The Life of George Washington (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IV. Sir Henry Clinton invests Charleston....Colonel Washington defeats Tarlton....Opinion of general Washington on the subject of defending Charleston....Tarlton surprises and defeats an American corps at Mark's corner....The garrison of fort Moultrie surrender themselves prisoners of war ....Colonel White defeated by Tarlton....General Lincoln capitulates....Buford defeated..Sir Henry Clinton takes measures for settling the government of South Carolina and Georgia....General Gates appointed to the command of the southern army ....Is defeated by lord Cornwallis near Camden....Baron de Kalb killed.. .Success of general Sumpter..His defeat. The departure of the French fleet from the continent immediately following the unsuccessful assault on Savannah, produced a sudden and a gloomy change in the prospects of the southern states. The sanguine hopes which had been entertained of the recovery of Georgia, and of the total destruction of the British power in that quarter, gave place to the most melancholy apprehensions for South Carolina. Nor were these apprehensions ill founded. The continental troops under the command of general Lincoln did not amount to more than one thousand men fit for duty; and the prospect of considerable re-enforcements was by no means flattering. The facility with which general Prevost had passed through the state, and the assurances he had received of the indisposition of a large proportion of the people to defend themselves against VoL. IV. R an army capable of effective operations, disclosed too certainly the true situation of the country, not to convince all discerning men, that a real attempt at conquest would be made the ensuing year. General Lincoln was not blind to the danger which was approaching; but he perceive...