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Revolutionary War Historical Article
The American Revolution Month-by-Month August 1780
By Compatriot Andrew "Andy" Stough
Editor's Note: This article was reprinted by Permission of the Gold Country Chapter No. 7 of the CSSAR and was slightly edited by the Sons of Liberty Chapter of the CSSAR
The fall of Charleston left a large void in the southern patriot military. While the bulk of Patriot General Benjamin's Lincoln’s army had been eliminated as a fighting force, there still remained small scattered remnants that had been outside Charleston. They had survived not only the immediate battle but the hunting down of small units by that "Hound from Hell" Banastre Tarleton. Indefatigable in his search for any remaining forces, Tarleton seemed, like a hound, able to smell out the small scraps of a defeated army to put them to the sword in an effort to destroy any southern resistance. Any who survived had primarily moved north to the mountainous regions of North Carolina and areas that were loyal to the Revolution.
In April of 1780 Washington sent General Baron Johann DeKalb to command the Maryland Line (whatever that denotes) and a Delaware regiment. The two units, a total of some 1,400 men, were to support Lincoln. With a shortage of all things including men, DeKalb lingered in Philadelphia in an attempt to obtain adequate supplies and transportation for the march south. Alas, little was to be had and the force marched, depending on the favor of patriot sympathizers along the way for day-to-day supply. Time and the miles passed with little support found along the way and an inability to reach Lincoln in time to be of assistance.
With Charleston surrendered, and the army and commander imprisoned, Congress appointed (without Washington’s consent) Major General Horatio Gates to take command of what was left of the Southern Forces. DeKalb on July 16th received word that he would be replaced by Gates who had gained a reputation by commanding at the victory at Saratoga. Gates joined the army on July 25th at Hallinsworth’s Farm on Deep River and assumed command.
Gates immediately made plans to move toward Camden, South Carolina, which was the main British supply center west of Charleston. There was disagreement between Gates and DeKalb as to the route to be used on the march to Camden. DeKalb had previously planned to move to Camden by following a roughly crescent shaped route which carried the army through productive, friendly and easily traversed country. Gates elected to take a shorter route even though it was through territory heavily populated by Tories and less productive of support to an army on the march and over difficult terrain. The march began on July 17th by the more direct road.
Two remnants of Lincoln’s cavalry that had moved to North Carolina to escape Tarleton sent word to Gates asking for assistance. Gates had a very low opinion of cavalry in the southern theater and refused to assist them or to bring them into his force. On August 2nd one hundred men from Virginia joined the force. Hungry, half sick, and almost exhausted, the army was marched 16 to 18 miles a day. Finally at Deep Creek some dried corn and beef was obtained. Officers and non-commissioned officers saw to it that the privates were the first to be fed. In better spirits and with a little food in their bellies the army moved on.
On August 5th a message was received from Colonel Richard Caswell, a North Carolinian, that he with 2,100 North Carolina Militia would attack an enemy post. Gates feared that such an attack might decimate or weaken a force that he needed for his own campaign. The next morning word came that Lt. Colonel Lord Francis Rawdon was about to attack Caswell at Lynch’s Creek. Help was desperately needed, and at once!
The next day the forces were joined under Gates. There was no emergency, Rawdon had only planned a feint at Caswell to be followed by a return to Little Lynch’s Creek only a mile from Camden. Gates could not remain where he was nor could he appear to retreat and thereby lose the support of the North Carolinians. On August 11th Gates arrived at Little Lynch’s Creek to find Rawdon on the far side in a good defensive position on a hill commanding the crossing. DeKalb recommended moving upstream under cover to attack Rawdon in the rear, essentially the same successful tactic used by the British so many times before. Gates ignored that advice and moved out in full view of Rawdon who immediately called for reinforcements. On the 14th, Gates was joined by 700 Virginia militia. On the same day Patriot Brigadier General Thomas "Gamecock" Sumter asked for and received 400 men (including 100 Continentals) and a company of artillery and two cannon to attack a supply train, seriously diminishing the force by the loss of the Continentals and the cannons.
The delay by Gates allowed British General Charles Earl Cornwallis time to bring up more 2,000 additional men accompanied by artillery; far exceeding Gates' cannon even if he had retained those sent with Major General Sumter. The opposing forces now numbered slightly over 4,000 Americans of which only 3,000 were nominally fit for duty. Gates army was approximately half again the size of Cornwallis force, but was considerably less when British experience, number of cannon, and other military supplies were taken into account, particularly if the physical condition of the Americans were compared to the British force.
On August 15th, ignoring any advice that his officers might have given him, Gates ordered a forced night march through swamps and deep sand. Cornwallis had arrived at the same strategy to move at night to surprise Gates. Four hours later the two forces met in an explosion of small arms between Tarleton’s British and Colonel Charles Armand’s American Legion. Tarleton appeared to be getting the best of it until American Colonels Charles Porterfield and John Armstrong threw their men into the fight. Shortly thereafter the night clash ended. Unfortunately Porterfield was killed in the short encounter.
Prisoners had been taken on both sides, giving the opposing commanders the strength and disposition of the other. Disturbed by the strength of the opposing force, Gates finally asked the advice of his officers. Retreat to a more tenable position was the opinion of many but no one wanted to suggest retreat. Brigadier General Edward Stevens of Virginia said "we must fight." Gates accepted Stevens advice.
The sun rose early on the morning of Wednesday, the 16th day of August, but the Americans were up and formed before day broke. Their position was tenable due to the high ground where they stood, but vulnerable because of its openness which could allow their line to be flanked. Had the forces been better matched, Cornwallis would have held the poorer position, as he was formed in a narrow area bounded on the sides by swamps with a wide stream to his rear. The difference would be not the terrain but the match between the generals, their soldiers, equipment and supplies. In this respect there was no match.
