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obtain a supply from this source was shot by the vigilant American marksmen. Nothing could be done but to send naked negroes to the stream by night, in the hope that their dusky bodies would not be distinguished from the equally dusky trees.

As June advanced, the besiegers opened their third parallel, and carried a mine and two trenches within a few feet of the ditch. Field-pieces were mounted on batteries at a distance of only a hundred and forty yards from the fort, and the garrison was reduced to such severe extremities that the necessity of surrendering began to be considered. But Lord Rawdon was by this time moving to the relief of the threatened post. He had received considerable reinforcements from England, and on the 7th of June he left Charleston, and marched to the relief of Ninety-six with an army of two thousand men.

On the 11th, Greene received notice

of his approach, and immediately sent orders to Sumpter to retard the British army by every means in his power. Rawdon, however, contrived to evade him, and Greene, feeling that if he did not take the place at once he could not take it at all, made an attempt, on the 18th of June, to carry it by storm. Supported by a heavy cannonade from the batteries, and a close discharge of musketry from the lines, his men moved to the assault in two columns. On the left they were successful, but on the right were driven back by a spirited sortie. The American General was then compelled to abandon the attack, and on the following day to relinquish the siege altogether. Having crossed the Saluda on the 20th, he encamped on Little River, the worse for his attempt on Ninety-six by one hundred and fifty-five men.

Lord Rawdon arrived at the fortress on the 21st, and found that the garrison had lost eighty-five of their number in killed and wounded. On the evening of the same day he set out in pursuit of Greene; but the latter, having sent off his sick and wounded, rapidly continued his retreat in a northeasterly direction. On his way he destroyed the corn-mills, that the enemy might be deprived of sustenance; and Rawdon, after continuing the pursuit as far as the river Enoree, returned to Ninety-six, in despair of overtaking his adversary. Very soon, however, he found it necessary to evacuate the fortress which Greene had so recently besieged, and to contract his posts. He accordingly marched to the Congaree, leaving more than half his force under Cruger to escort to some place of safety the loyal inhabitants of the district, who feared the vengeance of their countrymen. Greene had for the moment retired behind Broad River, but, on hearing of this separation of the Royal army, he

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returned towards the Congaree. Rawdon therefore retreated to Orangeburgh, where he was joined by reinforcements from Charleston; but his antagonist was about the same time strengthened by the arrival of Marion and Sumpter with a thousand men. The combined American force marched on Orangeburgh, with the intention of attacking the camp there; but, finding the place far too strong, Greene retreated over the Congaree, and on the 16th of July took up a position on the high hills of Santee. He had previously detached Sumpter, Marion, and Lee to Monk's Corner and Dorchester, that they might threaten the lower posts of the British; but the scattered detachments of the latter fought their way through the opposing ranks, and joined their comrades.

The midsummer heats, and the sickly condition which they generally create, now rendered a few weeks' suspension of the war unavoidable. Lord Rawdon availed himself of leave of absence, granted in consequence of ill-health, and embarked for England. The command devolved on Lieutenant-Colonel Stuart, and that officer was not long in finding that he had succeeded to a harvest of difficulties. He transferred his forces to the Congaree, and encamped near its confluence with the Wateree. In this position he was in time menaced by Greene, who, when the heats had abated, quitted the high grounds of Santee, and moved towards the locality of his enemy. Not more than fifteen miles intervened between the armies; but they were separated by two large rivers, which an invader could not readily pass without making a circuit of seventy miles. This tedious route was followed by Greene, and, on his approach, Stuart, who had considered himself secure on the Congaree, and had even spread several of his parties widely over the country to collect provisions, retired to Eutaw Springs, sixty miles north of Charleston. He was pursued in a leisurely manner by Greene, who was anxious for the arrival of expected reinforcements before he attacked the enemy. On receiving these, it was resolved to give battle on the following day, September 8th. In the morning, accordingly, the American army marched towards the English; but information of the advance had already been conveyed to Colonel Stuart by two deserters. The British commander therefore drew up his forces obliquely across the road which the enemy was pursuing, and, being on high ground, was in a position of superiority. A battle, lasting nearly four hours, contested with great obstinacy, and attended by much slaughter, was fought between the contending forces. In the first instance, the British outposts were driven in on the main body. The front line

