enemy. These officers were unable to bring Tarleton to an engagement. General Greene, having now received a reinforcement, making his army four thousand five hundred strong, concentrated his forces, and directed his march towards Guilford Court-House, whither Lord Cornwallis had retired.

Here, on the 8th of March, a general engagement took place, in which victory, after alternately passing to the banners of each army, final ly decided in favor of the British.

The British loss, in this battle, exceeded five hundred in killed and wounded, among whom were several of the most distinguished officers. The American loss was about four hundred, in killed and wounded, of which more than three fourths fell upon the continentals. Though the numerical force of Gen. Greene nearly doubled that of Cornwallis, yet, when we consider the difference between these forces, the shameful conduct of the North Carolina militia, who fled at the first fire, the desertion of the second Maryland regiment, and that a body of reserve was not brought into action, it will appear, that our numbers, actually engaged, but little exceeded that of the enemy.

Sec. 89. Notwithstanding the issue of the above battle, Gen. Greene took the bold resolution of leading back his forces to South Carolina, and of attacking the enemy's strong post at Camden, in that state. Accordingly, on the 9th of April, he put his troops in motion, and on the 20th, en-camped at Logtown, within sight of the enemies' works. Lord Rawdon, at this time, held the command at Camden, and had a force of only nine hundred men. The army of General Greene-a detachment having been made for another expedition under Gen. Lee-amounted scarcely to twelve hundred men of all classes.

On the 25th, Lord Rawdon drew out his forces, and the two arinies engaged. For a season, vic

tory seemed inclined to the Americans, but, in the issue, Gen. Greene found himself obliged to retreat.

The American loss, in killed, wounded, and missing, was two hundred and sixty-eight; the English loss was nearly equal. The failure of the victory, in this battle, was not attributable, as in some cases, to the flight of the militia, when danger had scarcely begun; but General Greene experienced the mortification of seeing a regiment of veterans give way to an inferior force, when every circumstance was in their favor the very regiment, too, which, at the battle of the Cowpens, behaved with such heroic bravery.

Sec. 90. Although the British arms gained the victory of Camden, the result of the whole was favorable to the American cause. Gen. Lee, with a detachment dispatched for that purpose, while Greene was marching against Camden, took possession of an important post at Mottes, near the confluence of the Congaree and Santee rivers. This auspicious event was followed by the evacuation of Camden by Lord Rawdon, and of the whole line of British posts, with the exception of Ninety-Six and Charleston.

Sec. 91. Ninety-Six, one hundred and fortyseven miles northwest from Charleston, was garrisoned by five hundred and sixty men. Against this post, after the battle of Camden, Gen. Greene took up his march, and, on the 22d of May, sat down before it. Soon after the siege of it had been commenced, intelligence arrived that Lord Rawdon had been reinforced by troops from Ireland, and was on his march, with two thousand men, for its relief. Greene now determined upon an assault, but in this he failed, with a loss. of one hundred and fifty men.

Soon after his arrival at Ninety-Six, Lord Rawdon deemed it expedient to evacuate this post. Retiring himself to Charleston, his army en

camped at the Eutaw Springs, forty miles from Charleston.

Sec. 92. Gen. Greene, having retired to the high hills of Santee, to spend the hot and sickly season, in September approached the enemy at the Eutaw Springs. On the morning of the 8th, he advanced upon him, and the battle between the two armies became general. The contest was sustained with equal bravery on both sides; victory seemed to decide in favor of neither.

The British lost, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, about one thousand one hundred. The loss of the Americans was five hundred and fifty-five.

Sec. 93. The battle of the Eutaw Springs was the last general action that took place in South Carolina, and nearly finished the war in that quarter. The enemy now retired to Charleston.

Thus closed the campaign of 1781, in South Carolina. Few commanders have ever had greater difficulties to encounter than Gen. Greene; and few have ever, with the same means, accomplished so much. Though never so decisively victorious, yet the battles which he fought, either from necessity or choice, were always so well managed as to result to his advantage.

Not unmindful of his eminent services, congress presented him with a British standard, and a gold medal, emblematical of the action at the Eutaw Springs, which restored a sister state to the American union.

Sec. 94. After the battle of Guilford, between Greene and Cornwallis, noticed above, the latter, leaving South Carolina in charge of Lord Rawdon, commenced his march towards Petersburg, in Virginia, where he arrived on the 20th of May. Having received several reinforcements, he found himself with an army of eight thousand, and indulged the pleasing anticipations that Virginia would soon be made to yield to his

arms.

Early in the spring, Gen. Washington had detached the Marquis de Lafyette, with three thousand men, to co-operate with the French fleet, in Virginia, in the capture of Arnold, who was committing depredations in that state. On the failure of this expedition, Lafayette marched back as far as the head of Elk river. Here he received orders to return to Virginia, to oppose the British. On his return, hearing of the advance of Cornwallis towards Petersburg, twenty miles below Richmond, he hastened his march to prevent, if possible, the junction of Cornwallis, with a reinforcement, under General Phillips. In this, however, he failed.

The junction being effected at Petersburg, Cornwallis moved towards James' river, which he crossed, with the intention of forcing the marquis to a battle.

Prudence forbad the marquis risking an engagement, with an enemy of more than twice his force. He therefore retreated, and, notwithstanding the uncommon efforts of his lordship to prevent it, he effected a junction with General Wayne, who had been dispatched by Washington, with eight hundred Pennsylvania militia, to his assistance. After this reinforcement, the disproportion between himself and his adversary was still too great to permit him to think of battle. He continued his retreat, therefore, displaying, in all his manoeuvres, the highest prudence.

Sec. 95. While these things were transpiring in Virginia, matters of high moment seemed to be in agitation in the north, which, not long af ter, were fully developed.

Early in May, 1781, a plan of the whole cam

paign had been arranged by Gen. Washington, in consultation, at Wethersfield, Connecticut, with Generals Knox and Du Portail, on the part of the Americans, and Count de Rochambeau, on the part of France. The grand project of the season was to lay siege to New-York, in concert with a French fleet, expected on the coast in August.

In the prosecution of this plan, the French troops were marched from Rhode Island, and joined Gen. Washington, who had concentrated his forces at Kingsbridge, fifteen miles above New-York. All things were preparing for a vigorous siege, and, towards this strongest hold of the enemy, the eyes of all were intently directed.

In this posture of things, letters addressed to Gen. Washington, informed him that the expected French fleet, under the Count de Grasse, would soon arrive in the Chesapeake, and that this, instead of New-York, was the place of its destination.

Disappointed in not having the co-operation of such a force; disappointed also in not receiving the full quota of militia, which had been ordered from New-England and New-Jersey; and, moreover, learning that Clinton had been reinforced in New-York, by the arrival of three thousand Germans; Washington was induced to change the plan of operations, and to direct his attention to Cornwallis, who, from pursuing the Marquis de Lafayette, had retired to Yorktown, near the mouth of York river, and had fortified that place.

Sec. 96. Having decided upon this measure, on the 19th of July he drew off his forces, and