As the British advanced toward the American line, Williams reported to Gates in the rear that he believed Stevens should engage the enemy before they were fully formed. Gates agreed and gave his only order of the day stating "Sir, that’s right. Let it be done." It was too late, the British and Tories had already formed their line and were advancing with bayonets for the attack. Steven's Virginians were not fast enough in responding, so Williams called for volunteers and with some 50 men took to the trees to fire. It was too late, the hallmark of the British soldier was his willingness to continue to advance with bayonets no matter how many men dropped beside him. Against such odds the Americans fell back in total rout. 2,000 North Carolinians joined by 500 Virginians threw down their weapons and ran through the 1st Maryland reserve, totally confusing that force. Only one North Carolina regiment stood and fought along with the Maryland and Delaware units. The enemy had opened a gap between the American right and left and with the center gone the raw troops on the right were disposed of easily. Cornwallis threw his men against the 1st Maryland who stood fast but were eventually routed. DeKalb with General Gist and his Marylanders and the Delawares fought bravely, and with less than 600 men turned back 1,000 British. The first charge was followed by a second, then a third. They were winning their fight, unaware that they were the only Americans left on the field. They should have retreated earlier but without orders to retire and unable to see more than the battle before them they fought on for more than an hour. DeKalb was urged to retreat but no orders had been given by Gates to retreat. As a matter of fact Gates was now miles away having abandoned his command. DeKalb, leading the Marylanders and Delawares, fought on in desperate hand-to-hand combat until DeKalb with 11 bullet wounds fell to the ground but not before he cut down a British soldier who had a bayonet at his chest. Cornwallis, riding by, recognized the Baron and called off soldiers who were stealing anything that DeKalb had of value; further he took DeKalb to British surgeons who kept him alive for three days.
Where was Gates? He had fled on his own racehorse, which carried him 60 miles north to Charlotte where he spent the night. He pushed on, arriving at Hillsboro or Hillsborough, 200 miles from the battle site, on August 19th. Tarleton had followed up the battle by running down as many men as possible. The slaughter continued all day until Tarleton and his men became too weary to continue the pursuit. Many American soldiers were assisted to safety in Charlotte by 300 Catawba Indians. Survivors straggled in, some sick many wounded and mostly destitute as most had abandoned their arms and anything that would slow down their flight.
On August 15th, General Thomas Sumter captured the wagon train previously mentioned. After hearing of Camden, he moved north with his captured train and prisoners. On the 18th he and his men were caught sleeping in an open camp by Tarleton who killed 150 men and captured more than 300.
But even so there were several rays of hope after Camden. On the 18th "The Battle of Musgrove’s Mill" was fought and won by patriots. On the 20th British and Tories marching prisoners from Camden to Charleston were captured by a small force of 17 horsemen under Colonel Francis Marion.
Congress had chosen Gates, who had now cost the Americans the last army in the South, leaving it solidly in British and Tory hands. Congress, late in deciding that it was best to let military men select the generals, now appointed Commander-in-Chief General George Washington to determine who would lead Patriot armies.
Now back to John Paul Jones. August 2nd of 1780 found Jones still in France trying to convince the French to put him in command of a squadron to harass the British at sea and along the English coast as well as Britain’s Baltic Convoys. He was put off with the excuse that there was a shortage of sailors due to the their navy’s worldwide commitment.
On August 9th Jones wrote to Francois Genet of the French Foreign Office that Ariel is almost ready to sail, but, Jones will not sail until he knows what French bank he can draw on for prize money from the sale of the various prizes captured and sent to port to be sold. He has not had any correspondence from Lady Lowendahl of Paris and makes inquiry of Genet about her. He had an affair with the lady while in Paris and is piqued that he has not heard from her while in Lorient. He does not know that she has dropped him from her list of admirers. However on August 22nd he receives an impassioned letter from a lady called Delia who wishes that she could sail as a member of his crew. Ariel was ready to sail August 25th, but remained in port.
Meanwhile Alliance had sailed with not only a bickering crew but divisiveness between Captain Landais and his former accomplice Arthur Lee. Once at sea Landais quarreled with Lee, the crew, and even the Officer in charge of the Marine complement whom he had placed in confinement for refusing to agree to obey any order that he Landais might give. He was particularly hard on the crewmen from Bonhomme Richard, putting them in irons shortly after leaving port. Things became so bad that on August 11th, Arthur Lee led the ship’s officers and passengers in forcing Landais to give command of the ship to Lt. Degge who at the time was confined to the ship’s brig. With orders from Congress to port at Philadelphia, Degge instead landed at Boston on August 19th .
The local Naval Board gave command of Alliance to Captain John Barry who was later considered the "Father of the US Navy". Barry’s exploits were as great as those of John Paul Jones but he was less flamboyant and less well known.
Landais refused to budge from his quarters aboard ship. Congress, after reviewing the matter, directed Landais to resign or face a court-martial. Landais refused to resign or even to leave his cabin and eventually was physically forced ashore by three marines. A court-martial found Landais guilty of numerous charges; recommending to Congress that he be dismissed from the United States Navy. Dismissed from service, he stayed in the New York and Philadelphia area for several years demanding payment for the prizes taken off Flamborough Head. He then returned to France and was given flag rank in the French navy; retiring from service due to old age in 1793.
References: Arthur Meier Schlesinger’s "Almanac of American History"; Christopher Ward's "The War of the Revolution"; Samuel Elliot Morison’s "John Paul Jones"; Don Higginbotham's "The War of the American Revolution."
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