antagonized ally and enemy alike. The major engagement of the affair was the Battle of Stono Creek, a British victory. In September 1779 Brigadier General George Garth was sent to replace him, travelling from New York on HMS ""Experiment"". Garth was, however, captured before he could reach Savannah and Prévost"
"a crossing point on the Santee River, north of which lies present-day Georgetown County. General Sir Henry Clinton arrived before Charleston, South Carolina in late March 1780, and began siege preparations as the opening move in British plan to gain control over North and South Carolina. The city was defended by Continental Army troops under the command of General Benjamin Lincoln. Many of the rebels fighting in the battle of Lenud's Ferry were survivors of the Battle of Monck's Corner. As part of his plan to cut off Lincoln's avenues of escape from Charleston, Clinton sent out troops under Lord"
"Battlefield Trust and its partners have acquired and preserved of historic land in Charleston related to the siege. Siege of Charleston The Siege of Charleston was a major engagement fought between March 29 to May 12, 1780 during the American Revolutionary War. The British, following the collapse of their northern strategy in late 1777 and their withdrawal from Philadelphia in 1778, shifted their focus to the American Southern Colonies. After approximately six weeks of siege, Major General Benjamin Lincoln, commanding the Charleston garrison, surrendered his forces to the British, resulting in one of the worst American defeats of the war."
"Battle of Camden The Battle of Camden was a major victory for the British in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War (American War of Independence). On August 16, 1780, British forces under Lieutenant General Charles, Lord Cornwallis routed the American forces of Major General Horatio Gates about five miles north of Camden, South Carolina, strengthening the British hold on the Carolinas following the capture of Charleston. The rout was a humiliating defeat for Gates, the American general best known for commanding the Americans at the British defeat of Saratoga, whose army had possessed a large numerical superiority over"
"command, and intended to leave the service and return to Europe, but instead asked to be reassigned to the Southern front. On February 2, 1779, Washington instead ordered him to South Carolina. Pulaski arrived in Charleston on May 8, 1779, finding the city in crisis. General Benjamin Lincoln, commander of the southern army, had led most of the army toward Augusta, Georgia, in a bid to recapture Savannah, which had been captured by the British in late 1778. The British commander, Brigadier General Augustine Prevost, responded to Lincoln's move by launching a raiding expedition from Savannah across the Savannah River."
"William Moultrie William Moultrie (; November 23, 1730 – September 27, 1805) was a South Carolina planter and politician who became a general in the American Revolutionary War. As colonel leading a state militia, in 1776 he prevented the British from taking Charleston, and Fort Moultrie was named in his honor. After independence, Moultrie advanced as a politician; he was elected by the legislature twice within a decade as Governor of South Carolina (1785–87, 1792–94), serving two terms. (The state constitution kept power in the hands of the legislature and prohibited governors from serving two terms in succession.) Moultrie was"
"constitution was adopted, the title was changed to the modern usage. When the British laid siege to Charleston in 1780, John Rutledge, as president of the council, fled to North Carolina to ensure a ""government in exile"" should the city fall. Gadsden remained, along with Governor Rawlins Lowndes. General Benjamin Lincoln surrendered the Continental Army garrison on May 12 to General Sir Henry Clinton. At the same time, Gadsden represented the civil government and surrendered the city. He was sent on parole to his Charleston house. After General Sir Henry Clinton returned to New York, the new British commander in"
"in the Carolinas. The victory halted the British advance into North Carolina, forced Lord Cornwallis to retreat from Charlotte into South Carolina, and gave General Nathanael Greene the opportunity to reorganize the American Army. Prior to 1780, much of the Revolutionary War was fought in the Northern states. After an unsuccessful Northern campaign, British General Clinton decided to turn his attention to the south, where he believed that he and his troops would join up with loyalist militias and easily take the area. The campaign began with a swift move to capture Charleston, which was taken over after two months"
"there was also a Continental Army presence that played a role in the defense of Charleston in 1776, suppression of Loyalist militias, and attempts to drive the British from strongly Loyalist East Florida. The British ""southern strategy"" commenced in late 1778 with the capture of Savannah, Georgia, which was followed in 1780 by operations in South Carolina that included the defeat of two Continental Armies at Charleston and Camden. General Nathanael Greene, who took over as Continental Army commander after Camden, engaged in a strategy of avoidance and attrition against the British. The two forces fought a string of battles,"
"Benjamin Lincoln Benjamin Lincoln (January 24, 1733 (O.S. January 13, 1732) – May 9, 1810) was an American army officer. He served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Lincoln is notable for being involved in three major surrenders during the war: his participation in the Battles of Saratoga (sustaining a wound shortly afterward) contributed to John Burgoyne's surrender of a British army, he oversaw the largest American surrender of the war at the 1780 Siege of Charleston, and, as George Washington's second in command, he formally accepted the British surrender at Yorktown. After"
"Loyalists, the American Volunteers, led by Maj. Patrick Ferguson. The majority of the British soldiers who took part in the Battle of Monck's Corner were Loyalist troops raised from the colony of South Carolina, although a detachment of the 17th Light Dragoons under Capt. William Henry Talbotwith also participated. Tarleton's unit was known as the Loyalist British Legion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton. General Sir Henry Clinton arrived before Charleston, South Carolina on the 1st April 1780, and began siege preparations as the opening move in British plan to gain control over North and South Carolina. The"
