REVOLUTIONARY WAR IN AMERICA 



which was turned over to privateering, under 

 command of John Paul Jones. He added two 

 other small vessels, and with this American 

 "navy" he captured two British men-of-war so 

 close to the English shore that thousands of 

 people witnessed the battle. 



Arnold's Treason. For ability and conspicu- 

 ous service Benedict Arnold had been commis- 

 sioned senior major-general of the Continental 

 army. In 1779, while in command in Philadel- 

 phia, he was accused of irregularity and fraudu- 

 lent dealings. A court-martial, called at his own 

 request, gave him a no more severe sentence 

 than a reprimand from Washington, which was 

 delivered in all kindness. 



During the summer of 1780 he asked for and 

 was given the post of commandant at West 

 Point. He was bitter towards the cause of the 

 states, because of the Philadelphia experience, 

 and the appointment was sought that he might 

 secure revenge. He purposed to turn West 

 Point over to the British. The plot was dis- 

 covered; Major Andre, the English messenger 

 in the undertaking, was caught and executed as 

 a spy. Arnold escaped, and accepted a com- 

 mission in the English army. He died twenty 

 years later in London, without the respect of 

 the English and despised in his native land. 



Campaigns in the South. There were many 

 more loyalists in the South than in the North. 

 and the British hoped to win them actively to 

 their cause by a demonstration in force. There- 

 fore, English effort was transferred very largely 

 to the South in 1778. Savannah was taken 

 December 29, and Augusta fell soon afterwards. 

 In May, 1779, after a siege of six weeks, 

 Charleston was taken. Feeling secure in pos- 

 session, Cornwallis, then in command, warned 

 the people to return to their former allegiance, 

 threatening them with the fate of traitors if 

 they refused. Local warfare between patriots 

 and loyalists occupied many months. Gates 

 was sent south to cope with the situation, and 

 before his troops were prepared the Battle of 

 Camden was fought. Camden was a British 

 victory, and it ended Gates' military career. 



The next serious effort in the South was an 

 expedition sent by Cornwallis to intercept a re- 

 treat of Americans into North Carolina. A 

 battle at King's Mountain, fiercely contested, 

 was won by the Continentals', and it marked 

 the turning point in the war in that section. 

 Greene was sent to succeed Gates, and he had 

 for aids Morgan and Marion. The British or- 

 dered Tarleton to punish the Americans for 

 th.-ir victory at King's Mountain. The forces 



REVOLUTIONARY WAR IN AMERICA 



met at Cowpens, and Tarleton's defeat was so 

 complete that he lost two-thirds of his men. 

 The next engagement was at Guilford Court- 

 house; it was a British victory dearly bought, 

 for it cost so many men he could not continue 

 the offensive. The campaign in the South 

 ended with the Battle of Eutaw Springs; it 

 was an undecided engagement, but the Conti- 

 nentals were left in possession of the field, and 

 the British retired to Charleston. 



Cornwallis, who had returned north to re- 

 arrange his campaign, started south with a new 

 force to offer aid to his armies there. The 

 French fleet entered Chesapeake Bay, effected 

 a juncture with Washington, who had marched 

 from the North, and the two forces engaged 

 Cornwallis at Yorktown. From September 4 

 to October 17, 1781, they besieged the British; 

 on the latter date the English surrendered. 

 The Britons knew the war was practically over, 

 but fighting continued on an unimportant scale 

 for several months. A provisional treaty of 

 peace was signed before the close of 1782, and 

 on April 19, 1783, exactly eight years after the 

 Battle of Lexington, Washington issued an or- 

 der declaring the war at an end. 



The Treaty of Peace. The commission to 

 agree upon terms of peace met at Paris, where 

 on September 3, 1783, the final treaty was 

 signed. The points secured in favor of the new 

 nation were these: 



(1) Recognition of the complete independence 

 of the thirteen states. 



(2) Location of the western boundary at tin- 

 Mississippi River. 



(3) Permission granted to New England fisher- 

 men to fish in Newfoundland waters. 



The American members of the peace com- 

 mission were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin 

 and John Jay. E.D.F. 



Consult Fisher's True History of the American 

 Revolution; Marks' England and America, 1763 to 

 1783; Howard's Preliminaries of the Revolution. 



Related Subjrc<. The following arti 

 these volumes may be read in connection with 

 this discussion of the Revolutionary War: 



HISTORICAL ARTICLES 



Bennington 



Boston Massacre 



Boston Port Bill 



Boston Tea Party 



Brandywlne, Battle of 

 Hill. Battle of 



Cabal, subhead Con way 

 Cabal 



Committee* of 

 Correspondence 



Concord. Mans. 



Declaration of Inde- 

 pendence 



Flag, subtitle United 



State* Flay 

 Germantown. Battle of 

 Qreen Mountain Boys 

 Guilford. Battle of 

 Hessians 

 Intolerable Acts 

 Lexington, Battle of 

 Monmouth. Battle of 

 Paris. Treaties of 

 Princeton. Battle of 

 Saratoga, Battles of 

 Stamp Act 



