South Carolina and the American Revolution: A Battlefield History
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
An estimated one third of all combat actions in the American Revolution took place in South Carolina. From the partisan clashes in the backcountry's war for the hearts and minds of settlers to bloody encounters with Native Americans on the frontier, more battles were fought in South Carolina than any other of the original thirteen states. The state also had more than its share of pitched battles between Continental troops and British regulars. In South Carolina and the American Revolution: A Battlefield History, John W. Gordon illustrates how all of these encounters, fought between 1775 and 1783, were critical to winning the struggle that secured America's independence from Great Britain.
According to Gordon, when the war reached stalemate in other zones, and the South became its final theater, South Carolina became the decisive battleground. Recounting the clashes in the state, Gordon identifies three sources of attack: the powerful British fleet and seaborne forces of the British regulars; the Cherokees in the west; and, internally, a loyalist population numerous enough to support British efforts towards reconquest. From the successful defense of Fort Sullivan (the palmetto-log fort at the mouth of Charleston harbor), capture and occupation of Charleston in 1780, to later battles at King's Mountain and Cowpens, this chronicle reveals how troops in South Carolina frustrated a campaign for restoration of royal authority and set British troops on the road to ultimate defeat at Yorktown. Despite their successes in 1780 and 1781, the British found themselves with a difficult military problem-having to wage a conventional war against American regular forces, the !
Continentals, while having also to wage a counterinsurgency against the partisan bands of Francis Marion, Andrew Pickens, and Thomas Sumter. In this comprehensive assessment of one state's battlegrounds, Gordon examines how military policy in its strategic, operational, and tactical dimensions set the stage for American success in the Revolution.
From the Inside Flap
"The author has done an outstanding job of integrating military action with the social, political, economic, geographic, and demographic factors that explain the course and outcome of the war in South Carolina. A pleasure to read, this is a book well worth keeping for future reference."--Larry H. Addington, The Citadel
"John W. Gordon has provided a much-needed detailed history of the many battles that tore at the vitals of South Carolina, a state that suffered as much or more than any in America during the struggle for independence. Standard accounts often neglect the skirmishes and minor contests that nonetheless took an enormous toll on both sides between 1775 and 1783. The numerous maps and rich bibliography also make this volume a starting point for research on the war in South Carolina.--Don Higginbotham, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
South Carolina and the American Revolution: A Battlefield History
South Carolina and the American Revolution: A Battlefield History,John W. Gordon,University of South Carolina Press,157003480X,Campaigns,General,History,History - Military / War,History: American,Military - United States,Revolution, 1775-1783,South Carolina,United States,United States - Revolutionary War,United States - State & Local - General,United States - State & Local - South,American history: c 1500 to c 1800,Battles & campaigns,c 1700 to c 1800
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