and, in 1776, had long concealed the fact, it was now discovered that the southern colonists possessed neither the strength nor vigor of their brethren in the north. The rapid conquest of Georgia, the easy march of Prevost to the very gates of Charleston, and the timid behavior of many of the colonists, who were more inclined to save themselves by submission than to assert the independence of their country by force of arms, all pointed out the southern states as the most vulnerable part of the Union, and invited an attack in that quarter. In the north the campaigns of 1778 and 1779 had produced no important results; and, therefore, the late transactions in Georgia and South Carolina more readily drew the attention of the British commander-in-chief to those states.

Savannah, the chief town of Georgia, was in the hands of the British troops, and had been successfully defended against a combined attack of the French and Americans; and, therefore, Sir Henry Clinton resolved to gain possession of Charleston also, the capital of South Carolina, which would give him the command of all the southern parts of the Union. Having made the necessary preparations, he sailed from New York on the 26th of December, under convoy of Admiral Arbuthnot, but did not arrive at Savannah till the end of January. The voyage was tempestuous: some of the transports and victuallers were lost, others shattered, and a few taken by the American cruisers. Most of the cavalry and draught horses perished. One of the transports, which had been separated from the fleet, was brought into Charleston on the 23d of January; and the prisoners gave the first certain notice of the destination of the expedition.

As soon as it was known that an armament was fitting out at New York, many suspected that the southern states were to be assailed; and such was the unhappy posture of American affairs at that time, that no sanguine expectations of a successful resistance could be reasonably entertained. The magazines of the Union were everywhere almost empty; and congress had neither money nor credit to replenish them. The army at Morristown, under the immediate orders of General Washington, was threatened with destruction by want of provisions; and, consequently, could neither act with vigor in the north, nor send reinforcements to the south.

General Lincoln, though aware of his danger, was not in a condition to meet it. On raising the siege of Savannah, he had sent the troops of Virginia to Augusta; those of South Carolina were stationed partly at Sheldon, opposite Port Royal, between thirty and forty miles north from Savannah, and partly in Fort Moultrie, which had been allowed to fall into decay; those of North Carolina were with General Lincoln at Charleston. All those detachments formed but a feeble force, and to increase it was not easy; for the colonial paper money was in a state of great depreciation-the militia, worn out by a harassing service, were reluctant again to repair to the standards of their country. The patriotism of many of the colonists had evaporated; they contemplated nothing but the hardships and dangers of the contest, and recoiled from the protracted struggle.

In these discouraging circumstances, congress recommended it to the people of South Carolina to arm their slaves; a measure from which they were generally averse; and, although they had been willing to comply with the recommendation, arms could not have been procured. Congress ordered the continental troops of North Carolina and Virginia to march to Charleston; and four American frigates, two French ships-of-war, the one mounting twenty-six and the other eighteen guns, with the mari e force of South Carolina under Commodore Whipple, were directed to co-operate in the defence of the town. No more aid could be expected; yet, even in these unpromising circumstances, a full house of assembly resolved to defend Charleston to the last extremity.

Although Sir Henry Clinton had embarked at New York on the 26th of December, 1779, yet, as his voyage had been stormy and tedious, and as some

time had been necessarily spent at Savannah, it was the 11th of February, 1780, before he landed on St. John's island, thirty miles south from Charleston. Had he even then marched rapidly upon the town, he would probably have entered it without much opposition; but, mindful of his repulse in 1776, his progress was marked by a wary circumspection. He proceeded by the islands of St. John and St. James, while part of his fleet advanced to blockade the harbor. He sent for a reinforcement from New York, ordered General Prevost to join him with 1,100 men from Savannah, and neglected nothing that could ensure success. Meanwhile Governor Rutledge, with such of his council as he could conveniently consult, was invested with a dictatorial authority, and empowered to do everything necessary for the public good, except taking away the life of a citizen without legal trial. The assembly, after delegating to the governor this power till ten days after its next session, dissolved itself.

Governor Rutledge and General Lincoln were indefatigable in improving the time which the slow progress of the royal army afforded them. Six hundred slaves were employed in constructing or repairing the fortifications of the town; vigorous though not very successful measures were taken to bring the militia into the field; and all the small detachments of regular troops were assembled in the capital. The works which had been begun on Charleston Neck, when General Prevost threatened the place, were resumed. A chain of redoubts, lines, and batteries, was formed between the Cooper and Ashley. In front of each flank the works were covered by swamps extending from the rivers; these opposite swamps were connected by a canal; between the canal and the works were two strong rows of abatis, and a ditch double picketed, with deep holes at short distances, to break the columns in case of an assault. Toward the water, works were thrown up at every place where a landing was practicable. The vessels intended to defend the bar of the harbor having been found insufficient for that purpose, their guns were taken out and planted on the ramparts, and the seamen were stationed at the batteries. One of the ships, which was not dis mantled, was placed in the river Cooper, to assist the batteries; and several vessels were sunk at the mouth of the channel, to prevent the entrance of the royal navy. General Lincoln hoped that, if the town could be for a while defended, such reinforcements would arrive from the north as, together with the militia of the state, would compel Sir Henry Clinton to raise the siege. As the regular troops in the town did not exceed 1,400, a council of war found that the garrison was too weak to spare detachments to obstruct the progress of the royal army. Only a small party of cavalry and some light troops were ordered to hover on its left flank and observe its motions.

