for" Armed to close and board. At his first attempt the ships did not come alongside. Pearson, commanding the Serapis, called out to ask if the Richard had struck her colors, and Jones's answer rang back: "I have not yet begun to fight." A second attempt to come alongside proved successful, and Jones lashed the two ships together with his own hands. Then followed a severe hand to hand struggle which cleared the deck of the Serapis of defenders. After this had gone on for two hours, hand grenades fired the British ship and she was forced to strike. Jones's own ship had six feet of water in the hold and was on fire. She sank two days later. The Serapis and the Scarborough were carried into port as prizes. Jones established the tradition for heroism in the American navy. He was personally eccentric, and congress was slow in recognizing his services. The participation of France in the war relieved the United States of the necessity of contending against England by sea. It also promoted the formation of the league of Northern powers The League for "armed neutrality." England used her immense Neutrality." naval power with little regard to the interests of other nations. She impressed seamen and seized neutral goods not contraband as freely as she found them on foreign ships. The other nations were equally interested in the policy that "free ships make free goods," except as regards contraband articles. This principle was asserted before our revolution by individual writers and even by states, but it had not the force behind it necessary to secure its acceptance. In 1778 France, whose goods were now being seized, asked Russia to head a movement for united protest. The request was accepted, and out of it proceeded the "Armed Neutrality" agreement, signed at first by Russia, Sweden, and Denmark, but later accepted by Prussia, the Netherlands, the German Empire, Portugal, Naples, Turkey, and the United States. The acceptance of the league by the Netherlands led England to make war on that power, although another reason was given for this breach of an ancient friendship. Thus England's war against the colonies had enlarged its scope until she saw arrayed against her, besides the colonies themselves, France, Spain, and Holland. British THE CAMPAIGN IN THE SOUTH, 1778-1781 Having failed to conquer the North, the British concluded to make their next attempt in the South. They were told that the interior parts, inhabited by small farmers who had not keenly felt the restrictions on commerce, were largely loyal, and would welcome the arrival of a force strong enough to afford them protection. The plan adopted was to begin with Georgia, the weakest of the Southern states, and to roll up the South from that point. Accordingly, in December, 1778, the work change their Plan of Attack. RESTORING AUTHORITY IN THE SOUTH 207 Charleston began with the seizure of Savannah, from which place strong columns proceeded to occupy the interior. To deal with the situation General Lincoln was sent to assume command in the South. He found the British general, Prevost, in the act of subduing South Carolina and was able to drive him away from the vicinity of Charleston. Then d'Estaing appeared off the coast, and a coöperative attack on Savannah was begun. Here, as at Newport, the French admiral was soon out of sympathy with the American general, and sailed away, alleging that he could not expose his ships to the autumn storms of a dangerous coast. As soon as he was gone Clinton came south with a strong fleet and an army of 7000 men and began to besiege Charleston. Lincoln unwisely allowed himself to be shut up in the city, and in May, 1780, was forced to surrender with 5000 Taken. men. South Carolina was now at the mercy of the enemy, who marched at will through the interior. The governor of the state fled to Philadelphia to implore aid from congress, and no American army worthy of the name existed in the state. A mere remnant was in the field under Colonel Buford, but Tarleton's Legion overwhelmed it at Waxhaw. Some of the Americans escaped, but 500 asked for quarter. For reply, Tarleton fell on them with sabers and pistols, leaving 113 dead and 150 so badly wounded that they could not be moved. This harsh affair and other less notable examples of British cruelty cowed the people. But much resentment was also stimulated, and the result was the organization of several partisan bands which kept up a vigilant warfare against such small detachments of the enemy as fortune sent their way. Of the partisan leaders the most famous were Sumter, Marion, Pickens, Clarke, and Davie, the last being of North Carolina. Clinton did not esteem these bands highly. He thought the province well reconquered, and early in June returned to New York, leaving Cornwallis with 5000 men to hold what had been taken and to extend the conquest into North Carolina. The British were pleased. At the end of four years' fighting, one colony, Georgia, had been forced to receive her repudiated royal governor, and in another the revolutionary government had collapsed. Partisan Bands. Gates at To save the situation, congress sent General Gates into the South. The appointment was against the advice of Washington, who suggested Greene; but the "hero of Saratoga" was still popular. Charles Lee, who knew him well, offered this advice: Camden. "Take care that your Northern laurels do not change to Southern willows." Gates had 3000 troops, half of them militia, and in August attacked Camden, an important position in central South Carolina held by Lord Rawdon. Had he moved promptly, he might have won the fight, for his force was the stronger; but by delaying he allowed Cornwallis to arrive with reënforcements, and the battle, fought August 16, was a crushing defeat. The militia, from Virginia and North Carolina, fled at the first attack, and the regulars were surrounded and badly cut to pieces, while Kalb, who fought bravely, was killed. The total American loss was 2000 killed, wounded, and captured; that of the British was 300. Gates rode sixty miles that summer's day, and did not cease his flight until in four days he reached Hillsborough, North Carolina, 180 miles from the scene of his defeat. He tried to call out more militia to oppose the enemy, but his day was past. December 2, he was succeeded by General Greene. Battle of Before that time, the British had met their first check in the South, at King's Mountain, October 7, 1780. After Camden, Cornwallis moved into North Carolina, gathering food and horses. He halted at Charlotte, where the Mecklenburg Resolutions of May 31, 1775, were adopted, while Major Ferguson, with 1000 tories, scoured the country to the west, collecting supplies and enlisting recruits; for that country was strongly loyal. The whigs fled before him, and alarm spread even to the transmontane settlements of Watauga and Kentucky. From this distant region, bands of mounted men, under leaders of their own choosing, marched eastward, September 26, to bag Ferguson. Having crossed the mountains, they were joined by 510 North Carolinians and 400 South Carolinians, a total force of 1800. Ferguson heard of their approach and moved toward Charlotte. Thirty-five miles from that place, he came to King's Mountain, the northern end of which is cut by the state line. It is a hill sixty feet high, flat at the top, a third of a mile long, and Ferguson believed it impregnable. On its top he placed his 900 men and awaited attack. The whigs were riding hard behind, and October 7, a picked band of the best mounted arrived at the hill, surrounded its base, and began a vigorous attack. On alternate sides they charged up the slopes and then fell back, using whatever cover they could find. Early in the fight, Ferguson was killed, and at the end of an hour the white flag was raised: 700 survivors surrendered; the rest were slain. It was a small battle, reckoned by the numbers engaged; but it was very important. It forced Cornwallis back into South Carolina, it gave courage to the whigs in the Carolinas, and it checked the advance of the British until Greene could arrive and organize his defense. It marked the change of the tide in the South. Greene, now in command of the American army, had 2300 men, half of them regulars. Cornwallis outnumbered him, and all his troops were trained soldiers. Greene, therefore, did not attack, but in his camp at Cheraw awaited the purpose of his opponents. To encourage the whigs west of him, he threw out General Morgan with 600 men to threaten the British post at Ninety-six. This divided the American army, and Cornwallis, Battle of |