militia were posted. The detachment retreated after a brisk skirmish, and General Greene fell back to the iron-works on Troublesome Creek. A few days later, he again advanced, and took up a position near Guildford Court House, at a distance of about ten miles from the British encampment. He had by this time received so many reinforcements as to be in command of an army numbering more than four thousand men. Conceiving that he was now in a sufficiently good condition to offer battle to the enemy, he made his arrangements to that end. Cornwallis, seeing his design, and not sorry for the opportunity, moved in the direction of Guildford Court House in the early morning of March 15th. The action commenced with an animated conflict between Tarleton's troops and an American detachment under Lee, ending in the retreat of the latter. This encounter gave Greene time to put the main body of his forces in order of battle. The surrounding country was woody and hilly-a desert interspersed with a few cleared. fields; so that every facility for successful resistance was presented by the nature of the ground. In

numbers, the Americans were twice as strong as their opponents; but a large proportion of their army consisted of ill-disciplined troops. By an unwise arrangement, the first line was composed entirely of the militia of North Carolina. Immediately on seeing the steady advance of the British, these men fled into the woods, and thence to their own homes, many of them without even firing a shot. The Virginian militia, however, and some of the Continental troops, fought with great firmness and resolution, even repelling, and for a time breaking, the ranks of the second battalion of Guards. The battle continued for nearly two hours, with varying fortune, and with great loss to both sides; but at length the Americans were forced to retreat, and retired in good order to Reedy Fork, and ultimately to Troublesome Creek. In the course of the day, the English recovered two fieldpieces which had originally been lost at Saratoga, and which had changed hands more than once since then. But in seizing the cannon Earl Cornwallis did not win the Carolinas; nor in defeating Greene did he crush the revolution,

WHEN night obscured the bloody field of Guildford Court House, the horrors of war were intensified by the state of the weather. A dark and heavy sky spread over the dying and the dead; torrents of rain descended from the clouds; and a chill air breathed over the scene of conflict, adding to the misery of those whose sufferings were already poignant enough. The English troops collected the wounded of both armies as soon as circumstances would permit; but very little could be done for their relief. No houses were near; the soldiers had brought no tents with them; they were unprovided with food, and had nothing even for their own re

freshment. The unhappy wounded were therefore perforce left without assistance till morning; and many, ere the dawn, had found a welcome release in death. All through the night, the feelings of the survivors were harrowed by the cries and lamentations of their suffering comrades and adversaries: but help was impossible until the head-quarters of the army could be reached. Thus, although a victory had been won by Lord Cornwallis, it had been dearly paid for, and did not promise to be fruitful in great results. Greene's army was larger than his own, and might yet prove troublesome, however incapable of standing against the Royal

forces in open field. Indeed, it soon became clear to the English commander that a retreat was inevitable, owing mainly to the difficulty of finding subsistence in a country so slightly cultivated at the best, and of late so terribly devastated by hostile legions. On the 19th of March he began to retire, leaving several of his wounded at the Quaker's meeting-house, under protection of a flag of truce. Moving by easy stages, he reached Wilmington, in North Carolina, near the mouth of Cape Fear River, on the 7th of April. Possession of this place had, by Lord Cornwallis's orders, been taken several weeks before by a small detachment; and here his wearied troops were for a time permitted to find rest.

Many incidents of the late battle must have once more brought home to the Americans the conviction that to oppose raw militia to regular troops was to ensure continual defeat. Although some of the militia at Guildford Court House fought well, others fled with disgraceful precipitancy, not even waiting to be attacked, and never again joining the ranks they had betrayed. Only Only a few months before (towards the end of the preceding year), Congress had determined on raising a large standing army; and a writer of the time remarks that they ought earlier to have got rid of an error which the experience of all mankind has exploded, viz., the carrying on a war with militia, or with temporary levies. America, he observes, had been amused almost out of her liberties, and the behaviour of the militia on several occasions had been unreasonably extolled. Some of the first Generals in the American service were ready solemnly to declare that they never witnessed a single instance, throughout the contest, which could support the opinion that militia or raw troops were fit for the real business of fighting.* Had the separate existence of the United States depended entirely on pitched battles, it is doubtful whether the desired result would ever have been attained. The chief strength of the revolutionists lay in their ability to wear out their opponent by a series of minute operations-to distract his attention by a multiplicity of simultaneous movements to exhaust his resources by keeping the whole area of the Federation in a state of perpetual revolt and menace. But in the meanwhile more might have been done in other ways by an army better organised and disciplined.

