100 days that shook the world

Winter clouds fly over New Windsor, New York, about 50 miles from the Hudson River in Manhattan, where General George Washington was headquartered. In January 1781, the trees were barren and the ground was covered with snow, making it a "dreary station," as Washington said. The commander-in-chief's mood was as bleak as the scenery. Six years into the Revolutionary War, his troops, he admitted to Lieutenant Colonel John Lawrence, a former aide, were now "almost exhausted," and the men had not been paid for months. They lacked clothing and blankets; the need for food was so desperate that Washington sent patrols to seize flour at "bayonet points" across New York State. Related Content The Myth of the American Revolution

At the same time as the American Revolution, many Americans felt that the revolution was doomed. Low morale led Samuel Adams, a delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Massachusetts, to worry that those who opposed independence in 1776 would gain control of Congress and sue for peace with Britain. In the past two years, three American armies had lost nearly 8,000 men fighting in the South; Georgia and South Carolina appeared to be reoccupied by the British; rebellions broke out in the Continental Army and the national economy was thrown into chaos. Washington knew, he wrote to Lawrence, that "the people were dissatisfied." Convinced that the army was in danger of collapse, Washington secretly predicted that 1781 would prove America's last chance to win the war. Nothing less than the "Great Revolution" hangs in the balance. It was "brought to a crisis."

Yet in just a few months, a decisive victory at Yorktown, Virginia, in October would change America's destiny and save the American Revolution. This victory brought to a conclusion more than 100 days of major campaigning by a former foundry manager who had absolutely no military experience at the start of the war. However, as Virginia's founding father Richard Henry Lee later told Greene, 38-year-old General Nathanel Greene would "take this away from tyranny and oppression." a large part of the Union" when the two met in 1783.

In the early years of the war, the British had been working to conquer New England. By 1778, however, it was clear that this was not possible. In October 1777, the British suffered a crushing defeat at Saratoga, New York, where British General John Burgoyne attempted to invade from Canada, resulting in 7,600 deaths and forcing London to adopt a new strategy. The southern cash crops of tobacco and rice, as Britain now believed, were closely linked to British markets. In addition, there were many British loyalists in the region, that is, Americans who continued to side with the British. Under the so-called Southern Strategy, which emerged in 1778, Britain would attempt to recapture its four former Southern colonies, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, by driving out rebel forces there; then, the Loyalist regiments (also known as Conservatives Party) will occupy peaceful and conquered areas. If the plan was successful, Britain would gain provinces from the Chesapeake Bay to Florida. Its American empire will continue to be vast and profitable, surrounding a much reduced and fragile America.

Initially, the new strategy was a huge success. In December 1778, the British captured Savannah, stripping off what Archibald Campbell, the British lieutenant colonel who had conquered the city, boasted of "the first strip on the flag of the Congressional Rebels... Stripes and Stars”. Charleston fell 17 months later. In August 1780, the Redcoats defeated an army led by Major General Horatio Gates in Camden, South Carolina. For Americans, a desperate situation requires extreme measures. Congress deposed Gates and asked Washington to appoint a successor to command the Continental troops in the South; he chose Greene.

Nathaniel Green’s meteoric rise was almost impossible to predict. Nathanael was a Quaker whose only formal education was a brief stint as an itinerant tutor, and as a teenager he was put to work in the family-owned sawmill and ironforge works. In 1770, Talton, with his reputation for hard work and ruthlessness, under the leadership of Colonel Abraham Buford, wiped out the remaining 350 Virginians in the area. Tarlerton's force of 270 men caught up with Buford's retreating men on May 29 and quickly routed them. But when the continents demanded a quarter of the men beg for mercy, Tarleton's troops, who laid down their arms, hacked to death three-quarters of the men and stabbed them to death with bayonets. "The virtues of human nature were entirely forgotten," recalled one loyal witness, Charles Stedman, in his 1794 account of the event. From that time on, "Bloody Tarraton" and "Tarlerton's Quarter" became a rallying cry for Southern rebels. Shortly after the Buford Massacre, guerrilla bands were formed under the orders of Thomas Sumter, Francis Marion, and Andrew Pickens, among others. They had all fought in the brutal Cherokee War in South Carolina 20 years earlier, which provided an education in irregular warfare. Soon, these groups emerged from the swamps and forests, harassing Redcoats' supply trains, ambushing forage parties, and preying on loyalists. Cornwallis ordered that the rebels would be punished “with the greatest force.

