The Race to Yorktown

Why race to Yorktown? This needs a 9 part answer.

•Part 1: The King Tries the South

•We need to look at King George’s perspective. Mighty Britain had been fighting those pesky Americans since 1775, and all they had to show for it was New York City. The war was costing King George a fortune-so the government had to raise taxes. King George was feeling the heat.

But you know George. He was still totally committed to victory over the Americans. So starting in 1779, he decided to try a new strategy: The British army would destroy the Revolution by capturing the Southern states.. The famously stubborn King George honestly believed that most people in the south were still loyal to him

What was George's new strategy?

• Recapture Boston

• Capture the Southern States

• Blockade the coastal states

• Start an Native American uprising

Part 2: Bad Peaches, Bad General

At first, it looked like Britain’s “southern strategy” was actually going to work. The British quickly captured big chunks of Georgia and South Carolina. Then Congress put Horatio Gates (the Saratoga hero) in charge of the American army in the South. Gates showed up at camp in July 1780 and saw that his soldiers were starving and exhausted. So what did he decide to do? He ordered them to march toward the British.

Hungry enough to eat anything, the men spotted unripe green peaches and they feasted—and quickly paid the price. The meal had, “painful effects”, said Colonel Otho Williams. But Gates pushed on. And on August 16th, the ran into the British general Charles Cornwallis and his army at Camden, South Carolina. While Cornwallis was crushing the Americans, Gen. Gates panicked and fled from the battlefield, leaving his entire army behind. He was next seen 180 miles away.

What did General Gates decided to do when he arrived in the South?

• Order his starving soldiers to march to the British

• Eat peaches

• Build forts

• Create a plan to ruin Benedict Arnold's life

Part 3: The British Behaving Badly

If only the King knew how badly some of his soldiers were behaving in the South. Soldiers routinely robbed civilians and broke into homes, stealing anything of value. This was happening a lot, so as you can imagine, the British bandits were not exactly winning new friends for King George in the South.

Why were Southerners not happy with the British?

• They wouldn't come to their parties

• They made them pay exceptionally high taxes

• They were robbing civilians

• They used their front yards as latrines.

Part 4: The Swamp Fox

That brings us to a South Carolina Patriot named Francis Marion. Marion started leading small band of militia members on quick, surprise strikes against the British. Marion would march at night, attack sleepy British soldiers, and disappear into the swamps, where the British could never find him. That’s where the nickname came in. When Colonel Otho Williams met Marion and his swamp team, he was surprised to see a bunch of hungry-looking men in rags. “Their number did not exceed twenty men and boys,” said Williams, “Some white, some black, and most miserably equipped.” Miserably equipped but effective. With folks like the Swamp Fox around, the British army was never able to gain control of the South.

What did Francis Marion do?

• Trap foxes and sell their fur to help buy supplies for the army.

• Spy on the British and report his findings to General Gates

• Lead small band of militia members on quick, surprise strikes against the British.

• Created a second branch of the Sons of Liberty