succeeded in mounting the walls; and there they stood--and there, with
almost superhuman strength and determination, they fought. But it was
not even for such bravery and such perseverance to succeed. If the
struggle was now fearful, the carnage was still more so. One after
another, and by tens and twenties, they fell side by side, companions in
death of their brave precursors. A remnant only was left; and as that
remnant succeeded in securing a retreat, the third and last column of
the French troops came into action. A similar contest awaited them,
which they entered into with even greater ardor and more excited
passion; but it was followed by a similar, and perhaps still more fatal,
result. The chivalrous Laurens, at the head of the Americans, now made
his appearance; and directing his entire force against the Spring-hill
redoubt, attempted to scale its ramparts. But it was a vain attempt. The
parapets were too high to be reached, and the assailants fell as they
appeared, shot down with equal certainty and rapidity. Among the
Americans, at this memorable contest, was that Carolina regiment which,
at the siege of Fort Moultrie, had so distinguished itself, and which,
as a reward for its valor, Mrs. Elliott had presented two standards, as
we had occasion to notice, when describing the noble defence of the old
"slaughter pen." Nothing daunted by the fate of their companions, this
regiment pressed furiously forward; and now, for a brief period, was
witnessed a spectacle, which lighted up gladness in every eye: two
American standards--the very standards which we have named--were seen
waving on the English ramparts. And there, too, was the noble-hearted
Jasper himself, with those standards, which he loved better than life
itself. But it was a momentary floating to the breeze, and these
standards had for ever done their duty. They soon fell, and with them
fell the brave and patriotic Jasper. He grasped his standard as he fell
into the ditch, and there the flag covered him as a winding-sheet of
glory. He had told Mrs. Elliott that he would surrender his flag only
with his life, and he was true to his word. Jasper's
name--heroism--patriotism--will descend with the lapse of years; nor
will they be remembered but to be honored, while the records of American
valor shall have an existence.
The issue may be told in few words. The Americans failed, and retired.
Many a noble heart had shed its blood; many an arm, which had that day
Shed fast atonement for its first delay,
was folded on the breast in death. And among those who fell nobly,
there was one--a high-souled Polander--the chivalric Pulaski--a
volunteer in the American service; he fell at the head of two hundred
horsemen, urging on their way amid fire and smoke, until a swivel-shot
struck the gallant soldier to the earth.
The contest lasted a little more than an hour; and yet, in that brief
space, six hundred and thirty-seven French, and four hundred and fifty
Americans, were mangled--bleeding corpses on the ground--more than one
thousand! Rapid work! It should seem that Moloch might have been
satisfied with the victims offered on that day's altar.
D'Estaing retired soon after with his fleet. He had gained no praise:
on the contrary, he was censured for his haste in demanding the
surrender of Savannah before the arrival of Lincoln; and then, by
allowing Prevost so long a time to deliberate, in truth giving him
ample opportunity to prepare for defence. The result was inglorious,
and served to perpetuate, and even strengthen, the cause of the
English at the South.
2. SIEGE OF CHARLESTON.
Charleston had long been an object of cupidity on the part of the
British. We have already had occasion to speak of an expedition under
Sir Peter Parker and Generals Cornwallis and Howe, destined against
that city, and the summary check they received at Fort Moultrie--that
"old slaughter-pen"--every one of whose garrison was a hero, and the
record of whose combined resistance can never be remembered but to the
honor and praise of American valor. That repulse was not forgotten by
the British, and, when next an attempt should be made, it was to be
expected that preparations would be commensurate with the magnitude
and difficulties of the enterprise.
It proved so. In the spring following the siege of Savannah, General
Clinton left New York with ten thousand men, intent on the capture of
Charleston. Lincoln was still at the head of the American troops in the
South. But they were altogether inadequate to defend the city against so
numerous and formidable a force as now appeared against him. For his own
credit, as well as for the honor of the American arms, clearly he should
have avoided a collision. But, over-persuaded by Governor Rutledge and
other prominent citizens, and, moreover, reluctant to abandon a place
which contained large public stores, or seem to yield where there was
hope of success, he consented to remain, and accomplish whatever human
wisdom, combined with American valor, could do.
