Siege of Charleston

Battle of Charleston Part of the American Revolutionary War Detail of a 1780 map drawn by a British engineer showing defenses Date March 29 – May 12, 1780 Location Charleston, South Carolina 32°47′39.12″N 79°56′31.26″W / 32.7942°N 79.9420167°W / 32.7942; -79.9420167Coordinates: 32°47′39.12″N 79°56′31.26″W / 32.7942°N 79.9420167°W / 32.7942; -79.9420167 Result Decisive British victory Territorial changes City surrendered to British Belligerents Great Britain  United States Commanders Sir Henry Clinton Mariot Arbuthnot Benjamin Lincoln # Strength 8,500 soldiers 5,000 sailors and marines 5,466 Continental Army and militia troops Casualties and losses 76 killed 182 wounded 92 killed 148 wounded 4,650 captured (Tarleton reports 5,283 POWS)

v • d • e Southern theater, 1780–81 Charleston – Moncks Corner – Lenud's Ferry – Waxhaws – Ramsour's Mill – Mobley's Meeting House – Huck’s Defeat – Colson's Mill – Rocky Mount – Hanging Rock – Camden – Fishing Creek – Musgrove Mill – Wahab's Plantation – Black Mingo – Charlotte – Kings Mountain – Fishdam Ford – Blackstock's Farm – Cowpens – Cowan's Ford – Haw River – Wetzell's Mill – Guilford Court House – Fort Watson – Hobkirk's Hill – Fort Motte – Augusta – Ninety-Six – Francisco – Eutaw Springs – Lindley's Mill – Combahee River

The Siege of Charleston was one of the major battles which took place towards the end of the American Revolutionary War, after the British began to shift their strategic focus towards the Southern Colonies. As a defeat, it was the biggest loss of troops suffered by the Continental Army in the war.

Background

In late 1779, following strategic failures earlier in the American Revolutionary War, the British were stymied by the waiting strategy adopted by General George Washington leading the Continental Army. Under political pressure to deliver victory, British leaders turned to a "southern strategy" for winning the war that built on the idea that there was strong Loyalist support in the southern colonies. Their opening move was the capture of Savannah, Georgia, in December 1778, following which they planned an attack on Charleston, South Carolina, which they would use as a base for further operations in the South.

Siege

After failing to achieve any advantage in the north in 1779, the British government instructed Sir Henry Clinton to head a combined military and naval expedition southward. He evacuated Newport, Rhode Island, on October 25 and left New York in command of Hessian General Wilhelm von Knyphausen. In December, he sailed with 8,500 troops to join Marc Prevost at Savannah. Charles Cornwallis accompanied him, and later Lord Rawdon joined him with an additional force totaling around 14,000 troops and 90 ships.

Marching upon Charleston via James Island, Clinton cut off the city from relief, and began a siege on April 1. Skirmishes at Monck's Corner and Lenud's Ferry in April and early May scattered troops on the outskirts of the siege area. Benjamin Lincoln held a council of war, and was advised by de Laumoy to surrender given the inadequate fortifications.^[1][2] Clinton compelled Lincoln to surrender on May 12.^[3] The loss of the city and its 5,000 troops was a serious blow to the American cause. It was the largest surrender of an American armed force until the 1862 surrender of Union forces at Harper's Ferry during the Antietam Campaign. The last remaining Continental Army troops were driven from South Carolina consequent to the May 29 Battle of Waxhaws. General Clinton returned to New York City in June, leaving Cornwallis in command with instructions to also reduce North Carolina.

Tarleton in his Campaign reported a total of 5,283 captured, including three signers of the Declaration of Independence: Edward Rutledge, Arthur Middleton and Thomas Heyward, Jr.

Consequences

An active and bitter partisan war began. The British advance was marked by more than the usual destruction of war; the Loyalists rose to arms; the Patriot population regrouped around some of its militia commanders to harass the British and their Loyalist allies. Little mercy was shown on either side, especially after Tarleton's decimation of the Continentals at Waxhaws, which many saw as a massacre.

Order of Battle

• Colonial Forces:
• Continental Army:
  • Pulaski's Legion {Consolidated with Armand's Legion February 23, 1780}
  • North Carolina Continental Artillery Company
• Georgia Line:
  • 1st Georgia Regiment
  • 2nd Georgia Regiment
  • 3rd Georgia Regiment
  • 4th Georgia Regiment
  • Georgia Regiment of Horse Rangers
• North Carolina Line:
  • Hillsborough District militia
  • 1st North Carolina Regiment
  • 2nd North Carolina Regiment
  • 3rd North Carolina Regiment
  • 4th North Carolina Regiment
  • 5th North Carolina Regiment
• South Carolina Line:
  • 1st South Carolina Regiment {had been merged with 5th South Carolina Regiment}
  • 2nd South Carolina Regiment {had been merged with 6th South Carolina Regiment}
  • 3rd South Carolina Regiment
  • 4th South Carolina Regiment {Included 2 Artillery units as 2 companies}
• Virginia Line:
  • 1st Virginia Regiment {detachment-had been merged with 9th Virginia Regiment}
  • 2nd Virginia Regiment {detachment-had been merged with 6th Virginia Regiment}
  • 3rd Virginia Regiment {had been merged with 5th Virginia Regiment}
  • 4th Virginia Regiment {had been merged with 8th Virginia Regiment}
  • 7th Virginia Regiment
  • 10th Virginia Regiment
  • 11th Virginia Regiment
  • 12th Virginia Regiment
  • 14th Virginia Regiment
  • 15th Virginia Regiment

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.