America Wins Independence from Great Britain
This entry is another in a series covering National Park Service historical Sites.
English Southern Strategy
In 1778, the British adopted a Southern Strategy in the war against the American Colonies. They initially met with success, capturing Savannah, Georgia, in late 1778. Then American forces at Charleston, South Carolina, surrendered after a six-week siege in May 1780. Finally, in August 1780, an outnumbered British force defeated the Continental forces at Camden, South Carolina. After these defeats, General Nathanial Greene took over the Southern American Army. He led them to a series of victories over Great Britain.
The National Park Service (NPS) maintains four sites covering the battles on the southern front of the Revolutionary war. American victories in these battles led to American independence. These are:
Kings Mountain (South Carolina)
Cowpens (South Carolina)
Guilford Courthouse (North Carolina)
Yorktown (Virginia)
Kings Mountain – October 1780
Americans fought Americans in the battle of Kings Mountain. Forces loyal to Great Britain (Loyalists) fought Patriot Militia. It was October 1780, and the Americans desperately needed a victory after the British string of wins in the South. As President Hoover said at the 150th anniversary of the battle:
"This is a place of inspiring memories. Here less than a thousand men, inspired by the urge of freedom, defeated a superior force entrenched in this strategic position. This small band of Patriots turned back a dangerous invasion well designed to separate and dismember the united Colonies. It was a little army and a little battle, but it was of mighty portent. History has done scant justice to its significance, which rightly should place it beside Lexington, Bunker Hill, Trenton, and Yorktown."
Teddy Roosevelt described the battle thusly: "This brilliant victory marked the turning point of the American Revolution."
The NPS preserves the battlefield site, telling the story of America's victory.
Cowpens – January 1781
Cowpens was fought in January 1781, under 10 miles away from the Kings Mountain battle site. Newly appointed general Nathanial Greene led a mixed contingent of army regulars and militia into battle. In one hour, his forces destroyed almost 90% of the British troops (killed, wounded, captured) commanded by British Colonel Tarleton.
In his biography of George Washington, future Supreme Court justice John Marshall wrote, "Seldom has a battle, in which greater numbers were not engaged, been so important in its consequences as that of Cowpens."
The NPS park maintains this battlefield, telling the details of the battle and the men who fought it. As described by the NPS: "The Cowpens victory was won over a crack British regular army…."
Guilford Courthouse – March 1781
After the defeat at Cowpens, British forces under General Cornwallis pursued the American troops into North Carolina. The Americans harassed the British army with hit and run raids, weakening them and exhausting their supplies. The armies met at the Guilford Courthouse in March 1781. Although the British were outnumbered, they forced the Americans to retreat. However, they sustained heavy casualties.
The NPS describes the battle: "The Courthouse battle was fierce. The veteran British troops were severely crippled. Cornwallis lost a quarter of his army and almost a third of his officers. Greene lost only six percent of his men."
A British politician said of this battle: "Another such victory would ruin the British Army!"
The British decided to retreat to Wilmington, NC, on the coast to receive supplies and reinforcements. This allowed the American army to re-occupy the North and South Carolina areas that the British had taken in the previous year.
Yorktown – October 1781
Surrender at Yorktown By John Trumbull - public domain
The British had sent a force under Benedict Arnold to attack Virginia, including military and economic targets. The British attacked Charlottesville and almost captured Governor Thomas Jefferson. Cornwallis decided to leave Wilmington and combine forces with Arnold in Virginia.
By now, the French had sent combat troops to fight with George Washington's army. The British were concerned that the combined army might attack New York, which they occupied. They ordered Cornwallis to fortify a coastal position in Virginia and send spare troops back to New York. Cornwallis chose Yorktown. The combined Franco-American army moved south from New York and started a siege of Yorktown. The French Navy defeated the British Navy's attempt to relieve the surrounded British. The British surrender resulted in America winning its freedom in the revolutionary war.
The NPS maintains the National Colonial Historical Park. This park contains two significant sites, Jamestown and Yorktown. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in North America, founded in 1607. Yorktown is 23 miles away. The sites are connected by the scenic 'Colonial Parkway.'
National Park Passport Program
These sites and other NPS historic sites are an educational experience about our history, worth visiting. And each provides you a stamp for the National Park Passport program. If case any of you are souvenir collectors.