Greene was astonished to find that Lord Cornwallis, so soon after his victory, was actually retreating. He resolved to pursue him, which he did so closely that occasional skirmishes took place

* Gordon's History, Vol. III., p. 494.

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between his advanced parties and the rear-guard of the British. The pursuit, however, was not carried very far. It was extended only to Ramsay's Mills on Deep River, where Greene arrived on the 28th of March, a few hours after the Royal troops had quitted that position by a temporary bridge over the stream. His army was now greatly diminished by desertions, and by the expiration of the period for which certain portions had been called out. It was also reduced to extremities for want of food, the men being so near starving that they ate with avidity any refuse they could find. It therefore appeared to Greene better to relinquish the pursuit of Cornwallis, and enter South Carolina-a step which he thought would compel the English General to follow him, and thus relieve North Carolina, or to remain in that part of the country, to call in his outposts in the south, and so to facilitate the re-conquest of South Carolina and Georgia. The forces of both commanders were very small— Greene's not more than seventeen hundred, and Cornwallis's two hundred less than that. Each was desirous of evading the other; and the war became to a great extent a war of manoeuvring-of alternate retreats and pursuits. Lord Cornwallis had anticipated Greene's design of invading South Carolina, and had despatched several messengers to Lord Rawdon, who commanded the British posts in that province, to urge the necessity of being prepared for such a danger. But the messengers were intercepted, and Rawdon was still ignorant of the threatened peril when Cornwallis, shortly after his arrival at Wilmington, received information that Greene had actually begun his southward march. It now became necessary for the Earl to determine -and that with so much rapidity that it was impossible to consult with Sir Henry Clinton at New York-whether he should proceed to Camden, and relieve Lord Rawdon, or advance into Virginia, and join Generals Phillips and Arnold, who were already in that province. He decided on the latter course; considering that Greene had got the start of him so far that the fate of Camden would be sealed before

he could arrive there. He also dreaded being hemmed in between the great rivers in that part of the country; and, trusting that his subordinate in South Carolina would be able to defeat the American General, he resolved on starting for the north, in the hope of making an important demonstration in that quarter. On the 25th of April he began his march.

That very day, an important action was fought in South Carolina. Greene had by this time entered the southern province, and, in alliance with the guerilla leader, Marion, had commenced a series of

but the hill was carried by the British, and Greene was compelled to order a retreat. The conquerors pursued for nearly three miles, and were then checked by a furious charge made by Colonel Washington at the head of a body of cavalry. On the following day, Greene proceeded to Rugely's Mills, twelve miles to the north of Camden.

His views at this time were of the most gloomy character. In a letter to Washington, written on the 1st of May, he said :-"We fight, get beat, and fight again. We have so much to do, and so 87-VOL. II.

things, have joined in the deception, and magnified the strength and resources of this country infinitely above their ability. Many of those who adhere to our party are so fond of pleasure that they cannot think of making the necessary sacrifices to support the Revolution. There are many good and virtuous people to the southward; but they cannot animate the inhabitants in general as you can to the northward. When ruin appears to approach any State, they are alarmed, and begin to think of exerting themselves; but its approach no sooner receives a

check than they sink back into a careless inattention." After bitterly complaining of the apathy of several States, Greene continued :-"I have been playing the most hazardous game to keep up appearances in this quarter until more effectual support could be afforded. But our number is reduced to a mere shadow. The war to the northward is nothing. It is a plain business. Here the war rages like a fire; and the enterprise and activity of the enemy almost exceed belief. I have run every risk and hazard, and find the difficulties thicken upon me daily; and you know I am not of a desponding spirit or idle temper. If our good friends the French cannot lend a helping hand to save these sinking States, they must and will fall. Here we are contending with more than five times our number, and among a people much more in the enemy's interest than ours."

