NC, USA
Greene Moves South to Resume the Carolina Campaign
April 6, 1781
Rather than follow Cornwallis north, Greene turned south to attack the British posts left behind in SC. Ignoring the main army to dismantle their logistical network was the strategic insight that made the campaign's outcome possible. By September 1781, British control was reduced to coastal enclaves.
People Involved
Rhode Island Quaker who became Washington's most capable general. Commanded the Southern Department from December 1780, rebuilding the shattered army and fighting a campaign of strategic attrition that expelled British forces without winning a single tactical victory.
British general who won the field at Guilford Courthouse but suffered 27 percent casualties his army could not replace. His grapeshot order into his own troops reflected his desperation. He surrendered at Yorktown seven months later.