Winning the War in the South

1. Winning the War in the South

2. Section Objectives • Explain why the British decided to start fighting in the south. • Discuss how the British were defeated at Yorktown • List the Terms of the Treaty of Paris • Describe why Americas won the War.

3. Key Terms and People • Sir Henry Clinton • Nathaniel Greene • Daniel Morgan • Battle of Cowpens • Francis Marion • Benedict Arnold • Comte de Rochambeau • Battle of Yorktown • Treaty of Paris • Guerrilla • Siege • ratify

4. Why the South • The south was home to many British Loyalist. • Sir Henry Clinton thought if the British marched through the south loyalist would join. • His plan seem to be working. Clinton took Savannah, GA and Charleston and Camden in SC.

5. In the Carolina backcountry Patriots and Loyalist launched violent raids against one another. British Troops and Loyalist became increasingly cruel causing moderates to side with the Patriots.

6. Nathanael Greene & Daniel Morgan

7. Greene and Morgan Help turn the Tide • Gen. Greene’s military skills were considered 2nd only to Gen. Washington. • In 1780, Greene became the Commander of the Continental Army in the South. • His knowledge of the geography enabled him to force the British to fight him on grounds that were beneficial to his troops. • He had British Gen. Cornwallis chasing his army and wearing them out.

8. Greene & Morgan Continued • Gen. Morgan, in 1781, scored a major victory at the Battle of Cowpens in SC. • He used clever tactics to defeat the British. • Morgan divided his troops into a front and rear lines. • He order the Front line to fire only two volleys and retreat • When the British would advance they would walk right into the line of fire of the second line.

9. Francis Marion aka “The Swamp Fox” His soldiers would use guerrilla, or hit and run tactics, to harass the British. They would attack quickly and disappear just as quick.

10. General Charles Cornwallis Gen. Cornwallis changes his plan. He will attack VA instead of the Carolinas.

11. Why the Change? • Cornwallis abandons his plan to take the Carolinas and moves his troops to Virginia. • He figures if you take Virginia you can cut off the supply routes to the south. • Cornwallis figures that since Benedict Arnold was able to capture the Capital Richmond, that Virginia was ripe for the picking.

12. Benedict Arnold the Traitor The one time American commander had defected to the British during the Revolutionary War.

13. Benedict Arnold • While commander of West Point, Arnold plotted to secretly turn the Fort over to the British. • Arnold was an ambitious man who felt unappreciated. • Arnold felt he was not given enough credit for his victories, and felt he should be compen$ated. • His raids on Connecticut and Virginia enraged Patriots. George Washington ordered he be hanged, but he was never caught.

14. Battle of Yorktown

15. Breaking down Yorktown • Cornwallis was hoping for success and found it at first in Charlottesville, VA. His raids forced the VA Legislature and Thomas Jefferson to flee. • American Troops under Lafayette, with insufficient troops, help to slow Cornwallis advances. • Then Cornwallis makes a major mistake. • Ignoring orders to march part of his army to NY he retreated to Yorktown peninsula. • He felt confident that British ships would supply him there.

16. Breakdown Continued • Washington sees an opportunity to trap Cornwallis. • He marched his army south from NY to help the French soldiers under Comte de Rochambeau. • The combined armies rushed to join Lafayette in VA. • Meanwhile, a French Fleet headed to Chesapeake Bay and closed the trap. • Cornwallis was cut off form supplies.

17. Surrender! • By the end of September American and French troops laid siege on Cornwallis’ Army. • Cornwallis held out for several weeks, but the casualties were mounting. • On October 19th1781, Gen. Cornwallis surrendered his army.

18. Treaty of Paris

19. Terms of the Treaty • In 1782, Congress sent Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay to Paris to work out a treaty. • The treaty recognized the US as an independent nation. • It extended east to west from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi river, and north and south from the Great lakes to the Spanish Florida border. • Americans agreed to pay Loyalist for property they had lost yet most claims were ignored.

20. Why the Americans Won • Geography- the British had to fight on very distant lands and over a vast region • Foreign Aid- Primarily the Spanish in the southwest and the French. • Patriotism-the patriotic spirit and fighting skills of the Americans also played pivotal to the victory.