On the 30th of March, General Clinton commenced the siege. He proceeded
with a caution, to be explained only by the lesson taught the British at
the siege of Fort Moultrie, and a determination not to be under the
necessity of meeting with another such disastrous result. In another
place, it should have been noted, that Fort Moultrie, in the present
invasion, made no resistance, the contest, it being intended, should be
on the mainland, and in the immediate vicinity of the city, where such
defences had been erected as the authorities were able to provide.
On the 10th of April, the first parallel was completed, and Lincoln was
summoned to surrender. To this summons, he replied: "that he felt it to
be his duty, and it was also his instruction, to defend the place to the
last extremity." Ten days elapsed, during which a second parallel was
finished, and a second summons made and declined. A heavy and formidable
cannonade was now opened by Clinton, which was kept up, with scarcely
any remission, for several days. Meanwhile, Lincoln was almost
constantly on duty--straining every muscle to resist the steady, but
apparently fatal, advance of his foe. It is related of him, that "one
day he was ten hours in the saddle, without once dismounting--riding
hither and thither, with his great heart filled with anxious foreboding;
and, the last fortnight, he never took off his clothes to rest. Flinging
himself, in his uniform, on a couch, he would snatch a few moments'
repose, and then again be seen riding along the lines."
Meanwhile, his defences became weakened, and his troops exhausted with
labor and fatigue. They had little time to sleep, and even the supply
of provisions was limited. Yet, Lincoln continued, day after day, to
inspire them with courage and hope. All that a brave commander could
do, he did--concealing the apprehensions which harrowed his inmost
soul, and for which there were reasons; all that men could do, his
noble few did--suffering privations seldom experienced during the
revolutionary contest. It was a brave defence! It was a long,
protracted, painful struggle! But it was in vain. At length, the
batteries of the enemy had reached within eighty yards of the American
defences, and preparations were making for a general storm. Thus
environed by a formidable force, both by sea and land,
----"Nec spes opis ulla dabatur"--
it was the dictate of humanity, both in respect to the inhabitants of
the city, and the brave, but exhausted, remnant of his devoted army, to
capitulate. Accordingly, overtures were made to General Clinton, which
were at length accepted. Charleston fell, and the entire army laid down
arms. By the terms of capitulation, the garrison were to march out, and
deposit their arms in front of the works; but, as a mark of humiliation,
the drums were not to beat an American march, nor their colors to be
displayed. This was severe; but the humiliation was remembered, when,
eighteen months afterwards, Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown,
and "waters of a full cup were wrung out" to him.
3. BATTLE OF CAMDEN.
The fall of Charleston opened the south to Cornwallis, nor was he slow
to take advantage of the opportunity of strengthening the royal cause.
Baron de Kalb had been sent from the main army to the assistance of
Lincoln; but the latter having surrendered before his arrival, the
former assumed the command of the forces opposed to Cornwallis.
Shortly after, however, Gates, the "hero of Saratoga," arrived, having
been appointed to occupy the place of General Lincoln.
The reputation which Gates had acquired in his contest with Burgoyne,
had preceded him, and served to stay the despondency and gloom which
was extensively pervading the South. The militia responded to his
call, and came flocking to his standard. Thus rëinforced, he proceeded
towards Camden, the rendezvous of Lord Rawdon. But his haste was
ill-judged. Besides, by reason of a serious lack of provisions for his
troops, which he had neglected to provide, they were compelled to
subsist for several days on green apples, corn, and other vegetables;
their strength, also, was still more diminished for want of needful
rest. On reaching the vicinity of Rawdon, instead of an immediate
attack, before the latter could receive rëinforcements, and when he
was more on an equal footing with the enemy, he wasted several days in
skirmishes, which served to darken rather than brighten his chance of
success. In this interval, Cornwallis arrived with the troops under
his command, thus adding to the strength of the enemy, and greatly
increasing their confidence and courage.
