History of Virginia :: :: University of Virginia Library

The War in the South. — After the battle of Saratoga,
the British transferred the war from the North to the South.
They reduced Georgia and South Carolina to submission;
and then Lord Cornwallis, one of their ablest generals,
undertook the conquest of North Carolina. The need of
troops in the South was so great that Virginia exerted herself
to the utmost in gathering recruits and in hurrying
them off to the seat of war.

The British attack Virginia. — During the first years of
the war, the central position of Virginia had protected her
from invasion; but the British now decided to attack her
in earnest to keep her from sending so much aid to the
South. A fleet was first sent under General Matthews,
who took possession of Portsmouth, burned Suffolk, and
destroyed at Norfolk and Gosport great quantities of military
stores. The British soldiers also made incursions into
the country, carrying destruction far and wide, while British
men-of-war ruined the coasting trade of the state by destroying
more than one hundred ships.

Benedict Arnold in Virginia. — The British followed their
first attack by a determined effort to subjugate Virginia,
believing that, if she was conquered, this would ensure the
permanent subjugation of the Southern states. Early in
January, 1781, Benedict Arnold, who a few months before
had turned traitor to the American cause, sailed up the

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James with an army of nine hundred men, and the invasion
began in earnest. Thomas Jefferson, who had succeeded
Patrick Henry as governor, called out the militia to
defend Richmond. But Baron Steuben, who had general
command of military matters in Virginia, had just sent all
the men he could raise to the South. Arnold accordingly
captured Richmond without opposition. He held possession
of the city for a few days, destroyed her archives,

Marquis de Lafayette

plundered her stores, and
then returned to Portsmouth,
ravaging the
country on his way.

Lafayette. — In the
spring, the British sent
General Phillips with
two thousand additional
troops to Virginia. He
captured Petersburg after
a skirmish with a body
of militia under Steuben,
and then proceeded to
Richmond. But here he
found a body of regular
troops drawn up ready to give him battle. They were
under the command of the Marquis de Lafayette, an ardent
young French nobleman who had come to serve in the
American army as a volunteer and without pay; but Congress
had commissioned him a major general, and Washington,
whose confidence he had won, had sent him to
cooperate with Steuben in the defense of Virginia. General
Phillips decided not to attack Lafayette, but retreated
to Petersburg, where he died from fever a few days after
his arrival.

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The Virginians at King's Mountain. — While these events
had been occurring in Virginia, the war had been prosecuted
energetically further South. In conducting the campaign
in North Carolina, Cornwallis sent Colonel Ferguson,
one of his ablest partisan leaders, with a force of eleven
hundred to invade the mountain region. This caused the
pioneers of Virginia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas to rise

Battle of King's Mountain

in arms, and soon fourteen hundred assembled, four hundred
coming from Washington County, Virginia, under the
command of Colonel William Campbell, who was chosen
leader of the entire force. Ferguson, finding that he was
in danger, retreated to King's Mountain, upon the top of
which he took what he regarded as an impregnable position.
But the frontiersmen took his camp by storm and all
his followers were either killed or captured, he himself
being among the slain.

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Morgan at Cowpens. — Daniel Morgan and his men were
always to be found where fighting was going on, and they
were now in the South, where they proved so troublesome
to the British that Cornwallis sent Colonel Tarleton with
eleven hundred men against them. Tarleton pursued Morgan
and coming up with him at Cowpens, a grazing ground
not far from King's Mountain, at once attacked him. But
Morgan displayed wonderful skill in the way he managed
the battle. In an open field he surrounded and nearly
annihilated the British forces, which were superior to his
own, Tarleton escaping with only two hundred men.

Virginia becomes the Seat of War. — Cornwallis's army
was much depleted by the battles he had fought, and so
he decided to march northward, unite his forces with the
British troops in Virginia, and complete the subjugation of
the Old Dominion before he undertook any further operations
in the Carolinas. Acting upon this resolution, he
reached Petersburg soon after the death of General Phillips,
and at once took command of the British troops in Virginia.