While those preparations for defence were going on in Charleston, the British army was cautiously but steadily advancing toward the town. As he proceeded, Sir Henry Clinton erected forts and formed magazines at proper stations, and was careful to secure his communications with those forts and with the sea. All the horses of the British army had perished in the tedious and stormy voyage from New York to Savannah; but, on landing in South Carolina, Sir Henry Clinton procured others to mount his dragoons, whom he formed into a light corps, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Tarleton. That officer was extremely active in covering the left wing of the army, and in dispersing the militia. In one of his excursions he fell in with Lieutenant-Colonel Washington, who commanded the remnant of Baylor's regiment, and who beat him back with loss.

On the 20th of March the British fleet under Admiral Arbuthnot, consisting of one ship of fifty guns, two of forty-four each, four of thirty-two each, and an armed vessel, passed the bar in front of Rebellior road and anchored in FiveFathom hole. The American naval force, under Commodore Whipple, retreated

first to Sullivan's island, and afterward to Charleston, where, as already mentioned, the ships were dismantled and the crews employed on the works. On the 9th of April Admiral Arbuthnot, taking advantage of a strong southerly wind and a flowing tide, passed Fort Moultrie, and anchored just without reach of the guns of Charleston. The fort kept up a heavy fire on the fleet while passing, which did some damage to the ships, and killed or wounded twenty-seven men. On the 29th of March, the British army reached Ashley river, and crossed it ten miles above the town without opposition; the garrison being too weak to dispute the passage. Having brought over his artillery, baggage, and stores, Sir Henry Clinton marched down Charleston Neck; and, on the night of the 1st of April, broke ground at the distance of 8,000 yards from the American works.

The fortifications of Charleston were constructed under the direction of Mr. Laumoy, a French engineer of reputation in the American service; and, although not calculated to resist regular siege, were by no means contemptible: and the British general made his approaches in due form. Meanwhile the garrison received a reinforcement of 700 continentals under General Woodford ; and, after this accession of strength, amounted to somewhat more than 2,000 regular troops, besides 1,000 militia of North Carolina, and the citizens of Charleston. Governor Rutledge made every effort to raise the militia of the province, but with little success; for not more than 200 of them were in the capital.

On the 9th of April, the British commander finished his first parallel, forming an oblique line between the two rivers, from 600 to 1,100 yards from the American works, and mounted his guns in battery. He then, jointly with the admiral, summoned General Lincoln to surrender the town. Lincoln's answer was modest and firm: "Sixty days," said he, "have passed since it has been known that your intentions against this town were hostile, in which time was afforded to abandon it; but duty and inclination point to the propriety of supporting it to the last extremity.”

On receiving this answer, Sir Henry Clinton immediately opened his batteries; and his fire was soon felt to be superior to that of the besieged. Hitherto the communication with the country north of the Cooper was open, and a post was established to prevent the investiture of the town on that side. After the summons, Governor Rutledge, with half of his council left the town, for the purpose of exercising the functions of the executive government in the state, and in the hope of being able to bring a large body of the militia to act on the rear or left flank of the besieging army: but the militia were as little inclined to imbody themselves as to enter the town.

For the purpose of maintaining the communication with the country north of the Cooper, of checking the British foragers, and of protecting supplies on their way to the town, the American cavalry, under General Huger, had passed the river and taken post at Monk's corner, thirty miles above Charleston. Posts of militia were established between the Cooper and Santee, and at a ferry on the last-named river, where boats were ordered to be collected in order to facilitate the passage of the garrison, if it should be necessary to evacuate the town. But the British general defeated all those precautions; for as the possession of the harbor rendered the occupation of the forts to the southward unnecessary, Sir Henry Clinton resolved to call in the troops which had been employed in that quarter, to close the communication of the garrison with the country to the northward, and to complete the investiture of the town. For those purposes, as the fleet was unable to enter the river Cooper, he deemed it necessary to dislodge the American posts, and employed Lieutenant-Colonel Tarleton to beat up the quarters of the cavalry at Monk's corner. Conducted during the night, by a negro slave, through unfrequented paths, Tarleton proceeded toward the American post; and, although the commander of the party had taken the precaution of pla