The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

1972 THE AMERICAN TRIUMPH 473conquer America by attacking atthe points of the concentration ofstrength, they advocated attackingat the weakest point. Thisstrategy had much to commend it.After all, the key to the effectivecontrol over much of what hadbeen English· America was Virginia.Virginia was the most populousof the states, the oldest ofthe colonies, the one in which theAnglican religion had been longestestablished, the producer ofmuch that was most wanted byBritish merchants for world trade,and the hub of the Southern wheel.If Britain could control Virginiaand the lower South, plus Canada,it might still dominate the vastea5tern Mississippi valley region.Virginia already laid claim tomuch of the territory west of theAlleghenies; the conquest· of Virginiamight vouchsafe it to Britain.The approach to Virginiamight be made from the lowerSouth which was the weakest linkin the colonial chain. Georgia wasthe least populous of the states,and a considerable portion of thepopulation of South Carolina wasslave. North Carolina was knownto have an important Loyalist contingent.Savannah fell to British forcesin December of 1778, and early thenext year they took over·the restof Georgia and installed a·Loyalgovernment. But the British stationedin Georgia had little successduring the next year withtheir forays into South Carolina;the force sent there was not adequateto such a campaign. Earlyin 1780, however, General Clinton,who had been reluctant to undertakethe Southern campaign, fin.ally did so; he was able to takeCharleston May 12, 1780 with avastly superior military and navalforce. Clinton returned to NewYork, entrusting the Southerncampaign now to Lord Cornwallis.Cornwallis was probably the ablestfield commander the British everhad in America. He was daring,courageous, beloved of·his men,could win battles when the oddswere against him by audacioustactics, ana. did win many battles.In fact, he won most of the battlesand lost the war.For the remainder of 1780,Cornwallis see-sawed" back andforth between South and NorthCarolina with his army. Virtuallythe whole Patriot army in thatregion had been surrendered atCharleston, necessitating the assemblyof a new force in the deepSouth. Congress sent General HoratioGates, the victorious commanderat Saratoga, southwardwith a core of Continentals to dothe job. As it turned out, his victoryat Saratoga had given GeneralGates a much greater reputationthan he deserved. Cornwallis