"the story became widely known. The flag became an icon of the Revolution in the South. It was called the Moultrie, or the Liberty Flag. The new state of South Carolina incorporated its design into its state flag. William Moultrie William Moultrie (; November 23, 1730 – September 27, 1805) was a South Carolina planter and politician who became a general in the American Revolutionary War. As colonel leading a state militia, in 1776 he prevented the British from taking Charleston, and Fort Moultrie was named in his honor. After independence, Moultrie advanced as a politician; he was elected by"
"1779 as a body of British troops under the command of General Augustine Prevost. General Prevost established a small force to remain on the island, headed by Lieutenant Colonel John Maitland. Under the command of Sir Henry Clinton, more troops landed on Seabrook Island, beginning February 11, 1780. Clinton's goal was to cross Johns Island and James Island and lay siege to Charleston. Clinton's army crossed the Stono River and set up temporary headquarters at Fenwick Hall. Moving to James Island, marching up the west bank of the Ashley River to Old Town Landing and proceeding south to Charleston, Clinton"
"no popular uprising of Loyalists, making control of the countryside difficult. Instead, resistance in South Carolina degenerated into a period of chaotic guerrilla warfare in the outlying areas. The joint British naval-army forces were led overall by Sir Henry Clinton, with his subordinate, Lord Cornwallis as his second-in-command. The British regular troops were led by Brigadier General Alexander Leslie. The ground and naval forces were composed thus: The Franco-American garrison of Charleston was overall led by Benjamin Lincoln. The Continental Army troops were nominally led by Brigadier General William Moultrie The ground and naval forces were composed thus: The American"
"1779. Cornwallis was devastated by the loss, reporting that her death had ""effectually destroyed all my hopes of happiness in this world."" He eventually decided to return to service in April 1779; in a letter to Clinton he offered to serve either in the southern colonies or the West Indies. Cornwallis returned to America in July 1779, where he was to play a central role as the lead commander of the British ""Southern strategy"". At the end of 1779, Clinton and Cornwallis transported a large force south and initiated the second siege of Charleston during the spring of 1780, which"
"return to the south to join General Benjamin Lincoln in Charleston, South Carolina. He marched to Augusta, Georgia, in command of the Georgia troops, and then proceeded to Savannah, where he commanded the 1st and 5th South Carolina regiments during the siege of Savannah. After the battle, he retired his troops to Charleston where he remained to defend the city from the British Army. On May 12, 1780, General Lincoln was forced to surrender the city to British General Sir Henry Clinton. McIntosh was taken prisoner and remained in captivity until he was exchanged on February 9, 1782, for Charles"
"lieutenant colonel in the militia. He was elected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress in 1774 and the Second Continental Congress the following year. He left Congress early in 1776 to assume command of the 1st South Carolina Regiment of the Continental Army and to serve in the Provincial Congress of South Carolina. In February 1776, South Carolina President John Rutledge named him a brigadier general in charge of the state's military forces. As the British prepared to attack Charleston, Major General Charles Lee ordered outlying positions abandoned. Rutledge and the local officers disagreed. A compromise was reached"
"enraged friend and foe alike in the South Carolina low country. In October 1779, French and Continental Army forces tried to retake Savannah. Under the leadership of General Lincoln, and with the assistance of a French naval squadron commanded by Comte d'Estaing, it was a spectacular failure. The combined French-American forces suffered some 901 casualties, to the British 54. The French Navy found Savannah's fortifications similar to those that had defied Admiral Peter Parker at Charleston in 1776. The artillery bombardment had little effect on the defenses, but unlike Charleston—where Clinton decided against attacking Fort Moultrie by land—Estaing decided to"
"same practices, however, did win the allegiance of thousands of Black Loyalists. On June 28, 1776, General Henry Clinton, with 2000 men and a naval squadron, tried to seize Charleston, hoping for a simultaneous Loyalist uprising in South Carolina. It seemed a cheap way of waging the war, but it failed as the naval force was defeated by the Continental Army, specifically, the 2nd South Carolina Regiment at Fort Moultrie under the command of William Moultrie. When the fleet fired cannonballs, the shot failed to penetrate the fort's unfinished, yet thick palmetto log walls. Additionally, no local Loyalists attacked the"
"Battle of Monck's Corner The Battle of Monck's Corner was fought on April 14, 1780, outside the city of Charleston, South Carolina, which was under siege by British forces under the command of General Sir Henry Clinton in the American Revolutionary War. The Loyalist British Legion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, surprised an American force stationed at Monck's Corner, and drove them away. The action cut off an avenue of escape for Benjamin Lincoln's besieged army. Aside from the British Legion, and the 33rd Foot and 64th Foot led by Lt. Col. James Webster, the force included"
"House of Representatives, Laurens introduced his black regiment plan in 1779, again in 1780, and a third time in 1782, meeting overwhelming rejection each time. Governor John Rutledge and General Christopher Gadsden were among the opponents. In 1779, when the British threatened Charleston, Governor Rutledge proposed to surrender the city with the condition that Carolina become neutral in the war. Laurens strongly opposed the idea, and fought with Continental forces to repel the British. On May 3, 1779, Colonel William Moultrie's troops, outnumbered two to one, faced 2,400 British regulars under General Augustine Prévost, who had crossed the Savannah River."
