CHAPTER 7 • SECTION 3 Savannah and Charles Town Fall In December 1778, the British captured the port of Savannah, Georgia. (See Map A on p. 215.) They then conquered most of Georgia. In 1780, a British army led by General Henry Clinton landed in South Carolina. They trapped American forces in Charles Town More About . . . (now Charleston), the largest Southern city. The Battle of Charles Town ended when the city surrendered. The Americans lost almost their entire Southern The Battle of Camden army. It was the worst American defeat of the war. After that loss, Congress assigned General Horatio Gates—the victor at Considered to be one of the worst Saratoga—to form a new Southern army. Continental soldiers led by Baron American losses in the Revolutionary War, de Kalb formed the army’s core. Gates added about 2,000 new and untrained two huge armies clashed at the Battle of militia. He then headed for Camden, South Carolina, to challenge the army Camden, August 6, 1780. Around 3,400 led by the British general Lord Cornwallis. (Cornwallis had assumed control Americans faced 2,200 British soldiers, of British forces after Clinton returned to New York.) yet Britain prevailed in a crushing victory. In August 1780, Gates’s army ran into British troops outside Camden. Besides losing critical military supplies, the (See Map A on p. 215.) The Americans were in no condition to fight. They Americans suffered a significant loss of were out of supplies and half-starved. Even worse, Gates put the inexpe- life. Americans suffered 2,000 casualties rienced militia along part of the frontline instead of behind the veterans. When the British attacked, the militia panicked and ran. Gates also fled, compared to just 324 British casualties.

CONNECT To Today CONNECT To Today Military Communication MILITARY COMMUNICATION One method of military communication that was first used by the American army during In the 18th century, military communications were painfully slow. Ships from London might take up to the Revolutionary War was the bugle. The four months to bring orders to British generals. commander would assign different actions Mail did not travel much faster within America to specific calls. The U.S. Army still uses the itself. British General Cornwallis was frustrated by bugle call as a method of communication the “delay and difficulty of conveying letters” and to signal various activities to be done “the impossibility of waiting for answers.” Not only throughout the day. were journeys long, but bands of Patriots made sure that British lines of communication were constantly • How was the bugle a useful method of disrupted. communication during the Revolutionary Today, wars are fought with the help of technology War? (Possible Answers: It was loud; that provides instant communication. Computers different calls communicated signals that and satellites relay information quickly between the enemy could not understand.) sea, air, and ground forces. For example, a video of A woman gives a an attack on enemy forces in Afghanistan can be message to an officer of sent via satellite to the Florida command center and CRITICAL THINKING ANSWERS the Continental Army. then relayed live to the White House. 1. Draw Conclusions British; They had to communicate across the ocean CRITICAL THINKING A modern soldier relays battlefield information. by ship, while Americans could send 1. Draw Conclusions Which side in the Revolutionary War messages by land much quicker. would have suffered most from slow communications? Why? 2. Evaluate What are the advantages of today’s faster communications? 2. Evaluate Possible Answers: Reinforcements, supplies, or rescue 214 Chapter 7 teams can be sent as needed; those in command have access to more information; knowledge of enemy DIFFERENTIATING INSTRUCTION movements can lead to fewer casualties. Struggling Readers English Learners

Use a Map Language: Punctuation & Have students take turns locating Print Cues Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, Point out the parentheses in the text South Carolina, on a map of the United on p. 214. Explain that the parentheses States. Have students refer to the map either provide readers with background scale to measure and calculate the information or guide readers to a distance in miles between the two cities. resource that will support what they just (about 85 miles) Finally, have students read. Have students reread the passage estimate how long they think it would on p. 214 and determine the purpose take an army to march that distance. of each use of parentheses. Then have Have students share their calculations students write a sentence about the and compare results. Revolutionary War in which they correctly incorporate the use of parentheses. 214 • Chapter 7 War in the South 1778–1781 CHAPTER 7 • SECTION 3