Two months of hard campaigning, however, failed to quell the rebels. In late summer, Cornwallis wrote to Sir Henry Clinton in New York, mandating the British forces in North America, admitting The backcountry was now "in a state of absolute rebellion," and Cornwallis remained convinced, he told Clinton, that he must invade North Carolina, acknowledging the risks of expanding the war until the rebellion was suppressed. “A huge effort was made to improve the force. "

In September 1780, Cornwallis marched 2,200 men north to Charlotte. At the same time, he sent 350 loyal Scottish militiamen, led by the 36-year-old Scot Patrick ·Leaded by Major Ferguson, loyal troops were gathered in western North Carolina. Ferguson enlisted, and within two weeks his force had tripled. However, there were also troops from the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia, and now Tennessee. Rebels poured into the backcountry in the east. More than 1,000 men met at Sycamore Ford, North Carolina, and then set off after the Tories to join Ferguson at Kings Mountain near the Carolina border.

There, the leader of the Virginians, Colonel William Campbell, a red-haired, 6-foot-6 giant, married the sister of fire brigade patriot Patrick Henry, and persuaded his people “Shout like hell, fight like a devil. In fact, as the rebels charged up the steep hillside, they screamed blood-curdling battle cries they had learned from Indian warriors. At the summit, they overwhelmed the enemy, shouting "Buford!" Buford! Tarleton's place! "The victors killed Ferguson and desecrated his body. The loyalists surrendered and were killed. In total, more than 1,000 people were killed or captured.

After hearing the news, still in summer Lot's Cornwallis immediately retreated 60 miles south to Winnsboro, South Carolina, where he remained until December, when he learned that Greene had taken over the mission of the small Continental Army and moved it. Redeploying to Hillsborough, North Carolina, about 165 miles northeast, Cornwallis knew that Greene had only one-fourth the strength of the British army. Spies also told him that Greene had made a potentially fatal mistake: he was in a single digit. Splitting his army before a superior enemy,

In that daring move, Green said, "partly by choice and partly by necessity," he gave General Daniel Morgan 600 men. , a stalwart former horse-drawn division who had joined the Army in 1775. After sending Morgan west of Charlotte, Greene led his remaining force of about 800 men toward the Pee Dee River, 120 miles east. His strategy was strategic. Simple: If Cornwallis pursued Greene, Morgan could liberate British positions in western South Carolina; if the British pursued Morgan, Greene wrote in a letter that nothing could prevent Greene's army from attacking British positions. He also told He, Cornwallis, enjoyed a numerical advantage of two to one, and although Morgan had already had a considerable head start, he now halted to await Greene's orders after crossing the Catawba River on January 23. Five days later he was still there when he learned that the enemy was ten miles closer. "I was a little worried," Morgan admitted in a letter to Greene, "that my numbers...were too weak to contend with them." Fight... It would be wise to join our forces." Later that day, Cornwallis's army reached the other side of Catawba. But the God of War is with Morgan. It started to rain. Hour after hour of torrential rain turned the river into a raging, impassable barrier. Cornwallis was held up on the road for nearly 60 hours.

Green did not learn about Coppens until January 24, although the news sparked a huge celebration at his headquarters. activities, but it was another two days before he discovered that Morgan had been waiting for orders in Cataba. Green sent most of his troops to the relative safety of Salisbury, 30 miles east of Catawba, and then, with the cover of a handful of guards and his small staff, set out to join Morgan on the 80-mile, mud-splattered ride. The car travels through the Conservative Party's sphere of influence. As he rode, Greene considered his options: stand up against Cornwallis at Catawba, or order Morgan's men to retreat east and link up with their companions near Salisbury. Green concluded by saying that his decision would depend on whether local militiamen provided Morgan with adequate reinforcements.