Indeed, Cornwallis was not slow in deciding to hazard an engagement,
although he knew that the contest would still be unequal. Gates had
superior numbers. But a retreat would be to abandon all that he had
gained in South Carolina and Georgia; and in effect would be the ruin
of the royal cause.
The American army occupied a post at Rugely's mills. On the 11th of
August, at ten o'clock in the night, the English began their march.
Ignorant of this movement, Gates had put his army in motion at the same
time, and with similar intent. What was their mutual surprise, when at
two o'clock in the morning, the advanced-guard of the British suddenly
came in contact with the head column of the Americans! A brief skirmish
ensued--but soon ended, as if by mutual consent--neither commander being
willing to hazard a nocturnal rencounter.
At a council of war summoned by Gates, the Baron de Kalb advised a
retreat to their former encampment, as in their present position they
were between two marshes, while at Rugely's mills they would have the
decided advantage as to position. In this, however, he was overruled by
Gates, who decided to wait the approach of the enemy where they were.
We shall not enter into the details of this unfortunate battle. It was
sad and sanguinary. General Gates misjudged as to position; but still
greater was his error in attempting to change the order of battle
almost at the moment when the battle began. Of this latter mistake,
Cornwallis was not slow to take advantage, but at once ordered his
troops to charge. Unprepared for an attack so sudden and so furious,
the American column gave way--the Virginians actually betaking
themselves to flight. All was soon confusion and uproar. De Kalb threw
himself at the head of the regular troops, and, infusing into them the
fire and indignation which animated his own bosom, led them on. They
advanced firm--calm--determined. But the contest was now unequal. They
could not resist the impetuous torrent which came thundering upon
them. They could not save the battle. And at this time--their ranks
thinned--their path obstructed--the cavalry of Tarleton came bearing
down upon them with the impetuosity of a whirlwind. "Shot after shot
had struck the Baron de Kalb, and the blood was pouring from his side
in streams; yet, animated by that spirit which has made the hero in
every age, he rallied his men for a last charge, and led them at the
point of the bayonet on the dense ranks. Striking a bayonet from his
breast, and laying the grenadier that held it dead at his feet, he
pressed forward, and, in the very act of cheering on his men, fell
with the blood gushing from eleven wounds. His aids immediately
covered him with their bodies, exclaiming, 'Save the Baron de Kalb!
save the Baron de Kalb!'"
[Illustration: Death of De Kalb.]
But their efforts to save him were unavailing. He was taken prisoner,
and his troops fled. Gates, meanwhile, was pursuing his fugitive army.
Their arrest and recall were, however, beyond his power. The rout was
entire; the defeat complete; owing, as was thought by men of competent
judgment, to the mismanagement of Gates.
De Kalb survived his wounds but a short time. He was able, however, to
dictate a brief letter to the patriotic band of soldiers at whose head
he had planted himself, and who nobly sustained him up to the moment
of his fall. He died in the cause of liberty--regretted by all who
knew his worth as a man and a soldier--and honored by congress, which
directed a monument to be erected to his memory at Annapolis.
The battle at Camden was sanguinary, and had the effect to spread a
gloom over the face of American affairs. The loss of the patriots
exceeded six hundred in killed; the wounded and prisoners thirteen
hundred. The British stated their loss to be only three hundred in
killed and wounded.
Cornwallis was the victor--but the British cause had now reached its
culminating point. Elated at their successes, the conquerors grew
insolent and rapacious; the Americans, resolute and determined.
4. BATTLE OF COWPENS.
Never did a service require an able and efficient commander more than
the American service at the South, following the disastrous defeat of
Gates at the battle of Camden. Fortunately, the precise man was found
in General Greene, "who, next to Washington, was the ablest commander
in the Revolutionary army"--an officer of large experience, and
distinguished for two qualities, which were more important, at this
juncture, than all others--"great caution and great rapidity." To
these were added a wonderful fortitude and as wonderful perseverance.