Maneuvers of Cornwallis and Lafayette. — Lafayette
was at this time below Richmond with about four thousand
men, and Cornwallis, with nearly double that number,
looked forward to an easy victory over him. "The boy
cannot escape me," he wrote in a letter to England. But
Lafayette though young had prudence, and was unwilling
to risk a battle till he was reinforced by General
Wayne, who was coming with eight hundred Pennsylvanians
to join him. So as Cornwallis advanced, Lafayette
retired till he reached Culpeper County, where he met
Wayne. Cornwallis followed as far as Hanover County,
where he halted, camping on the North Anna River.
While these maneuvers were going on, his cavalry under

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Tarleton was laying waste the whole James River country
with fire and sword, destroying what they did not need.
They made a raid on Charlottesville, hoping to capture the
legislature, which was in session in that place, and also
Governor Jefferson, who was at Monticello, but failed in
this attempt.

Cornwallis Entrapped. — Cornwallis finally selected Yorktown
as the basis of his operations, where he fortified himself
strongly. Washington, learning through Lafayette
that the Count de Grasse was coming with a French fleet
to take part against the British, at once decided to combine
the French and American armies, and capture Cornwallis
before he could be reinforced. The plan was kept a
secret, the movement being covered under an apparent
design of laying siege to New York. This deceived the
British till it was too late to relieve Cornwallis, who did
not realize his danger till the French fleet appeared in the
waters of the Chesapeake, and landed three thousand
troops to reinforce Lafayette, followed a few days later
by the arrival of Washington and the Count de Rochambeau
with land forces. The combined French and American
armies amounted to sixteen thousand, and the British
army numbered eight thousand. Cornwallis now saw that
he was hemmed in both by land and by sea; but he prepared
to make a desperate defense.

Siege of Yorktown. — The siege of Yorktown now began.
For more than a week a vigorous cannonade was kept up,
and then the outer lines of Cornwallis's works were carried
at the point of the bayonet. The British still held the
inner fortifications; but these were swept by the fire of
the American batteries. The situation of Cornwallis becoming
desperate, on the 19th of October, 1781, he surrendered.
On this memorable occasion, the American

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Surrender of Cornwallis

and French troops were drawn up in two columns, Washington
and Rochambeau being at their head; and between
them the conquered British marched out and laid down
their arms, the bands playing "The world's upside down."

Peace at Last. — A great victory had been won; and
Congress set apart a day for thanksgiving and prayer,
while Washington ordered that all persons under arrest
should be set free so that they, too, might share in the general
rejoicing. The surrender at Yorktown was virtually
the closing scene of the war, and it was fitting that it should
occur in the Old Dominion, where the prelude to the Revolution
had taken place.

Governor Nelson. — Among the Virginia patriots of the
Revolution, Thomas Nelson, who succeeded Jefferson as
governor, stands preeminent. He was a man of great

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wealth, all of which he sacrificed to his country's needs.
When two Virginia regiments were ordered to the Carolinas,
before the soldiers started, he gave them all that was
due them as back pay out of his own private fortune. At
a time when the public credit was in a very depressed condition,
the state tried to borrow two million dollars to aid

Nelson at the Siege of Yorktown

in carrying on the war, but the amount could not be
obtained on the security of the commonwealth. Seeing
this, Nelson added his personal security to that of the
state, and in this way a large proportion of the sum was
raised. At the siege of Yorktown, Nelson noticed that
the American gunners refrained from firing at his house,
which had become a refuge for the British. Thereupon
he directed the first gun at it himself, and offered five

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guineas to the cannoneer who would put the first ball
through it. He was for some time before the end of
the war commander in chief of the Virginia forces; and
Washington made special mention of the services rendered
by him in bringing the siege of Yorktown to a successful
issue. Nelson has many honorable descendants
living in Virginia.

QUESTIONS

1. After the battle of Saratoga, where was the seat of war transferred?
2. Why did the British decide to attack Virginia?
3. What did they do in Portsmouth and elsewhere?
4. In subjugating Virginia, what did they believe would follow?
5. What depredations did Benedict Arnold commit?
6. What did the British do in the spring?
7. Who was Marquis de Lafayette?
8. How had the war progressed in the Carolinas?
9. What was the result of the battle of King's Mountain?
10. Describe the battle of Cowpens.
11. What was Cornwallis's plan after these battles?
12. Give an account of the maneuvers of Cornwallis and Lafayette.
13. Why did Tarleton make a raid on Charlottesville?
14. How did Washington entrap Cornwallis?
15. Describe the siege of Yorktown.
16. When and where did Cornwallis surrender?
17. Describe the situation of the armies at the time.
18. What did Congress order to be done?
19. What is said of the surrender of Cornwallis?
20. Who was Thomas Nelson?
21. In what ways did he show his patriotism?