Conceived in Liberty (257 page)

Fighting stopped for the summer months, and the British were in firm control only of Savannah and its environs. In the up country, the Tories had been demoralized and the British were subject to continuing raids by the rebels. They made Mark Prevost temporary lieutenant governor of Georgia to try to restore order in upper Georgia until Wright and the other royal officials could arrive.

The growing difficulties encountered in the southern campaign did nothing to nurture whatever enthusiasm General Clinton had had for the southern invasion. Much has been made in recent years of Clinton’s alleged personality defects as the explanation for his ambivalence and indecision. In truth, however, there were plenty of objective considerations to cause him—or anyone else in his place—to be indecisive. For one thing, a great many factors that could tip the balance were beyond his control. Among these were the dispositions of the British and French fleets, the number of reinforcements he might obtain, the extent of Toryism that
would be revealed in the South, and the political and strategic considerations and decisions that would be weighed and concluded in London. Certain it is that Clinton was not an outstanding general, but mediocre generals abound and are well understood without dragging in psychological approaches of dubious value by armchair historical “psychoanalysts” two centuries later. Suffice it to say that what the British needed was a military genius and Clinton scarcely filled the bill; but, for this fact, no historical psychologizing is required.
*

While it is true that Clinton lacked any comprehensive or sound strategic plan in the South, his superiors in London had nothing better, and his means were limited. Under Lord Germain’s general instructions, he did carry out a quick thrust against the Virginia coast. In early May 1779, he had sent out Gen. George Matthews and Commodore Sir George Collier with 2,500 men to prevent reinforcements being concentrated on the Georgia front; in a resounding military success, they captured Portsmouth, Norfolk, and other southern supply centers on the coast, and destroyed numerous ships and enormous amounts of provisions, naval stores, and ammunition. The captured towns were sacked and plundered and the plantations looted, all without the loss of a single man. The American losses have been estimated at the huge figure of 2,000,000 pounds. The British then abandoned the coast, as planned, although Commodore Collier made a strong case for at least retaining Portsmouth and giving aid and shelter to the many Virginia Tories who had suddenly emerged joyously to greet the British, and who, abandoned and disillusioned, would be left to their fate.

Clinton also decided to reinforce the troops in Georgia for a drive northward. But twice, in the summer and fall of 1779, his plans were thwarted by the French fleet: first when Jamaica asked for reinforcements to defend against the French and second in the fall. Admiral D’Estaing, fresh from victories in the West Indies, appeared off the Georgia coast in early September with nearly 6,000 troops and forced Clinton’s 3,000 troops to turn back and withdraw to New York.

The French fleet moved in to beseige Savannah, and the fall campaign of 1779 found the British on the defensive. Maitland waded through the swamps of Port Royal with 800 men to increase Prevost’s defense force at Savannah to 4,000. Meanwhile, Lincoln arrived near Savannah with 1,400 men to strengthen the siege.

D’Estaing should have assaulted Savannah immediately when he arrived in mid-September, to take advantage of surprise and take the city easily. Instead, the admiral confined himself to a siege, giving Prevost time to strengthen the city’s defenses. Furthermore, winter was approaching, and a long naval siege was not feasible in winter months. Hence, after a further siege of a month, D’Estaing assaulted Savannah on October 9. But the frontal assault of 3,500 French and over 800 American troops on the well-entrenched British positions failed ignominiously, and the French and Americans experienced heavy losses—over 800 casualties, a staggering proportion of the attacking force—and the British lost only 150. D’Estaing was wounded and the American Gen. Casimir Pulaski, a young revolutionary Polish count and cavalry officer who had enlisted in the American cause, was killed in the battle. Despite the pleas of Lincoln to continue the siege, D’Estaing and the French force hurried away to France. The British and the Tories were elated, and the Americans disheartened, by this defeat at Savannah. This was the third operation (the others had been at New York and Newport) that D’Estaing had conducted against the British on American shores, and each was a failure. Moreover, Georgia was again safe for the British, and they were now free to continue their campaign northward.