But when he arrived in Morgan on January 30, Greene learned that only 200 militiamen had shown up. Angrily, he immediately wrote to Congress that despite his calls for reinforcements, "almost nothing was done... nothing but a well-equipped army could save the country." Greene ordered a retreat to the North, 75 miles east of Courthouse Village, Guilford, Carolina. He also requisitioned "ships and sailors" to transport his troops across the rivers ahead and called upon civil authorities for reinforcements. "Great God, what reason can we not have more men," he wrote in frustration to then-Virginia State Governor Thomas Jefferson,

Greene could engage Cornwallis if enough soldiers arrived by the time his Union troops reached Guilford Courthouse. If not, he would continue north toward the Dan River and through Virginia to await reinforcements there. Greene preferred fighting, but he also saw that his retreat was pulling Cornwallis deeper and deeper inland, further and further away from reinforcements, forcing the British to scavenge for every morsel of food.

Moreover, since the bonfire at Ramsoul Mill, the Redcoats had been without tents and adequate winter clothing. Greene hoped the cold weather and difficult march would further weaken them as the rain turned into a quagmire.

Greene departed on January 31, but without Morgan. The unit had been suffering from back problems since last fall; now, Morgan said, "the pain in my hip...puts me fully (in) a position to serve on active duty." Green sent him up front, joining a team from Cowpens A procession of British prisoners being marched to Winchester, Virginia. Greene, leading Morgan's men, pointed the army toward the Yadkin River, seven miles outside Salisbury, hoping that transport ships would be waiting for them.

Twelve hours after Greene crossed Cataba, Cornwallis began to move his army there as well. Without boats and facing strong currents, the British had to wade across the bitterly cold four-foot-deep river while Greene's rear guard, North Carolina militiamen, opened fire on their ranks. Cornwallis himself had his horse shot from underneath him. "I saw them snoring and roaring and drowning," wrote one Tory. By the time the last of Cornwallis's men crossed the 500-yard-wide river, Greene had increased his lead to thirty miles .

Cornvalis moved forward, hoping that the rain of his enemies at Catawba would prove his allies in Yadkin; if it continued, the rebels might be trapped. For a hundred hours he had pulled supply wagons, ordered two redcoats over each hill, and the whole force advanced through the mud, closing in on their quarry. Greene reached Yadkin first, where he did find. But as Cornwallis had hoped, Greene faced a river churned by floods; it would be dangerous to attempt to cross; it would be madness to stand on the edge of the river and resist what Greene ordered him to do. The troops entered the ship. It was a harrowing crossing; the ship nearly capsized, and Greene himself barely made it through. His rear guard exchanged shots with Cornwallis's forward, but there was no ship for the British. The crossing was unthinkable. For the second time in a week, Cornwallis was stopped by the raging river.

Marching under dangerous skies, the Americans now rushed to Guilford Courthouse. The two divisions of Greene's army were finally reunited, having separated before Christmas, and Greene convened a council of war to decide whether to fight or retreat to Virginia, whereupon his officers knew they would outnumber at least 1,000 men. Voting unanimously to "avoid general action at all costs" and retreat

Cornwallis meanwhile calmed down and waited five long days to cross Yadkin, his men exhausted. , but the general was a possessed man. If he could destroy Greene, there would not be a single Continental soldier left in southern Virginia, and then take his army to Virginia, where he would cut off supplies. Line guerrillas in the Carolinas and Georgia. He was convinced that once the guerrillas were deprived of their lifeline, Cornwallis believed that the perfection of the British southern strategy was beyond his power. for once. But Greene's determination was undiminished, and he told the North Carolina governor that although "evil was rapidly approaching," he was "not without hope of destroying Lord Cornwallis."

The final leg of the chase began on February 10, with the redcoats, exhausted by the cold, fighting to retreat. The next day Greene, who was 25 miles before Guildford Courthouse, set out for Boyd's Ferry, on the Dan River. Green knew he had to stay ahead. "Our army was extremely unequal in numbers and condition to the enemy," he wrote. inevitable destruction.

Once again, Greene divided his army. He replaced the incapacitated Morgan with Colonel Otho Williams, a soldier in Frederick, Maryland. A 32-year-old former civil servant who had fought in Canada and New York, Williams was to take 700 men to the northwest, just as he planned to cross the Ford River upstream from Green, calling for a larger division of about 1,300 men. , would remain in the east and march directly downstream to a crossroads. Every minute counted for Williams, who woke his men at 3:00 every morning, only to stop for a hasty breakfast after they had marched for four hours. . He gave them no rest until nightfall, as they had six hours to eat supper and sleep, but if the rebels moved quickly, Cornvalis moved even faster. By February 13, he had closed the gap on Williams to only 4 miles. Although Cornwallis knew he would not be able to capture Greene's troops before they reached the Dan River, he believed he could attack William on the river. Mus, giving him the fatal blow. The spies reported that Williams had no ship.