On assuming the command, Greene found the army reduced to two thousand
men, of whom not more than eight hundred were fit for service. The
officers, however, had few equals--and no superiors. There were
Morgan, Lee, Marion, Sumpter, and Washington (Lieutenant-colonel),
men, whose heroic achievements have justly placed them high on the
rolls of military fame. Had the army borne any comparison to its
officers, either in point of numbers or in discipline, energy, and
enthusiasm, the royal cause, in the South, would have met a still
earlier doom than it did. But the army was not only greatly reduced
in numbers, but so destitute was it of arms, ammunition, food, and
clothing, that it seemed a matter of presumption to attempt entering
the list with Cornwallis, who, to a well-disciplined and powerful
army, added every desirable materiel of war. But it often occurred
during the Revolutionary struggle, that "the race was not to the
swift, nor the battle to the strong."
The first measure adopted by Greene was unusual--he separated his
forces, small as they were, into several divisions, and stationed them
at different points. For this he has been censured, as contrary to
military rule; but the sequel proved the wisdom of the measure. It
served greatly to dismay Cornwallis, who scarcely knew in what
direction to proceed, or which one to attack--whether Morgan, Marion,
or Lee, who, with their respective detachments, were threatening him
from different points.
At length, however, he decided to begin with Morgan, who was stationed
at Cowpens, with an available force of less than a thousand men. The
plan proposed by Cornwallis was, that Tarleton, with eleven hundred
men, should assail him in front, while he himself, with the main army,
would attempt to prevent his retreat. On the appearance of Tarleton,
Morgan retired; but being, at length, hotly pressed, a contest became
inevitable. The first onset of Tarleton was terrible--the Americans
gave way, and the victorious British were anticipating the utter rout
of their foes. But, at a critical moment of the action, Colonel
Washington, who had been watching the various movements of the
respective armies, gave orders to his bugler to sound a charge. It was
nobly done! Nothing could withstand the impetuosity, the fire, the
fury of the assailants. The infantry, which was pressing on to
victory, were, as in a moment, borne down, and scattered like chaff
before the whirlwind. Morgan had time to rally his repulsed force;
and, with such an example as had been set them, they now sped their
way to victory. It was a brief, but a stirring, sanguinary scene.
Tarleton lost of his eleven hundred, seven hundred--besides two
cannon, eight hundred muskets, and a hundred dragoons.
[Illustration: Charge of Colonel Washington.]
The battle over, Morgan hastily retired, in order to escape
Cornwallis, who was bearing down upon him. In this he was successful;
but it was only at the sacrifice of the baggage, and a large part of
the stores of the army. Cornwallis pursued a similar policy--never was
man more determined to make sure of the enemy than he was; and never
was man more determined to escape than Morgan. His object was to reach
the head-quarters of Greene; but, at the distance of fifty miles, it
was his good fortune to meet his general, who, with a small force, was
hastening to his assistance.
5. RETREAT--SUBSEQUENT MOVEMENTS.
Immediately following the battle of Cowpens, Greene directed his course
towards Guilford, which he had appointed as the rendezvous of his army.
This was a perilous undertaking; and the more so, as his route lay
across the Catawba, the Yadkin, and the Dan--each of which was liable
to be suddenly swelled, and thus prevent his passage; and at a time,
perhaps, when Cornwallis would be pressing upon him. Besides, the winter
was a most unpropitious season for such an enterprise. The soldiers were
poorly clad; many of them were barefoot; blankets were greatly needed,
and even provisions were scarce. But there was no safe alternative.
Greene's force was inadequate to maintain a position against so
formidable a force as Cornwallis had under his command. It was not
indeed certain that a retreat so distant, and so fraught with
difficulties, could be effected in safety. But it was decided to run the
hazard, and towards the accomplishment of his plans, Greene now put
forth all his energy and skill.
We shall not follow him minutely in the various steps of his remarkable
and successful enterprise. Often did the English advance columns press
upon his rear; and so determined were the former--with such rapidity did
they urge their pursuit--that the fugitives were able in some instances
to rest but three hours out of the twenty-four, and to secure but one
meal a-day. Their fatigue--their deprivations--their sufferings,
penetrated the very heart of their sympathizing leader. His own anxiety
was deep and wasting; yet he had a smile and a word of encouragement as
he rode up, and hurried forward his exhausted columns.