of the Americans attacked with the utmost fury, and the militia exhibited more firmness than was usual with them. But after awhile they were compelled to retire, and their comrades then resorted to the bayonet. A portion of the English line, consisting of raw levies, gave way in turn, and fled in tumultuous rout; but the more seasoned regiments stood their ground, and a wild struggle of intermingled foes set in. Lee had now turned the left flank of the Royal troops, and, charging them in the rear, drove them in formless heaps off the field, seized their artillery, and started in pursuit. On the right the British were more fortunate. Stuart had ordered Major Sheridan to take post with a detachment in a large, three-storied, brick house in the rear of the army, and had sent another body of men to occupy an adjoining palisadoed garden and close shrubbery. These positions were assaulted by the Americans with desperate persistence, but without success. Four pieces of artillery were brought to bear on the house; but the walls were of such strength that they were not seriously injured. The two detachments replied by a sharp and telling fire; most of the American artillerymen were killed or wounded; and when the attacking force withdrew, it was found impossible to bring off the cannon. Colonel Washington endeavoured to turn the right flank of the English, but was wounded and made prisoner in the vain attempt. Notwithstanding the partial success of the assailants, they were unable to retain possession of the field, and Greene, collecting his wounded, retired with his prisoners to the ground he had occupied in the morning. The fight had resulted in heavy losses on both sides, especially on that of the English, and no great advantage had been gained by either. The victory has been equally claimed by the Americans and the British; but with more reason by the latter than by the former. The Americans, it is true, drove back their adversaries at the commencement of the struggle, and seemed for a time to be winning. But the great test of victory is in the possession of the field at the close of the engagement; and, as the Royal troops finally repulsed their assailants, and retained their ground during the ensuing night and a part of next day, while the Americans retreated to a distance of some miles, it seems difficult to deny that the advantage, as far as the mere encounter went, lay with the British forces. This, however, implies no discredit to Greene's troops, who fought with great spirit, resolution, and skill.

The British were in no better position than before. On the afternoon of the 9th of September, Colonel Stuart destroyed part of his stores, and

retreated to Monk's Corner, while Greene withdrew to his former position on the hills of Santee. Both commanders found their armies so much weakened by the losses resulting from the late battle, that it became impossible to undertake any further operations on a large scale. The British shortly afterwards continued their retreat to Charleston Neck, and thenceforward confined their operations to the defence of the posts in that vicinity, so that Charleston itself might be preserved to the King. Thus, although Greene had been frequently beaten, had failed in his object at Eutaw Springs, and had been compelled to retire, the advantage in the long run fell to him; for the English, being unable to follow up their successes, or even in any case to retain permanent possession of the ground on which they originally stood, were obliged to relinquish a large region of inhabited country, the people of which, almost by necessity, accepted the Revolutionary rule. The proportion of Royalists in the southern provinces was at one time so great, that, had the English Generals in those parts of America been in command of larger armies, it seems not improbable that both the Carolinas and all Georgia would have been preserved. But neither Cornwallis nor Rawdon had an adequate force at his disposal; and the desultory, erratic movements of Greene, rapidly operating over a wide extent of land, and inclining the inhabitants to favour a cause which was supported by so much cleverness and audacity, gradually broke down the energies of the Royal troops, and turned their very successes into fresh sources of embarrassment. The smallness of Greene's army was of less importance; for his good fortune depended more on quickness of movement over a large area than on actual fighting, while the British had at once to be triumphant in the open field, and to preserve a series of fortified positions. The Americans conquered by operating on the popular sympathies, and abiding their time.

The feeling of fierce antagonism between the two parties to the quarrel grew more intense every month, and led to some lamentable excesses. The British officers commanding at the various posts put to death several Americans as traitors to the Royal cause; and Greene, who in some respects showed an admirable superiority to passionate impulses, was remorseless against deserters, and in one day, while in the neighbourhood of Camden, hanged eight prisoners for having, after serving in the American army, gone over to the enemy. But, without any reference to the question of deserting, the Whigs and Tories of the South, as the opponents and supporters of the King's authority were respectively called, were prone to execute one