But Cornwallis was on his heels and turned suddenly as planned. Greene and Boyd's Ferry. Greene had ordered the ships to be ready at that point, and the next day, February 14th, he reached the river, and crossed it. He immediately wrote to Williams: "We all. The troops are over...I am ready to welcome you and give you a heartfelt blessing. "Williams had just arrived at Dan's house the next evening.

Ten hours later, in the red light of sunrise on February 16, Cornwallis arrived in time to witness the last rebel soldier step onto the other side of the Dan River.

The hunt is over. Greene's men had traveled 200 miles across Greene's announcement that no "further damage to the country" was expected. What was left of the British army was hidden in Savannah and Charleston.

Just nine months ago, the Carolinas and Georgia seemed to have disappeared, leaving the nascent nation behind even if it survived as a fragile union of no more than ten states. Greene's campaign saved at least three southern states. Cornwallis's presence in Virginia now gave General Washington and America's ally France the possibility of a decisive victory. In August, Washington and his French counterpart the Count de Rochambeau learned that a French fleet under the Count de Grasse had set out from the Caribbean bound for the Chesapeake with 29 heavy warships and 3 heavy warships with 200 men. Both men knew that Cornwallis's army had been encamped at Yorktown, on the Richmond Peninsula, near De Grasse's destination. As Franco-American forces moved south from New York, Washington asked the Marquis de Lafayette and his Continental troops to confine Cornwallis to the peninsula. When the Allied forces arrived outside Yorktown in late September, they found that Lafayette had surrounded Cornwallis, and Glass's fleet prevented the Royal Navy from entering the Chesapeake to rescue the besieged redcoats.

Cornwallis is trapped. His 9,000 men faced an enemy of 7,800 French soldiers, 8,000 Continental and 3,100 American militiamen. One American soldier noted that the Allies "punched a hole in Cornwallis and left nothing behind but dug him out." The Allies launched a siege. Cornwallis held out for three weeks, but by mid-October, with disease breaking out among the army and his men eating only half rations, he began negotiations for surrender. Two days later, on October 19, under a clear autumn sky, Cornwallis's men emerged from the village of Yorktown, marching among rows of Frenchmen on the left and Americans on the right. Put down your weapons. This was the decisive line Washington had long sought, setting in motion the negotiations that would eventually lead to Britain's recognition of American independence. After Cornwallis's surrender,

General Washington congratulated the troops on a "glorious event" that would bring "universal joy" to "every ***" in America. Cornwallis wrote to General Clinton from New York: "I am ashamed to inform your Excellency that I am compelled...to surrender my troops under my orders." He did not attend the surrender ceremony, citing illness.

Washington understood that Greene's campaign had saved the American Revolution. Last December, he told Greene, "No one...allows you to do great things with few means." Thomas Paine told Greene that "saving and serving the country" was the noblest achievement. General Knox declared that without "an army, without means, without anything, Greene worked a miracle." For Greene, the most important tribute was to be awarded a Congressional Medal with his portrait under the inscription "Distinguished Leader"; on the back was engraved a Latin phrase meaning: "Secure the South. The enemy conquered... < /p>

Greene said nothing about his achievements, preferring instead to express his gratitude to his men. When he finally left the army in July 1783, Greene praised his "outstanding" soldiers: "No. An army," he declared, "never has shown such obedient fortitude, for never has an army suffered so much.

Initially, when Greene retired from the Army, he divided his time between Newport, Rhode Island, and Charleston, South Carolina. The state of Georgia thanked him for his role in liberating the South. The role gave Greene a rice plantation, Mulberry, outside Savannah, and in the fall of 1785 he and Catherine moved to the estate, however, before Greene died of infection or heat stroke on June 19, 1786. Lived there for 8 months. He was 43 years old.

Historian John Flynn, author of "Almost Miracle: The Victory of the American Revolution," published this month by Oxford University Press