SC & THE BATTLES OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR

8-2.5—Summarize the role of South Carolinians in the course of the American Revolution, including the use of partisan warfare & the battles of Charleston, Camden, Cowpens, Kings Mountain, & Eutaw Springs

SC CONFLICTS THAT EFFECTED THE WAR

American forces thwarted the British attempt the split the colonies & won the a victory at Saratoga, NY A turning point in the war for the Americans Victory resulted in an American alliance with

France Afterward, the British turned to SC in hopes

finding a large number of Loyalists

Video: Battle of Saratoga (9:55)

BATTLE OF CHARLESTON

1st British attempt to take Charleston failed due to tides & resistance from the palmetto log fort protecting the port (Fort Moultrie) 2nd attempt was successful after sieging for

several days The British blockaded and cut off supply lines

that lead from Charleston Harbor Patriot troops who were trapped on the peninsula

were forced to surrendered in May 1780 Other Patriot soldiers surrenders and were

paroled

BRITISH RESPONSE TO SC

British hoped that they would gain control of the state through large numbers of state Loyalists and the neutral colonists to help win the war

But, the British changed their parole terms and forced paroled Patriots to take up arms against their countrymen At the same time, The British, along with

American Tories, treated SC harshly: they burned churches, looted & confiscated homes, harassed and exiled citizens

This behavior turned South Carolinians against the British. Partisan bands were formed as a result.

Patriot partisans led by Francis Marion, Thomas Sumter, Andrew Pickens, & William Harden were fighting both the British regular troops and the Loyalists forces using hit & run tactics all over the state

BATTLE OF CAMDEN Major defeat for the Continental Army

It signified that almost all of SC was controlled by the British

The SC partisans were not prepared & turned and ran when faced with the regular British troops

Resulted in Horatio Gate’s command of the southern arm of the Continental Army be transferred to Nathaniel Greene

Greene coordinated work with the state’s partisans in order to fight a destructive war of attrition (“mobile war”) that would unbalance & eventually destroy the British war efforts

BATTLE OF KINGS MOUNTAIN

Video (8:16)

BATTLE OF KINGS MOUNTAIN

British & Loyalist forces had stopped on the top of Kings Mountain in a place they thought was safe to set up camp

Mountain men from North and South Carolina were fed up with the harsh behavior of the Tories and British decided to put a stop to it

The “Over Mountain Men” (Patriots) fought Guerilla warfare against the camp on Kings Mountain from behind the same rocks and trees the British thought were keeping them safe

The British & Tories sustained heavy casualties

BATTLE OF KINGS MOUNTAIN The British tried to surrender, but were

offered no quarter by the Patriots in retaliation of the harsh treatment the British had bestowed upon the Patriots throughout SC

The Battle of Kings Mountain is considered a turning point in the Revolutionary War because the British forces began to retreat from the upcountry

Video 2:18

THE BATTLE OF COWPENS

Showed a cooperation between the Continental Army and the partisan forces

Partisans had a reputation among the British for turning tail and running

The American commander (Andrew Pickens) counted on this reputation for his battle plans

Pickens led the attack and fled back into the field He tricked the British forces into thinking they

were retreating again Instead, the partisans lured the British forces into

their guns, taking a victory! Resulting in the first time a British force of

mostly regular troops had been defeated by the Americans

THE BATTLE OF COWPENS

Cornwallis and the British retreated to North Carolina to fight and wait for supplies

Eventually they retreated back to Virginia leaving their remaining forces in the SC backcountry to be evacuated or reclaimed by the partisan forces and/or Greene’s Continental Army that was pushing toward the coast

COLONEL ISAAC HAYNE

Partisan parolee Colonel Isaac Hayne was captured near Charleston in July 1781

The British used his punishment as an example to help stem the Patriot advance

They hanged him as a traitor of the British crown after only a brief trial

Nathaniel Greene issued a proclamation stated that he would retaliate against the British forces

BATTLE OF EUTAW SPRINGS After the Battle of Eutaw Springs, Greene had

captured enough British officers to ensure that no more Patriot executions would occur

This battle was not one of the last 137 battles fought in SC, nor a technical victory( b/c of the unsoldierly plundering behavior of the hungry and nearly naked Continental soldiers)

Irreplaceable British troop loses made this battle strategically the major final battle in the beleaguered state

American contemporaries view this battle as a Pyrrhic victory for the British b/c it marks the clearance of the British from the battleground state and region (except for few enclaves near the coast that evacuated after peace proceedings in 1782)

BATTLE OF EUTAW SPRINGS

Americans viewed the battle as a victory b/c of its positive tactical results

This can be seen both in the striking of a commemorative medal and the commissioning of a tribute door panel of the Capital building in the early years of the new republic