*
This is apart from the distortions injected into historical accounts when only one general is “psychoanalyzed” while all others in the historical drama are treated by ordinary rational historical analysis without benefit of psychologizing. For a brief but much needed critique of the recent psychological treatment of Clinton, see Curtis P. Nettels, “Review of William B. Willcox,
Portrait of A General: Sir Henry Clinton and the War of Independence.
”
The Journal of American History
(June 1965), pp. 115–16.

When Clinton, in New York, learned of D’Estaing’s defeat and withdrawal, on the other hand, he determined to seize Charleston and use it as the southern British base. With the French at sea, the British securely in charge of Savannah, and little aid being sent by Washington or Congress to the South, the time certainly seemed auspicious.

He left Knyphausen in charge of New York and sailed south on December 26, 1779, with 8,000 troops. After a stormy voyage he arrived off Charleston on February 1 and landed on John’s Island, south of the city, on February 11. He moved with the excessive caution and timidity that had now become traditional in British operations in the Revolutionary War. He inched his way north, captured James Island, and finally, on March 29, crossed the Ashley River near Charleston. By early April, reinforcements had swelled the British troops to 10,000 men and 5,000 sailors, while Lincoln had only 5,000 men in the city. Instead of using Clinton’s sloth to make good his escape, Lincoln absurdly concluded that Charleston could be successfully defended in an open confrontation with the British forces.

After crossing the Ashley, Clinton proceeded eastward to the Cooper River, virtually cutting off Charleston by land. Meanwhile, in early April 1780, the British fleet sailed into Charleston Harbor. Charleston was now completely surrounded, except for one escape route: across the Cooper River and up the Cooper to Monck’s Corner where Gen. Isaac Huger was stationed with 500 men to guard the route. But Lincoln, despite his inferior numbers and encircled position, did not consider using this out, and the bombardment of hapless Charleston began on April 13. The resolute Gen. Lachlan McIntosh pleaded with Lincoln to withdraw and
save the American army in the south, but Lincoln allowed himself to be swayed by the pleas of the Charleston populace to remain and defend the town.

While Lincoln hesitated, the British Col. Banastre Tarleton, commanding the British Legion of mounted Tories, struck swiftly and suddenly at Huger’s force in the middle of the night of April 14. The Americans were shattered and dispersed, suffering heavy losses of nearly 90 men, while the British lost virtually none. Tarleton marched south toward Charleston, totally cutting off Lincoln’s path of retreat.

Lincoln finally began to consider withdrawing from his untenable situation, but now the South Carolina Council warned that if the troops tried to withdraw, the citizens would wreck the army’s boats and open the gates to the enemy. Meanwhile, Clinton drew the net tighter, and a ferocious British bombardment on May 9 quickly broke the none too hardy spirit of the Charlestonians, who insisted on surrendering the city. This demand for surrender was quickly seconded by Lieutenant Governor Gadsden and the South Carolina Council, and the militia began to abandon their posts. Lincoln had now but one alternative—to surrender. And surrender he did on May 12. The Americans thereby lost not only the great port of Charleston, but also the entire southern army of nearly 5,500 men, along with many ships and huge amounts of stores and ammunition. This was to be the largest surrender of American forces until the Civil War.

The surrender at Charleston did indeed bring out Tory sentiment in Georgia and South Carolina. Clinton’s pullout of most of the British troops from Savannah and Augusta had at first disheartened Georgia Tories, who were subject to rebel raids within a few miles of Savannah. But now all this was changed. Two hundred citizens of Charleston congratulated Clinton on his seizure of the city; the defeated militia quickly took an oath of allegiance to the king and happily marched off to their homes. News of the surrender caused one back-country militia regiment to mutiny, seize their officers, and march into Charleston to yield the officers to the British.

Hundreds of South Carolinians flocked to join Tory regiments, and some of the leading conservative members of the council found no difficulty in collaborating with the British. The dejected rebels seemed everywhere ready to yield to British rule, and those rebel leaders who had escaped now came in to surrender. Rumors that Washington would abandon the South added to the defeatism in that region.