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another in cold blood for the mere difference of opinion. While before Ninety-six, in May, Greene wrote to Colonel Davies: "The animosity between the Whigs and Tories of this State renders their situation truly deplorable. There is not a day passes but there are more or less who fall a sacrifice to this savage disposition. The Whigs seem determined to extirpate the Tories, and the Tories the Whigs. Some thousands have fallen in this way in this quarter, and the evil rages with more violence than ever. If a stop cannot be soon put to these massacres, the country will be depopulated in a few months more, as neither Whig nor Tory can live." To General Pickens, on the 5th of June, Greene wrote:-"The inhabitants near Parker's Ford, on the Saluda, are in great distress from the savage conduct of a party of men belonging to Colonel Hammond's regiment. This party plunders without mercy, and murders the defenceless people just as private pique, prejudice, or personal resentments dictate. Principles of humanity, as well as policy, require that proper measures should be immediately taken to restrain these abuses, heal differences, and unite the people as much as possible. No violence should be offered to any of the inhabitants, unless found in arms. The idea of exterminating the Tories is no less barbarous than impolitic. I hope you will exert yourself to bring over the Tories to our interest, and check the growing enormities which prevail among the Whigs, in plundering as private avarice or a bloody disposition stimulates them."* Such was the testimony of one who was himself a Whig, or, in other words, a patriot.

One of the most conspicuous instances of the execution of military law by the English authorities was that of Colonel Hayne. This officer had served in the American militia during the siege of Charleston, and, on the capitulation, had determined, for prudential and family reasons, though with great personal reluctance, to subscribe a declaration of allegiance to the British Government. Previous to doing so, he had talked of his readiness to pay a fine in lieu of service in the British army; and, on the occasion of his signing, he expressly objected to the clause which required him to support the Royal Government with his arms. commandant of the garrison, and the intendant of the British police, assured him that this would never be required, and added that when the regular forces could not defend the country without the aid of its inhabitants, it would be high time for the King's

The

* Gordon's History of the American Revolution, Vol. IV., PP. 99-100.

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troops to quit it. More than once, however, at a subsequent date, Hayne was called on to take up arms against his countrymen, and he was at length threatened with close confinement if he continued to refuse. He regarded this as a breach of contract, and considered himself released from his engagement. Accordingly he accepted the command of a regiment of South Carolinian troops, and some time afterwards was captured by the English. Colonel Balfour, the chief British officer at Charleston, took a very bad view of his case, and determined that he should die without trial. Lord Rawdon, on arriving at Charleston, previous to embarking for England, was requested by a number of ladies to intercede on behalf of the unfortunate man, whose position, as a widower with a number of young children, rendered him an especial object of pity. Many years later (in 1813), Lord Rawdon, then become Earl of Moira, wrote to the American General Lee that, in ignorance of the complicated nature and extent of the crime committed by Hayne, he incautiously promised to do his best towards changing the intention of Colonel Balfour. That promise he fulfilled, though a more complete knowledge of the facts induced him entirely to acquiesce in the sentence of death. Hayne was executed on a gallows outside Charleston on the morning of August 4th, 1781. Like André, he petitioned in vain for death by the bullet; like André, he suffered with great dignity and firmness, and his hard fate excited very general sympathy. Whether the punishment was actually unjust, and not simply stern and rigorous, is a matter which has been much disputed. It seems, however, absurd to urge, as an argument against the Royal authorities, that Hayne very reluctantly consented to become a British subject, and did so only on account of his family. The authorities had nothing to do with his feelings or his motives. He subscribed the declaration of allegiance, and was bound by it, unless it was rendered invalid by some breach of faith or violation of contract on the other side. The American contention is that such violation actually took place; but it may be a question how far, as a matter of strict law, Colonel Balfour was bound by the loose and unwritten expressions of his subordinates.

Greene shortly afterwards issued a proclamation, threatening to make English officers the objects of retaliatory acts; but it does not appear that he really did so. The Battle of Eutaw Springs, fought on the 8th of September, was the only action of importance subsequent to the execution of Hayne; so that he had not many opportunities of executing his menace. Towards the end of November, how

restoration of nearly the whole of South Carolina and its still more southern neighbour to the popular party. While the campaign between Greene and Lord Rawdon was being developed, an expedition was conducted by General Pickens against the Cherokees, who had been incited to declare war against the Republicans. The warriors of this tribe were so severely handled that they were glad to sue for peace; and thus another obstacle to the American Revolution was removed.

In the North, matters were not going on favourably for the Americans. On the 1st of January, Congress had called for an army of thirty-seven thou

Congress had resolved to issue no more bills on the credit of the Union, and the States were to provide necessaries in kind. The collection of these was a slow matter, and very imperfectly performed. Thus, the army in the South was left in a meagre and feeble state, while in the North scarcely anything was done in the way of active operations. In the midst of other troubles, a danger of the most serious kind arose, and for a time threatened disas trous consequences. The Pennsylvanian troops. conceiving that they were oppressed by peculiar grievances, rose in mutiny against their officers and against Congress. They had for some time com