"was the worst American loss of the war. The United States Army did not suffer a loss of similar size until the Battle of Harper's Ferry during the American Civil War. Battle of Monck's Corner The Battle of Monck's Corner was fought on April 14, 1780, outside the city of Charleston, South Carolina, which was under siege by British forces under the command of General Sir Henry Clinton in the American Revolutionary War. The Loyalist British Legion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, surprised an American force stationed at Monck's Corner, and drove them away. The action cut"
"the command of Major General Nathanael Greene regained control of much of South Carolina by capturing the numerous interdependent chain of British held forts throughout the State. One-by-one, the British and Loyalists were surrounded in Charles Town and became completely dependent on supplies by sea. After preliminary peace terms had been agreed, the British evacuated Charles Town on December 14, 1782, a day now officially designated as ""South Carolina Independence Day"". Greene was awarded a Congressional Medal and numerous other official awards from the State of South Carolina for his leadership in liberating the state and for restoring an elected"
"Dunmore's Proclamation in 1775) that promised the emancipation of the planter's slaves; these efforts did however, unsurprisingly win the allegiance of thousands of Black Loyalists. The Battle of Sullivan's Island saw the British fail to capture a partially constructed palmetto palisade from Col. Moultrie's militia regiment on June 28, 1776. The Liberty Flag used by Moultrie's men formed the basis of the later South Carolina flag, and the victory's anniversary continues to be commemorated as Carolina Day. Making the capture of Charlestown their chief priority, the British sent Gen. Clinton, who began his siege of Charleston on April 1, 1780"
"James Abercrombie (British Army officer, born 1706) General James Abercrombie or Abercromby (1706 – 23 April 1781) was a British Army general and commander-in-chief of forces in North America during the French and Indian War, best known for the disastrous British losses in the 1758 Battle of Carillon. Abercrombie was born in Glassaugh, Banffshire, Scotland to a wealthy family, and was appointed an ensign in the 25th Regiment of Foot at age eleven. He was promoted to captain in 1736, and purchased a major's commission in 1742. He was promoted to colonel in 1746 and served in the Flemish Campaign"
"couple black slaves. Following the failures of military campaigns in the northern United States earlier in the American Revolutionary War, British military planners decided to embark on a southern strategy to conquer the rebellious colonies, with the support of Loyalists in the South. Their first step was to gain control of the southern ports of Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina. An expedition in December 1778 took Savannah with modest resistance from ineffective militia and Continental Army defenses. The Continental Army regrouped, and by June 1779 the combined army and militia forces guarding Charleston numbered between 5,000 and 7,000 men."
"Carolina and Virginia, besieging the rebels in the north on all sides. This campaign repeated the successful December 1778 Capture of Savannah, with Sir Henry Clinton's successful Siege of Charleston in May 1780. British forces then campaigned in the Back Country, capturing the key towns of Georgetown, Cheraw, Camden, Ninety Six, and Augusta. Clinton returned to New York on 5 June 1780, after the southern remnants of the Continental Army were defeated in May 1780 at the Battle of Waxhaws, tasking Lord Cornwallis with the pacification of the remaining portions of the state. The Patriot resistance remaining in South Carolina"
"Battle of Beaufort The Battle of Beaufort, also known as the Battle of Port Royal Island, was fought on February 3, 1779, near Beaufort, South Carolina, during the American Revolutionary War. The battle took place not long after British forces consolidated control around Savannah, Georgia, which they had captured in December 1778. Brigadier General Augustine Prevost sent 200 British regulars to seize Port Royal Island at the mouth of the Broad River in South Carolina in late January 1779. Major General Benjamin Lincoln, the American commander in the south, sent South Carolina Brigadier General William Moultrie from Purrysburg, South Carolina"