In these circumstances the occupation and reduction of back-country South Carolina proved unexpectedly easy. General Cornwallis, in charge of this occupation, established a string of strongly held posts across northern South Carolina from Cheraw, in the east, through Camden and Rocky Mount to Ninety-Six, as well as fortifications on the seacoast from northern
South Carolina through Charleston, Beaufort, and Savannah. Camden was the major post, with 2,500 men under Lord Rawdon; units were also stationed at Augusta. All these British posts were established without opposition; the last remnants of organized armed groups quickly surrendered at Beaufort, Camden, and Ninety-Six, and the remaining militia dispersed quickly and scattered to their homes.

The last remaining American armed force in the lower South was a regiment of over 350 Virginia Continentals under Col. Abraham Buford. Buford had come as far south as the Santee to help out Charleston, but when the city surrendered he was ordered to retire as fast as possible to North Carolina. But the amazing Colonel Tarleton, marching fewer than 300 men over 150 miles in 54 hours, caught up with Buford on May 29 at Waxhaws, near the North Carolina border. Buford poorly deployed his men for a cavalry attack, placing them on an open plain instead of behind fortifications, and held his fire too long. Tarleton’s cavalry charge smashed the American defenses, and when the Americans surrendered, his troops fell upon the disarmed and wounded Americans with bayonets. The prisoners thus slaughtered, from that time on “Tarleton’s quarter” was a phrase that described any massacre of disarmed prisoners. Buford and a hundred men had escaped, but over 260 men were killed or badly wounded and over fifty taken prisoner. In contrast, Tarleton lost only a handful of men.

Georgia and South Carolina were now fully occupied and pacified by the British and the contented Clinton prepared to take a third of his troops back to New York, leaving Cornwallis and 8,300 men (approximately half British and half Tory) in charge of the South. Before leaving, Clinton tried to settle the administrative system to be imposed upon the conquered states. He rejected the advice of British Adm. Marriot Arbuthnot to reestablish the royal civilian regime immediately in South Carolina, and instead, the state remained under military rule for the remainder of the war. More fateful was Clinton’s July 3 proclamation. He had issued decrees for the reconquered subjects, pledging full protection and support for all those faithful to the crown. This and his offer of a full and free pardon to all rebels who would take the oath of allegiance made a very good impression upon the people of South Carolina and moved them closer to support of Great Britain. The effect of these decisions was wholly offset, however, by his proclamation that all prisoners on parole would be released and restored to their full rights
except
that all who later failed to take an oath of allegiance to the crown would be considered in rebellion. This harsh edict forced those who had been happily neutral to take aggressively one side or the other. Deprived of the choice of neutrality, they tended to shift to the rebel cause. The stern proclamation of June 3 revivified a revolutionary cause that had almost died in South Carolina.

Clinton had no qualms about his June departure north. Georgia and South Carolina were pacified and that was that. North Carolina would be no problem either: Cornwallis could make a quick thrust into that state, and the British presence, heightened by the return of North Carolina’s royal governor Josiah Martin, would inspire and activate the Tories. And so that state would be quickly pacified. From there, the British would move up to the Chesapeake, both British armies would unite in Virginia, and then go on to subdue the middle colonies. No qualms were felt about the hostile personal relations between Cornwallis and Clinton, nor about Clinton’s failure the previous May to mount an invasion of Virginia simultaneously with the attack on Charleston—a failure caused by the activities of the French fleet. Instead, Clinton confidently set sail for New York on June 8.

Several factors, however, now began to change the military picture in the lower South. A French fleet again prevented the British seaborne invasion of Virginia off the Chesapeake; a severe shortage of supplies forced Cornwallis to postpone his march into North Carolina; and the southern Indians failed to take their expected part in the southern campaign. For one thing, the death of John Stuart, the esteemed British Indian agent in the South, deprived the British of much influence over the Indians. The Spanish entrance into the war also gave the Indians more tasks to perform, and a smallpox epidemic blighted the fighting spirit of the Cherokee. Most important, however, was the emergence in South Carolina of that form of warfare most suited to the conditions of revolutionary war: guerrilla warfare. In this case, small but compact and highly
mobile partisan bands of rebels organized to harass and trouble the British. The three most noted guerrilla leaders were Andrew Pickens, Thomas Sumter, and the aptly named “Swamp Fox,” Francis Marion, all officers of the South Carolina militia.