Winning the War in the South Section 4

I fighting in the south The south became main battleground in 1778. the new British commander knew many loyalists lived in the south. He hoped that if the British marched through ,they would join them. This worked at first but, things changed in Carolina. Loyalists and Patriots conducted raids against one another. They destroyed property, land and killed civilians and tortured prisoners.

C. January 1781- General Morgan won an important victory at cowpens, Sc. He used a new technique 1. Organized his men into two lines. 2. First line would fire twice then retreat 3. British thinking that the Patriots were running away would run right into the second line of fire (victory) D. Morgan and General Green Combined their armies to fight General Cornwallis at Guilford Courthouse. Bloody battle-Americans retreated but British lost a large number of men swamp Fox-Francis Marion

II. Controlling Virginia Cornwallis abandoned his plan to take the Carolinas. Spring 1781- he moved his troops into Virginia. Plan was to conquer Virginia so that supply routes to the South would be cut off. British had some success in Virginia before Cornwallis arrived

III. American Traitor Benedict Arnold, formerly one of Americas best generals, now led the British troops in Virginia. He Captured and Burned the capital city of Richmond Also raided and burned other Virginian cities Arnold has turned traitor in September 1780 while commanding West Point fort in New York.

American Traitor 1. Arnold was angry because he felt Washington had not given him the credit he was owed for his victories. He also was in need of money 2. Secretly agreed to turn over West Point to the British. This would give the British control in New York. 3. Plot was uncovered by a Patriot patrol, but , Arnold was able to escape and join the British

IV. Yorktown A. Cornwallis wanted the success in Virginia that Arnold had. 1. His Loyalist troops attacked Charlottesville 2. Governor Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature had to flee from the city B. American troops under the command of Lafayette fought back by staging raids 1. Did not have enough troops for a full battle 2. Raids kept Cornwallis at bay

V. Cornwallis makes a deadly mistake Cornwallis did not agree with orders to send part of his troops to New York. Instead he Retreated to Yorktown peninsula confident that he could be supplied by sea Washington saw an opportunity to trap Cornwallis in Yorktown 1. American and French troops marched from New York to join Lafayette in Virginia 2. French Navy cut off Cornwallis from supplies. He and his army had no escape by Land or sea

VI. Victory in Yorktown By the end of September 1781- More than 16,000 American and French troops laid siege on Cornwallis’ army of less than 8,000 men. Cornwallis held out for a few weeks. With Casualties mounting and food and all supplies running low, General Cornwallis realized it was hopeless Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781

vii. Peace treaty D. April 15, 1783 the treaty as approved. Talks for peace started in Paris in 1782 Continental Congress sent 4 men to work out the treaty. (ben Franklin, John Jay, John Adams and Henry Laurens) Treaty of Paris made British recognize the United States as an independent nation. 1. Borders were from the 13 colonies to the Mississippi River and north to Great Lakes and south to Florida. 2. Florida was given back to Spain 3. Americans agreed to ask State legislatures to pay Loyalists for lost property (most states ignored D. April 15, 1783 the treaty as approved.

Viii. Why America Won A. Geography played an important role 1. British had to ship all supplies over sea 2. Patriots were spread out in a wide area 3. Americans were familiar with area B. Foreign Help (French and Spanish) C. Growing American Patriotism