South Carolina during the Revolution

The events surrounding the American Revolution transformed British colonists into American
citizens. To understand South Carolinas important role during the war, you should be able to
summarize the role of South Carolinians during the Revolution, including the use of partisan
warfare and the battles of Charleston, Camden, Cowpens, Kings Mountain, and Eutaw Springs.
Important conflicts during the American Revolution took place in South Carolina and affected
the state and the outcome of the Revolutionary War.
The Americans were able to stop the British from splitting the colonies and won an important
victory at the battle of Saratoga, New York. This battle led to
Americas alliance with France and British moving the war to South
Carolina hoping to find help from Loyalists. The British had lost their
first try at capturing Charleston at the
palmetto log fort that became known
as Fort Moultrie but were successful
the second time around. Charleston
was under siege by the British and the
harbor was blockaded and supply lines
were cut off. The Patriots were forced
to surrender in May of 1781. Many of
the Patriots who surrendered were
paroled. The British hoped that South
Carolina Loyalists and the large number
of South Carolinians who remained
neutral would help them control the
state and help them win the war.
However this failed, the British soon
changed the terms of the parole,
requiring Patriots to fight against other
Americans and at the same time started treating the locals harshly
by burning churches, looting or confiscating homes, and harassing
Image found:
http://static02.mediaite.com/
themarysue/uploads//2012/0
3/ass-creed-3.jpg
1. Name 2 differences you see
between the images
2. Which strategy do you think would
be the most deadly?
Image found:
http://miniawi.blogspot.com/2
009/04/cowpens-in-miniature-
13.html
and exiling citizens. Many South Carolinians turned against the British and formed partisan
bands. Soon Patriot partisans led by Francis Marion, Thomas Sumter, Andrew Pickens, and
William Harden were fighting both the British regular troops and Loyalist forces using hit and
run tactics all over the state.
South Carolina Battles
The Battle of Camden was a major defeat for
the regular Continental Army because it signified
that almost all of South Carolina was controlled
by the British. The South Carolina militia was not
prepared and turned and fled in the face of the
regular British forces. Horatio Gates was
replaced as commander of the southern section
of the Continental Army by Nathaniel Greene.
Greene understood the need for a mobile war
(a destructive war of attrition) using the partisan
bands to unbalance and
destroy the British war
effort.
The Battle of Kings
Mountain stopped the
loyalist forces and British
regulars that were
rampaging throughout South Carolinas backcountry. Mountain men from both North and
South Carolina were tired of the mistreatment from British/Tories and determined to stop it by
attacking the mostly-Tory forces from behind rocks and trees, inflicting heavy casualties.
Although the British tried to surrender, they were offered no quarter by the Patriots in
retaliation for the harsh treatment of Patriots by the British. Kings Mountain is considered a
turning point because the British began to retreat from the Upcountry.
The Battle of Cowpens soon after showed the cooperation of the regular Continental Army and
the irregular partisan forces. Partisans had a reputation among British regular troops for
turning tail and running during battles. The American commander counted on this reputation
for his battle plan. The partisans, under the leadership of Andrew Pickens, led the attack and
then fled the field, tricking the British regulars into thinking that the Americans were again
retreating. Instead, the partisans lured the British forces into the guns of the regular American
Image found: http://www.schistory.net/3CLD/Articles/cowpens.html
3. As a patriot how would you feel after the colonists win at
Cowpens, since before the colonists suffered destructive losses?
4. As a loyalist how would you feel after the colonists win at
Cowpens, since before the loyalist were extremely successful?
army. The British were soundly defeated, this
being the first time during the war that the
American army had defeated a force consisting
of mostly British regulars. Cornwallis and the
British retreated northward into North Carolina
to fight and wait for supplies, eventually moving
on toward Virginia while leaving the remainder
of their forces posted in the South Carolina
backcountry to be evacuated or systematically
reclaimed by partisan troops
and/or Greenes Continental forces
as they moved toward the coast.
When partisan parolee Colonel
Isaac Hayne was captured near
Charleston in July 1781, the British decided to stem the tide of Patriot progress by making his
fate an example. After a brief trial, Hayne was hanged as a traitor to the crown. Greene
immediately issued a proclamation stating that he would retaliate and, after the Battle of
Eutaw Springs, he had enough British officers as prisoners to insure that no more executions
would take place. The Battle of Eutaw Springs
was neither the last of the 137 battles in the
state, nor a technical victory because of the
unsoldierly plundering behavior of the hungry
and nearly naked Continentals. However, the
irreplaceable British troop losses made this the
strategically the final major battle in the state.
While there was no clear winner, for the Patriots
this was an important battle. Historians view it
as a Pyrrhic victory
for the Americans
because the British
gave up in South
Carolina and ended
their southern
campaign. After Yorktown and during the peace proceedings in 1782 the British left the state
and the war ended in South Carolina. The Battle of Eutaw Springs was seen by the Americans
as a positive one and created a medal and commissioned a tribute door panel of the capitol
building to commemorate the battle.
Image found: http://captainjamesdavis.net/2013/02/11/history-of-the-battle-of-kings-
mountain-and-its-heroes-part-i-1765-to-may-1780/
5. If you were General Cornwallis, how might you have
changed your strategy to ensure the capturing of South
Carolina?
Image found: http://www.all-flags-world.com/usa-states/South-Carolina/flag-of-south-carolina.php
6. An image of the South Carolina flag (based off the battle of Fort
Moultrie) is shown above. Based on your study of the major battles
describe a new flag for South Carolina using a new battle that
displays the historical importance of it.