At length they approached the Dan; that passed, they were safe; but
this was the point of their greatest danger. Cornwallis was near at
hand, and, like Pharaoh of old, pressing upon the children of Israel
at the banks of the Red sea, was confident of their utter
extermination--he had resolved to overwhelm and annihilate the
American army on the banks of the Dan.
They reached those banks. In the rear, covering their embarkation,
and, if possible, keeping in check the advance of the now infuriated
enemy, were stationed Lee's legion and Washington's horsemen. It was a
noble but perilous enterprise which they had undertaken. Had the
forces of Cornwallis reached them, it is impossible to conjecture the
issue. They had decided to succeed or perish.
But about noon, a messenger made his appearance upon a swift charger,
making the joyful announcement that the army had safely made the
passage. The guard now themselves urged their way to the ferry. Greene
had not yet crossed. He had delayed through his anxiety for the safety
of Lee and Washington, and their brave comrades. Who can describe his
exultation as they came dashing on their proud steeds! That was a
moment of intense joy; but that joy reached its climax when all were
safely on the opposite shore, and the deep waters of the Dan were
rolling between his army and their pursuers. The last boat that left,
bore the intrepid Lee, and, as it grounded upon the opposite shore,
the British van had reached the banks. This was the climax of their
disappointment. At the end of a pursuit of two hundred and fifty
miles, and during which they had destroyed all their baggage to
accelerate their progress, it was their destiny to behold their prey
exulting beyond their reach. Of this retreat, it has been well
remarked, that "for the skill with which it was planned, the
resolution and energy with which it was carried through, and the
distance traveled, it stands alone in the annals of our country, and
will bear a comparison with the most renowned feats of ancient or
modern times. It covered Greene with more glory than a victory could
have done, and stamped him at once the great commander."
Soon after the events now recited, the army of General Greene was
augmented by the arrival of rëinforcements from Virginia, to five
thousand five hundred men. Numerically, his force was larger than that
of Cornwallis, but most of the troops were for the first time in a
camp. Thus strengthened, Greene decided to hazard an engagement as
early as circumstances allowed. With this object in view, after giving
his troops some little opportunity to rest, he proceeded, and took
post at Guilford.
Here, on the 15th of March, occurred the battle of _Guilford
Court-house_, which on the part of Greene had been so wisely planned as
must have issued in the utter discomfiture of Cornwallis, had all the
Americans behaved with their accustomed bravery. But, most
unfortunately, the terrible aspect of the British army, on its near
approach, spread consternation and dismay among the Carolina militia;
and, throwing down their guns, knapsacks, and canteens, they
precipitately left the scene of action. These were followed by a portion
of the Marylanders. It was impossible to rally them, or even to stay
their progress. But the Virginians fought nobly, as did the second
regiment of the Marylanders. Upon these and the continental troops, the
entire force of the battle fell. For a time, even with the loss of the
aid of those who so ignobly fled, victory seemed to decide for the
Americans. But at length Cornwallis, at a great sacrifice of men,
succeeded in getting the ascendancy, and no alternative was left to
Greene but to order a retreat, while it could safely be made. The loss
of the Americans was about four hundred, in killed and wounded; that of
the British reached nearly six hundred. The British claimed the victory,
but it was a victory which caused Fox to exclaim, when announced in the
British House of Commons, "_Another such will ruin the British army._"
Following the battle above described, Cornwallis retreated to such a
distance from Greene, as to present little inducement to the latter to
follow, even had his force been able to cope with that under his
lordship's command. It remained, therefore, for him to adopt some new
plan, and to look in another direction for some field of usefulness to
his country's cause. After much consideration, he decided to lead back
his forces into South Carolina, and to fall on the line of the British
posts between Ninety-Six and Charleston. It was a bold, original, and
hazardous experiment; and the more so, as Cornwallis _might_ also
return, and press him with his superior force. But the decision was
made; and, taking up his line of march, in twelve days he reached
Camden, where Lord Rawdon was strongly intrenched.