Page 67 - ASM Book 9/2020

Both Sides Struggled for Victory
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1780
• MARCH 2 to MAY 12 - BRITISH ACTION: The British Siege of Charleston began when 14 warships anchored in Charleston Harbor. For six weeks American Major General Benjamin Lincoln’s army of 5,466 infantry and militia defended Charleston. On May 11 they were forced to surrender.
• JUNE 11 - AMERICAN ACTION: A new constitution for Massachusetts was approved that stated, “all men are born free and equal,” including black slaves.
• JUNE 23 - AMERICAN ACTION: American forces defeated the British at the Battle of Springfield in New Jersey.
• JULY 11 - FRENCH ACTION: 6,000 French soldiers arrived at Newport, Rhode Island. Because of the British blockade, they remained there for nearly a year.
• AUGUST 16 - BRITISH ACTION: The Americans suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Camden in South Carolina. When the battle started, the Americans outnumbered the British two to one, but the weakened, sick American soldiers were unable to fight.
• AUGUST 18 - BRITISH ACTION: British forces under Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton defeated an American militia company at the Battle of Fishing Creek in South Carolina. This opened a route for General Cornwallis to invade North Carolina.
• SEPTEMBER 21 - BRITISH ACTION: American General Benedict Arnold conspired to turn over West Point to the British. The plot failed and he defected to the British side and became a British officer and led troops against Americans.
• OCTOBER 7 - AMERICAN ACTION: American frontiersmen defeated British Major Patrick Ferguson and his army of loyalists at the Battle of Kings Mountain.
• OCTOBER 12 - BRITISH ACTION: After the defeat at Kings Mountain, General Cornwallis abandoned Charlotte and moved his army to South Carolina.
• OCTOBER 14 - AMERICAN ACTION: General Nathanael Greene was named the new commander of the Southern Army, replacing General Gates. He began a strategy to rally popular support and wear down the British military by leading them on a six-month chase through South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.
On March 2, 1780, the British siege of Charleston began when 14 warships anchored in Charleston Harbor. The siege ended on May 12 when American Major General Lincoln marched his troops out of Charleston. According to the terms of surrender, the American captives spent the rest of the war imprisoned on British prison ships in Charleston Harbor.