Tag: Charles Cornwallis

Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Scott Syfert on the Battle of Ramsour’s Mill

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Scott Syfert on the significance of the Battle of Ramsour’s Mill, June 20, 1780. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Dispatches can now be easily accessed […]

by Editors
3
Posted on

Ramsour’s Mill, June 20, 1780: The End of Cornwallis’ Loyalist Illusion

Following the surrender of the major coastal capital of Charlestown, South Carolina (present-day Charleston) to the joint army-navy expeditionary force led by Maj. Gen. Sir Henry Clinton and Vice Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot in May 1780, British land forces began to fan out across the Carolina interior to reestablish Royal control. When Clinton returned to New […]

by Scott Syfert
Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Douglas R. Dorney, Jr. on Lord Cornwallis, Defender of American and British Liberty?

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Douglas R. Dorney, Jr. on his recent article about how Lord Cornwallis has been viewed by many as the general that lost the American Revolution, but his commitment to his own personal values made him a valuable asset to the larger British Empire, particularly in India. New […]

by Editors
8
Posted on

Sir Henry Clinton’s Generalship

“My fate is hard,” Sir Henry Clinton remarked after learning that he had been named commander of the British army in May 1778, adding that he expected to someday bear “a considerable portion of the blame” for Britain’s “inevitable” lack of success.[1] There were good reasons for Clinton’s pessimism. Not only was France entering the […]

by John Ferling
9
Posted on

Colonel Henry Jackson Accused by His Junior Officers of Misconduct at the Battle of Monmouth Court House

In my study of Major General Charles Lee, who commanded Continental Army troops at the fascinating Battle of Monmouth Court House, I argue that his post-battle convictions for failing to attack the enemy and for an unwarranted retreat were unjustified. I further argue that most of the blame for the retreat should have fallen on […]

by Christian McBurney
9
Posted on

Trading Generals

During the American Revolution, many players were removed from the chess board of war as a result of capture. From individual soldiers and sailors to entire armies, captives fell into the hands of the enemy, the largest numbers usually after defeats. Negotiations to repatriate these men varied from fairly successful to complete failures. In fact, […]

by William M. Welsch
6
Posted on

Picking Up the Pieces: Virginia’s “Eighteen-Months Men” of 1780–81

The first half of 1780 had gone disastrously for Virginia. The surrender of Gen. Benjamin Lincoln’s army at Charleston and the destruction of Col. Abraham Buford’s detachment of Virginia continentals at the Waxhaws virtually eliminated Virginia’s continental line. A force that once boasted sixteen regiments and thousands of men was now reduced to a handful of […]

by Michael Cecere
Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Andrew Waters on the Campaign in the Carolinas

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Andrew Waters on the course of the campaign through the Carolinas, including Cowpens and other key engagements. His experience as a land conservator has provided him a knowledge of the Carolina backcountry that enhances his interpretation of the campaign. As your host Brady Crytzer says, “Sit back, […]

by Editors
Posted on

The American Revolutionary War in the South

The American Revolutionary War in the South: A Re-evaluation from a British Perspective in Light of the Cornwallis Papers by Ian Saberton (Grosvenor House Publishing Limited, 2018) Ian Saberton provides insight and analysis prompted by his extensive research as editor of the Cornwallis Papers in his book appropriately titled, The American Revolutionary War in the South: […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
7
Posted on

Benedict Arnold and James Wemyss: Similar Experiences Contrasting Legacies

Often, a person’s legacy is defined by decisions made at pivotal moments rather than a lifetime of previous accomplishments. The is especially true for two aspiring, highly competent military officers in senior leadership positions during the fractious American Rebellion. Although initially on opposing sides, the wartime and personal experiences of the infamous Maj. Gen. Benedict […]

by Gene Procknow
4
Posted on

Southern Gambit: Cornwallis and the British March to Yorktown

Southern Gambit: Cornwallis and the British March to Yorktown by Stanley D.M. Carpenter (University of Oklahoma Press, 2019) In his recent book, Stanley Carpenter produced a thoughtful analysis of the British southern strategy during the American Revolution. A professor at the Naval War College, he evaluates enduring concepts and elements of warfare framed in contemporary language […]

by Patrick H. Hannum
2
Posted on

Cornwallis’s Refitment at Winnsborough and the Start of the Winter Campaign, November–January 1780–81

As November 1780 begins, we find Cornwallis continuing to wait at Winnsborough, South Carolina, in the hope of being joined by Major Gen. Alexander Leslie, a junction on which the winter campaign to the northward depended. Bound for the Chesapeake and placed under the orders of Cornwallis, Leslie had sailed from New York on October […]

by Ian Saberton
3
Posted on

Hammond’s Store: The “Dirty War’s” Prelude to Cowpens

Little is known about the colonial-era history of Hammond’s Store, though the site appears to have been a local meeting place prior to the American Revolution. A 1775 proclamation of South Carolina’s Second Provincial Congress listed “Hammond’s old store” as the election polling place for the newly established “Little River” electoral district.[1] A letter from […]

by Andrew Waters
3
Posted on

Revolutionary Rookies

Performing as a general atop an independent command is the most difficult military assignment and for which prior experience critically fosters improved strategic and tactical decision-making. Many people think that the Revolutionary War British generals were highly experienced while the Rebel generals, although possessing battle proficiency as junior officers, principally gained their military strategy and […]

by Gene Procknow
16
Posted on

Unlucky or Inept? Gates at Camden

At the battle of Camden in August of 1780, Lord Cornwallis dealt the Americans under General Horatio Gates a shocking defeat.  Also known as the Hero of Saratoga, General Gates had recently proven a serious competitor to George Washington’s command of the Continental Army.  Because of the debate over command, the defeat drew all sorts […]

by Wayne Lynch
13
Posted on

Winner or Runner? Gates at Camden

Lord Cornwallis dealt General Horatio Gates a terrible defeat at Camden in South Carolina.  The battle represented a rather rude jolt to the reputation of the American general who had orchestrated the victory at Saratoga a few years earlier; to make matters even worse, rumors of personal cowardice followed the general for the rest of […]

by Wayne Lynch
4
Posted on

Top 10 British Losers

The American Revolutionary War was a war Britain seemingly should have won.  Its failure is popularly blamed upon the incompetence of the political and military leaders who have consequently become objects of satire.  This is particularly true of portrayals in the movies and media which of course have a greater impact on perceptions than books.  […]

by Andrew O’Shaughnessy