Yet the English, though so frequently victorious, seemed never to get any nearer the accomplishment of their purpose. On the present occasion, Lord Rawdon was unable, owing to the smallness of his army, to follow up his success; and Greene, by cutting off his supplies, harassing his communications, and fomenting amongst the people a feeling of disaffection to the Royal cause, soon rendered Camden untenable. By the middle of May, Rawdon, finding that he could not bring his opponent to a second general engagement, had withdrawn to Monk's Corner, on the river Cooper, in the vicinity of Charleston. The efforts of Greene's detachments were now beginning to be attended by important results. The fall of Fort Watson was followed by that of Fort Motte, Georgetown, and Fort Granby. These successes determined numerous waverers to side with the Republicans; and even those sincerely attached to the Royal side were disgusted by the arrogance with which they were treated on the part of many British officers, by the rapacious exactions to which they were subjected, and by the violence from which they suffered. The tide was beginning to turn against the representatives of the King's authority.

This was especially the case in Georgia. A vigorous partisan warfare sprang up in that province, where General Pickens, Colonel Lee, Colonel Clarke, Captain M'Koy, and other daring leaders, performed a number of rapid movements, for the most part attended by success. During the month of May, Pickens and Lee laid siege to Fort Cornwallis, at Augusta. Several batteries were raised against the walls, and poured forth a murderous fire, from which the besieged could find no protection, though they almost buried themselves under the ground. On the 5th of June, the garrison capitulated, to the

at Augusta had created by their severities a strong sentiment of antagonism in the country people; and after the surrender one of them was treacherously shot dead. Although a reward of a hundred guineas was offered for the apprehension of the murderer, he could not be discovered; and it was only with difficulty that another officer was saved from a similar fate. The latter had recently hanged thirteen American prisoners, and delivered up others to the Indians to be tortured. A very vindictive feeling now characterised the proceedings of both parties; but Greene, to his great credit, did the utmost he could to check the excesses of his own When, at the taking of Fort Granby, Lee's militia desired to put to death the American loyalists who were found in the place, Greene declared that he would capitally punish such acts whenever they were committed.

men.

The post of Ninety-six, in South Carolina, was seriously exposed to attack on the withdrawal of Lord Rawdon from Camden to Monk's Corner. Instructions were sent to Colonel Cruger, who was in command at Ninety-six, to abandon the post, retire to Augusta, unite his force to that which he found there, and act according to his discretion. But these directions never reached the person for whom they were intended; and Cruger made the best preparations he could for meeting any attack that might ensue. The place was already rather elaborately defended, but many additional works were hastily thrown up, and, as the event turned out, they sufficed to save the position. At the head of nearly a thousand men, Greene appeared before the walls on the 22nd of May. He erected two works within seventy paces of the fortifications; but a sallying-party destroyed them, killed several of the Americans, and carried off the entrenching tools. The siege-works were then thrown back to a distance of four hundred yards, and, by diligent application, the second parallel was completed by the 3rd of June. Heavy batteries were erected, and gradually advanced nearer to the walls. Several of the defences were enfiladed by a vehement cross-fire. One of the attacking works was erected near the abatis, and raised to a height of forty feet, so as to command the interior of the town. Riflemen were posted on the top, and picked off many of the garrison. On the 8th of June, Lee arrived from Augusta with a reinforcement, and Greene extended and increased his siege-works, but was unable to effect the reduction of the place. Its defenders, however, suffered severely, especially from want of water. A rivulet ran by the town, but every one who, during the day, endeavoured to