Map A Dec. 1778–Oct. 1780 Map B Jan. 1781–April 1781

0 50 100 miles

0 50 100 kilometers War in the South 1778–1781 NORTH CAROLINA N

King's Mt., E Oct. 7, 1780 Charlotte W Connect Geography History Gates S CoC Camden, an. Wilmington ANALYZE Point out that the two maps Winnsboro Aug. 16, 1780 C ion Fort o ar show the same geographic region during Ninety-Six rn M wa llis two different time periods. SOUTH American forces CAROLINA Ch British forces ANSWERS Charles Town, American victory GEORGIA May 12,1780 0 50 100 miles British victory 1. Place Savannah, Georgia Savannah, 0 50 100 kilometers Dec. 29, 1778 ATLANTIC 2. Identify Problems and Solutions OCEAN Possible Answer: to get more supplies for 80°W Connect Geography History his army 1. Place Where did the British begin their attacks in the South? but de Kalb remained with his soldiers and 2. Identify Problems and Solutions Why do you think received fatal wounds. This second defeat in Cornwallis headed for the coast after the Battle of Guilford? the South ended Gates’s term as head of an More About . . . army. American spirits fell to a new low. The Battle of Cowpens Guerrilla War Although the Americans had been defeated at Camden, the British were having difficulty controlling the South. The countryside The Battle of Cowpens proved to be a was hostile and filled with more rebel sympathizers than Loyalists. Rebel significant American victory. Named after guerrillas repeatedly attacked British messengers. This made it difficult for the level pasture grazed by cattle, one British forces moving inland to keep in touch with their bases on the coast. reason this site may have been chosen was British commanders in the South were discovering what General Burgoyne because food was readily available for both had realized in the North: the countryside was a dangerous place for the horses and men. The horses consumed British army. grass, while the troops slaughtered free- One of the most famous rebel guerrilla leaders was Francis Marion, called range cattle and ate fresh beef before and the “Swamp Fox” because he led cunning attacks from his base in the after the fight. swamps. An American officer described Marion’s guerrilla band: “Their number did not exceed 20 men and boys, some white, some black, and all mounted, but most of them miserably equipped.” Despite their poor equip- ment, Marion’s men were able to cut the British supply line that led inland from Charles Town. General Greene Takes Charge After Gates’s defeat at Camden, Wash- Teacher-Tested Activities ington put Nathanael Greene in charge of the Southern army. Greene was one of Washington’s best generals. In January 1781, he sent part of his army Meg Robbins, Wilbraham Middle School, south to confront Cornwallis. In a formal, linear battle, the Americans won Wilbraham, Massachusetts a spectacular victory at Cowpens. (See Map B above.) The victory proved I divide the class into pairs to identify a battle that Americans had mastered the formal battle tactics of the British. or event in Section 3 and to write about it Cornwallis’s main army now pursued Greene up into North Carolina. from opposing perspectives. The British still had the advantage in a full-scale battle due to their greater • I read aloud the quote by 16-year-old The American Revolution 215 James Collins (on page 213). Then I tell my students to imagine they too are a young soldier fighting in the years 1778–1781 as DIFFERENTIATING INSTRUCTION the war moves south. • I have them decide who in each pair is “A or Struggling Readers Gifted & Talented B” and then assign “B” to British and “A” to the American side. Time Line of Southern Battles Map Battle Sites • Next, each must choose a leader and Have students create an annotated time Have students choose just one battle site imagine being in that general’s contingent, line of the war in the South. Students shown on the two maps on p. 215. They just after the same major battle has should refer to the maps on p. 215 of should: occurred. their textbooks. In addition to the date • find the local area in an atlas. • My students enjoy naming their characters and location of each battle, students and writing a letter home, describing: • trace, shade, and label the area’s should write a one-sentence summary where you are, who your leader is, what geographic features, including for each entry on their time lines. is happening (including battle tactics), and longitude and latitude. what this fighting has been like for the • add arrows, symbols, captions, and a soldiers. key to explain the events of the battle. • write a paragraph summary of the battle and its impact. Teacher’s Edition • 215