The British Southern Campaign 1778-1781

In 1777, the British suffered a humiliating defeat against the Americans at Saratoga. The biggest impact of this battle was the entrance of France into the war on the side of the American colonies. The American Revolution immediately turned into a global conflict between rival empires and the British decided to shift the focus of the American Revolution to the Southern colonies south of the Potomac River. The British believed that the Southern colonies contained an abundance of Loyalist support that they could utilize to augment British regulars. This shift in strategy sought to break the military stalemate that had occurred in the middle colonies around New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania and would rely on Loyalist support and active participation in military operations. At first, the campaign showed some signs of success. The British secured footholds in Georgia and South Carolina and then moved their forces into the countryside to begin pacification and to carry out recruitment of these much anticipated Loyalist forces. However, within months the design of the campaign began to unravel as South Carolina erupted into violence characterized by irregular warfare between Loyalist forces and American (rebel) partisan units. What resulted was a civil war and more violence than the British could handle. The Loyalists, who were supposed to be the answer to pacification proved unreliable and incapable of controlling the countryside. The Loyalists seemed more bent on revenge and righting perceived wrongs that they had endured over the past five years and they constantly frustrated British commanders who did not have the resources to control or stop the violence that they had helped unleash.